Cousin Time

My boys are blessed to have lots of cousins in their lives.  On my in-law's side there are lots of cousins, which we are lucky to get to see a lot.  Since my brothers live in Virginia we don't get to spend as much time as we'd like with that side of our family.  I've always tried to look on the bright side and since we don't get to see them as often, we consider the time we do spend with them extra special.  This summer they were visiting Texas and we had a super fun afternoon hanging out together.  We grilled burgers and let the kids swim and play in the backyard.  The day ended in an unexpected way (remember Will's tooth incident) but like family does, they were there to support us through that stressful situation and take care of us when we needed help the most. 

Here are a few photos from their visit this summer.

My niece Ella is close to the age of Ben.  She and the boys had fun in the pool.

They also played with the giant sprinkler ball. 

Lily just turned two.  She and Ella are just too cute!

My brother Chris and sister-in-law Laura sure do have adorable kiddos!

My niece Cassidy is gorgeous.  She's old enough to be in Junior High.  How can that be? Since she's the age of the students Mark and I teach, it was fun to talk to her and hear all about what's going on in her life.  She told us about the latest apps on her iPhone.  She told us about school.  She loves shopping just like me!  We went to the mall and she bought some cute clothes, and then we ate dinner at Taco Diner.  It was fun to hang out with her and my brother Brian.

Even though our visits are few and far between there's still a special bond with our family.  

We love them a lot and we cherish our time together.