Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Cousins, Cousins, and More Cousins!

You know you have lots of cousins when your daughter has to come ask if "so and so" is her cousin too! And that's the way it is when we go to our family reunion. Joy is getting older now and has pretty much learned who belongs to who, but still yet, someone will show up and sure enough, they are her 3rd cousin or something like that!

Well we had a good time this weekend. My brother and sister-in-law took us to a great Italian Restaurant called Ricatoni's Friday night. They seated us in the loft area, which the kids thought was cool! Their lasagna and bread is SO good! Then Saturday it was off to the family reunion which is always held at a local church fellowship hall/gymnasium in Alabama. The kids all seem to gather at the stage on the right, or the basketball goal on the other end. I think they have the best time, really! I took mostly pictures of the kids this time. I guess it's because they are always willing subjects....you know the adults seem to dodge the camera! :) Here's a few highlights....of lots of cousins! (Warning...there are lots of pictures........again.)

Laci (my brother and SIL's daughter) and Joy:



Sydney and Joy:



The beautiful young ladies all in a row on the edge of the stage.....Sydney, Joy, Tiffany, Jessica, and Laci.



Austin and TJ found them a board game to play:



The teenage girls were much more reserved, you know. That's Tamara, Amber, and Brigette.



Joy and Noah. Noah lives in Indiana, so she only gets to see him about once or twice a year. Too bad they don't live closer, because these two would be the closest of friends. They have always hit it off quite well.



Here's Noah's little sister, Lindsey. She is the baby girl behind three older brothers!



I had quite a time getting a picture of this little guy! This is Jacob. He was a little blessing that came along later in life. His daddy is about 48 or 49 years old! Don't you know he's alot of fun...and keeps them really busy?



Here's my brother's oldest son, Trey, and his wife, Shauna. Trey is 3 months older than Colt and they have always been really close....like brothers. Colt didn't get to come with us to the reunion this year. He had to work all day Saturday.



My nephew, Kemper, came home with us from Alabama for a week. So Joy had another whole week with one of her closest cousins. This is my brother and SIL's middle son, who is just one year older than Joy. So this week has been a busy week trying to do some fun things with them. Let's see....Monday we went to the Incredible Pizza Place. I did a post on this not too long ago. If you've never been to one before, you can think Chuch E. Cheese times about 20 (and the food is WAY better)! It's huge with an all-you-can-eat buffet and games galore for the kids including an indoor go kart track, bumper cars, bowling, mini golf, "motion" movies, table ball games, video games, mini shooting range, and the list goes on. Jason was able to join us for this. They had a great time.







Here they are on the go karts. The second one is Kemper and the 3rd one is Joy.



Then if that wasn't enough, my dad took them fishing when they came home that evening. They caught quite a few, but let them go!

Yesterday, I took them to a museum that also included a visit to the planetarium, an Imax movie of the Grand Canyon, and a big dinosaur exhibit.

Here they are with the lifelike dinosaurs. They were moving and making noises too...very lifelike! They were really kind of creepy to me!







Here they are outside a replica of one of the first Piggly Wiggly stores:



And here they were outside a replica log cabin! I'd like to have one of these in my backyard to decorate or even better sitting on a lot in the mountains as a retreat...except mine would have an indoor bathroom! :)



And you probably know just how much kids can squeeze into one day, so after a supper of homemade pizzas, they decided to swim and "talked" me into going with them. We swam until the mosquitoes decided to visit. Here's some of the fun:













We then came in and watched a marathon of I Love Lucy episodes (from Netflix). Kemper had never seen one before and was a little skeptical, but he stuck with me through all six episodes. Joy made it through five of them before her eyelids got heavy! She just can't take getting very still, snuggled up in front of a TV for very long!

Today will be more low-key. I think we are going to hang around the house and swim and watch movies. Daddy plans to take them fishing again this evening.

Tomorrow is our day to visit our friends (and play bingo with them) at the Nursing Home, so we're taking Kemper along to introduce him. Afterwards, we plan to go out for lunch and possibly visit the Nature Center. And it's amazing how much swimming they can fit in, so unless the rain comes, I imagine the pool will be calling their names again!

Then Friday it's time to meet my brother, Richie, half way, to take Kemper back so he won't miss his dirt bike races for the weekend.

That is what we've been up to this week and why I've been missing in action. And action it is because they're keeping me very busy.

However, during this time, during the late evenings, I have worked on decorating my bathroom, and I hope to FINALLY show you my bathroom pictures in my next post.....so stay tuned!

Have a great day, everyone! :)

22 comments:

carolyn@simple~primitive~devotion said...

What fun family time! There's nothing like it! Looks like everybody had a great time at the reunion. So much so that you brought home a BIG party favor! LOL! I'm sure your nephew will remember this week forever.
Can't wait to see your bathroom pics!
Enjoy the rest of your week!

Sharon said...

