Week with Cousins - August

I'm still recovering from the month of August. It was an overload of fun, and we were on the go non-stop. The highlight of the month was definitely our week long visit with cousins! Cousins, Aunts and Uncles that we hadn't seen in a very long time, and that Layla had never met before. 12 adults and 10 children (under the age of 7), in one house, made for a seriously fun and crazy week. The kids spent countless hours in the pool, and that was our saving grace! It rained several days, but that certainly didn't stop them from swimming their little hearts out.

So much preparation went into planning for our time together, and I'm so thankful for all of the helping hands that made it all happen. Just the thought of feeding 22 mouths, three times a day for an extended period of time is enough to make anyone's head spin! If it weren't for my detail oriented, extra organized mother in law, I think we all would've lived off of cereal and pb&j's for the week!

 

The highlight for us was definitely being able to finally introduce Layla to the rest of her family. New babies in the family make it that much harder to be so far away from each other.

 Layla meeting her Aunt Becky, Uncle Jason, and cousins Noah(6) & Colin(3).

She then met her Uncle Matt, Aunt Sarah, and cousins McKenzie (turned 7 this month), Maddie (5), & Micah (3). I keep telling Sarah to send Maddie back to live with us...she was SUCH a little helper to me all week.

 

The kids were all SO sweet with the baby, and each spent countless hours by her side. It was so cute watching them all love on her and fight over who's lap she would sit in next.

The kids all played really well together, and we had far less squables than I had anticipated. Now that we have more big kids than babies, there was less to worry about. Nana turned her dining room into a master playroom, and the kids loved it. From mile long train tracks, to doll houses and kitchens, they had plenty to keep them entertained!

Like I said...lots and lots of swimming. :)

And sugar...WAY too much sugar. 

 And a lot of celebrating! We celebrated GG's 80th birthday, McKenzie's 7th birthday, and Luke's 2nd birthday. It's always extra special to be able to celebrate birthday's when we're all together. And I know for sure that there's no other way that GG would've wanted to spend her 80th birthday!

We spent one beautiful morning at the beach together, and that was our last horrah.

 

These 10 children are a constant reminder of how much our family has been blessed. Though we're miles and miles apart, the kids will always have the sweetest memories of their fun times together each year.