Wild and Wonderful

Something about the 4th of July doesn't feel right unless there's a million mosquitos, a swimming spot, a bonfire, and a bunch of dirty kids running around unsupervised. When I was little, I was one of those kids running around unsupervised, dropping firecrackers into septic systems, fetching beers for a nickel, and drinking as much Hubba Bubba soda as I wanted. It was awesome, true unabashed freedom.

Now that I'm a grown-up living in a highly flammable state, I crave that wild reverie. Luckily Indiana still delivers. Dad's got the woods, Tina's got the pool, Tee's got no sense, and my sisters and cousins have the kids. Some of my favorite memories in life are from 4th of Julys in Indiana, so I grabbed my sisters, jammed their families into a car, and north we went to cause a ruckus.

Dad set up the guest house (a tent) for us, and it was a matter of minutes before we'd eaten all his fresh caught wild Alaskan salmon and depleted his beer stores by half. We sat on the porch watching mosquitoes eat the children and laughing at Nynie who was simultaneously fascinated and terrified by the deer skulls all over the yard. Kieron and Lilly took off into the woods, and we didn't even care what they were doing. Chunks got mostly naked. Life was perfect.

City kids gone full country. 

Grandpa Greg teaching the littlest ones how to beat the heat.

Dad feeding the children with the sweetest meat to the skeeters. 

My cousin Kristin brought our Grandma over for a quick visit. All the chaos of the clan wore her out in just a few minutes, but it was such a gift to see this tiny little woman enveloped by two dozen people who love her. Dad baited the kids with popsicles and we managed to get a pic of him with his own half dozen sacks of chaos.

We gathered up the sticky, sweaty kids and headed to Tina's, where we swam and ate and drank to our heart's content. Jaden and Kennedy were the responsible adults (they are 16 and 12), and we put all our trust in them and the power of arm floaties. Ryan and I taught the next generation of cousins how to chicken fight. Aunt Becky waged war on UV rays. And we all gathered around a raft for happy hour. No cover charge and hands down the best bar I've ever been to.

Ben one. I was the base for one fight and my neck was broken for two days.

Max will never fully appreciate how much Grandma Wonderful adores him because boys.

Sam. This boy is everything. With a cute floppy hat on top.

Charlene and Nynie. Bonded since Nynie joined us. 

I don't know how Andrea made such perfect kids, but Kennedy is absolutely amazing. Chunks knows it too.

Didn't take long for Nynie to find her fearless. 

This is after Becky took the beer out of her cleavage and Leiah left to pee in the bushes. Hahaha!

In between swimming, the kids took breaks inside, mostly watching Moana and falling asleep. I caught Renee being nice to the little bits. Busted!

The day wound down with a cookout and some games of corn hole, where Kennedy and I got smoked by Uncle Vince and Jaden. Nynie tried to play too but mostly she just ran around being crazy. 

I swear I'm going to steal her one day.

Excellent form. Yet still, we were defeated. 

Shout out to Tee for keeping the beer stocked and playing with all the fire products. He's grooming Jaden for the takeover.

The cherry on the top of this mound of perfection that was 4th of July 2018 was getting a quilt custom made for me by my mind-glowingly creative and talented Aunt Becky. To start, the quilt is enormous. Me and 40 of my friends can easily sit on this fabric garden. But what really makes this quilt magical is all the personal touches on it. The flowers in the garden... Becky and I sewed some of those on a flight together. The picket fence... Becky put that in after doing a google image search of my house. The flowers going up the fence post have stuffing under them, making the whole scene a little three dimensional. In two of the corners, Becky put in chickens. CHICKENS! And across the top, she put in a strip of silky fabric because I have a silky addiction. It didn't stop there though. She embroidered the most wonderful sentiments into the silky part, all derived from adventures we've shared. I honestly think this is the most thoughtful thing I have ever been gifted in my life. 

Tee gave the day a proper send off with a bonfire so big it sent a bunch of us running to the pool to escape the flying embers and a fireworks show that puts most of the nearby small towns to shame. There's something to be said for being in the middle of nowhere surrounded only by the things that matter.