Boy that pool does look inviting.
It sure does look like the kids are having a good time.
Can't wait to see the photos of the bathroom.
God bless

Tammy said...

Hi Tammy! Loved catching up...such great pictures of the family reunion and it looks like the kids especially had such a blast!
Your pool is the envy here at our house- especially from one particular little girl! ;)
In that first picture of Joy and her cousin, you can really see the family resemblance!
I finally got a chance to post again and wanted to stop by and say hi to you while I visit just a few blogs this afternoon...
Hugs,
~Tammy

Colleen/And Baby Makes Five said...

Oh the fun! I'm so glad you're enjoying all of your family this summer, Tammy.

And I am also looking forward to those bathroom pics...

Madison said...

Wow looks like you guys had an awsome time!!! I can't wait till my family reunion it's a week long. It's in NC and in 4 days!!!! Hope you have a great day!!

Love, Madison

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wow---what a large family, Tammy... Last Summer I went to my first family reunion--and was overwhelmed since there were so many I hadn't ever met.

Glad the cousins all seem to be great friends... Looks like Joy had a great time --even after the reunion.

Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Betsy

Sandy said...

Family Reunions...how fun :)
It's always nice meeting up with family and catching up on things and watching the kids grow.

WOW...you guys have been very busy. I think that you nephew will be able to say he did lots and had fun. But most of all that swimming is the best :)

arkie said...

Family reunions are always such fun. My father's family came to AR from AL. The little town I grew up in in AR was full of cousins. I always told my husband I had to marry him to get some new blood in our family! ( Really, being from OK,he was about the only boy I wasn't kin to!)

Nancy M. said...

You've been busy. But it sounds like y'all had a great time with family! Love the pictures!

Something Nice and Pretty said...

Hi Tammy,
What a great time you are all having:) Kids seem never to get tired do they>

Can't wait to see pics of your bathroom:)
Rondell

Anne said...

How fun for you all!! Lokks like your having a great summer~~~~
Keep safe!!
Anne

Lois Christensen said...

Never watched I Love Lucy?? What are these kids missing! One of my favorite shows and both my kids will watch it with me. The pictures are great and the restaurant sounds wonderful! The kids all look so happy! Enjoy your visit!

Mandy said...

Looks like all the kids had a great time! You'll surely treasure those pictures.

Isn't it funny how they can swim until they shrivel into little prunes? - Mine do the same thing in my sis in law's pool.

Looking forward to the bathroom!

green gables girl said...

That sounds like such a fun week! I can't wait to see your bathroom!!! :)
Tell Joy I said HI!
LL

Anonymous said...

Tammy, Looks like everyone had and still are having lots of fun!! That is so great! I loved looking at all your family pic's! Thanks for sharing!

I, too, really love your swimming pool! :) We've been having really hot (3 digit) weather here in Oklahoma lately, that a pool in one's back yard would be sooooooo very welcoming!!

I can't wait to see your bathroom pic's either!! I just know it's going to look gorgeous & that I'm totally going to fall in love with it!!

Have a great day!

Love & Blessings,
~Lynn/OKC

Never So Simple said...

You have a good looking family! Joy is so full of love she just glows in every single picture. Looks like she is really enjoying her summer. AHHH that pool keeps calling my name. :)

Donna

Paula said...

Goodness Tammy- you sure packed a lot into this post! LOL
Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the reunion... it's wonderful that joy can get to be with all her cousins!!

Simply Debbie said...

Dear Tammy,
I am new to your blog and enjoyed reading several posts and signed up as a follower. I would love to invite you over for tea but we would have to enjoy it inside as we have had triple digit temps here in Oklahoma. I would love to have you as a follower, also.
What a beautiful family...your daughter is very pretty...the Ivory girl
i love...love the picture of her in the bear's arms...her facial expression is real
I LOVE LUCY is a favorite of mine.....her and Ethel are always in some kind of drama....
Thank you for your committment to only watch good, wholesome movies....now days that is very hard to find as this country has become so numb as to what is brought into our living room through the tv.
angel hugs
debbie

sonyadawn said...

Hey Tammy, Thank you for you sweet comments on my blog. You are such a sweet " friend "
Have a blessed weekend
Sonya

Joy ~ Doodlebug ~ said...

Mommy,

Aren't Family Reunions sooo fun? I just love em'!!!!!!!!!!! I had a wonderful time with Kemper!!!!!

8!! Love you more!!!!!!!!

Love, Joy =D

Marjorie (Molly) Smith said...

What a great bunch of cousins, it looks like all had a ball. Joy looks like she is really enjoying her special time with her cousin.
Sorry I'm so late getting by. Have had a very busy week and got one coming up.
Hope you have a blessed week.
Also love your bath room pictures, it is so prim and pretty. Love the cabinet your hubby made.
Molly

Blessed Beyond said...

Looks like yall had a wonderful and awesome time! All the pictures are great!