Summer Cousins

When I was a little girl, we would go to my cousins house for a week in the summer. The boys would go to one house and the girls to another and we would get to do all the fun things our mom usually didn't let us do when it was just us. I thought it was a wonderful tradition, so Marianne was kind enough to let us have her little ones for a week. It was great. We got to do all the things that the mom in our house usually doesn't let us do.

We:

Took a bunch of kids swimming. I guess one of the advantages of growing up in a big family is that it gives you the idea that "the more the merrier". Poor Wyatt just about had a heart attack when I told him we were all headed to the pool, but we had a new pool to check out and everyone had a great time.

Slept on the tramp every night. Damion came in almost every night around one and I don't think anyone got to sleep before eleven. Of course, everyone still got up with the sun. Maybe sleep is the wrong word.

Played a ridiculous amount of x box. When there are six kids who all need a turn, it is not hard to beleive that the x box could be on all day. The kids were disappointed that we did not bend the rules that far.

Bought a ton of junk food. We have been trying really hard to eat healthy this summer, so we have not had any junk food in the house. We have been snacking on fruit and vegetables. So...we stocked up. We bought everything on the bad list.... cereal, chips, candy, cookies, mac and cheese, pizza, hot dogs, kool-aid....if it was bad for you...we bought it and enjoyed it!

Had the water on all day. We played in the sprinklers, we played with the water on the tramp, we played on the slip and slide, and we played with squirt guns. We pretty much just played in the water all day.

Decorated every inch of ourselves with temporary tattoos. Of course, these were not the cheap tattoos and a week later, they are not coming off with excessive scrubbing. (Next time we will know the rules are: no face tattoos)

All in all, it had the makings of a great week.

We took off Thursday night and headed to Idaho Falls to spend the holiday weekend with everyone in Idaho Falls. We brought the camera, but once again, Adrian outdid us on the photos, so we will post them when he gets them to us.

We had a great time at the house in IF. Kevin and Marianne joined us Friday night and they brought some great fireworks. I think from now on, we should let those of us who live in Montana be in charge of the firework display. It was much improved from last year. Mandy came over to hang out and we spent most of the evening catching up and chatting with everyone.

Saturday started really windy, but we threw jackets on the kids and headed to the parade. In Idaho, they do not allow floats to hand out candy. My kids were sorely disappointed, but the parade itself was pretty cool. We had a lot of fun playing with Mandy and her gorgeous kids. We played in the fountain at Tauphis and then took lunch down by the river. Luckily, by then it had warmed enough that the kids could take advantage of the pool at Grandma's house. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the pool and enjoying hot-dogs, chips, watermelon, and soda. Perfect summer afternoon.

We ran home for a quick nap and headed back to the river to watch the fireworks. We have spent the last couple of years in Utah for the 4th and I had forgotten how great the fireworks are. They were spectacular this year and after such a fun packed day, we were more than ready to spend a day hanging out at the house playing and reading.

It was great to see everyone. Friday was Brayden and my Mother's birthday, so those who were not there, got onto the web cam and we got to see almost everyone. I am so glad that I have such a great family! I can't wait to see all of you as you come down for the summer. It was almost funny to feel homesick for those who were not there when we were the ones that were home. Thanks everyone who played with us. We had a great time and it was hard to get into the car and go home.