A Fantastic Fourth

As is tradition, we headed to our hometown of Clear Lake, Iowa, to celebrate the Fourth of July with family this year. It is a 6 1/2 hour drive from St. Louis, but Samantha and Toby wouldn’t care if it was 612 hours. They start the countdown weeks before we depart and are offering to help load the car before the suitcases are even zipped. Feeding off his brother and sister’s enthusiasm, Trey was equally excited to hit the road, which was quite amazing since he often has no idea where we are going or how long it will take us to get there. On any given car ride, we might end up at the swimming pool - or we might end up at the pediatrician for the next round of immunizations. Luckily, he seems to be an optimist.

In addition to going on his first long car trip since coming home in April, and celebrating his first Fourth of July as a new US citizen, this was also the first time Trey met my parents (Mimi and Grandpa), my brother’s wife (Aunt Jamie), and my brother’s four boys (the Clear Lake cousins.) Dave’s mom and HT (Granny and Grandpa H.) and my brother (Uncle Paul) had already met Trey in St. Louis, so a few of the faces were familiar. I knew that everyone had patiently been praying for and awaiting Trey’s arrival and would be welcoming him with open hearts and arms, but I wasn’t sure how Trey would react to all of this newness. I tried to imagine what it would be like for a five-year-old boy to suddenly be surrounded by a big new family, in a new home, with new rules, and new foods, speaking a language he barely understood. If it was me, I don’t think I would have managed well. Trey, however, jumped right into things, and behaved as if he had been a part of the family forever. He played all of the games, tried all of the foods, and loved all of the people. It was quite remarkable to watch him. He was impressive.

Mimi always has an agenda full of fun activities planned. A favorite this year was an Ice Cream Scavenger Hunt, during which the cousins followed clues to guide them throughout the neighborhood in search of small brown paper bags, each containing a topping for the ice cream buffet to follow dinner. For Dave and I, dinner was the dessert. Since we’re not big fans of St. Louis style pizza (which is topped with this thing called provel cheese…think pizza covered in white Cheez Whiz), we insist on ordering pizza from The Other Place during every visit. OP pizza is like an old friend, and even if everyone moved away, we’d still come home just to be with it.

Everyone also enjoyed participating in the backyard Root Beer Tasting, where blind samples were rated on fizz, aroma, spiciness, saltiness, and overall flavor. Adults and children were given score cards and asked to grade each sample based on these qualities. Once all of the entries were submitted, the scores were totaled and a winner was declared. In case you’re wondering, A&W was the favorite, followed by The Barrel (a local brew), IBC, Stewart’s, and lastly, Dad’s, which was declared to be “skunky” and unfit.

For several years now, my mom has incorporated another family tradition we refer to as Christmas in July. Every December, after all of the Christmas gifts have been opened, one gift remains under the tree to be set aside until everybody returns home in July. It’s always a “group gift” that becomes a part of our Fourth of July celebration. The kids are always quick to remind Mimi that an unopened gift remains. Two years ago, the gift was an ice cream maker. Last year, the gift was a large tent which was set up for camping in Mimi’s backyard. This year, the gift was a Bee Boo Big Bubble Maker, a simple contraption which makes gigantic bubbles, sometimes bigger than the kids themselves. Creating the bubbles took some skill and involved running backwards while you maneuvered two large sticks and a rope drenched in a special bubble solution. When the kids were able to successfully release one of these impressive bubbles, we went crazy for them, jumping and cheering. We also happily boo-ed the adults for any failed efforts. It’s not a family for crybabies.

Something new we did this year was visit the Fossil and Prairie Center in nearby Rockford, Iowa. Apparently, Iowa was an ocean bed many years ago. In this area of the state, the ocean-bottom sediment never turned to hard stone, as it does almost everywhere else in the region. Every time it rains, fossils wash to the surface, ensuring that no fossil hunter goes home empty-handed. This was an excellent way to entertain six boys under the age of nine for a few hours on a hot July afternoon. We explained to the boys that fossils are not exclusively dinosaur bones, but that they could expect to find small sea fossils (aka – really, really old sea shells).

Clear Lake offers lots to do for the many visitors during the holiday. A carnival takes over the area known as City Park, a parade progresses down Main Street and throughout the downtown area, and an impressive fireworks show takes place over the lake. Clear Lake is very Hometown, USA. Several years ago, the Clintons and Mitt Romney, trotted in the parade. This year, it was presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich.

While all of that is kind of fun, it’s hanging out in my mom’s backyard with long time friends that I most look forward to. My mom has a very open door (or open yard policy) and welcomes everyone to stop by. Since my parents owned a restaurant during my childhood and never learned to prepare normal family-size portions, there is always more than enough food. My sweet friend Libbey Wood and her lovely sister-in-law Nicki stopped by to catch up. My dear friend Heather Datema and her super-cool daughter, Taylor, came by to hang out. We were also able to spend a couple evenings with our good buddies Matt and Nicolle Amos and their cutie-patooties. On the evening of the Fourth, the whole family wandered across the street to watch the fireworks with my childhood girlfriend (and roller skating buddy), Lori Brakke. We also had an extra special visit from lovely Karen Wistrom and her adorable little boy, Wesley. Wesley and his big brother Jayden were also adopted from Ethiopia through AWAA. It was their family’s story that started us on our road to adoption, so it was thrilling to be able to spend a little time together and watch the boys play in the yard.