Cousins

Growing up I have these amazing memories of hanging out with my cousins. On the one side we spent summers at my grandparent's lake house. We raced skateboards down the long windy sidewalk. We "camped" in the little bunk house on the property. We rode on the ski bob behind the boat. We got shooed off the porch where my grandfather always sat with his drink telling fishing stories and out of the kitchen where my grandmother made gourmet meals none of us actually appreciated!

On the other side we spent many a weekend on the farm. Planting flowers, digging up potatoes, and riding bike to the old mill where they had ice cream sandwiches grandpa always let us get. We would play school with my grandma's old primers and the chalk board that has hung in the kitchen as long as I can remember. We would get in the way during hay baling season and scare of the deer during hunting season with the cocoa we brought to our stands.

Times are different even in the past thirty years and cousins get spread out over the miles and few people have lake houses or farms for large amounts of people to migrate towards for family events but the idea remains the same. Cousins are the playmates you were born with.

This weekend some family from North Carolina were in town, well Orlando, which was close enough. So off we went to meet them...local cousins + far away cousins + Disney...well of course it was magical! Todd and I were helping out one of his brothers and his wife while they went to a conference in a too seldom opportunity to get the kids together. Later in the day another brother who lives here in Florida drove up to hang out as well.

Our first stop: Downtown Disney. We were on an important mission to find Ian a blue light sabre, an easy task when the World of Disney store carries every Disney item ever known to man. We then went to the Lego Imagination Center where the kids had a blast...making cars, thingamabobs and playing on the Lego playground.

We ate lunch out there too before heading back to the resort for an afternoon at the pool.

Some kiddos got a little worn out and since the hotel room was FOREVER away this seemed easier...

By the time Bryan and Laurie joined us and we ate dinner, all 13 of us, it was time for the little ones to go to bed. So our family and Brett and his family headed out to play some Fantasia mini golf.

Day 2: Back to the pool for most of us though Todd and Gavin took a quick morning nap in the room before checkout...then it was off to the playground for some sand throwing, dragon sliding, checker playing fun. Of course the best part was actually the misting fan!

And then it was time to load up the vans and we were off...back home to routine while Bryan and Laurie began the ten hour drive back to NC. But not without one last picture of all...