Midsummer Classic - Hall Family Style

One of our favorite family traditions is spending the Independence Day holiday with our good friends, the Perkins. I should say Perkinses, because there are three of them. And we love them all.

Madeline was one of Fletcher's first friends at Mother's Day Out in Oklahoma City. Ginny and I became friends through the kids and working out at the Y in our neighborhood. And we're pretty sure that during that time, Clark was slipping something in our drinks, because during our 2 short years in OKC, we all became OU Sooner fans, despite having lived in TX since the 1980's. (I am a native Texan, but I was born a little before 1980.)

This year, we met in Eureka Springs. It's not exactly a vacation wonderland, but the main objective of our annual get-together is less driving, more catching up. And eating.

Eating ALWAYS includes making a 4th of July cake, and the kids' creation did not disappoint this year.

Clark can be credited for single-handedly outfitting our children in Sooner wear. He is now adding OKC Thunder gear to their wardrobes. We like. They gave all the kids Thunder shirts, but it seems I forgot to take pictures. Blame the beard.

We do.

This is what happens after too many nights on call.

We love the Perkinses - for so many reasons. Over the years, we've shared great joys and great sorrows. We've watched our children grow from babies to pre-teens. And we've swapped war stories from the trenches of both.  And we know that if they've put up with the craziness that is the Hall family all these years, they're probably here to stay.