cousin camp 2013

chris' parents live in syracuse, new york.  his sister (aka bff) and her family live in rome, georgia.  every summer my sister-in-law's family retreats to syracuse for an extended summer vacation.  we join them as often as possible.  we missed a syracuse trip last year, which made this year's trip extra special.  

here are the hits:

1) my in-laws' back yard is fenced in naturally by the "forest".  The forest provides unlimited entertainment to the kids who are endlessly trying to solve a mystery, play house, protect their fort, and kill "bears".

 2) the most focused blueberry-picker honor goes to caroline.

 the most creative blueberry-picker is our nephew jack who decided to pick berries with his foot.

 the worst blueberry-picker award goes to my hot mess.  the picture explains why.

 3) the best pout award goes to crosby.

 4) the award for the family having the most fun in greatest need of a snack goes to the dallas bonners.

 5) best pirate impersonation goes to jack-a-rooski (as ben affectionately named him).

 6) the best sport award is a tie.  papa wins for his loving patience in build-a-bear.  and nana wins for having to sit in the back-back.  poor nana.

 7) the most beautiful scenery award is also a tie.  green lakes state park looks like a scene straight out of dirty dancing (or more like the sequel where baby and johnny have married, had a few kids and gained some weight.  life happens, you know?)

tied with chittenango falls.  gorgeous.

 8) the big-daddy-dinner award goes to chris for not f-ing around and ordering the lobster.

 9) most independent goes to crosby for insisting that he hike the falls unassisted.

 10) the best aunt award goes to karin, no doubt.  she is the best book-reader, snack-maker, kiss- smuggler ever.

 11) most creative obvious name for a build-a-bear goes to ben's "cammo bat-bear".

 12) the "hot-mess" award goes to none other than, crosby bonner.  why does he keep winning?

 13) the best uncle award is also a tie.  chad and chris wrangled these children in the rain, creating a memeory they will never forget.

 14) the best levitating toddler award goes to crosby at the zoo.

 15) the best sense-of-humor award goes to nana for providing these glasses for everyone.

 16) the best tradition is easily celebrating all of the kids' birthdays at once.  since nana and papa live far away, when we are all together they buy cupcakes for the kids and sing to them one by one so each child can blow out their candles.  so sweet.

 17) the most expressive award goes to sweet caroline.  i wish i could bottle her up and keep her with me.

 18) best neighborhood take-over goes to our crew.  if there was a turf-war, we would win.

 19) best attempt at photographing the cousins goes to me.  i try, i try.

i hope you have been able to slip away somewhere this summer.  and if you did, i hope you were surrounded by family or love or laughter or all of the above.  it sure does make for a great vacation.

love,

coco

greatest hits

guess what?  both of my kids are at school right now.  friday is the one day a week i have a couple of hours to myself.  i am blogging and listening to trampled by turtles (obsessed).  i feel giddy.

bad news: the auto-focus on my camera is dead.  kaput.   just manual focus for me now.  which has taught me one important lesson:  i am a sucky photographer.  but today is your lucky day (haha), i happen to have plenty of pictures from before my camera so rudely quit me.

1)  thanksgiving, oh thanksgiving, how i love you so.  chris' parents were in town from syracuse and our niece was in town from arkansas.  and we did everything you are supposed to do on thankgiving break.  we've got the laying-around-in-comfy-pants-to-watch-the-same-movie-over-and-over thing down pat.

 2) my parents hosted us.  just look at our sweet little turkey nugget in her "first thankgiving" dress.  oh and my gorgeous sister too.

 3) granted i am taller than my sister, but in september our twelve-year-old cousin was shorter than me.  two months later, not-so-much.  he has been waiting to be taller than chelsey for a long time.  mission accomplished.

 4) the love these two babies have for each other is unmatched.

 5) nanas make the best story-tellers.

 6) holy moly, dallas!  have you been to the new klyde warren park yet?  if not, go now. 

 {there are knitted frogs in the trees.  yep.  there are also books available from the library for you to read at your leisure.  and you can check out games to play.  and eat food from food trucks (my fav and also a new experience for my in-laws).

 and if you are crosby, you can give yourself a facial from the water on the groud (a trough for the dogs, mind you).

 7)  good-byes are the worst but their visit was the best.  happy cancels sad.

we also went to a tree farm to cut down a christmas tree (and by cut down a tree, i really mean buy a beautiful pre-cut tree from their shed and enjoy the farms other amenities, like hayrides and hot apple cider.)  but my camera betrayed me that day, so no pics.

looking forward to tree-lighting in the arts district and the dallas flea tomorrow!  woot!

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

love,

coco

the happiest cousins on earth

PREFACE:

my in-laws (being the incredibly generous, loving people that they are) decided to celebrate their forty-fifth wedding anniversary by taking their ENTIRE family to disneyworld for the first time.

we are all spread out across the country, so for all of us to be in one place at the same time is a treat.

especially when we gather at the happiest place on earth.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

princess aly, the sensitive care-taker

princess caroline, the charming southern belle

princess ava, the spunky fire-ball

jack aka woody, the blond lover-boy

pirate ben, the passionate defender

crosby mouse, the laid-back observer

disneyworld is a magical place.

for example:

the pirates you meet on the street are friendly.

six children ages six and under somehow stay together.  they were a tribe of cousins.  magical, see?

costumes are encouraged, not just on halloween.

you discover new heroes.

you are allowed to spin yourself silly.

princesses are perched around every corner.

giant bunnies roam the streets.

enormous pooh bears give you their autograph.

families can hula-hoop while awaiting their dinner reservation.

everything glows.

cat naps can be taken anywhere, even atop your daddy's shoulders.

hotel staff provides free entertainment for the kids while you wrangle your luggage.  and they even sing like a princess.  genius.

grandparents have unlimited access to hug on their babies.  

(and isn't that the real reason we went?)

unforgettable memories are made.