Fourth of July Traditions

   The Fourth of July was truly incredible. And the days leading up to it were amazing as well. America was blowing trumpets and throwing confetti, screaming "Happy Independence Day!" and singing the national anthem. Meanwhile, back on the St. Croix river, my family wasn't blowing trumpets or throwing confetti. No one was singing Yankee Doodle. Our Fourth of July traditions are a little different...
   We arrived, and were greeted by our unusually large family (My grandma had 10 kids, leaving me with 40 cousins, and that isn't including second, third and maybe even fourth cousins). Most cousins around the age of 10 were paddling around in the water, laughing at jokes while the parents sat upon the beach explaining politics in plastic chairs while sipping beers. After a nice refreshing swim that lasted a good 45 minutes, the jet skis were taken out and connected to tubes. Finally, Ellie (cousin), Rose (sister) and I hopped onto a tube and sped off, heads bobbing as we flew across waves.
Something unusual for our annual tubing experience, was that we got stranded, in the middle of the St. Croix. Al (uncle) treaded water as he spent countless minutes fetching the rope out of the engine where it had been caught. Rose leaning over the boat on her stomach, Ellie treading water while holding bunches of rope, and I, balancing on the tube, paddling over as close as I could get to help.
When we returned from tubing, we feasted upon brats, chips, and countless pasta salads, followed by chocolate covered rice crispy bars.
Soon after, the parade started. This was when all the children (10 years or less) decorated their bikes, scooters, and trikes and marched down the street to all american songs like "All the Single Ladies". The parade lasted through Gavin (2 years old) shrieking at the fact that he didn't know how to drive his trike.
When the parade ending, more swimming followed, but then we packed up. Cleaning up, saying farewell to Grandma until next weekend, and picking up your cooler, swimsuits, and sand toys to shove into your car's sandy trunk until next time. Then, we drove off into the sunset, up the curly road, and back to St. Paul.
      So yeah, I guess my family's Fourth of July isn't the exact same as "America"s. Still, we love celebrating the Fourth of July because it brings the family together and celebrates independence. Last time I checked, that's all the matters.