168-Hour Play Date

Behind the scenes of our recent 'round the clock cousin time. My Canon is still broken (it's on the to-do list before the weekend!), but I tried to carry the phone around so I could at least text photos to their parents each night.


Buby and Bleu were over the moon the entire time their cousins (ages 6, 11, 13) stayed with us. We had just come off a week-long beach vacation with their other cousins (ages 2, 4, 4), so this was a nice balance for them. The only minor challenges for me were Daredevil Ollie (who needs constant eyeballs) and the influx of modern technology. Buby's mind was sort of blown after seeing what other kids get to do/see/play on their devices.


The kids were such a joy to be around though, and I'm grateful for the time to get to know them even better -- as they are growing up too fast. We laughed a lot. A lot. And I look forward to more visits like this last one. My Sweets feels the same way. Now a few notes to self, to help me remember the week:


-A grand finale on the first night.
-Musical beds/The Movable Slumber Party.
-"Can we go swimming again today?"
-Bleu latched to G's side the first two days.
-Until she started playing more with P.
-Because Buby started playing more with S.
-S does not like his photo taken. Ever.
-He's an extremely good sport about all things... except having his photo taken.
-P gives me squeezey hugs now.
-i everything.
-G and P fast asleep during outdoor movie night.
-Baseball into the wee hours.
-Mint chocolate chip ice cream.
-Shoes everywhere.
-Whirlpools.
-Treasure hunts in the park.
-Running out of pasta.
-Ollie and P have the same blankie. Crazy coincidence!
-Bleu trusted G to trim her toenails. That's huge.
-No luck on the professional pedi.
-Shopping and lunch for the girls.
-G and the furry orange iPod case.
-Motocross and fishing for the boys.
-Benedict at sunset.
-Bubbles.
-Cookies from the bakery.
-P gets to try our foamie stuff after a sidewalk scrape.
-Yankee Stadium out of standard unit blocks.
-Children of the World puzzle.
-Music.
-G laughs when I ask "who sings this?"
-Handstand contests in the pool. S made it 28 seconds.
-Assembly-line sandwich making.
-S fits into Uncle Tom's sneakers. Seriously.
-Buby rising with the sun to see if the other lads were awake yet.
-And then falling back to sleep on the sofa outside their door.
-P looking at Ollie like, "Why must that baby cry every night at dinner time?"
-Welcome to what we affectionately call Cranky Hour.
-Dodge ball tournaments in the playroom. Inflatable beds as the first line of defense.
-Zombie tag in the backyard. Too scary for Buby.
-"Why are we walking if we can drive?"
-The yellow sunglasses incident.