It's That Time Again

The time has come my friends, 4th of July time that is.
The time when drinking from anything but red or blue Solo cups just feels weird.
When cut-off jean shorts and American flag t-shirts are considered fashionable.
Long days are spent on the beach, and short hot nights in the cabin.
It's time to watch boat parades led by ten year olds behind the wheel, and small town parades down main street full of rodeo queens on horses and old men in tiny go carts.
Bonfires, backyard fireworks, and corn on the cob. Smores, hotdogs, and barbecue chips.
Zac Brown Band in the sand, and Bob Marley in the boat.
It's time to celebrate the American way. And I am thrilled.

Here's a photo of Knox and I last year at the Norfolk 4th of July parade.
I believe this was right after the roller derby girls bladed by.

And then here's a throwback from 4th of July 1992...

Did anyone else's grandma get jollies off of lining up all the grandchildren from oldest to youngest and then snapping photographs of them?
Because my grandma did this on the regular. And boy was she mad when we all started to grow at different rates, you can see my cousin Megan already starting to throw it off by surpassing my blonde haired brother, Jordan.
"Hurry up and smile for the photo or your name's gonna be M-U-D." 
I can still hear my grandma's sweet words echoing in my head today.
"Stop picking all the meat out of the beans, Taylor!"
Rest in peace Grandma, rest in peace.
And no, I have no idea why she thought threatening us with the name "mud" would scare us,
oddly enough it always did.
Anyway though, can you find me? Clue: I'm the only one without a perm.
And in case you were wondering, the one legged baby on the end, my cousin Molly, was actually granted a leg for her 3rd birthday and walks perfectly fine today.
Just kidding, she's only hiding her leg in the photo. I think...

With 4th of July just a couple of days away, Chris and I are packing it up to leave the city and head to the Hamptons for a few days.
And by the "Hamptons" I mean Nebraska. One in the same really, just a little less white linen clothing,
and a little more denim overalls.
But speaking of packing, I was trying to be semi organized today and was laying everything out before just heaving it into my suitcase like I usually do, when it dawned on me that my wardrobe pretty much waits for this holiday all year long.

To say I like nautical colors would be an understatement.
I think I own 15 different versions of navy and white striped tops and dresses.
And don't even get me started on my love for white on white, or white on beige.
So I think I'm set to go for the next few days, then again nine times out of ten when I get to the lake I usually wear the same thing everyday regardless.

Even though I know it would be fun to stay in Chicago for the holiday,
I'm convinced small town 4th of July's are the best way to go. Besides, this holiday just isn't real to me until I see a few big yellow firework tents set up in parking lots.
Or until I go buy a few Black Cats or Lady Fingers.
And if you don't know what those are, congrats,
you probably had a much more classy upbringing than I did.
Just curious, but what says 4th of July to you?

And on that note, cheers to yet another nine hour drive....Catch you on the flip side.


*If I slack on posts for a few days follow along on Instagram @taylorgracewolfe