My Independence Day Weekend

I had a really superb Independence Day weekend, and I just want to share. We took a road trip to my in-laws' house and enjoyed a three-day weekend with the Mrs.' side of the family.

Now before you break out the mother-in-law jokes, I really like my in-laws. I feel quite lucky to have that kind of relationship with them, and that they treat me like one of their own kids. We have vacationed with them a couple times and had great times both times. My sister-in-law vacationed with us one of those times, she used to live just down the road from us for about a year, and she has turned her cake-decorating skills into a vital role in our kids' birthdays. My brother-in-law and I share a love of sports and have played in countless fantasy football and baseball leagues together. I almost always win, since I'm a far superior player than he is, but you know, at least he tries.

So all of us and our families converged on my parents-in-law this weekend for a rare gathering of the entire clan. I hadn't seen my niece and nephew in quite some time, and they're quite a bit taller and more independent now! They're several years older than my kids, but all the kids mingled well over the weekend.

The temperatures were also perfect for me. Others were complaining about how it never got out of the low 80's, but I was in heaven. Normally when we celebrate Independence Day at my in-laws' house, the temperature and humidity are somewhere between Inferno and Hades. You get heat stroke walking to your car from the house. But here in the Midwest, we've had a freak snap of unbelievably outstanding weather for the past week or so, and I've been on Cloud Nine.

We enjoyed a swim in the pool on Friday afternoon when we got there. I have issues with my joints, and if I sit for too long without moving around, rigor mortis sets in. So after 4.5 hours in the car, playing in the pool was the ideal relief. Nice and refreshing, and the water took the pressure off my joints. Olivia has been taking swim lessons lately, so she showed off some of her newfound kicking skills. June's only complaint was that the water was a little cold for her liking, but she otherwise enjoyed hanging out with me while I toodled around the pool. Once I noticed her chattering teeth, I put her in a little inflatable boat. She enjoyed the warmth of the sun's rays, while still splashing in some water in her boat and floating around with the rest of us.

After swimming, I played some Cornhole. My mother-in-law, who is rather religious and who I often good-naturedly tease about her inside connection with God, wasted no time in smiting me at Cornhole. Then she sicced a swarm of locusts on me. You know, just to remind me of which one of us has God's personal cell phone number. My father-in-law at least kept it interesting for a few games, even though he beat me every time. Then I'm pretty sure Olivia even beat me a couple times. Finesse and precision have never been my strong suits. Anyone who has played first base in softball with me playing third base can attest. Now, if there was a game of throwing a bean bag through a concrete wall, I'd be pretty good at that.

My father-in-law and I wrapped up the day by watching NASCAR's minor league (whatever their sponsorship is now) race in Daytona on TV. Clint Bowyer won, in case you were wondering.

On Saturday, it rained for most of the day, but I still had a great time. Everyone threw some money together, and the Mrs. and I went to a local fireworks stand, where we were assisted by an 11-year-old who made sure we left with an impressive arsenal. When we got back, we swam in the pool, even though it was raining. My kids bailed pretty quickly, but the Mrs., my niece, and I had a long splash fight in the pool in the rain. When we finally got out of the pool, we enjoyed barbecued pork chops, hamburgers, and hot dogs, along with a huge supporting cast of outstanding food, the vast majority of which was prepared by my mother-in-law. Finding delicious eats in her house is never difficult, but she really outdid herself this weekend.

After lunch, I enjoyed hanging out in the garage with various family members who rotated in and out. Even though the rain kept falling, the temperature stayed in the low 70's, so it was quite comfortable outside. We all just chatted, and it was great. My brother-in-law had me going for awhile, trying to convince me that Steve McNair had been killed. Sadly, it turns out that he wasn't pulling my leg.

That evening, the rain stopped just in time for fireworks. I'm happy to report that I only burned a finger, two toes, and my wrist. (Those damn sparklers!) All of my appendages are still attached, though, so that's good. I was pretty worried about how my kids would respond to the fireworks. Last year, Olivia just about came out of her skin with all the neighborhoood fireworks going off around her. And since June is now the age that Olivia was last year, I had my doubts as to how this was going to go.

Turns out, you give the girls a bowl of popcorn, cover them with their favorite blankets, and put them in their mommy's or aunt's lap, and fireworks are AWESOME! As we lit our fireworks in the street, I was shocked to see my daughters laughing and clapping and screaming with glee at the audio and visual experience. All around us, people were firing artillery shells into the air, resulting in thunderous explosions of color all over the place that eliminated any need to see the city's fireworks display. A neighbor down the street must have dropped a couple thousand dollars at the fireworks stand, given what he sent up into the air. It was great fun! At the end of the night, my nephew collected most of the spent fireworks from the street to take home with him. I had to chuckle at my brother-in-law a little bit on that one.

The next morning, my mother-in-law cooked up pretty much everything you'd see on a Bob Evans menu and made sure we were all stuffed full for our respective trips home.

And I returned home to find that neither Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez made the MLB All-Star team, so that made me happy.

All in all, it was an outstanding weekend.