A Fried Chicken Fourth

July 1, 2012 by Susan Shay 5 Comments

Can you believe summer’s already a third gone? (Thank heaven!) Today’s July 1. (I checked my calendar.) It’s 4th of July this next Wednesday.

4th OF JULY. I love the idea of a day off in the middle of the week, but it’s not really a day off. We have a family tradition that I can’t escape. (Not that I want to.)

I fry chicken every year on the 4th. It’s good stuff if I do say so myself. (Aunt Phyllis, Mama and Grandmother all taught me how.) Here’s how.

Years ago, when the boys were all still small, we decided to go to OKC for the 4th and take a picnic, so I fried chicken. We went to a military park near the OKC Zoo. The kids had a great time, running around, playing army and getting in and out of the equipment.

I loved it. My kids couldn’t tear up military equipment, so I didn’t have to stay right on top of them. 😛 With three rambunctious boys, that’s a blessing!

After lunch, we visited the 45th Infantry Division Museum. G-Man loved it, I kind of enjoyed it, and the boys were bored. Remember I said we had rambunctious boys? We didn’t stay long.

The zoo was great, though. Zoo’s are built for buffalo and elephants, so kids can’t hurt them too much. All we had to worry about was the boys getting lost or climbing into cages. Thankfully, they didn’t.

Unless I have zoo confusion, they had a great aquatic show with dolphins. We loved it!

This 4th, I’ll be frying chicken again. I dream of S’mores every year, but don’t get around to preparing for it. Maybe Mama’s Icecream. 🙂 Here’s the link to the best homemade icecream recipe in my world. (Any flavor you want as long as it’s vanilla.)

Most of my kiddos will be here, which is the best part of that holiday for me now that they’re all grown up and I don’t have to worry about where they are and what they’re doing every second. With all the wives here to help, the holiday has become a joy!

And if I’m really lucky, we’ll have fireworks.

How do you celebrate our country’s independence?

host a wonderful Fourth of July holiday dinner party (lovemonkeybear.wordpress.com)
Peggy Horton: No limit on treats on the Fourth of July (wvgazette.com)

Author: Susan Shay

For as long as I can remember, I've loved two things--reading and people--and that led me to become a writer. Many of my stories are set in Small Town Worlds. I'm a wife, mother, sibling and an aunt. I have a deep faith in God, and an exciting life in Christ. Maybe I shouldn't be (after all, he's God!) but I'm constantly amazed at the things He's up to. :)

5 thoughts on “A Fried Chicken Fourth”

#1Son
July 1, 2012 at 8:13 am

I don’t remember the zoo at all from that day. I remember the museum quite fondly. I wasn’t bored at all. I was in junior high and had the Luftwaffe officer dress dagger grandpa gave me and was really excited when I saw their display of Nazi daggers.

- Susan Shay
  July 1, 2012 at 3:36 pm
  
  Wow. You don’t know how good it is to hear we did SOMETHING right as parents. 🙂 I think we went to the zoo that day, but I’m not sure.
  Could have been another day in the City.
  
- Susan Shay
  July 1, 2012 at 4:54 pm
  
  Do you still have that dagger, Danny?
  
Marilyn
July 2, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Fried chicken . . . yumm. And homemade ice cream! Vanilla’s the best — plus you can stir anything you want in to it.

- Susan Shay
  July 3, 2012 at 8:13 am
  
  You can stir anything into it, but after you taste Mom’s, you won’t want to. It’s yummalicious.