Living With Cousins

Did I mention that my brother and his family were at my parents' home for most of the time we were living there?

We did.

And what a fantastic opportunity for all of us.  Because for all of the rest of the year, these guys live all the way across the world from us.

So, here is a random sampling of the fun these kids came up with:

Preparing for a wicked awesome play.  Good thing Grandma and Grandpa had a million gigantic boxes.

Lanaya sporting the hat from her cousins' baby red chile pepper Halloween costume.

Helping Grandma make cookies.

Helping...?

Exploring the airplane at the children's museum

This ropes course is seriously really hard.  Seriously.

Teeter tottering and cute smiles.

I love this.

Sweet little baby faces.  Buddies forever.

Monkeys.

More monkeys.

Baby monkeys.

What did the new baby need in addition to her cow costume?

Boots, of course.

It's What Fun Is

Don't you just love amusement parks?  I do.

And when you add a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles to the mix, the fun grows exponentially.

I love every single one of these cute faces.

I discovered a seriously flaw of several amusement park rides--the bars seem to be in front of the kids' faces in every photo!

Unless you're a really big kid, or a really little kid.

Um, I love this picture so much.

And that cute little chubby hand waving.

I got to ride a roller coaster with my baby.  Isn't she so cute?!

And I rode a carousel and for the first time since having a baby 10 years ago, I didn't get sick.  Hooray for being able to spin around without feeling the urge to toss your cookies!

Cute cousins.

More cousin cuteness!

And this sweet cowboy.

Hitching a ride from your baby sister.

What does it take to get two brothers to get along?  Apparently, a ride on a shark.

Look at those lovely ladies and cute kids in the front of the roller coaster!  That's us!

Flying a spaceship with guns to shoot.  So. Much. Fun.

And then a lovely boat ride.

Buckling those seatbelts.  Safety first.

Or, more photo op issues.

And this was my favorite part of the day.  Or night.  Riding a ride that we used to love riding together when we were much smaller.

And fitting all together on one seat wasn't quite such a tight fit.

To be fair, I don't actually remember much of the day.  But, the fact that I remember this part is a good sign that it probably truly was one of the best parts.

Cows & Purses, Books & Boots

Without asking for my permission, my baby went and had a birthday.  And turned 2 already!  I don't remember her birthday super well, but thankfully I took some pictures.

Apparently, she had an apple for her birthday breakfast?

We had a little celebration on her actual birthday at my parents house.  During which, she got this cute little puppy in a purse from her cousins.  Man, does she love that purse!

And then we had another celebration for her at Blake's grandma's house.  Taking advantage of being around almost all of our family finally!

I don't remember why, but Blake and I had his brother's car and a bunch of tables and chairs to transport.  So, this was what our drive to the party was like!

She was obsessed with cows at the time, so when I found the idea to make these cows, I couldn't help myself.

Thankfully, my sister-in-law is an amazing cake decorator and helped me make these cute little cows!

And I was (am) really proud of them, so I took tons and tons of pictures!!!

Back to the part of being able to celebrate birthdays with family finally!

The other picture of my side of the family was totally wiped out by the sun.  But, my brother, who was there all the way from Saudi Arabia was a pretty good representation for them all.

Have I mentioned how much I love my little sweet cheeks?!

After she got so excited about her grandpa's boots, I knew it was time she needed her own.  So of course, she insisted on wearing them every day.  But, they come in handy when you need to hold a big present on your lap while getting thoroughly delighted over the new book you just opened.

One more cake photo.  And my cute baby girl.

Please stop growing up.