Growing up, I had the most cousins of all my friends. My dad is one of 9 and each of them is married and has 2-4 children, so you can imagine how that number can large quickly. Most of them lived in our hometown, so we saw each other a lot and were good friends. One of my uncles had a river camp, and one time we got inside inner tubes and rolled down the levee (which is a giant sand hill that keeps the water in the river when in floods – for all you city folk). We also swam in the creek at South Park several times, burnt each other with illegal fireworks, caught frogs and fish in the pond in Grandma’s back yard, fought, played, and cussed at each other in secret (sorry Mom!).

Anyway, I always wanted my children to grow up with cousins who could take them a bit out of their comfort zone, have crazy good fun, and learn from each other. Then reality hits: I still live in our hometown, but my brother and two sisters live in three different time zones, the closest (Little Sister) being a “quick” 7.5 hour drive away. Big Sister is the only one who has kids, and they are a mere 8 hour drive away. Even though these cousins might not see each other too often, our little ones love each other and had a great time on this most recent visit.

The three boys took a trip to Pops’ farm and got to swim in the pond, pick tiny pumpkins, fish, and pee outside.

Pictures of the girls to come soon!