Summer + Cousins = Fun!

Growing up, I always looked forward to the times we would go to Indiana and I would get to spend time with my cousins and have sleepovers at their house……or the times they would come to see us! We stayed up all hours of the night, told ghost stories, rode each other on the handlebars of our bikes, and stayed outside a lot! We have great memories!

Now all of us cousins are grown up and our kids are looking forward to spending time together every summer. Now they’re the ones making memories. I had so much fun watching them and hanging out with them.  And it's amazing how much each one of the girls look like their mother!  Wish I had a picture of all of us when we were little to compare!

The week before the 4th of July, Emmalee, Jessica and Tiffany came and stayed for about six days until we went to Alabama (and took them home). Well, all of them stayed six days except Jessica who went home earlier for a cheerleading camp.

The funny thing is the whole time they were here, we stayed up in The Cedar Loft. That’s SIX people in 600 square feet. :)  But you know, we really enjoyed it! It felt like we were on a vacation in a cabin, and I guess they might have thought we were crazy staying out there the entire time when we had a bigger house a few feet away!  :)  I also learned I could live in a small space and be happy!

So the girls did all the stuff girls do – they texted each other…………… when they were 2 feet away from each other.

Jessica, Tiffany and Joy - cell phones were never too far away! 

 

They played board games and giggled.

Jessica, Tiffany and Joy

They goofed off.

L to R - Tiffany, Jessica, Joy & Emmalee

They stayed up late.

They made silly videos.

They sang to the top of their lungs....and they danced.

They swam.

And while they swam every.single.day., I enjoyed a dry view perched high on the porch of The Cedar Loft (they were merciless on that lower deck, I tell you)! 

And they included Luke. Bless their hearts. And he enjoyed every single minute of it!

Tiffany, Emmalee, Joy & Luke

They made me laugh…..alot! I really enjoyed it and I know Joy thoroughly enjoyed having them here. (And so did Luke). 

We hope it’s a summer tradition, because summer + cousins really does = FUN!

Sugar and Spice x 2

My two new nieces, Sydney and Ellie, have been home for two weeks and we made the trip to Alabama this weekend to finally see them!

And let me tell you, they are sweet, sweet, sweet! They’re only ten months apart, so there is never a dull moment either.

I guess you can imagine that Joy was in baby heaven! Since we arrived late Friday night, they were already asleep for the night, so we were only able to peek in at sleeping babies, which by the way was absolutely precious! So Saturday morning, Joy’s eyes popped open at the first peep of baby sounds and she was up to check it out! Sydney (who’s almost 19 months old) took up with Joy immediately and was attached to Joy’s hip most of the time. She loved being toted around and was curious about everything and wanted to be in the “happening place”.

Sydney has the bluest eyes and the longest eyelashes!

And then little Ms. Ellie (9 months old) was absolutely precious. She is a tiny thing – a little peanut. Since Joy had her hands full with Sydney when Ellie woke up, I claimed Ellie first!  But then as you can see here, it didn't take Joy long to take her from me either.

Ellie has the sweetest disposition and an illuminating smile!

Well it goes without saying that both girls were wagged around lots and kissed all over their baby cheeks (between us and Grandmama and Pop).

Both girls have special needs, but that’s just another way of saying they need special love and attention which they most certainly are getting now! I look at those two girls and I don’t see “special needs”. I see “special blessings” sent straight from heaven to Richie and Missy’s family.

God is good!  :)

Oh, and I snapped one picture of the youngest grandkids.  We were just missing Colt and Trey (they're both 22 and weren't there at the time).

Kemper (13) holding Sydney (almost 19 mos), Joy (12) holding Ellie (9 mos), Laci (almost 8), and Luke (3).  

 

Meet My New Nieces!

If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you’ll probably remember my brother, Richie (my only sibling), and my sister-in-law, Missy, and their three children, Trey, Kemper, and Laci. I posted about Richie especially during the time he served in Iraq a couple of years ago.

I’ve wanted to spill the beans and share their good news for awhile, but couldn’t do so just yet because of the red tape, ifs and buts, and unknowns. But I now have their permission and okay to share!

A few months ago, they received a phone call. It was a call asking (because they were related) if they would be interested in “taking” two children that were in the care of social services.

Of course they had to go through all the processes including a homestudy and DHR in both states involved. After much time, effort, and lots of prayer, they were recommended to be the parents of these two precious girls.

They are already great parents to their three children. But now they are becoming of family of seven……adding two more children to their family!

So meet my two new nieces!

Sydney is 18 months old.

Ellie Grace is 8 months old.

The following are pictures of them on the long drive home on Friday, just a few hours after they were theirs!

Sleeping beauty Sydney:

Sleeping beauty Ellie Grace:

Aren’t they darling? We can’t wait to get our hands on them! They're little blessings and they are in for a blessing as well!  God has a plan for each one of them!

We are thrilled to add two more nieces to our family (and cousins for our kids)!  God is good!

