cousin camp

for the past couple of summers, we have planned our vacation to visit chris' parents at the same time as his sister and her family.  it is beautiful there in the summertime, the temperature peaks at 80, we eat outside for every meal.  one night of our vacation during dinner on the screened-in porch, my sister-in-law pointed out that our surroundings looked a lot like those in the movie dirty dancing.  she was right, it is just like dirty dancing, minus all the dancing dirtily.

 something about sleeping under the same roof as my two kids, my husband, his parents, his sister, her husband, and her three kids reminds me of my church camp days.  we spend the week soaking up as much quality time with each other to last us through the year.  because of this, i have nicknamed our vacation cousin camp.

meet the camp directors, nana and papa.

they make sure we all get there safely and that we don't want for one thing during our stay.

meet our junior counselor, aly.

as the oldest cousin and an almost-kindergartener, she makes sure everyone follows the rules and stays out of trouble.  ben called her 'momma' all week.  it got a little confusing (for me).

 the award for silliest camper was a tie between ben and caroline.  they kept us entertained with their mad singing and dancing skills.  my son was introduced to the music of justin beiber and now has a bad case of beiber-fever.

there was another tie for the cutest camper award.  jack spent the trip making sure the trash ended up in the trash-can.  he's efficient, that one.

 and crosby spent the trip sleeping, eating, smiling, pooping (repeat).  cute boys, they are.

as cousin camp assistant director, aunt karin made sure there were plenty of books to read and that everyone had enough to eat.  ben and crosby have developed quite a crush on her.

as cousin camp social chairman, uncle chris made sure that everyone was adequately worn out by the end of the day.

at cousin camp, nature was observed,

 pools were inflated,

 blueberries were picked,

 sand castles were erected,

 all of the meals were served family-style,

and in typical camp fashion, we (i) cried when we had to leave.

***to view all pictures from our trip, click here.