snadblog

Dennis drove up to visit “The Land” this week (our property in Richmond). Neither of us had been there in months, so he wasn’t sure what to expect. Some things didn’t surprise him; the leaves were gone, the driveway was a mess, and the creek was dry. Unfortunately, he also noticed that the gate had been broken into and one of the padlocks was destroyed. While discouraging, it wasn’t that big of a deal to lose stability on this gate — it was an old rusty one that we used to replace our pretty red one that had been stolen last year (that’s right — somebody STOLE the entire gate last year).

A big plot of deserted, wooded land is hard to resist if you’re a college kid with a 6-pack of beer, so it was a pretty safe bet to assume that some kids had broken the gate to get in and have a party. Empty beer cans were scattered about, proving the theory. Not really surprising, because this sort of thing happens a lot.

What was surprising, though, is what Dennis saw when he reached the top of the driveway. The entire property had been mowed! See, we’ve got a neighbor named Paul who raises cattle, and last year he asked if we would allow him to mow our land for hay. Allow? Please do! We told him he could mow anything up there he wanted to, whenever he wanted, without even asking. Since then, we have noticed that he’s been mowing fairly regularly, which keeps us and his cows happy. The thing is, he was only mowing the grass. We had a lot of brush around the edges that was too thick for us to mow without renting a tractor. We once told Paul that we would pay him if he ever felt like mowing it all for us, since it would be so much easier for him to do it than us. And that is exactly what he did this fall. He mowed it all — the brush, the saplings, the nasty thorny bushes, and the grass. He did exactly the sort of thorough “cleaning house” that I’d been wanting done for a long time. We are so happy, and since he didn’t ask for anything in return, we plan on sending him a nice gift for Christmas.

There was another surprise waiting on top of the land, too. A trailer! It’s a heavy-duty 6×12 flatbed trailer, just like the one Dennis used to have. It’s in pretty good shape, and had a portable diesel pump sitting on it. Dennis was pretty sure it had been stolen from somewhere and abandoned on the land to “hide out” until the heat faded. To that end, he called the sheriff’s department to report it, in case its rightful owner had reported it stolen. An officer came out and took down information. He then told Dennis that if nobody claims it, it’s ours. “Law of the land!” he said. Paul was with Dennis at the time, so Dennis gave him the diesel pump, which we didn’t need, and Dennis took the trailer. Sweet!

The Independence Day cookout we had last month was a huge success. Many called it the best one so far, and I tend to agree. The weather was perfect, the food was aplenty and yummy, everyone had fun, and the whole weekend ran more smoothly than it ever has.

We made a couple of key decisions this year that greatly contributed to the success of the party. The first was doing as much set-up as possible on Friday evening, instead of doing it all Saturday morning, like we usually do. We set up the pool, tents, tarps, hoses, and some chairs and tables during the cooler late hours of the day on Friday. Saturday morning was then dedicated just to setting up the foodstuffs and perishables. By the time the party started, Dennis and I were nowhere near the exhaustion level we’ve been at in years past, and it was definitely a good move.

The second decision was to cook a meal that didn’t require a blazing-hot firepit. In the past, we’ve cooked over our 8′x8′ fire pit, on large grates with long tongs. That thing puts out a lot of heat, and supervising the cooking was not a desirable task. This year I opted not to have a fire at all — instead we had deep-fried turkey! There were two propane-fueled turkey fryers going (placed inside the empty firepit, for safety). We could just drop a turkey in, set a timer, and come back in 35 minutes to take it out. The cooking process was streamlined down to the point where nobody had to watch it and I had more time to spend with the guests. And to top it all off, the turkey tasted FANTASTIC! We actually cooked five 10-lb birds that day, and everyone ate it all up and loved it. All the turkeys were cooked in one fryer, and the second fryer was dedicated to the french fries and other veggies. We went through about 20 pounds of french fries, topped with anything you can imagine. Each family who attended also contributed a side dish to the party, and the end result was a feast that required far less work than in years past. And the food was great, too, so it was wonderful.

One other improvement we made this year may seem minor enough, but I think it had a big impact on the guests — I upgraded our typical port-a-potty rentals. One unit was a regular one, but the other unit was a larger, handicapped-accessible version which offered the extra space needed for parents to manuever with their toddlers in tow. In addition, we had a portable handwashing station positioned nearby, and I know everyone loved having the opportunity to wash and dry their hands well after a visit to the facilities. In fact, I don’t think we’ll be able to get by in future years without it!

