Fourth of July, or You Can Go Home Again

If you look closely at this somewhat blurry, scanned-in photo from an earlier century, you might be able to see me on July 4th, 1999.  Actually, I'm probably out in the boat, which is conspicuously missing from its dock beyond the pier house on the left-hand side.

I don't actually know who's out in the pier house in this photo. Or who left their water, soda, or beer in the foreground of this photo. I just know that at my Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave's house, July 4th is a big event.  Whether you're a kid, a sullen teenager, a young adult, a new parent, an adult who's not so young anymore, a grandparent or a great-grandparent, there's a place for you at Carol and Dave's celebration.  Everyone is welcome to get in the water (although it's mostly the kid who do that), and ride on the boat - the kids have dibs on the front.

Cousins on the boat

Others sit on the porch and catch up, take out a jet ski, sit in the pier house, eat hamburgers, hot dogs, and Fourth of July side dishes (including my mom's red white and blue jello salad), watch baseball, and of course pick crabs.  For Baltimore newbies like my husband and kids, learning to pick crabs and riding the jet ski are rites of passage.

Crabs with Old Bay seasoning

Husband Paul with almost-6-year old

Of course there are also Fourth of July desserts - this year, a variety of gummy items, star-shaped cookies, and a flag-theme cake constructed by my cousin Erin and her preschooler.

Flag cake in progress

 
Over time, the people change, but a lot remains the same. There's a good chance that many of the people who were there in 1999 were also there this year, 2017, when I finally made it back with my family.  I was very excited to finally be back, and when I stepped out of the car and saw half a dozen family members, I was home.

Over the course of the day I saw a lot of family, some familiar faces (turned out to be my aunt and uncle's neighbors who have been coming to this party for years) and recognized a lot of the "roles" - the players have changed, but there are still:

1) Older people sitting on the porch, being fussed over by their grown children until they finally go inside to watch baseball.  This used to be my grandma's role - baseball-watcher and dessert police...now it's occupied by my aunt's mother.

2) Excited kids in splashing in the water, and being amazed that you can swim under the pier. This used to be me - then it was my younger cousins and their friends, now it's my kids and their cousins.

3) Providers of food. So far I have avoided being part of this group but it's not far away. I'm going to try to get my sister to make the jello salad, though.

4) Young adults I don't know, who must be friends of someone. Mostly, this year, they were friends of my cousin Nancy who now lives in Virginia, but her friends were out in force to welcome her back to Maryland - and participate in the ritual of tossing her off the end of the pier.

And of course, there are the hosts - my Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave.  Through the years they have welcomed everyone year after year, a changing cast of probably by now, thousands.  A sure-fire conversation starter if you don't recognize someone is, "How are you related to Carol and Dave?" Because everyone is, whether they're family, or friend, or child of one of the above.

Uncle Dave with 2-year old Claire in 2013

Aunt Carol with my mom, in 2003

In 2003, I brought my future husband to "meet the family." He had met my parents, but in order to introduce him to the larger clan, I chose Fourth of July at Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave's.  That year was my Uncle Pat and Aunt Janet's 25th wedding anniversary, so most of the pictures I have are extra festive. But some look just the same as the ones I took in 2017.

On the jet ski....

Whether it's 2017, 2003, 1999, or even further back, I can go home.  All I have to do is time my visit for the Fourth of July, and Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave's warm welcome to all.

Rodeo Rainout

This year, I decided I wanted to take the girls to the Rodeo.  It's one of the big events in Tucson, after all.  La Fiesta de los Vaqueros. We have been to the Gem and Mineral show in January for the last two years, and I thought the Rodeo would be a good adventure, too. The last time I went to the Rodeo was many years ago, when Andrea and Steve came to visit.  I remember it as being fun...and sunny. Which is the great thing about Tucson in February - it's usually sunny, and warm by the afternoon.  But not this past Saturday.

Audrey was super-excited to go - she even found the Western American girl clothes we inherited and dressed both herself and her doll Nora for the Rodeo. My mother-in-law Pat loaned me her Western shirt, and although Claire didn't have any Western garb, she was willing to come along too.

We were ready.  The weather was iffy - it had been windy in the morning, which is a sure sign of a weather apocolypse in Tucson - oh my gosh, it's WINDY! It had rained a bit on us as we drove home from dance class, but it was clearing...or so it seemed.  I figured, "It's Tucson, how bad can it be?" We put on our raincoats and went.

We caught about 15 minutes of the Junior Rodeo - we missed mutton bustin' (where instead of bulls, the kids ride sheep...by the way, if you're ever feeling sad I recommend googling "mutton busting"...) We just saw a bunch of little boys getting trophies.  We caught team roping, where father-child teams tried to rope a calf - only a few succeeded.   An 11-year-old boy and his dad were the winners. 

Here are Audrey and Claire with the calves, pre-roping:

Then we had an hour to spend wandering around the rodeo grounds before the Pro Rodeo started.  I thought this might be boring for the girls, but I was wrong - all it took to keep them (pretty much) amused was $4 worth of cotton candy. Claire later said this was the best part of her Rodeo day.

We also saw some animals - no pictures of the mutton bustin' sheep, but we did see a lot of bulls, and some horses, being riled up for photos by a cowboy on horseback in their pen.

Finally it was time to take our seats for the Pro Rodeo.  We walked all around the arena and picked some good seats.  It was sprinkling rain, but the Rodeo started with the ceremonial moving of the tractor and the Ram truck out of the arena, while we watched commercials (I didn't remember this from before...I think the Rodeo TV screen was new...).  Then the announcer called in the riders representing the four millitary branches and the prisoners of war/missing in action (POW/MIA) soldiers.

It was very patriotic - all the millitary branches got a cheer, then a rider circled the ring with the American flag while a singer sang the national anthem.  Then the announcer said a prayer, declared the Rodeo had begun...and the skies opened up and it poured down rain.  We tried to tough it out, but from being outside for appoximately 2 minutes in the rain, we were completely soaked.  We saw two bull riders, and two steer wrestlers, and we were done.  It had stopped raining but it was still cold, and windy and we were soaked.

Adios, Fiesta de los Vaqueros, and we'll see you next year - in better weather.