There were baseball games and campfires. . .
There were little ones with sticky hands from gooey marshmallow, graham crackers, and chocolate concoctions. . .
There were fire crackers and little ones tending to littler ones. . .
There was fun to be had and play to be accomplished. . .
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| Soon enough, Meadow, soon enough. |
There was the pitching of the tent followed by the Great Search for the Lighted Bugs. . .
And that was just the first day.
We had cousin’s visiting this weekend. My brothers kids spent three days with us and for the first time the cousin’s had an abundance of time together without the worry of the ticking of the clock that all too quickly signals time to part ways. I won’t lie, two extra kids made me nervous. Chad and I were prepared, though. The goal was to wear them out. . .
Chad and I were the facilitators, but the best part was the standing back and watching.
The sounds of belly laughter and silly chatter were endless as they took in the sights and the sounds of the zoo. . .
. . . and as we introduced them to our famous slide. . .
But there were quiet moments, too. Moments where little bodies were snuggled into warm sleeping bags on living room floors and moments when the silence was just right. . .
More than not, though, silence was fleeting and laughter chaos abounded.
Oh, and there was that one incident. . . The Attack of the Insane Ducks. . .
And this is family. The coming together and making it work. What joy it was to watch Charlie, Chanelle, and Meadow spend time face to face with their cousins. What a gift we had this weekend to make memories. To strengthen the natural bond that already exists between blood. As we watched cousins drive away this afternoon Chanelle looked at me and said, today is a little bit of a sad day. . . because we had to say bye to Jake and Ian.
Mission Accomplished. . . the bond is stronger.
As far as our goal. . . you know. . . the one to wear them out? Well, 20 minutes after they pulled away I put Meadow down for a nap and put Chanelle and Charlie in front of a movie and in seconds I, not my kids, resembled my favorite exhibit from the zoo. . .
. . . minus the tree.
Oh well. . . at least someone was worn out.
5 kids?!! Hello Super Woman. 😉
It looks like you handled this challenge amazing. I bet the kids had a blast! Oh how I wish our kids had cousins… they never will. 🙁 That little fact makes me want to have 20 more. You know, if somehow you could buy time and patience. Ha.
I love the photo of Meadow's perspective watching the kids play on the swingset. She reminds me so much of V. They long to play along side the big kids… Adorable.
What a great post, Summer. You gave me giggles all the way. What a phenomenal image of the boys behind the campfire flames!! And oh my, that gooey messin Chanelles's hand. Love the gaggle of geese. And yes, how nice it is to nap like a Kuala! Such sweet memories you're making. can I be your kid for a day!! lol
It looks like the kids had a great time! Reading this brought back all the memories that I spent bonding with my cousins when we were younger and now, how close we all are because of it! So good for the kids to have that! Beautiful post!
What a wonderful sounding weekend! The kids all look like they had so much fun together — I bet they'll remember this time they all shared for many years to come. My brother and his two children are coming to stay with us at the end of the month — seeing all of your photos has made me more excited than ever for them to arrive! 🙂 (And by the way, that is the coolest slide ever!!)