A Day of Cousins

Our last day in Houston was a day of cousins. We woke up at Aunt Dani's (technically second cousin Danielle to Sydney, but that just sounds funny) house, packed up, said our good-byes and headed out to the north side of town. We met up with Aunt Rachel, Will and Jamie, Aunt Jennie Sue (great aunt, but really she's always been great) and Noah, my mom and David and Alana. In other words, Sydney had just about all of her same-aged cousins all in one place.

We met at one of those bounce house places which was really nice in the sense that Sydney had a lot of open space to play with her princesses, less nice in the sense that I paid eight bucks for her to play with the toys she brought with her. The other, older, kids enjoyed the bouncy things, though.

I had already sent Jack back with Jeremy from El Campo, so it was just Sydney and me. Rachel needed to nurse Jamie, so Aunt Jennie Sue, Mom, and me got to play Scrabble on the iPad. Playing Scrabble on an iPad, by the way, so much cooler than the old way. Young hip mamas like myself can publicly admit to being Scrabble enthusiasts with iPad Scrabble.

I also got to hold Jamie for all of three minutes before she fussed for her mama which was exactly two minutes and forty seconds longer than she had gone for me up until this point. Aunt Jennie Sue was having some baby envy, so she also got a turn and then when Rachel had to go to the ladies room and asked me to hold Jamie, even though she would probably fuss, my mom said, "Well if the baby's going to cry anyway, I might as well have a turn!"

So some baby snuggles for everyone.

After the bouncy place, we took the kids to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. It turns out "please can I have an ice cream cone" is a phrase that still works on my mother, even when her grown daughter is using it, so that was nice.

The grown-ups got a seat by the kid area and the kids played for a really long time. Long enough that another game of Scrabble (I mean COOL Scrabble) happened.

I taught my niece and nephews the word "commandeer" which does not mean "an ordinary deer" as David so smarty retorted. But when I was recounting this story to Jeremy, he pointed out that it doesn't exactly mean "to take away" as I explained it, but rather "to press into service." So when I told the kids I was going to commandeer their cow toys unless they started eating, I wasn't entirely honest since I had no use for bovine labor. So, if any of my young relations starts misusing big words, I am so sorry; I needed my better half with me.

After lunch, Will, Jamie and Rachel went back to Kim's house and the rest of us went to the pool. I didn't get any pool pictures, but I did learn some things:

1) Wait for the older cousins to get there before letting the three year old go into the water; unless of course your plan was to get your clothes wet as you rescue your kid.

2) Teenage lifeguards will not run to the rescue if they see a parent close enough; even if the parent is fully clothed.

3) Some pools have complementary life-jackets; teenage life guards may not mention this until after the child almost drowns.

4) Once your clothes are wet, you might as well change out of them into a swimsuit so they can dry.

5) Having gotten in the water, especially if older cousins, an aunt and a grandma show up, it can be very relaxing to just float in the water for almost an hour.

6) If you are going to float in the water for almost an hour, apply sunscreen first.

After the pool, we went over to Dave and Suzanne's house. This is where I know she is going to be completely confused. I have taught her to call my cousin Dave, "Uncle Dave" and his parents "Aunt Jennie Sue" and "Uncle Fritz." I also refer to Dave's grandpa (my aunt's father-in-law) as "Grandpa" and Dave's youngest brother as just Noah and call him a cousin, since he's only six years older than Sydney. See, there's no sorting that out.

In any case, Sydney had a great time at Uncle Dave's house. There is a swingset in the backyard and it was nice to see all of the kids swinging together, especially since that meant I didn't have to push Sydney on any swings.

Inside, we played 42, of course, because that's what we always play. (Think of the rule this way: where two or three members of my mom's family have gathered, expect Scrabble or Phase 10, if four or more have gathered, expect 42.) I particularly enjoyed this round because Aunt Jennie Sue sat next to me and made all of the decisions so I could just enjoy the conversation.

While we were playing 42, I wanted Sydney close by and not underfoot, so we brought her princesses into the dining room. She found this awesome set of yellow cups in the china cabinet and this special princess house/votive holder on the kitchen windowsill. She later found Russian Nesting Dolls, elephants, giraffes, a rubix cube and some toy cars. I am really glad than Dave and Suzanne do not mind her scavenging ways.

Since we were staying the night with Dave and Suzanne rather than drive at ten at night, we had to say good-bye to everyone from their house. Sydney had a very sweet good-bye from her Grandma who is teaching her the sign language hand sign for "love," which is, I believe, how David and Alana say goodbye to her when they leave for school each morning in the car lane.

My mom says it took Alana partway through Kindergarten to get it, so I think Sydney's current version is just fine.

I know that Sydney's take on cousins will be much different than mine. I grew up with all of my cousins within walking distance from my house. But I think if we can manage these summer get togethers as well as a holiday visit, she will have enough childhood memories to build adult relationships on shared experiences if she wants to, and enough fun memories to look back on even if she winds up spending her adult life far from any family. That's my hope anyway.