On a warm, sunny spring morning, an assortment of men and women, young and old, swarm around carrying lawn chairs, nap snacks, and buckets filled with bottles of ice-cold beer. Children in T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops chase each other across the turf. Chatter and laughter can be heard beneath popular music from the 1990s and early 2000s as it pumps through enormous speakers. Punctuating it all, bean bags thump against 32 wooden boards.

 It’s April 18, 2015, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Welcome to the American Cornhole Organization (ACO) Majors, Season X.

 People from all over the country mill around the sign-up tent to check-in, while others warm up at their designated spaces, preparing to compete. Kim and Greg Howard sit in canvas chairs behind a fold-out table and survey the scene under a small, white tent with T-shirts and hats set up all around them, all sporting the same slogan.

 “We are Cornhole Life,” said Kim, “this is what we do.”

 The Cornhole Life co-founders used to be competitive archers, but after their children grew up and moved out, Kim said she and her husband took up cornhole.

 The Howards play in the region known as North Georgia Cornhole and compete in tournaments all over the country. 

 Kim said that she and Greg were sitting in traffic one day when they noticed a Salt Life sticker on the back of a car. Greg turned to Kim and said, “You know, we could do Cornhole Life, because that’s our life.”

 With that statement, Cornhole Life was born.

“We’ve gotten the name trademarked and are going to have it registered very soon,” said Greg.

 Greg said that his father was a little upset when he found out that the Howards were spending their time playing cornhole because, in his generation, the name had “dirty” connotations. So, in their league in Georgia, they came up with a slogan.

 “Our little logo was ‘It’s not as dirty as it sounds,’” said Kim. People seemed to like the statement, so Kim suggested that they put it on their shirts.

 Kim said that the business started just this year and that, so far, it’s doing really well.

 “When we got here, I had on a shirt and some of the people at the hotel said they liked it,” said Kim. “We sold four or five shirts at the hotel before we even checked in.”

 The Howards have been married for 31 years and playing in the ACO for five years. They used to be cornhole partners, but now they play separately.

 “For the sake of the marriage, we cannot play cornhole together,” Kim said, tossing her head back with a laugh. “After we had to leave one day and have a cuss match, we decided it was time to end that relationship.”

 Greg returned to the tent and settled into his seat after competing to earn points to improve his standing in the singles bracket for the upcoming Worlds competition in July. Kim competed in the women’s category the night before. Neither were pleased about their performance, but as familiar faces passed by with smiles and greetings, they were reminded that it’s more than a competition for them. It’s a family reunion of sorts.

 Kim’s eyes shone as she looked out over the crowd and said, “We’ve met a lot of great people. I just hope I see it continue to grow. It’s great to just kind of look out and see a Cornhole Life shirt and know that that’s ours.”