Visit with cousins

Here are all seven of the kiddos together.

We all know Ellie loves babies and Kara Lynn is one of her favorites now. I think Kara Lynn kind of liked her big cousin too.

Rub a dub dub 3 wild boys in the tub!

Beautiful Cupcakes!

Making the cupcakes was hard work because we had to taste test each candy to make sure it was good enough to decorate these special creations.

Some of my most cherished moments were spending time with my cousins during summer vacation or during the holidays. I have a lot of cousins and we are all close in age so whenever we had family get togethers there was a lot of kids and a lot of fun!! This week my cousin Kelly brought her four children to visit for a couple of days. Kelly and I have spent the past several years being pregnant and usually around the same time. When Kel came to visit newborn Ellie she was pregnant with Katie. Kelly had Clay in July 2004 then I had Ethan in May 2005. Then we found out Kayla was coming and everyone looked at me and said "Well, what about you MB?" I promised them I would not be joining her this time. . . Kelly had Kayla in March 2007 and Eli was born in July 2007. Finally, Kelly announced that the fourth was on the way and I told Brandon to go sleep on the couch. Kara Lynn was born last December but I stopped at 3.

Let me give you a break down of all the activities. On Monday afternoon when all the cousins were finally reunited (we haven't seen them since last summer), we went swimming at Uncle Tim and Aunt Tricia's. A swimming pool with lots of fun memories for me. Then everyone came over to our house for supper. It sounded like a 3 ring circus. Everyone was sooo excited. Ellie and Katie were doing arts and crafts. Ethan and Clay were playing the Wii and Kayla and Eli were chasing eachother around the house. Aunt Tricia, Uncle Tim, Mama, Brandon, Kelly and I enjoyed a not so quiet dinner but we enjoyed watching the kids play. Everyone eventually headed home and Kelly and I straightened up the kitchen and then headed upstairs to round up kids for bedtime. Kayla wanted to sleep with the boys so we headed to Ethan and Eli's room and laid sleeping bags out for everyone. The two big girls headed to Ellie's room to escape the noise and enjoy a good read. Kayla and Eli kept popping up and down. Clay was trying his best to wind down but the excitement of day was still on his mind. Ethan was face first in his pillow and the first one of the night to fall asleep except for Kara Lynn who got to sleep downstairs where it was a little quieter. Kelly and I sat down at the kitchen table to catch up. There were a few more pitter patters of little feet but eventually all was quiet. Kelly and I shared stories of potty training, tips on easy meals, and took a stroll down memory lane. We laughed a lot, cried a little, and then headed off to bed.

The next day we started off with donuts for breakfast. Ellie and Katie began planning a surprise party for Eli and Clay who both have birthdays in July. I decided it would be fun to load the 3 older girls up and head to Dollar Tree for some party supplies and Kelly stayed behind with the boys and Kara Lynn. On the way to the store Kayla (3 years) was thinking hard about what we could buy. She spoke up and said I know what we can get at the store, some "go ticks". I needed her big sis Katie to translate... glow sticks was what she said. I thought this was a great idea. When we got there you could tell I had some professional shoppers on my hands. We could have easily spent $50 if we had let Kayla take control so I had to step in and take control of the final selections. We headed back home to start on the cupcakes and to prepare games for the party. We started out with hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, then we had the lovely cupcakes, then there was time for games and opening gifts. All the kids had tons of fun and Kelly and I were impressed with Ellie and Katie's party planning skills. One of my favorites was the sign they made which said "Hey, Eli ...What's Up, Clay...Yahoo...It's your birthday!!!" For the big finale we waited until it was dark outside we turned off all the lights, turned on music and danced around with all the glow sticks. We did take the time to bathe all of the kids. We took shifts. The boys were my responsibility and they basically splashed around until I thought they were clean enough. The bathroom got a nice cleaning too. It was a busy and fun filled day and all the kids went straight to bed with almost no trouble at all except for Kara Lynn. We think she was a little overstimulated. I can't imagine why.

Sad to say the fun had to end and our cousins headed back to Arkansas on Wednesday morning. The kids said there goodbyes and I got some hugs and kisses and now we are looking forward to the next visit. Ellie, Ethan and Eli love their cousins, Katie, Clay, Kayla and Kara Lynn!!