The party crowd grew again this year, like it always does. With an open invitation, we never know how many people will show up, but our friends never disappoint. I couldn’t even begin to make a list of everyone I saw that weekend, because there were some whom I didn’t even know. Dennis did a quick headcount at one point and stopped when he reached 100. We estimate we had about 120 guests, which was awesome. It was so much fun to have so many friends milling about and enjoying the party. There were probably 40-50 kids in the crowd, and there were at least 10 of them in the pool at all times, having a blast and keeping cool. Those who weren’t in the pool were taking turns riding the 4-wheelers and riding mower, participating in the potato sack races, blowing bubbles, or feebling attempting to fly kites. In between all that fun, I was often led to the shaved ice machine to dish up snocones for the kids. Judging by the number of remaining cups after the party, I made about 75 snocones, and the kids (and a few adults!) loved every one.

To illustrate just how big the party has gotten, check out the conversation I had with a little girl as I was cleaning up after dinner: (She’s about 11 and I’ve seen at the party before, but I can never remember her name)

girl: Oooh! I see whipped cream! Are there any strawberries?
me: You can look in that fruit bowl over there, but I don’t think so
girl: Oh. Can we have strawberries for breakfast tomorrow?
me: Well…
girl: You’re the one who cooks breakfast, right? Are you cooking breakfast this year?
me: Yes
girl: Do you always cook breakfast?
me: Yes
girl: Wow, you must come to the party every year!
me: Well, this is actually MY party
girl: It IS?? Cool!

As dusk settled, the s’mores patrol went into action and gooey, chocolatey fun ensued. Soonafter, some friends and I started passing out glow bracelets that I had gotten for the kids. They each got three, which was enough to make a necklace if they wanted. The kids think they’re great fun, but the best part is that it makes everyone so much easier to find in the dark. All the dogs got some too, so they had glowing collars which helped immensely with keeping track of them. We had a lot of dogs at the party (at least 7, that I can remember), and they all got along well. The kids had somebody to pet at all times, too! Jack did really well at the party, which was a great relief. He’d never been around so many people before, or spent so much time at a large event. He took it all in stride, though, and didn’t bark, run away, or otherwise annoy anyone. He was content to lie in the shade or play with the other dogs. What a good boy!

When it was dark, we brought out the fireworks and put on a show. We opted this year for quality over quantity, and had about a dozen large multi-shot boxes. Most inspired “ooohs” and “ahhhs” from the crowd, and some of them were quite spectacular. A definite success!

As the planned activities wound down, folks split into three groups — those who left for home, those who took their children to sleep in the tents, and those who stayed up into the wee hours. I was of the “I’m exhausted. Good night!” variety, so Jack and I headed to the tent for some much-needed sleep, since I knew it would be an early morning for me. Even though our tent was quite close to the main area and especially to the music, I was zonked out in no time. Sunday morning I got up early, as is my custom, to prepare for breakfast. I looked around at the number of tents and cars and estimated that about 30-40 folks had stayed overnight — a really good showing. I went to the nearby grocery store and bought breakfast supplies. I got just about everything I could think of that didn’t require cooking, including doughnuts, pastries, coffee cake, Pop-Tarts, and cereal. I grabbed three dozen eggs and all the pre-cooked sausage they had on the shelf. I also grabbed some bananas and a carton of strawberries (as soon as that little girl saw the strawberries, she ran over to me, gave me a big hug, and said “Thank you!!!”).

I got back to camp and set everything out and started to cook. A low fire in a portable grill was enough to get the pre-cooked sausage hot and ready to go, and I used a giant pan directly on the propane burner from the turkey fryer to cook up the eggs. I scrambled the eggs with some onions, spices, and cheese, and they were a big hit (even though the melted cheese made at least one person thing the eggs were runny!). Everyone made quick work of stuffing their bellies and it looked like I judged the portions pretty well, leaving just a few things (and lots of cereal) leftover.

With everyone well-fed and rested, clean-up began, though at a slow, steady, and relaxing pace. Tents were taken down and tired kids were buckled into car seats. Everyone was smiling and happy and looking forward to next year, which is all I could hope for. The party was a definite success, but it was a lot of work, and we didn’t do it alone. Everyone pitched in, and some to huge degrees. We may have been celebrating Independence Day, but really it was sort of a “dependence” day for us, because we depended so much on everyone’s help and contributions. We really could not have pulled this party off without all the great help, and for that I thank you all sincerely.

Here’s to next year… I already have ideas on how we can make it bigger and better!!

(Photos are available in the gallery)

As the Summer months get closer, so does one of the biggest holidays in our family — Independence Day. This year, July 4th falls on a Wednesday, which is not a good day for an overnight party, so we’ll be celebrating the weekend before.

The Fourth Annual Vogt Independence Day Cookout/Campout will be on Saturday, June 30th and Sunday, July 1st.

More information will come later, but I wanted to put the word out now so you have a chance to keep that weekend free. Hope to see you there!