Growing up my grandparents, cousins, and the rest of my extended family all lived about 10 hours away in Michigan. The time we got to spend together was special and I have fond memories of hanging out with my cousins, having sleepovers, and crashing at our grandparents. I always hoped that one day my kids would be able to create some wonderful memories with their cousins too.
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| Two girl cousins and one dinosaur |
This weekend the kids I took a road trip for the long weekend and headed to North Carolina to see my brother, his wife, and their two kids. It's about a 6 hour drive so it takes some planning, but thankfully my kiddos are pretty decent with car trips so it doesn't cause too much anxiety making the trip. We usually try to make the trip every couple of months, but we hadn't been down since November so our time to play with the cousins was long overdue. We left Friday right from school and then came back Sunday night. Short, but definitely a sweet visit.
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| The boy cousins - can you spot my nephew? |
The weather was absolutely gorgeous down there so Saturday we were delighted to spend the afternoon outside. Coming from weather barely making it out of the 30's to weather in the 70's was awesome! After morning naps, we headed to the park where the kids had a blast playing with each other. After playing, we were all pretty hungry so we headed to a local restaurant where we enjoyed lunch outside on a deck while watching boats in a marina. The kids enjoyed walking down the pier and talking to the parrot that was on the back porch too. Outside restaurants are always good choices when taking four kids out to eat! The afternoon was spent taking a walk and playing in the back yard on the swingset and trampoline. Finally, we ended a pretty perfect day with barbecued cheeseburgers and corn on the cob. Delish.
My brother is an active marine and will be leaving this summer for his 4th tour overseas so I'm glad the kids had a chance to play with him too since he was also off for the weekend. I love this picture of him playing with all the kiddos on one of those bouncy things. Can you spy my little nephew nestled in the cockpit?
I'm glad that the cousins all get to play together. I look forward to watching them create their own memories in the years to come.
Oh and while I'm talking about the cousins I have to give a shout out to my awesome sis-in-law. Military wives are heroes too and my sis-in-law is one of the strongest and bravest people I know. She has recently entered the blogosphere with her blog, The Homefront, where she talks about life as a military wife and mom. I'd love it if you would take a minute to go visit and say hi. Thanks so much!
