Cousins Are the Best!

My weather transitions have been a little suspect. I looked at the weather for GR before we left, saw high 60s for temps, and packed a lot of t-shirts, capris, and light pullovers. I forgot that the "crisp" of fall in the air starts WAY earlier up north than it does in the cities. Conversely, once we got home, I looked at the thermometer, saw it was 62 degrees, so put on pants and long sleeve shirt to run. Then almost had heat stroke.

All that to say that we met up with Brenda and the Grammy Day Care cousin gang on Tuesday morning - and it was a bit brisk out! Thankfully the seven cousins never stand still, so they were perfectly warm and happy. And I had snagged Mike's big sweatshirt before I left the house - so I was perfectly warm and happy as well.

We met a a park near Brenda's house and I let the kids play on playground equipment for the first time since March. That alone was almost as exciting as seeing the cousins! We even got a walk on the trail around the baseball fields. After about 90 minutes of non-stop play, everyone was ready for lunch! It was such a fun morning together.

We got to see the big boys (Otto, Milo, and Hux) again on Wednesday afternoon at the cabin. It was the nicest forecasted weather for the week, and we wanted to do one more trip to the cabin before it was officially fall. But remember that "crisp" I mentioned earlier ... there was definitely still an edge to the air. It did not stop the six kids from going in the water, however. 

We got there before the boys, so the kids had a great time wading in the lake and playing in the sand on the shoreline. We actually built quite the complex community, complete with farms, a mayor's house, a river, and a waterfall. Then when the cousins got there, Quinn begged to get the Maui mat out. I waded into the water (brrrrrrrr) to help push it out, so was glad that they actually used it. 

After a brief (but longer than expected) stint in the water, everyone was cold and ready for clothes. My kids said good bye to the lake for the season (and we are already dreaming of warm summer days next year). After everyone was dressed, we walked up to the trails and went exploring together. Even though we sprayed the kids, there were still so many mosquitoes. But we managed to have a lovely walk despite their pesky presence.

The best part of the trail walk was that Neighbor Al was in his garden - so we got to stop for a fresh grown snack en route. The kids picked a bunch of cherry tomatoes (I think I ended up eating most of them), and then we got carrots straight out of the ground too. YUM! Quinn even snagged a jalapeno to bring home to Grandpa - and rumor has it that it was a spicy one. It was just the best day together and the kids hugged so hard when it was done. I think they all know that it could be a while until we see each other again. 

We enjoyed our evening with Gma, Gpa, and Auntie, and then sadly headed home on Thursday. We had been noncommittal about our return date, but Thursday ended up being super cold and windy. With all the prep work we needed to do before school, we decided to make the bad weather day our travel day - and then be able to enjoy the sunshine on Friday and Saturday. It was so hard to say good-bye and we were a sad crew on the drive home. Once we got back though, it felt good to start getting prepped and excited for the next season!