cousin camp, July 4th

On Thursday we picked up husband’s sister (who had flown in the day before) and began day 1 of our crazy weekend adventure.  We drove to the zoo where we met husband’s brother and his adorable family.  The girls were thrilled to see each other and had a fabulous day together.  We had lunch, saw lots of animals, got ice cream, saw more animals and wore ourselves out at the splash pad.  Their favorite animal of the day was the polar bear doing backflips into his pool.  Or the brown bears that were playing tag, sprinting back an forth in seemingly random bursts.  Baby Z did great, sleeping through most of it and watching with big eyes from his stroller.  We returned to Grandpa’s house that night to figure out dinner and settle in.  With so many cousins coming to camp, we elected to take our trailer and set it up in the driveway.  The girls shared the back bed (their “nest”) and Z’s bassinet fit perfectly on the bench.  They slept surprisingly well all weekend, worn out from playing hard each day.

On Friday, the rest of the cousins began arriving.  It was a family reunion with Grandpa’s siblings and all their kids and grandkids.  So family trickled in throughout the day and the party just got more and more exciting.  The bounce house arrived shortly after breakfast and stayed all day—to the delight of all the kids.  Their imaginations took off and they played nonstop.  Meanwhile, the “grans” (my generation) snuck away to float the river while the siblings watched all the “greats” (my kids’ generation).  Husband and I took Z with us and split the adventure.  I kept Z, hanging out with one of my cousins and her infant son while our husbands floated the first half.  We met them at a halfway point and traded.  The float was fantastic.  It ended up being my bro in law and six women, with plenty of teasing and laughing as we drifted downstream, bouncing over rocks and running ourselves into trees.  Back at Grandpa’s house, we played with cousins.  I particularly loved getting to see baby Z with my cousin’s baby.  They’re only three weeks apart and so adorable.  We dressed them in coordinating outfits that I bought and got some great pictures.  The girls played non stop, with plenty of cousins their age.  They played on the swings hung from trees, lounged in the hammock, ran laps around the house, dragged out their favorite toys, played spies and chef and all sorts of things, dancing and especially, jumped around in the bounce house all day.  That evening we had  churrasco for dinner—Brazilian barbeque that was beyond delicious.  Husband manned the grill and the aunties supplied all the amazing side dishes and desserts.  (This family is blessed with some great cooks and an appreciation for great food!)  After dinner we played a rousing and thoroughly entertaining version of kickball.  My children clearly demonstrated their lack of familiarity with sports but had a blast anyway.  My favorite part is when E kicked the ball and then at our encouragement, took off running—in every direction but nowhere near the bases.  The evening entertainment also included homemade ice cream.  Each of the kids got to pick their own flavors and make it in individual size servings, which was possibly more fun than actually eating it.  And then we finished off the night with fireworks.

On Saturday, we feasted on omelets, fruit and French toast with buttermilk syrup and fresh whip cream (so divine!).  Then we scrambled to get everyone over to the lake.  Husband and kidsister had arrived several hours earlier to pick out a great spot, knowing the beach would fill up fast on a holiday weekend.  We spent the whole day at the lake.  We took the kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.  One of the cousins brought his beautiful rowboat and took the kids for rides and Grandpa rented a powerboat so husband took kids out tubing all day.  I spent most the day on the beach with Z and refereeing the kids as they dashed from one activity to another.  The girls tried all the water sports, played and explored with cousins, built sandcastles and snacked on yummy treats.  I took the girls out on the paddleboards and on kayaks.  A wanted to jump in and swim back to shore—I love how she challenges herself.  I think husband had a great time driving the boat and bouncing kids around on the tube.  We even took baby Z out on the boat for a short ride.  He had gotten rather fussy in the late afternoon but settled down with the motion of the boat.  A late afternoon rainstorm hurried our clean up but it was still warm and beautiful most of the day.  Eventually all the cousins drifted away and we returned to Grandpa’s house for a quieter evening of leftovers and a movie.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we took our little family home to shower and attend church.  And soon after, we were right back at Grandpa’s house for more time with cousins.  We made dinner, played outside, roasted s’mores and watched a movie.  Z had a rougher time sleeping the longer we were away from home.  I suspect his new teeth are still bothering him but he was happy to sleep in my arms.

On Monday morning the girls got to play through breakfast and while the grown ups packed and cleaned up.  We said goodbye to cousins and made our exit.  We dropped the trailer off at home and immediately headed north for an impromptu pool party at my sister’s house.  Her community pool was empty when we arrived but filled quickly in the hot afternoon.  We lounged under the shade canopy watching the kids swim and enjoying the perfect weather.  The men took Z with them to Cabela’s so I got to swim and enjoy the pool with the girls.  We barbequed more delicious food and had a fantastic time.  We arrived back at home in time to unload the vehicles and get ready for a fun evening.  The girls helped me make our traditional flag snack with blueberries, strawberries and donut holes.  We took it outside with us to enjoy while husband and Grandpa lit fireworks in our driveway.  The girls shied away from the sparklers but loved watching all the fireworks from a distance.  And all of us were stunned at the spectacular aerials that filled the sky almost constantly for an hour.  Several houses within our neighborhood had deeply invested in their display and it was incredible.  After our own little rather impressive show, we continued watching the aerials from the windows upstairs until we finally put all of our littles to bed.