The Labor Day Party – Part 3 and Final

It’s Friday! Linking up with Conversion Diary.

Here is Part 3 and Final in my series on the Labor Day Party. Sorry it’s a bit belated, but I got distracted by the girls’ baptisms over the weekend and my parents’ visit this week.

Here are some random observations about the weekend, the Farm, the family, and The Party.

1.

A perfect illustration of The Party in a Walmart shopping cart:

I can’t think of any problem that could come up during the Labor Day Party Weekend that couldn’t be fixed with hand wipes, coffee, toilet paper, and/or a fire extinguisher. Probably should have some beer in there to truly complete the picture, but someone else was in charge of buying that.

2.

Families need to eat together.

My husband’s family is huge. And they love to eat.

My Mother- and Father-in-law are the absolute masters of feeding very large groups of people with maximum efficiency.

There are lots of good ways to do it. Weenie roast and lots of wings/fries are two that are employed every year during The Weekend.

My favorite though, is the shrimp boil.

I don’t know exactly how it works, but it involves boiling lots of corn on the cob, potatoes, hot dogs, sausages, onions, garlic, and shrimp with spice packets in huge pots.

Sometimes it includes lobster. Yum.

The tables get covered with plastic and paper and when the food is done, well, it goes on the table. Literally.

Food. On table.

What could be more fun than grabbing food off the table, eating it with your hands, squirting ketchup and ranch directly onto the paper…? No plates, no utensils, easy clean up. I love it.

Talk about family togetherness.

3.

I love how much stuff there is to do at the Farm. The bigger kids and grown ups do lots of boating, knee-boarding, and playing volleyball. There’s tons of fun for the littles too.

When a family reunion lasts a whole weekend, there has to be plenty to do.

Or not.

4.

Costumes make a party more fun.

The theme of The Party this year was “Jobs.”

After much deliberation, my older girls both decided to be marine biologists. Lass was going to be a zookeeper, but when she saw the wetsuit outfit I was going to order for her sister, she had to have the same one.

A cousin was also a marine biologist.

Baby Sis was a mommy.

The Band (L-R): Fast food worker, rogue accountant, blacksmith, Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs, trucker, and me, a tattoo artist.

Some of my other favorites:

The clown, complete with balloon animals for the kids

“Mechanic Man”

And, yes, The Lunchlady (complete with the full Chris Farley dance performed during the party)

One of my favorite lines of the night was overheard from my sister-in-law regarding a comment my niece had made about her dad (The Lunchlady), “This is my Daddy’s fake butt that he wears under his dress.” Nice.

5.

Families that rock together, stay together.

Father and son:

Sisters:

Mother and son:

Brothers:

Cousins:

A special tribute sing-a-long for their Grandmother,

Her favorite song, “Lord of the Dance.”

6.

One of my favorite parts of the night was watching my girls have fun on the dance floor.

And the dancing. Oh, the dancing.

Blister in the Sun:

The dance off:

“I ripped my pants!!”

And one of my favorite dance-floor traditions, the “Wipe Out” dance:

7.

An incredible weekend. An incredible party. An incredible family.