And it’s going to be fun shopping in the little girl section again. :)

Summer Cousin Fun

Summer is the season for cousins to visit.....and this summer we've had three consecutive weeks of cousin visits!  Joy and Luke are a little disappointed that they're all gone now.

The first week my nephew, Trey (who is Colt's age), and his wife, Shauna, came.  Of course Luke enjoyed all the attention and Joy had swimming companions while Colt was at work.  Colt and Trey have always been very close, so the four of them - Colt & Amber and Trey & Shauna - had a good time hanging out. (I just realized I didn't get any pictures of them while they were here).

Then the following week, Kemper and Laci (that's Trey's brother and sister) came to visit.  These three belong to my brother, Richie, and sister-in-law, Missy.  Joy and Luke had a great time with them.  Not surprisingly, they spent alot of time in the pool.  Kemper also enjoyed a fishing trip with my dad.

These four are very close and see each each fairly often.

Joy & Kemper

Even kids need to relax....

The girls.......Joy & Laci

And this past week, we had two cousins that visited our home for the first time.  We usually only see them at family reunions or other family gatherings.

This is Ms. Emmalee from Delaware.  She is soon to be 9.

It's really funny.  We've come full circle because Emmalee's mom and I used to have summer visits too.  I remember riding her mom on the handle bars of my bike (and having a little wreck over a speed bump), as well as sleep overs.

And this is Ms. Jessica.  She just turned 11.  Jessica is from Alabama.

We see Jessica more often.  She was probably getting impatient with me because I kept calling her Carrie.  (That's her mom's name...she looks just like her).  It's so strange that these kids should be this old.  And by the way, how old does that make me?  :)

Again, they had a blast in the pool!

How many girls can you fit on one small tube....3 for about 3 seconds! 

And when they weren't doing that, the girls were creating and performing plays together.  

Now the cousins have all gone home and they will be missed BUT they don't have to wait very long to see each other again.  Next weekend is the family reunion and they will all be together again.  And this time they'll be wading and swimming in the creek!

Ah....the joy of cousins in the summer! 

And why can't I get a suntan like this?

.....The Rest of the Story

I do love the expressions captured in this picture....a moment forever frozen in time.



Those of you that guessed from seeing this picture on yesterday's post that the little girl was Joy were absolutely right. (However, those that thought it could be me as a little girl actually made a pretty good guess also as our childhood pictures look alot alike.) But there really was more to this story and that's why I was wondering if anyone could guess what was going on. (More on that later on this post).....first a little background on it.

This photo was taken over six years ago, in June of 2003. Joy was the flower girl in my cousin's wedding (Lindsey). Lindsey had a very unusual, but beautiful, wedding as it took place at 7:00 a.m. (Yes, that's 7:00 in the morning, people!). We had to have Joy there around 5:30 that morning! I think we got up at 4:00 that morning because she slept in curlers and I did her hair for the wedding that morning. Lindsey and J.R. were the lucky winners of an all expense paid wedding by a local news channel. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. It was broadcast on TV that morning.





My nephew, Kemper, was the ring bearer. Kemper is one year older than Joy and they have always had a close relationship too as cousins. Joy was four and Kemper five. They looked so cute together and were really excited to be in Lindsey's wedding (and to be on TV). Here are a few pictures of the two of them.













During the wedding....walking down the aisle.




Here's Joy with the pretty bride, Lindsey.



Now on with the story......

Actually this picture was taken at the reception, after the wedding. That is my cousin, Nathan, holding Joy. He is the bride's brother.



Joy has always been a "people" person and rarely meets a stranger. She has always in particular, liked Nathan, and Nathan has always taken time to interact with her at family gatherings. And who wouldn't like Nathan? He is a fun sweet guy....you know the kind that's the life of the party! She always looked forward to seeing him. Well, on this particular day, she chose to be different! Nathan came up to her several times at the reception asking her to dance with him. She suddenly got this very shy I-don't-want-to-dance attitude with him and wouldn't budge. But Nathan was a very wise guy. Joy really wanted a piece of wedding cake (her favorite kind) and they hadn't gotten around to cutting the cake yet. Nathan waited for his moment, right after the cake had been cut, and then came over and asked Joy for a dance. Well, of course she turned him down flat again (I think the girl was just tired from being up so early), but then he used his wild card and offered to "dance her over to the cake". What magic that worked! In the picture, he was slowly working his way toward the cake, and I have no idea what he was saying to her, but she looks so solemn and I just love the expressions on both of their faces!

And here we go....mission accomplished....Joy got her cake and Nathan got his dance!



And about two years ago, at Nathan's very own wedding, he had no trouble at all getting this little girl (then 8) to dance with him! As a matter of fact, I think he had three little girls dancing with him at one time! (I told you he was the life of the party)! I have a picture of that somewhere, but couldn't find it!

Gosh, how is it that my little girl has grown up so much in these past six years?

And now you know..............the rest of the story. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess what was going on here?

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! :)