McClarty Rib Cook-Off

After Pepe's devastating (according to him) loss at the taco cook-off in April I think he really needed a chance at redemption and thus the idea for a rib cook-off was hatched. All in all there were six different entries and some of the family members even came early so they could avoid having to transport their ribs after cooking. Since we kicked off the Summer with a McClarty Party it seemed like a nice way to enjoy one of our last Summer weekends by spending time with family once again. The kids all had a ton of fun together and the boys loved having Auntie P to play with, getting to swim a ton, and drinking lots of lemonade. Unfortunately I was in the pool sans camera a lot of the time so I got few pictures of anything other than the kiddos. I definitely see another cook-off in our future as, once again, Pepe was not the winner, congrats to Tim who is our new champion!

Corn Hole

Tammi and Auntie P trying to help Reed pose for pictures

 

A McClarty Party

A few years ago we had a Summer get together with all of Pepe's immediate family so since we didn't do anything for Easter this year C and Tio volunteered (or were volunteered by me) to host a similar party in their recently finished back yard. Because McClartys are known to be competitive and also love to cook C added an extra twist by making it a "Taco Throwdown."

The Throwdown competitors consisted of Pepe, Jon, C, and Bryan. While Pepe definitely won the award for most trash talking, the four nominated judges declared C's chicken tacos victorious in the actual competition.

Kieran and Lyla napped during the first part of the party but joined in the fun later. For his part Reed warmed up to the big kids pretty quickly and had a ton of fun following them from the Bounce House, to the pool, to the basketball game, and back. I learned an important lesson - no matter how cold the water is, if there is a pool bring a swimsuit. Reed didn't seem to mind having to swim in his undies and I have no idea how the kids stayed in the pool as long as they did, it was freezing!

Before anyone left we were able to line up all the kiddos and get a second cousin picture by the pool!