I Hope It's Not Like Last Year

So -- plans for 4th of July? I assume that you all have them. My family (and by "my family" I mean "my mother") typically makes plans at the last minute, and this year was no different. Mom calls (at the last minute) to ask us to come to the beach for the day. Actually, she called to ask us to come out tonight, spend the night, and stay all day on the 4th, but we put the kibosh on that post haste. It's not that I don't love my family...I just love them much more in small doses. There is such a thing as "too much togetherness."

Now, a typical beach outing involves us loading up small boats almost to the point of overfilling with people, beach chairs, food, and multiple coolers of various beverages and heading for the nearest barrier island. This way, we can enjoy the beach experience without the hoi polloi crowding us and shaking sand in our faces. (May I interject here to say that it's nice to have rich relatives?) Anyway, we always spend the day lounging in the sun, eating ourselves silly, and swimming. JF usually utilizes this time to either make sand sculptures, or work on his juggling.

As some of you might remember, last year's trip was the occasion for my parents to fight like cats and dogs, using lots of profanities. The tension was suddenly broken when my mother broke the tension by way of flatulence. Hopefully this year, we can avoid both the profanity *and* the flatulence.

I will coat my pasty pale skin in SFP 178 and hope that I don't burn, and if I *do* happen to burn, that I burn evenly, and not like "Half a Lobster." Not pretty, and painful. Since Offspring is cursed with the same 'fair to albino' skin that i have, I will also grease her down well. Hopefully, this year, the "red" in 'red, white, and blue' won't be our skin.

I hope everyone has a great day! For my Canadian readers, I hope you enjoyed Canada Day back on the 1st. You hosers.