A Fourth of July Manual

How to have the PERFECT 4th of July Holiday:

First, you have to know someone, such as the Conlins, who own a cabin on Lake Roesiger, one of my favorite places on the planet.

You will want to start the day off with a nice attempt at fishing. Ben had planned out two buckets, one for the fish he wanted to watch and release and one for fish we could cook up to eat. I had to let him know that sometimes, even with your best efforts, the fish just ain't biting. But that part of the fun of fishing is the trying. Sadly, that held true this weekend. But he still had a great time giving it a go! It's a good thing to remember.

It's best to start early in the day, before the boats are out, when the lake is like a sea of glass.

After it warms up a bit, it's time to play in the water! You can float on it in the Big Bertha inner tube (Adam, Luke, Ben)... ...Or swim out to or catch a ride on one of the the kayaks to the water trampoline.

You can be really brave and just go for the plunge! This can be done alone or with a buddy (Papa and Zach).
If you're really, really brave you can jump off of the top of the boat house for some flight time. And in doing so you can show that you can make a man out of a boy, but you don't necessarily ever get the boy out of the man (Adam, my dad, Stan, and Adam's bro, Ryan)!

Or you can just take a nice swim with a friend (Josh and Adam; yes, I did get in the water, but no one got a photograph of that, since I was the main photographer!). It's also nice to just hang out and watch all the fun with some of your favorite people (my mom, Candace, me, my sis, Leah, and my cuz, Bek). You don't even need to get wet to enjoy the water (sis, cuz and my friend, Jen, whose family came to enjoy the lake too).If you need to dry off a bit, you can explore the Ryan Conlin nursery (Ryan, dad, A).

Or get in on some lawn games (Ryan, A). When it's time to get ready for dinner everyone chips in (this is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip, Luke shucking corn with my Tutu a.k.a. Grandma).

Because cooking together is much more fun than cooking alone (Dan, Adam's dad, with Derek, one of the Conlin's closest friends). Barbecue over the grill is only one option. There's also the open flame. Once the bonfire gets going, it will need someone to tend it...or a couple someones (Ben and Hannah, Jen's daughter).

Adult supervision for the weeny roast is always good (Jen with Hannah and the boys).

But the true purpose of the bonfire becomes clear after dinner when the s'mores fixin's are broken out. When the eating is over, you can finally just relax by the lake (Nicolle and her very close friend Kris, Derek's wife). Or the still, quiet, boat-free water can tempt you back for an evening swim. The boats have to be off the lake by 5:30pm...peace...ahhhhh...and no waves (Josh).It's actually the best time of day for a swim or float (Hannah, Josh and Ben).
And a perfect time for a trip out in the kayaks (Zach and A). But it's also nice to just snuggle with someone you love...small...
or big (Alea and Zach).
Because magic time is coming (Happy Birthday America)! Time for your pyromania to be tested in one way... Or another...

Or another!

Then you settle back to just watch and wonder, with patriotic tunes playing from the house as twilight falls and the big fireworks start up on your dock and all around the lake. As you look around the lake, it can feel like there is a competition going for who has the best fireworks display. We never win, we never really even try too hard, but we sure love watching the others go for it!