A Pattern of Words

Childhood nostalgia for V (who came here often as a kid). Mental overstimulation for me (who has probably only ever been in two other arcades before in my life). :p

It was such a delight seeing how much fun these two boy cousins had with one another. Whether it was playing endless games of chess, giggling over photos, bonding over legos, or just running around, they were constantly together. When we left, P talked for weeks about how much he missed A.

This is the first trip to P.H. that I truly felt that the kids were old enough to just disappear and spend the entire day playing with their cousins. All the toys were rediscovered and rejoiced over together and the cousins formed their own little groups. It was magical.

When you have 21 cousins, there’s sure to be a birthday to celebrate and an excuse to eat (The world’s most delicious) cake!

Lazy summer mornings and Finley when he was small enough to actually sit on the back of the porch couch.

Rough and tumble puppy (or more accurately, “dino”) play is S’s favorite. Thank goodness for so many big boy cousins who are happy to oblige!

Stop and take a moment to get a photo with your Mama. ❤

Back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. They run this path from our house to their cousins endlessly and some days (when I have to walk it countless times, too – sometimes hauling an unhappy child and a bike and a bag of freshly washed clothes that don’t belong to my kids) I miss living across the street from each other. Then I laugh. Because that’s ridiculous. And we have it so good.

Impossible to get close to Finley when the kids are around, because they continue to swarm him and he’s always delighted by all the attention.

Nobody ever warned me that, as a parent, I’d practically have to buy stock in frozen ice cream and popsicle treats for summers. It truly feels like the only way to get through those 3-5pm, melting your face off hours.