Since I was a kid I’ve really enjoyed dressing up and seeing other people dress up for holidays, and now that I have Clara I can re-live that a little bit (even though she doesn’t yet know what’s going on). Jack and I had picked out a super cute 4th of July themed skirt for her over a month in advance, and the day had finally come for her to wear it! My own outfit was not so patriotic as I prioritized staying cool over color schemes, but I did have some blue in there. Jack wore a tshirt with Chuck Norris in front of an American flag, so he more than made up for both of us.
We headed to Dad’s (by quickly crossing the street, haha) and everyone figured out cars and packed the extensive supplies needed for the ranch. I helped by chopping boiled potatoes and eggs for a massive amount of potato salad. We also had basically a vat of fudgey brownies and racks of ribs and who knows what else. The point is: massive amounts of delicious food, in keeping with the theme of the trip.
Neil, Jack, Clara, and I rode in Ellen’s car, and on the way we stopped at a strip mall that had both a Walmart (for Neil to pick up something to try to get the DOOM computers working) and a Starbucks (for all of us to get some frappuccinos). The Starbucks also sold wine and beer, which I’ve never seen before. Ellen took a picture.
Not long after we got to the ranch other guests arrived—friends of Dad’s and Jill’s who had two daughters. The mom was dressed in a referee uniform which seemed…strange, until Dad announced it: a mini-Olympics for the day. The friend was to be our referee!
It was basically the Field Day event of the real Olympics.
We didn’t end up doing the ad-hoc cheer but managed to fit in everything else which, frankly, is amazing. It looks simple as a nice little list here but it requires prep and coordination between a bunch of kids and adults and, above all, energy. But the adrenaline from competition (and especially victory) kept us going all day.
Most of the events were separated such that the kids competed in one version and the adults in another. There were cash prizes for 1st and 2nd place for almost everything (and I think 3rd place for the kids’ competitions too). Dad also cleverly offered a dollar to each kid each time he or she was a good loser. Since the kids are young enough that the difference between the “good loser” dollar and the winning $20 isn’t even that big of a deal to them, this worked out incredibly well. Kids were shaking each other’s hands and giving each other hugs and saying “good job,” haha. The “good loser” dollars greatly decreased any chances of meltdowns.
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| Team Kid! |
I participated in some events and filmed others, and Jack participated in most of them. Jill’s sister Jennifer was kind enough to keep an eye on Clara during most of the time I did this. In fact she even set up a wheelbarrow lined with towels for Clara to take a nap in the shade of the barn while we kept competing.
I had so much fun both watching and competing in the competitions. The egg toss and balloon stomp were fun but my favorite is definitely hot potato (we used a motorcycle helmet instead of a potato). It’s just so intense and hilarious. Such a simple competition. It kind of reminds me of slap jack, which I also love. And I made it all the way to 2nd place! So that was awesome. Jack made it to 2nd place in the balloon stomp, making it the third time that he’s just missed out on first (it happened during both of the Olympics as well). Everyone, including Jack, got a kick out of that actually. He lost it to Everett this time. He also lost the RPS competition to Neil. So close!
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| Jack's moment of defeat in Balloon Stomp. |
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| Kid sack race--photo finish! |
After all the games we went back up to the main ranch house for food. Clara happily played with a yoyo. After some time some of the adults meandered into the field in front of the house to start the archery competition. I gave it a shot (get it??) but was terrible, haha. It was still fun. Then I spent a long time in the house watching Clara and hanging out with Julie and Zoey and Malcolm while Jack dirt biked with some of the others. At this point it had started to kind of sprinkle which was actually a welcome relief from the heat.
There was one moment in particular where I was standing on the upstairs porch deck holding Clara and watching everyone. Immediately below me were some of the kids had hoodies on (because of the sprinkling) and were playing with those little firecrackers that pop when you throw them on the ground (Wikpedia claims they are called “Bang Snaps”). And some parents were milling around having a beer or a rib or whatever and chatting. Beyond that, into the field, Ellen, Bryon, Everett, and others were continuing the archery competition. Beyond that, on the trails around the ranch, I could see Neil, Jack, and others dirt biking back and forth in the distance. The three layers of activity and the sweet summer rain and the happiness of having everyone enjoying themselves together was kind of touching. I tried to get it on camera but squirm butt (aka Clara) made that very difficult. Still a great moment though.
By now I was exhausted and apparently so was Jill. So we packed up some stuff and then Clara and I hitched a ride with her, Harrison, Sola, and Rocket back to the house. I was glad I did, too, because we got there and the house was clean and quiet and the kids went out to the hot tub and Jill went to (I think) take a bath, and I had the whole big cozy living room to myself (with Clara). She had spilled something on her July 4th top so I changed her into her “Awesome” sweatshirt, got her a bottle, and sat her back on the oversized couch to watch her Pentatonix video, which (thanks to Mike) we can play on the big screen through Roku.
And while Clara did that I started working through all the photos I took for the day. (I took so many videos it was overwhelming to think about starting to work through them yet, haha.) I had some great pics and I got to relax in relative quiet and take time choosing favorites and uploading. Later Jill watched Clara so I could also take a shower. It was a really good winding down part of the day.
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