Thursday, July 23, 2009

cousin fun

I love nothing more than being with my family.
The anticipation of being together is almost more than we can handle.
I could run a good block or two with all of the excess energy that their arrival generates.
My kids are no different. I must have been asked 37 times in the last 4 days,
"When are they coming?" They, being the most fun people in the world. Cousins.
This Tuesday the Aughtmons, Clements and Moodys met up at the Boardwalk for $.75 night.
It was a cousin extravaganza.
There were rides and cotton candy and sea spray in the air that you really couldn't smell for all of the sweetness of the cotton candy and I really have never seen children (or Scott for that matter) inhale cotton candy so quickly.
There was a smoked turkey leg that I saw featured on the Food Network that I was determined to try. I found it. I ate it. I believe the turkey, while alive, was the size of a small velociraptor. I don't think I will be doing that again.
The Aughtmon boys immediately formed a mini gang around Sam, their cousin who knows almost everything about sports and legos and video games.
And Addie also said that his cousin Hope is his second favorite person in the world which is a very high accolade coming from someone who usually takes a good 5 days to warm up to anyone.
And you need to know there was some laughter.
Because that is what happens when cousins get together and ride some crazy rides.
In all these years of riding the carousel at the Boardwalk and throwing metal rings at the mouth of the clown, Aunt Jenny almost made it in.
(I have never once made it close.)
Next year is your year, Jen, I feel it in my bones.
Addison missed the clown entirely and hit Uncle Van with the metal ring instead.
And my nieces, Aly and Claire, made me ride the Tsunami with them.
It is a ride that whips you around in a circle so fast that whoever is sitting on the outside gets smashed flatter than a pancake. That would be me.
Claire would say, "I can't hold on." And smash into Aly.
Aly would start simultaneoulsy, laughing and crying from all the laughing and smash into me. And then I would just be frozen in laughter, not breathing, tears streaming out of the corners of my eyes, my mouth open so wide my chin was tucked into my neck like Jim Carrey's Fire Marshall Bill.
Not attractive but fun.
Then there was just the general excitement of being together.
You can't just come down from the joy of all that sugar and kinship in a moment.
I believe there were still a few children awake around 1:00 in the morning,
just chatting. You can't get enough of cousins even in the middle of the night.
This morning we are going to hug each other good-bye and wave as they pull away and start the count down.
The count down until we get to be together again.


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4 comments:

Meg said...

we totally understand. Cousins are our favorite people - my 2 year old daughter talks about Caleb, her 8 year old cousin continually. He is so sweet and plays with her almost constantly when they are together. Yay for cousins!

Erica said...

Yay for cousins and sisters. Hooray for Noah's Bagels and Thrifty ice cream. Thank the Lord for the sweetness of being together!

Aly said...

i couldn't breath either when Claire smashed herself in to me! the tears were being squeezed out of me!

ronda said...

Some of my favorite memories are of going to the Boardwalk during their discount nights & trying to get the ring in the clown's mouth! Thanks for the laugh and the memories.