Labor Day Only Needs Meat and Laughter

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We will be saying farewell to summer with getting all competitive in the family and by grilling large amounts of meat. It is the American way and we worked hard for this right! Labor Day weekend is one of my favorites because you have a whole summer to look back on and you can just indulge away because it is the last chance you get! (Getting to break out the Halloween decorations the next day doesn't hurt either!) This year, we are doing a Minute to Win It style tournament and a cookout. I made a poster with the teams (1 point for every task you complete), the list of the challenges (go on the website for the show and they tell you all about all of the challenges!), and our prize categories. The best part, is it is easy to find 10 or so challenges that use stuff you have in the house (don't forget a tiebreaker). Since there are a bunch of little ones competing, the top scoring kid and big kid get a trophy, as well as other categories such as sportsmanship, best effort, funniest, best laugh... Since we are family you get to win just for having fun. And I don't have to hear "but they got one and I didn't" and then dinner is this whole big drama ;)  I love the little ones in my family, but really. You gotta learn how to play them. And this really is about a fun summer day. And nothing is more fun than rolling eggs around the ground or shaking ping pong balls out of a box on your bum. Nothing.
I found little trophies at the dollar store and marked them with sharpies: category on  one side, date on the other. Bragging rights for life!

Except eating. Seafood and BBQ may be slightly more fun than shaking ping pong balls off your bum, but I think it is close. So, the other thing that completes the summer send off is putting your favorite food on the grill. I am going to boil up a pot of Frogmore Stew because old bay and shrimp and corn and potatoes and sausage is the best (I posted the recipe before, check it out. It is so delicious and so, so simple).

BBQ, meet your match: one pot of summer goodness. I think we all have room in our bellies for both ;)


Really, having a great Labor Day is just about getting near water if it is warm, having fire and meat, and something that makes you laugh. Enjoy!

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