Monday, July 6, 2009

The Fourth of July

Here at the Castlebury's we tend to stick around home for the summer holidays. While we enjoy going places/events during this time of year, often times things come up (such as house projects that need finishing up or being to tired or getting to late for us to go anywhere; time has knack of getting away from us over here!!) This Saturday, the 4th., we were planning on doing something during the evening hours; a nearby town had a festival and fireworks and a neighboring church had a celebration as well. But something came up... I mean seriously came up. Tristan had plans to round the bull up and take him back to Mr. T's farm BUT, seeing as how we don't have corrals, gates, or anything necessary to load cattle into trailers, Daddy and the boys had to round the beast up by 'hand'. Rounding him up took all day, several tries, lots of patience, and nimble legs to get out of his way when he ran at you. By the time everyone got back home it was simply to late to do anything; I'm sure the boys have quite a few interesting memories though!!! :o)

Thankfully, Momma had planned a special Fourth of July lunch which was heartily enjoyed by all of us!!! I think this 'celebration' was more memorable than ones from past years! Here are a few reasons why...

The newlyweds
Just a year ago, Trevor and Thelma had just began courting and now, a year later, they've been married for three months!! WOW!! The time has flown by!
It's always fun when they stop in. Trevor brings goofy, thoughtful, and interesting conversation with him while Thelma brings practical (well, to us ladies anyway... we usually wind up talking about sewing, books, or anything related to the pursuits we're all involved in) and fun times with her!

Laughing at Trevor
We out under the Pecan Tree, which is out by my garden, with the 'skeeters and flies. The conversation was quite interesting and never lagged a bit!!!
I'm not sure what's going through Sawyer's mind at the moment... he was having a great time!

After the meal
The menu was 'steak done on the grill, boiled corn on the cob (YUMMM!), veggies from the garden, fruit pizza, sweet tea, and homemade ice cream'. It was delicious!

Pitching in to help
Collin was a huge help at getting everything toted outside as well as making sure we all had dessert! Of course it helped that he was hungry or ready for dessert!
Everyone pitching in or offering assistance made the day even more special. Our family was all together and enjoying each other to the fullest!

Brothers
As disgusting as this may sound, the conversation at the point this picture was taken, was in regards to the best way to put a chicken down. Yes, we have some very interesting meal time conversation! :o)

Having our family all together, the terrific conversations, the way everyone pitched in, and just being together made this years 4th of July a memorable one!

4 comments:

Sarah said...

What a special time for you all, Ashley! I am sure you all had a wonderful evening together! It certainly sounds like it and looks like it by the photos. :) (By the way, it was nice seeing all of the photos of your family!) Your menu sounds delicious! (except for maybe the sweet tea. :)

I can imagine the adventure of rounding up the bull! It sounds like it would have been quite the entertainment for the onlookers! :)

Lydia W. said...

That sounds like a very fun 4th of July!! We also stayed at home as a family for the 4th this year. Although, nothing as interesting as rounding up a bull was the reason! :) We had been so busy with baseball season this year, that it was really nice to stay home and have a long relaxing day together as a family. Dad and Mom made gumbo (which was delicious!!!) and we all enjoyed it, since we haven't had any in a while. :)

Ashley said...

Sarah- Oh yes, we had a wonderful time together! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos...
Sounds like you don't like sweet tea... we need to fix that!!! You don't know what you're missing out on!!! :o)

Lydia- Thank you for your comment!! It was good to hear from you again!
I'm glad y'all had such a good 4th of July! I've heard about this gumbo your parents make... is it hot??
~Ashley

Lydia W. said...

Ashley,

About the gumbo... I'm assuming you mean spicy hot? Well,it isn't extremely spicy to us, but we all like spicy foods. Dad can also make it a little less spicy, especially if we are having other people over to eat it. :)

Maybe we could have your family over next time we make it, then you could try it, and we could visit, all in one! :) Hope you had a great day!

~Lydia