Chantel Comes Home

Three weeks ago (yeah, I need to do a little catching up here on Electronic Bassoon), my cousin Chantel returned home to Utah from her mission to Asunción, Paraguay. Though she came back to us a few months before she would have liked due to health reasons, we are proud of the good work she has done in the Lord's service over the past seven months.

Most of the Plowman clan, along with the Sanders and Berlangieri bunches, were waiting at the Salt Lake City airport when she returned. Here's a shot of the entire group who showed up:

 

 

And here's Chantel meeting her siblings Eden, Ashlyne, and Meikayla after emerging from the plane:

 



Second Thanksgiving

Hobbits have second breakfast; we have second Thanksgiving. At least, we do on the years when everybody goes to their in-laws' on Thanksgiving Day.

Such was the case last week, when bi-monthly family dinner became second Thanksgiving. Scott, Claudia, and their gang came up from Lehi and joined us for the occasion. The food was plentiful and delicious.

Christian continues to be the ladies' man wherever he goes. . . .

Most of the nieces and nephews gathered around the Christmas tree to play with Grandma Plowman's new train.

Good times, as you might expect, were had by all.

Let Freedom Ring!

I'm a few days late in posting these pictures, but I thought y'all would like to know that we had a fun family get-together this Fourth of July at Scott's and Claudia's home in Lehi. Eden had returned from his mission to Quito, Ecuador, just two days prior, making it also a sort of homecoming party for him, as well.

The day started off with a delicious barbecue of hamburgers and hot dogs in the backyard. Jake enjoyed the shade while Ben, Kira, Jenna, and McKenna cooled off in the pool.

Dallin and Jackson provided the post-lunch entertainment, chasing our cousins' chicken all over the backyard (and finally caught it, I might add).

Following the annual family soccer game at a nearby park, darkness fell, and together we enjoyed some fireworks.

For all intents and purposes, it was a typical family Independence Day but a good and memorable one nonetheless.

Day 341: Foggy Day, Keeping the Sun Away

Today was a very foggy day, and I love the fog.

Fog is, certainly, not fun to drive through, with its limited visibility on the roads and all, but what it does do for me is that it usually reminds me of the times I've traveled across the pond to visit family in England and of the weather there.

Day 244: Justine and Bryce Are Married

Yesterday, my second cousin Justine (oldest daughter of my cousin Jamie and his wife, Julie) and her husband, Bryce, were sealed in the Mount Timpanogos temple of the Church. I wasn't able to make it to the sealing, though I did get to carpool down to Lindon for the reception along with Ben and Adi.

We arrived just before Justine and Bryce cut their cake.

We also enjoyed our choice of several flavors of Italian sodas, and Justine's brother McKay served as bartender.

It was a cool, summer evening, making great conditions for an outdoor wedding reception. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Day 192: Family Soccer Game

By nature, we're a very competitive family - individually and, when we face off against each other in games or sports, collectively sometimes, too.

In last week's post on our family's Fourth of July activities, I mentioned in passing that we (my siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, and I) participated in a soccer game together, and I figured it deserved its own post and pictures. We love soccer. My siblings and I grew up playing recreational soccer, and both Kylee and McKenna currently play on competition teams.

As a result, this was one of those times when the competitive side came out in more than one of us. Fortunately, it was all in good fun.

Another fortunate thing: I do not have a photo of the moment when I tore a large hole in my pants.

Day 186: Cul-de-Sac of Fire

This year, it was the Plowmans' turn to travel down to our cousin Scott's house in Lehi for the annual family Independence Day shindig. Joining us were Claudia's parents, who are always good to see, and her cousins from Argentina, who are visiting the States and, thus, gave Mike, Dave, Summer, and me plenty of opportunities to dust off our Spanish-language skills.

The afternoon began with a barbecue, and the hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, and other dishes that were provided were delicious. That was followed by a family soccer game on the field just behind the backyard.

Following the soccer match, we went out into the street for what Scott called "Cul-de-Sac of Fire," in which all of the neighbors participated, as well. This part, of course, was especially fun for the kids.

Happy Fourth of July, everybody.

Day 170: "Seven Brides" for Two Cousins

I've mentioned before here on Disconcertingly Choppy that I do not particularly care for the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Well, it's still true, but I'll save that rant for another time and another place.

Instead, I'll tell you that earlier this evening I went along with the parents, Ben and Adi, and Steve and Summer to see my cousin Scott (the mayor) and his 13-year-old daughter, Madison (one of the townspeople), perform in the aforementioned musical at a junior high auditorium - one far newer and nicer than most auditoriums I've ever been in, by the way - in Lehi. It was entertaining watching my cousins do what they enjoy doing with their spare time, which is really a thing that most of my family loves to do.

Incidentally, tonight's performance was the first time that Ben and Adi got to see another production of the musical by which they were first acquainted, as they met two summers ago while performing in a Seven Brides production in Murray.

Here's a shot of all four family members - past and present - to perform in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers:

Day 156: "Truth or Dare"

During yesterday's family brunch at Dave's and Jessica's home, one of my favorite things to observe was watching Jenna; new teenager, our 13-year-old cousin Madison; and McKenna play "Truth or Dare" together while hanging out in the basement.

I'm not sure whose idea it was, but it was very entertaining.

Ive said it before, and I'll say it again: There's never a dull moment whenever our family gets together.

Day 121: The New-and-Improved Plowman (and Sanders) Clans

Here's the whole (new) family - and our cousin Scott's family, to boot - at the temple following the wedding.


