cousin camp 2012

Our 4th annual Cousin Camp was held this past weekend.  And I'm happy to report, I believe we out-did ourselves this time around!

The cousins were all super excited before the weekend began.  It's neat to think that they'll probably be even more excited these next few years as they grow older. 

They love being silly together.  Grant and Sophia paired up (as usual).  There were several times when the 2 of them would be off somewhere and we'd have to check that they weren't getting into trouble.  Jake paired up with Lucy most of the weekend - he loves to play with her and she LOVES the attention.  After the weekend was over and we were driving home, she kept crying and saying over and over again, "i want jake!"  And then there's Joshua.  Poor guy - he was a little bit of the odd man out this year being the little brother - but, he is pretty resilient and didn't let that get him down.

There are always lows during the weekend like this.  Poor Joshua got stung by a scorpion the first night.  He was very brave and thankfully recovered pretty quickly when we started roasting marshmallows.

They now make jumbo marshmallows - it's like the Big Mac version of marshmallows.  As if marshmallows weren't bad enough for you already.

After a hike in Cameron Park we had a picnic and let the kids play in the spray park.  Loved seeing them so blissful.

We headed to Lake Whitney on Saturday.  It was shallow enough that all the kids could splash and play.  I just love Lucy in a swimsuit, she has such great curves.

We spent one afternoon at the creek.  I re-discovered the place that Amy and I used to play at when we were kids.  We called this place 'the bathtub'.  The kids had fun jumping in the deep part.

We spent a good hour hunting and catching tiny frogs.  All the kids got into it, and even Amy overcame her fear and caught a few :)

A new addition to Cousin Camp: Cousin Olympics.  We played games that we already had supplies for - hence, pillow case races.

My favorite - the egg toss game.  This was taken seconds before the egg cracked all in Sophia's hair.  At which point she completely lost it in a total meltdown.  I don't think it ever occurred to her that the egg might crack on her.  She was not a happy camper.

The finale was a game in which you had a minute to throw as many cheezits as possible at your partner, who was covered in shaving cream.  Sophia of course didn't want to get dirty herself, but was happy to throw handfuls towards Grant.

Last game of the weekend was a ranch-wide scavenger hunt.

They had 8 clues and at each stop they collected pieces to a puzzle.  At the end, they each had to complete their own puzzle in order to gain a prize (bubble gum, always a cheap thrill).

Cousin Camp was exhausting, but not as much as previous years.  It was hard to find a weekend that worked for both of our schedules, but I'm so glad we've made it a priority.  I can't help but think of new fun things we can incorporate as the kids get older.  It's also amazing how you can create such fun memories for little to no cost.  We made all our meals and all our activities were free or close to free.  The only thing we really paid for was the movie we saw.  

To end, here were the highs and lows we had over the weekend:

Lows: Joshua's sting, Lucy teething and not sleeping at all Saturday night, bull-nettle encounters

Highs: the creek stomp because it reminded me of being a kid, finally seeing the bald eagle at the river after 2 failed attempts, the quiet time at night after the kids went to bed when Amy, Brad, and I could just talk, AND....pulling an entire string of spaghetti out of Lucy's nose after a chocking incident - who knew that could happen??? It was crazy!

Here's looking forward to Cousin Camp 2013!

recap and onward

I dislike the blog feature that tracks how long it's been since your last post.  I just watch the days move to weeks, move to months, and 'ahhh!' I want to write, but there seems to be little time or inspiration.

The last 2 months have been full, on all fronts.

1. Lucy started Waco Montessori this week.  We bid goodbye to Marian, a true God-send who loved her and cared for her over the past year and a half.  Day 3 and still lots of tears.  Grant prayed that she would 'be happy and not sad at school and not cry' the past 2 nights. 

2. Brad and I celebrated 10 years.  I still remember the first time I saw him.  On the ski trip I ended up on when someone else canceled.  Him in his blue and yellow Abercrombie sweater.  We rode a ski lift together and he was a great conversationalist.  I immediately had a crush.  Seven months later we were dating and 4 years after that we were married.  He's my best friend and true teammate.  We had a great getaway in San Antonio.  It's amazing how much time is in a day when you aren't caring for children.  We ate at our favorite restaurant, I read an entire book cover to cover (a Pulitzer Prize winning book at that), we saw two movies, we slept in each morning, and we spent hours by the pool.  All in just 2 days!!!

3.  Grant got his first stitches.  Without us.  He spent a few days in San Antonio and was royally spoiled as usual.  Poor guy was excited to get out of the car at the Children's Musuem so he could go see the Reptile guy and he tripped - 6 stitches later his chin was all repaired.

4. I've been making loaves and loaves of white bread.  I realize this is a sin in an increasingly gluten-free world.  In fact, I kind of want to explore a more gluten-free life.  Yet, I can't stop making homemade country white bread.  Fresh out of the oven with butter and honey - there's nothing better.

5. I continue to drive to Temple, Texas on a regular basis just to buy yogurt.  I am practical, logical, scheduled oriented, and I espouse a mantra of 'work smarter, not harder', yet I love 3 Happy Cows yogurt so much I will drive 30 minutes one way just to buy a weeks worth of yogurt.

6. Brad turned in his final draft for his doctoral project May 29.  Now he is just awaiting the directive for revisions with hopes of defending in July and graduating in August.  When that day comes, it will be worthy of quite a reflective post.  I'm so proud of him for getting this far (5 years in the making) and just so glad it's almost over for all of us.

7. After 8+ doctors and a year and a half later, Brad saw a doctor today who said he thinks he can help him.  He will get his first pain injection on June 18.  It's been such a long journey and it's really impacted our family life in so many ways.  I know it might not work, but I am so thankful for a glimmer of hope.

8. Watermelon.  It's that time again.  Estimate we will be going through 2 a week this summer at the rate we are going.

There have been lots of other things that have filled the past two months.  A full plate at work with hiring new staff, meetings about the community garden we are starting at BBC, several fun weekends at the ranch, a fishing trip, bike rides, and much more.

Now all the sudden, summer is here.  I love it already.  I don't care that it's hot.  I love how late it is before the sun sets.  I love grilling corn on the cob and letting the kids play with the water hose and the sounds outside at night.  Here's to the next few months that lie ahead.