Cousins

One thing I have always loved about my family is that I grew up having a very close relationship with my cousins. They were more than just random relatives we saw for two hours on major holidays, despite the fact that we didn't live all that near each other. We didn't live close enough to see them every day or every week, but we did see them on every holiday, on other special occasions, spent time together at our grandparents house during the summer and we even all vacationed together every year. When we were old enough to drive, we chose to hang out together as friends - and we still do to this very day.

So when my brother said that his family was interested in visiting us for a few days at the beginning of August, I was thrilled, and not just because I love hanging out with my brother! It is important to me that my children not only get to know their Uncle Wolfe and Aunt Kate, but also develop a close relationship with their cousin Eamon (who is three months - to the day - younger than Lucas) even though we don't live very close together (about six hours apart).

Aaron ("Uncle Wolfe") and Eamon arrived Tuesday afternoon, (then Aunt Kate joined us a few days later when she was finished with her new job responsibilities) and the children were immediately in sync. Lucas and Eamon played really well together and instantly began having fun, and Elise immediately adopted Eamon as another younger brother to take care of, fuss over, look out for, and, of course, boss around. We took Uncle Wolfe and Eamon to some of our favorite "regular spots" in the area, like the Aquarium and the Children's Museum and had a great time. Then on Friday, we all experienced something new - Uncle Wolfe, Aunt Kate and I took the kids on an adventure to Sesame Place Amusement Park.

It was very crowded, the lines were long, and there were a lot of super fun looking water rides that the boys were not old enough to go on quite yet, but despite these small hiccups, we actually had a great time. The weather couldn't have been better - it wasn't overly hot (as it has been for the past several weeks) and it's amazing how throwing Elmo's picture on practically everything in sight makes waiting in lines much more tolerable for children! Lucas went on some real big kid rides that I couldn't believe he enjoyed (after hating pretty much all the rides in Ocean City) but he actually had a blast! All of the kids were extremely excited to get to meet Cookie Monster and Telly (although Eamon was the only one brave enough to actually hug them) and they got to see Ernie and Bert in passing (gave them high 5's) and they also saw Elmo from afar. It was a lot of fun and we all look forward to taking them back when the boys are a few years older and can go on all those cool water rides.

By the end of the visit, Lucas had a few "Alpha-Male" moments with Eamon (where he was randomly acting like a bit of a goon with hitting and snatching) but for the most part, everyone got along famously and I really do think it was a great bonding experience for the cousins. It was also great for us to spend some quality time with our nephew Eamon, and with Aaron and Kate, and for our kids to hang out with their Uncle Wolfe and Aunt Kate - and they particularly loved it when their Uncle Wolfe transformed into a tickle monster! We are already excited about the next time we can all get together again.