We're a good-looking bunch, aren't we?

Day 117: All the Single Ladies

One of the most important parts of a wedding reception is, of course, the bouquet toss by the bride. Also, the catfight that usually ensues is often very amusing.

Fortunately, there was little-to-no blood or tears shed over Summer's bouquet toss, which was easily claimed by the tallest girl out on the floor: my 16-year-old cousin Ashlyne.

Day 43: The New-and-Improved Plowman Clan

With the official addition of Adi to our family, the Plowman clan now looks like this:

The bride and groom also posed for a picture with our Sanders cousins who attended the Big Day:

'Twas the Day after Christmas

Belated Christmas Wishes from all of us (well, me) here at Disconcertingly Choppy! Here's hoping that you enjoyed your holiday.

As for me, I gathered with my siblings, nieces, and nephews at Mom and Dad’s home for a big family dinner on Christmas Eve. While Mom and the girls prepared a delicious meal, the kids created some chalk drawings out on the driveway and sidewalk. The results were, I must say, rather impressive:

When dinner time came, we all sat down together for a scrumptious feast.

Have I got seven of the world's best-looking nieces and nephews, or what? (Answer: Yes, I do.)

Dinner was followed by the annual family Christmas pageant, which Biz once again put together, giving speaking or acting roles to most everybody. The kids arguably enjoyed taking part perhaps more than any of us. Jackson insisted on playing the role of Joseph, which he could pronounce only as Jovis, while Kira played Mary; Jenna and Kenna were angels; while Luke, Dallin, and I were the three wise men.

I gotta say that I love the mischievous looks on Luke's and Dallin's faces in the above picture.

Afterward, everyone opened the gifts given to them by those who pulled their names out of the hat. The best part of this is always watching the kids’ eyes light up when they get something they really like.

Christmas Day itself was great, as we got to spend part of the day at church, which consisted of sacrament meeting only. Mom, Dad, and I were invited over to Dave and Jessica’s for dinner, and following that, Jenna, Luke, and Kira showed off the presents that Santa Claus had brought them.

Today, Boxing Day, we had a sort of second Christmas when Scott, Claudia, and their girls joined us at Steve’s house for a Korean lunch. Korean food is still very much a taste I have yet to acquire, but it was good to get together with our cousins and also to get the latest updates from Eden, who was able to call them from Ecuador on Christmas Eve. Later that afternoon, most of the adults went over to the new Centerville Megaplex to see Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, the next film in that series, and we enjoyed it a great deal.

Happy Boxing Day, Bedford Falls.

Turkey Day 2011

In addition to Ben and Adi's engagement, our family also celebrated Thanksgiving last week.

With the rest of the family spending the day at their current (or future) in-laws, including Steve over at Summer’s family's house, my parents and I accepted an invitation from my cousin Scott and his wife, Claudia, to join them and their kids for dinner. Claudia’s parents, two of my favorite people in the world, and brother, Alberto, were among the other attendees.

We were treated to a delicious meal, with an abundance of all of the traditional trimmings included. As you can see, I was rather underdressed for the occasion, being one of the few not getting the memo about dressing up in my favorite Native American costume.

But I definitely had the best beard at the table.

Elder Sanders Goes to Provo

My 19-year-old cousin Eden was set apart as a missionary Tuesday night, entered the Provo MTC yesterday, and has now begun his missionary service.

I am looking forward to following his mission and blog and e-mails and to learning about all of the great experiences he's going to have during these two years.

I'm also quite a bit jealous because, after three weeks at the Provo MTC, he's going to fly down to Peru to spend the remaining six weeks of his MTC experience at the Lima MTC before then heading out into the field and Ecuador.

His mom especially is a bit nervous about all this, and it's okay to feel that way. But the time will pass quickly, and after two years, we'll all look back and wonder where the time went.

"Eanimation's Final Animation"

As I mentioned in my previous post, Eden is headed off on a mission to Ecuador. But before doing so, he has posted one final film online.

Celebrating the Fourth on the Second

The Plowman family party that began Saturday afternoon with McKenna's baptism continued on into the evening, when most of us, including Scott and Claudia and their kids, assembled at Mike and Jana's home in Layton for barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza and to celebrate Independence Day together - albeit a couple of days early.

At the onset of the evening, Dallin, McKenna and friends put on a show for us in the basement theater, presenting three short skits that they titled “The Three Little Hamsters,” “Leech Forest,” and “Li’l Rapping Riding Hood.”

Summer was pulled up on stage to join the girls in an impromptu musical number, but she rolled right along with it.


Jackson also sang some sort of song for us on his microphone. It was tough to make out exactly what song it was, but then again, he's only three years old, and we can cut him some slack.

Following dinner, most everyone gathered on the front lawn for several rounds of "Cuub," our favorite family summertime game.

If you haven't played "Cuub" with us, well, you'll just have to witness it in person and/or join in with us the next time we play.

Jackson, in the meantime, continued to entertain the masses, this time with his tennis racket-handling abilities.
By this time, the sun began to set, and that brought out the fireworks, complete with the nutty pyromaniac in both young and old.

This family event also marks the last time we'll see our cousin Eden for two years. On the 13th, he'll enter the MTC and will begin to prepare for his mission to Quito, Ecuador. As Mike observed, he's about as prepared as a missionary can get, and we look forward to hearing about his experiences through his e-mail/letters.

Happy birthday, America.