The 4th of July. Independence Day. Barbecues, parades (with horses), fireworks, craft fairs, patriotic villages, friends, games, marching bands, bagpipes, craziness. This year started with G getting up early to run a 10K race. And Chaz and Chelsea and I drove up to the parade so we could walk the very long length of it. People start staking out sidewalk seats with blankets and tarps at three in the afternoon the day before. But we like walking because we run into all kinds of people we know. And not only do we get to see the whole mile long thing in about half the time everybody else does, we can follow the bands while they play.
In the afternoon, every year, we have the backyard party that I always think I’m NOT going to do. But thanks to Chaz, who does the decorating and the food planning, and G, who does the grill, we always end up having it. In earlier years, we had tons of neighbors with all their kids – with relay races that pitted children against parents, neighbor against neighbor—feats of skill and hunts and crazy stuff. But the families grew up, and now each family has so many children and grandchildren, you kind of can’t get together in one place anymore. And I’m old and tired, too. So we’ve gone very small.
We only have a few friends now. Here, Abby from across the street, makes friends with the Little Back Dog.
The girls put up shiny bunting and set the tables.
More bunting across the deck – no children allowed. The deck is old and tired, too – but the river never seems to slow down.
Cook holds audience—explaining, no doubt, the proper way to burn a hotdog.
Chaz in her 4th finery. Check out the lace-up-really-high-tops. And the lurking Chelsea behind her.
Umm. They’re both wearing Captain America shirts, but the captain in the back seems to have nefarious intent.
YES! An attack!! Gotcha!
The team cuts up melons
while the troops run wild –
and make friends.
Elves find the hidden paths –
and kids turn the tables on dads.
Beautiful Rachel
h
EATING
Moms in the grass.
Everyone hanging around under Geneva’s mist-er. Gotta get one for the horse barn.
Native savages sneak around with pet wolves.
And turn into tiny Bigfoots.
Beautiful Rachel #2
Beautiful Michelle #1
Beautifullest Levi #10000
And the guys are talking about what?
Let the face painting begin. This year, Laura does the WHOLE THING herself.
Faces I love.
This man offered to haul and stack all my hay this year while we were gone to Santa Fe. So he and Cam and Murphy and Calvin and Thomas and Luke did it. Ron’s one of my heros. And he knows how to do the Haka. And he’s really scary, doing it.
His daughters – some of them.
Beautiful Sam#1
Not everybody, but close. Geneva’s gang still to come. And the yard counts as a character.
Just a closeup.
This is a game: find the hidden tiny flags. Sam’s strokin’ –
But here is a scary moment – when innocent flag hunters enter the woods and are about to be grabbed by a crazy spotted person.
THIS crazy spotted person.
Even painted people eat.
And Scooter, whose design request was “The Golden Plates.”
Then everybody went home, off to do fireworks – very carefully, this year, as our state is burning up. There were nine wild fires burning in the mountains and high valleys that weekend. Thousand of acres. Secretly (yeah, like I’d keep it a secret), I’m not hot about fireworks. But we had great fun, ate well, and couldn’t go to sleep till one in the morning, what with the bombs bursting in air.
Anyway, I’m always relieved when it’s over – the planning and partying and blowing things up. It always feels like summer finally starts the day after all this fun.
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