The Blessing of Cousins

Last week, my sister and I did something very brave. We went on a road trip with 5 kids 2 and under. Her twin 2 year olds and 9 month old, and my two year old and 9 month old. Thank goodness she has a Honda Pilot! We have two mommies in the front, 3 kiddos in the middle, and her twins in the back.   

Every inch of foot space and the trunk was stuffed with supplies for our trip, along with the storage container on the roof. We set out right on schedule at 6pm with 6 hours of driving time ahead of us. Jess put on a movie and was so thoughtful to buy all sorts of fun snacks for the kid. Each kid received a very special container of goldfish. The kids were already in their pajamas, ready to put straight to bed upon our arrival at Gammie and Poppa’s.

All things considering the drive went pretty well. Jess was amazing. She waited on the kids and shhh’ed them to sleep when they cried. We went through each movie a few times and lots of snacks, but eventually (with about an hour to go) we had them all asleep. We only made one stop, thanks to some careful sipping of water by the mommies, and actually made it right on schedule in 6 hours.

Now that we had arrived at Gammie and Poppa’s it was time for the fun to begin!

Growing up, we didn’t have any cousins our age. We have one wonderful cousin who is 18 years younger than me (the oldest). We were always a little envious of our friends who had best friend cousins, and vowed that our own kids would be close. The 6 cousins don’t get to spend as much time together as we would like, so this trip was a perfect opportunity for some quality time together.

Every activity large and small has been a great opportunity for the cousins to bond. As I write this the week is only half way over, so there is more fun to be had. So far the highlights have been cookie decorating, wagon rides around the pool, playing at the park, a visit from the Grammies, and a Christmas marionette show at the library. If this week is any indication, these little cousins have a lifetime of fun and memory making opportunities in store for them. I can’t wait to see what each new adventure together brings for our families.

Did you grow up close with your cousins? What are some of your favorite memories together?