Group items tagged

Summer vacation is finally here, and if you haven't done it already, it's definitely time to break out the barbecue grill. Many childhood memories feature Dad commanding our little charcoal grill, while the rest of us frolicked in the pool. Unfortunately, his skills were pretty much limited to puck...achem, hamburgers and hot dogs. The side dishes more than made up for it, though...particularly Mom's amazing pasta salad. Besides, it's more about the joy of being in the company of family than about the food, especially for the kids...yeah, right!

The Daily Kool had a great Fourth of July holiday this past weekend. We went to our parents, had an amazing barbecue lunch (courtesy of Dad and Weber's Way to Grill), enjoyed Mom's famous pasta salad and spent the early afternoon playing games with the kids. Ah, family togetherness...you gotta love it. Okay, who are we kidding? Fourth of July is all about the fireworks. Our city park has a spectacular concert and fireworks event every year, and the kids spend all afternoon, anxiously waiting for it to be time to go to the show. Unfortunately, the sun is still brutally strong when the show begins, and by the time it gets dark, the evening rains inevitably come out to put a damper (couldn't resist the pun) on our fireworks fun. Sure, we have a beach umbrella that we use to ward off the elements, but it's cumbersome and doesn't provide nearly enough coverage for our family of four.