My sister and her kids came in town last week to get a little bit of Arkansas and a whole lot of cousin time into their summer. We spent four days all together and then the older kids headed off to Discipleship Camp with Taido while we took the younger ones over to Hot Springs.
It’s always so fun for all the cousins to be together and I’ve been compiling a list of the sweet memories I’m grateful for from this visit!
(PS, this post would be no fun without the wonderful instagram skills of my family and friends, Whitney, Peter, Anna and Bryan)
daily trips to the pool
frogs
three bigs, three middles, three littles
having BOTH Anna AND Whitney around to make me laugh at myself
extra beds
extra sleep noises in the house at night
very fine toothed combs
hair consultants
our tenth cousin, Tony Hall
kids playing sardines at the new War Memorial Splash Park
my brother Peter, a big kid
my Mama Polly loving watching all the kids at the park
ZaZa’s patio
Boggle
Nertz
card games
box sledding
my brother being off work all week to play with us!
hot sunshine
shady spots
nature center treasure hunt
watermelon
boys gearing up to watch The Lord of the Rings
dart wars
sword fights
hide and seek
girls’ night
sundresses
french braids
elevator rides
all of us piled in the car singing to my Grandmother
Grandmother singing along
yummy food
ice cream, cupcakes, popsicles and more ice cream
Carol’s cookies
pedicures and manicures
sending kids off to DCamp
Ben’s enthusiasm about his first time as a camper
handing out t-shirts in the parking lot
watching Taido do his thing as everyone gets loaded up
so many precious adults and young adults going to help
wishing I was going, but glad to stay behind
having only 5 kids to 6 adults
beautiful morning on the patio at Wilson Point
drinking coffee
looking out at the water
soaking in Whitney’s parents’ generosity
cinnamon toast
yogurt
nonstop swimming and being in the sun
comfy pool chairs
reading magazines
reading a page of a book and falling asleep
the smell of sunscreen
watching Simon learn to go underwater
Simon’s joy at figuring out swimming
my sweet family working with him all day long
Phineas’ complete lack of fear
water guns and buckets
aloe in the fridge
ice maker that makes the perfect little cubes of yummy ice
getting my hands dirty in an exquisite kitchen
watching for pictures of the big kids at camp
seeing them smiling
the comfort of knowing that they are all in good hands
my parents’ relaxing, enjoying the kids
in and out of the hot tub
emily and wilson being the big kids for a few days
late night laughing
soft, cozy beds
cousins snuggled together
sticky red picnic tables at Cream Castle
vanilla shakes
fried catfish
hamburgers
the smell of the smoker out back
taking all the sleepy cousins to Peter and Whitney’s house to bed down
late night trip to Target
seeing my Mama smile
being in the same row at church with my brother and sister
Grandmother’s purse full of tootsie rolls
sad goodbyes
kids loving each other so, so much!
My heart is full.
what a sweet list–and lots of sweet memories. my heart is full too!
How did I miss this post?!? Love it so much. And y’all.