Fun at Stinson

We had a fun weekend. Our brother and sister-in-law had their ten year wedding anniversary and her parents invited us out to Stinson, to the house they rent most summers, to spend the day with them.Cousins AND water, it doesn't get much better than that as far as our kids are concerned.

She's such a great Aunty - Asia could not be happier!

All they need in life is Lego and each other!

The boys finally made it out too.

A little crafty gift for their anniversary.

Then we rode bikes to the beach before heading home. Fun, fun times!

Cousins

The kids absolutely adore their cousins, I feel very blessed for the relationships they have together and how close they are, both emotionally and in terms of proximity. With my brother and sister-in-law both working, the cousins spend a lot of time in camps over the summer but we got to have an all day play date today.

Laughing and lunching

They like to pretend they are twins and do their hair the same and wear similar clothes. Doggy is a bonus cousin!

We started at our house but then headed to the cousins' house. Of course had I been at home I would have had dishes or laundry or who knows what else, to do. But not my home, so I got to put my feet up and read for a bit in the sunshine while the kiddos played.

Easter Weekend

I have always felt a little cheated over Easter, since moving to the U.S. In England, both Good Friday and Monday are holidays, yet here there are no public holidays over the Easter period. Sure you can celebrate on Easter Sunday, but you are given no extra time to really enjoy  Easter. It is such an important part of our  year, a time to remember why we have the life we have, that we totally do not deserve. It came at a price, and somebody, Jesus, paid that price for us. Sometimes the words ‘celebrate’ or ‘enjoy’, don’t seem quite appropriate, there was a gruesome death and heartbreak involved…but there was a wonderful, happy ending and so we do celebrate and remember with gratitude.

‘The cousins’ came over for a play date on Friday afternoon and we colored eggs and talked about Easter and it’s true meaning. If we don’t talk about these things, then it would be all about the eggs and egg hunts and chocolate and candy, those are the easy things for children this age to remember.

We had fun, getting messy and dying our eggs, but it was short-lived…there was much playing to do.

On Saturday we continued with our tradition of coloring eggs and filling plastic eggs with some friends, for our church’s annual egg hunt. It is amazing that it only takes a time or two of doing something and in a child’s mind it is expected, it has already become tradition. I was unsure if this was happening this year and the disappointment for Arran was tangible. He fully expected to go to the Busch’s house and do eggs, that is what we do at Easter and thankfully that is what we did. Asia was napping at the time, so I do not have photos this year, but it happened and they loved it.

On Sunday we had church and our first ever egg hunt IN THE RAIN!

The kids did not care, they ran around eagerly hunting for eggs, then returned to us like little drowned rats.

Some of us watched from under the eaves and a few brave souls ventured out with the children. I had the excuse of a camera I did not want to get wet, so was able to stay dry myself, but James was a fearless leader, a loving father who happily joined the fun.

Cousins

With so much of our extended family so far removed, often times I sense my children confused. They have the theory of grandparents, but the sad truth is, that there is not much reality there. They know that Grandma (my mom) is in heaven, but I overheard Arran the other day talking with a friend and saying that when he gets to heaven Nanny Pam (my dad's wife) will be waiting for him. There is no concept at all of James' mom and I think they just think that Grandma Betty must be his mom, not that they remember her either.

If only we had all the money in the world and could travel whenever we wished, sigh!

Some of my children's most favorite people in the whole wide world though, are their cousins. There is that true love and sense of family. It is so great that Arran and Bryttain both have a cousin of the same sex, very close to their own age and they all love Asia of course. We have been very fortunate in the last couple of weeks to have been able to see them twice and the kids have been almost beside themselves with excitement. Each day Arran would tell me he was so excited, because it was x number of days until he would get to see his cousins. He locks those dates in his head and holds on to them like a terrier with a rat. I dare not tell him of prospective dates until they have been firmed up and put on the calendar for fear of the dismay and anguish, should said date get canceled.

I am so happy that they at least have this concept of family.

Arran and Ireland, far too busy playing to stop and pose for photographs.

So we tried with the girls, who sat in place, but we ended up with a lot of out-takes!


Then Bryttain dared Michaelanne to call that cute boy down the street...just kidding, they're listening to music...just give it a few years though!

Fun at the pumpkin patch

Yesterday we paid our first visit of the season to a local pumpkin patch; Adobe Pumpkin Patch, here in Petaluma. We met up with the cousins and some friends and had so much fun. Between clambering up the hay bale displays, jumping on the bouncy house, looking at pumpkins and flowers, visiting the animals, eating some lunch, the castle, the teepees, ALL the pumpkins...everywhere....of every size and shape and type imaginable.

It was a beautiful day, very warm, not too hot with a slight breeze. The kids all did great together and did not want to leave, even though it was way past my kids' nap times. I love for them to get to do fun things, to get to just be kids and laugh and play, without the worries of the world that can bring us all down at times. This was one of those times where it was all about fun and being outdoors.