michigan | cousins

Vivienne, Giselle, Avery & Ava. Yup, that's the best I could do with 4 kids. I tried to pose them, but then there was some crying, so we abandoned the mission.

Silly faces.

Ava tolerating Avery. There were a lot of Aves.

Takin' a walk.

On Saturday, we had the whole damn family over for a picnic. Aunt Lynn, Uncle Jim, Craig, Joey, Ava, Alissa, Giselle, Auntie Streena (Christina), Sam, Grandma Heidi, Papa Mel, and Auntie Sarah were all there. It was awesome. My mom kept trying to pick water fights with the grown ups, who as you can imagine were not interested in getting wet. So, to end the water fight nonsense, I had to teach her a lesson and dunked her in the baby pool. This required some ninja like moves on my part! It was definitely a vacation highlight, and my mom was a great sport about it. Another highlight was when Avery doused Grandma Heidi with a water balloon. It may or may not have been at my suggestion. Some things should remain between mother and son.

Everyone had a fantastic time playing with the kids. One of the things I regret about not living in Michigan is that Avery and Vivienne won't grow up intimately knowing their same-age cousins. We try to get together with them every time we're in Michigan, but it's not the same as being in the same state. Having same-age cousins is pretty important in my book and I will always do what I can to foster their relationships. 

It goes without saying that the Aunties, Sam, Grandma and Papa just ate the kids up. It is really too bad that no one loves my children.