A Spare Kigurumi is a Shared Kigurumi... Almost.

Picture this scene. Your daughter is chilling out in the laziest form possible. Her kigurumi is prominently noticeable. So far nothing out of the ordinary right? But then you notice something. 

Something colorful, very colorful. It was another kigurumi.

If your first response is suggest something that would get you more involved with the item, then you're not alone. In fact, that is precisely the next thing Claire did when she asked Alex about the literal unicorn in the room.

animal kigurumi sleeping in a sofa

"Oh, so you have a spare that just happens to be in the same location as you right now?"

It was the main and the most important national holiday for that year's summer. Since this is the Unites States we are talking about, we are of course referring to the Fourth of July. But beyond the banners, parades, and fireworks, Claire is right in front of the mystical thing that her daughter left on the sofa. No, not a single expression of curiosity was specifically shown, but you wouldn't really stop and ask if it didn't pique your interest, right?

animal kigurumi siiting in the sofa

"Wanna hang out and relax with me then?"
"Sure. I'll just make the perfect excuse so as not to get this tomato plant out."

Adding fuel to the fire, the polar bear kigurumi-clad Alex immediately suggests that she join her. After a very short contemplation, and an excuse for her next activity not actually taking up much time, she immediately jumped in and wore the pastel hologram unicorn kigurumi. Almost without hesitation by the way.

animal kigurumi hanging out with a friend

"Can you scratch my nose? Your hand is closer than any of mine at the moment."

However, the moment Claire agreed, we already knew that this will not be heading towards a good direction. Like at all. The snapshot right above, which is the scene that opens up next, proves exactly just that. Within what could perceivably be just a an hour or two, both Claire and Alex get completely wasted a'la special couch potato mode. 

animal kigurumi talking with a friend

"Looks like an insane asylum? Are you referring to this pile of eaten stuff... or are you suggesting something else?"

Oh look, even Haley seems to have the exact same concern. Well, we definitely don't agree with her partial discrimination for the kigurumi. But we can probably let that one slide, on the occasion that we're not really sure whether she is referring to the kigurumi itself, or the absolute mess that is just several inches further away.

"Yup, Back to school, back to life. Thanks for being my stepping stone mom."

This is the point where we usually start seeing things spiral down into apathy. But, for the ever clever and astute Alex, this wasn't the case. Falling into the well is one thing, but using the person you just dragged down to climb back up is pure efficiency.

animal kigurumi siiting in the sofa

"Yup, he's too old for that."
"Uhh, my twenties are my prime hotdog-devouring years"

animal kigurumi having a conversation with friends

"Yep, you revealed too much too soon."
"But I've got this incident in the hospital where I just can't forget him anymore."

So yeah, we are completely left with just Claire to contend with her spiraling sense of lethargy. And this is while still clad into the mythical creature that she just questioned about a few hours earlier. First, she dives head-on into the serious(?) preparations the father and son duo have been doing while they were going into couch potato mode. Next, she tries to fight lethargy even harder while discussing matters of relationships with Haley. All within a predictable degree of efficiency... which is zero.

"I never realized that a missed minor event could be the reason for my wife acting up."

So what exactly transpired all throughout Independence Day for the rest of the Modern Family? Meh, the typical fanfare of course. Banners, parades, fireworks, misunderstandings, wild assumptions, unintended conflict, twisted logic, and apparently hotdogs too.

Happy Fourth of July?