The Cousin Get Together

The cousins have managed to get together for the Labor Day weekend for
the last several years. With all the miles we have traveled this
summer, we decided this one we needed to stay home. The to-do list is
at an all time record length. After being gone much of the summer, we
have SO much to do to get caught up.


Then, at 8:30am we decided seeing family has always trumped almost
everything and anything. This time that should be true also. So, we
packed the car and hit the road 2 hours later.

The kids saw all of their cousins (8!) in 3 short days. They played
and played and played. It. Was. Amazing.

We didn't get pictures with Andy and Zelda, but we did manage a group
shot of the Heidt cousins.

The girls

These two girls are starting to be so much fun together! These aren't great pictures, but the look on Gemma's face is priceless. She simply adores the attention she gets from her older siblings. Any attention.

My Girls

Here are my girls today while they (briefly) watched some TV together. This lasted less than a minute. Still adorable..

A Game

Which pair of shorts below is size 4T? What one is size 24 months? Can you figure it out? I can't.*



* The one on the left (purple) is size 4T. The left set is size 24 month. The shorts are made from the same material and are the same brand FYI.

The Toe

Ouch! On Sunday, Gemma was playing in the kitchen pantry while I was cleaning up after breakfast. It was one of those days where the list of things that needed to be done was a mile long. We had a lot of work to do to catch up after the Race on Saturday and also to prepare for the coming week - I return to work on Tuesday.

I was wiping the table when I heard the thunk of the can. This isn't an uncommon noise, but I still held my breathe for a moment while I waited. Either there would be silence because she was fine or crying from the hurt/surprise. It was crying this time. Lot of crying. When I went to pick her up, there was bleeding. Lots of bleeding and I couldn't see what had happened.


I got John back inside (he was out changing the oil in the car) and we assessed the situation and then made a call to our favorite Grandma hotline. She always knows what to do. Ultimately, we agreed on the wait and see camp.

Her big toe is badly bruised and swollen. There is a cut that reaches from the tip of the toe all the way back past the knuckle. The line extends through the toenail. I can't see how she won't lose her toenail.

However, after the initial crying drama, our tough kiddo is just as fine as can be. She is running, climbing, jumping and crawling as fast as she can. And she is acting just fine and normal.

Daddy's Shoes

Shoes are SO fun to wear! Even when Gemma is running at top speed. Even when they are huge. I'm finding shoe all over the place in crazy places. The bathtub, her room, on the steps. Everywhere but where they are supposed to be.

It is very cute, but makes getting out of the house just a little more difficult...

Racing

For the rivers. We do it every year. I think we're crazy. Probably it is just me with the crazy.

The non for profit I work with (less and less these days) has their big fund raiser in August. We have run the children's activity booth for the last 5 summers. It's a fun day, but super exhausting as well. We were at the park at 9:30 this morning and finally packed it all up at 5pm. A long day in the sun.

William was my helper this year. He stayed ALL day without complaint. Not one. None at all. What a great guy. He played and helped and ate a sno cone and played some more.

The picture is one of the activities we run. William is showing our high school helpers how the activity works. He then continued to show them for the next 2 hours.