July 4th

We spent a wonderful 4th of July weekend with my mom’s side of the family down at my parents’ ranch.  All 22 of us were able to make it this year and it was so great to have everyone together!

It was a pretty typical family gathering for us--- lots of food, games and fun.  Here are a few highlights.

We introduced a new game called Ladderball.  We usually pitch washers, but this game sufficed until we found a good spot to dig the washer holes.

I don’t have many pictures of other things we did, but I have a lot of pictures of everyone playing Ladderball because I could take them while reclining in one of the zero-gravity chairs.  If you haven’t tried one of these, you are really missing out.  They will change your life.

There aren’t any restaurants near the ranch, so we all took turns being in charge of meals.  We had BBQ, burgers & brats, and a fish fry complete with homemade hushpuppies and fried okra.

We also had a lot of other summer goodies, like watermelon, homemade ice cream, and some fun treats that Remy made.

When it wasn’t pouring down rain, we took the boat out to do some tubing and catch some rays (we needed the sun… Kolby is practically glowing in the picture below, and I’m not any better).

One highlight of the day at the lake: Russell asking Kolby to put sunscreen on his back and then proceeding to sit on his lap.  It make Kolby pretty uncomfortable, yet he obliged so who knows.

Like last year, we played a few games of family whiffle ball.  Also like last year, Brad and Russell were team captains and I was chosen last.  What is it with brothers and their need to pester?

We got a ping-pong table for the screened porch and put it to good use.

We played hours and hours of a group ping-pong game called One Bounce where when it was your turn, you had to let the ball roll off the table and bounce one time and then hit it back on the table for the next person’s turn.   With a lot of people in a really small space, we joked around about how one of the adults (most likely Mom or Uncle Wayne) were sure to accidentally bust through one of the screens.  But it was Brad who lost control and braced himself by sitting one of the many coolers that lined the wall.

Unfortunately, it was the one that was styrofoam.

Like any real vacation, naps abounded.

And finally, we just relaxed and soaked in the fact that we were in the country and away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. 

Some family pictures:

*Sidenote:  Russell appears in 7 pictures in this post.  Who noticed that he has a full-grown mustache?  No one?  Exactly.  It is blonde and it is totally disgusting.  I’m campaigning to get him to shave it but I’m not having any luck.  Now he’s in London for the rest of the summer.  Good luck picking up chicks with that thing, bro.