The 4th and Fireworks...

4th of July weekend is one of my favorite times of the year!  Not so much because of the fireworks or grilling hot dogs and hamburgers (although they are all good things) but rather a family tradition that has been going since the early 70's (that is since before I was even born)...

Our family goes camping together every 4th of July weekend.  And I'm not just talking about my parents and all my brothers...I'm talking about my Grandma and Grandpa Ware and their kids (my aunts and uncles).  For the past 25+ years, we've been doing this at Somerset Beach Campground, which is owned by the Southern Michigan Conference of the Free Methodist Church.  Granted, there was one year where we went to Cedar Point because the Lacy family (one of my my mom's sisters) was on furlough from the mission field and a couple years where we camped on a different weekends for scheduling reasons, but Somerset had pretty much been our holiday vacation destination.

We have so much fun out here every year.  We divide the cooking workload so each family only has to cook and clean up one meal and just enjoy the rest.  My meal this weekend is the campfire food so plenty of marshmallows and camper pies. If you've never had a camper pie (they go by different names in other places...or so I'm told) then you've never really been camping.  The a two-side iron skillet that you put two pieces of bread in with some sort of filling between them.  You close it up and set it on the coals in the campfire for about 30-60 seconds per side (see picture).  When you take it out and open it up...you have a hot, tasty campfire treat!  Fruit pie mix and pizza topping are common staples in our family but I made one with BBQ pulled pork last night and it was delicious.  Other fun combos that I've had include ham and cheese; peanut butter, honey, and banana; and chocolate with marshmallow topping (like a s'more).

For the rest of the day, it's usually just sitting around playing games or talking about whatever strikes our fancy.  Rook, euchre, and Scrabble are common place games but we've also been known to put together numerous puzzles.  We sleep in as late as the bird, babies, and dogs allow and stay awake until you feel like going to bed.  It just a great vacation and way to spend time with your family.

Somerset holds a special place in my heart for many reasons.  Our little family 4th of July weekend is just one of many reasons I love this place.  As I mentioned, the campground is owned by the SMC of the FMC and I grew up in the Spring Arbor FMC which is a member of that conference.  So, Somerset is where I went for youth camps and where the annual conference wide Family Camp takes place.  These grounds are kind of like hallowed grounds for me because of all the memories.  Whether it was sleeping in the old school military style tents as a camper when I was kid (and a teenager), enjoying the new lodges (in 1998) as a camp counselor trying to teach young kids about God's love, playing volleyball on the sand court next to the lake with the other teens during family camp, or swimming across the lake with the other staff just for the fun of it...they are all good memories.