the_matt79

The weekend that was the Fourth

Had a family reunion/get-together at the lake at my Aunt's house, which I wasn't sure what to think or expect from. I don't know why I was worried about it sucking, I guess it was the heat and being on crutches, but it was a great weekend. Start to finish it was great, got to give and take shit from my cousins, hear some old stories about the family and some new ones as well. The best new story I heard was that my dad apparently grew pot when he worked at a farm after high school, or maybe during high school. Either way he grew it in a barn that housed pigs, so it had a massive supply of fertilizer right there. My uncle Skinner was talking about how he went out there once with him and there were these trees, because they had grown that large. Who knew my dad was a cultivator of the pot? The only bad thing was that Skinner said he had another story but he wasn't going to tell that one. I guess that is the great thing about family reunions you get to hear the unexpected stories that like my cousin Shane said "sometimes there are things we just shouldn't know Matt" and yeah maybe, but it's more fun when we do know them.

I think I will show some pictures and comment on them as I go.

So apparently I can fish after all, this was a new revelation as I haven't fished in years, and my dad is an avid fisherman. I wasn't sure what to think about going out fishing with my cousin, dad, uncles, and third cousin, but hell when we caught 8 fish total and I caught 4 of them, I guess I did all right. That fish there was a 31 inch Northern, decent fish to catch on a hook with a worm. On another note, them sunsabitches fight.


This pic is funny because it features my cynical uncle Skinner, my cousin Shawn's gay buddy Miguel and my cousin Preston's son Tatum. My uncle Skinner is a harsh guy that doesn't sugarcoat a damn thing, but can be funny and not bad to have around as long as he likes you, and you will know when he doesn't. Miguel is a funny little guy from Minnesota who was entertaining, it was just funny that he got on Skinner's good side that quickly, and then you throw their little love child into the pic and our family will find this funny for quite some time. Quick sidenote my Grandma was leaving and was saying goodbye to Miguel, He said he would miss her and asked if she would as well to which she replied. "I will miss you, you are entertaining. There was a retarded guy that played bingo with us for a few weeks and he was entertaining too", and then she walked away. So my mom asked Miguel what that said about him. You gotta love the older generation don't ya.


That one is me and my folks, happy little family that we are. Me rocking the crutches like I did all weekend and for the next few weeks. Some of the cousins gave me shit about getting help /being waited on, but oh well mom likes helping me, lol.


This one here features the most kick ass tent ever. The tall pointed one in the middle is my dad's latest purchase a nice 4-6 person Cabela's tent. There was a larger Tent City the first day, but the Fourth featured a decent size storm that started taking out the other tents one by one. We went around securing tents tying them down to the fence around the yard, and taking other ones down to try to get it all figured out, basically a lot of running around seeing if we could do anything at all. Well, my dad's tent didn't have to have anything done to it all, it didn't move. He did move one stake so that the corner I was sleeping in wasn't as slumped in, but other than that, that sumbitch stood strong. It was roomy as hell since just dad and I slept in there, and we got these new Columbia cots that have air mattresses to put in them, tres comfy.

So yeah it was a good weekend. My cousin Shawn brought Leinenkugel Honey Weiss, which is the best beer to ever come out of Wisonsin, sorry PBR. There were 6 left so they got to come home with me. Oh yeah and he brought the Fireworks from WIsconsin as well so they had more oomph in them than the Montana ones we would have gotten out here, so that was a darn good show part of which we saw on the 4th but mostly on the 5th. Dad and I were talking to my cousin Shane about going back up there to fish again this year a couple of times, and I look forward to that as well.

Yeah I don't know why I dreaded the weekend, I guess it is just the hermit in me, but it was great, flew by, and really wasn't that hot, and when it was I just had to have a Honey Weiss and it was all good.