Summer is about cousins. It just is.

I had the fortune of having one of my cousins drive 12 hours with four of her five children to visit with my family for a few days, and we loved it (with the exception of R's pretty bad sunburn! Ouch!).

The two of us, along with six or so other cousins at a time, would congregate at our grandma's house when we were kids and swim in the pool until day turned to night and weeks turned to months and before we knew it summer was gone.

But it was this cousin who visited me this week who a very long time ago taught me how to drive. (A little before the driving age!)

And this cousin was the one I spied on when dates would drop her off at the doorstep and they'd exchange a goodnight kiss!

And this is the same cousin who would usually take me with her wherever she was going.

There's hardly a time when the cousins get together that one of us doesn't mention those days.

Thank you, Pami! ---SM


[Above: Pami and Lennox try to work my can opener]


[Above: Grant on the slip n slide]


[Above: C on the slip n slide]


[Above: E and L in the pool]


[Above: Cousins in the pool]


[Above: Cousins at Natural Bridges beach]


]Above: Kellen and C with their sandwiches]


[Above: Lennox and C at the beach]


[Above: Steph and G at the beach]


[Above: Lennox and Mom coming back from the beach]


[Above: Together for a family BBQ]

Girls' Trip. Relaxation. Enough said.


There are times when my husband, mom, dad, and sister (who watched my boys while I was "resting" my soul) know a girls' trip is just what I need.


There are times when going to the Lilith Fair and singing with Sarah McLaughlin while I stand barefoot with my friends on the beach at Mandalay is just what I need.


There are times when floating down a lazy river on a brightly colored inner tube while holding onto a friend's tube and talking for hours is just what I need. ---SM

[Above: Sarah saved our hides. Not sure how we forgot to buy fireworks for July 4, but Sarah pulled thru with sparklers and more. Whew!]

Good friends and fun. These are the days... ---SM

In case anyone was wondering, there's never a time when I think I'm bored. In fact, my kids hear that blasted "b" word on cartoons sometimes, and when they do, we talk about why it isn't a nice word to say. We don't have to look very far to figure out possibilities to appease our wonderment. Trade in about 30 minutes of drive time and voila, we're at the beach where the boys can dig, run, and get wet without having to ask permission.

I say, forget it all, get myself out there, and bring a friend or two along if I can. And the best part is that our Northern Cali beaches, like Natural Bridges, offer up a wide variety of weather patterns so as not to be too "bored" with the sun, either! LOL.

Just don't forget to bring a bucket or two (or Costco-sized cottage cheese containers which are real charmers 'cause when they break they came at no additional cost to the pocketbook). And the sand trucks are a nice touch, too. ---SM










[Above: Thanks to M and Z for adding to our fun today!]

If you've ever heard the song "Saturday is a special day..." my version goes a little like this:

Saturday is a special day
It's the day I sleep in
It's Daddy Donut Day!
I always wake up
To a chocolate round
And I call it the "don't worry about breakfast dishes day"!

Today Justin took all five kids (in the bus of course) by himself to the donut store. Sounds to me a little like a bunch of kids in a candy shop! He said their eyes were big, as they should have been, and they each picked out their own flavors.

White frosting with sprinkles anyone? ---SM


Grant


Maggie


Kellen


Ben


Lennox


[Above: In the bus]


[Above: Five children in car seats!]

There was a time when our family could have been a set of triplets and then a set of twins. While that didn't happen, we do have a set of seriously amazing friends who are as close as family can be. They let us borrow them for a few days while their parents went house hunting, and boy did we party as hard as three 4-year-olds and two 2-year-olds can do!

We started the morning with entertainment brought to us by the weekly garbage and recycling trucks. Next, we took a jaunt to the park "en bicyclette," we ALL napped (whew!), and we're looking forward to a full tomorrow! ---SM