We spent last week in the lovely city of Lynchburg, VA, hanging out with a couple of grandparents and a bunch of cousins.
There was a lot of this. (If you've never seen a Wii, surely you recognize the remotes from our blog photos by now.)
Savannah (the redhead) and Maddie were so fabulous to play with Luke. I wonder how many times I heard Luke call their names during the week. Hundreds, maybe thousands.
Big buddies.
And Luke explained some Deal or No Deal strategies. All the cousins are big game show fans.
Luke referred to the group as "the cousins" all week. It began right before we arrived at Grandma's house (Luke always refers to it as HER house. I'm sure she agrees.), Luke said, "Are all my cousins waiting for me?" I told him they were and he said, "I love my cousins."
Jonathan turned 16. I was in charge of making this cookie cake. I added eggs and butter to the mix like a pro.
More than once Luke came charging into the kitchen looking for a spoon . . .
Ice cream thief.
Lots and lots of silliness.
And lots of tickle fights. Thankfully they didn't destroy Grandma's newly refinished basement (at least I don't think they destroyed anything).
It was extremely hot and humid while we were there. Just as miserable as it is here at home. But we played mini golf anyway.
They really did have fun. Isn't it obvious? Lamar played mini golf on this very course many times as a child. And last summer Luke played his first ever mini golf game there. I posted about 100 pictures of that event.
Cute moment with Luke and sweet Haley.
He was just a little excited to give his answer. It was very late when they were playing and I laughed so hard my sides were aching. The kids were absolutely hilarious.
They were fighting aliens, I think, on the monitor using this fun green screen.
This simple exhibit using ping pong balls, hair dryers, and basketball goals was a big hit. Jonathan is super talented and balances two balls. Maddie's impressed.
Very cute waterway exhibit. I think this floor mostly dealt with Virginian history. I really love the clouds.
Cute house in the play area.
We went the bottom floor last. And Luke discovered a stage setup and RockBand projected onto a large screen. Kind of Luke's nirvana.
Luke's first time on stage. Luke on guitar. Maddie on drums.
He even looks excited. Probably because he just learned the singer gets to select the song. He was disappointed he was not allowed to change his on screen character. He had already backed to the character selection screen before the museum employee stopped him and said, "I guess you've played before huh?"
Belting it out.
Showing off some dance moves.
The other cousins decided to perform next. They did a fab job on Ghostbusters.
Friday night Haley tried to curl my hair like all the cool kids are doing. (As if I've ever known what the cool kids are doing.)
Caitlin and Savannah's parents came to get them just before we left on Saturday. Their brother Jesse came too so I got this photo of all the cousins, minus the oldest who had to work. I'm pleased with it, and happy the kids were once again willing subjects.
It was an experience sharing a house with this crew for a week. And sharing a bathroom with 3 teenagers and 2 preteens was reminiscent of dorm life. But the smiles and laughs from my boy, and all the kids, were worth every moment.
Just before we left Luke sat in Maddie's lap, hugged her and didn't want to let go.
They really did have fun. Isn't it obvious? Lamar played mini golf on this very course many times as a child. And last summer Luke played his first ever mini golf game there. I posted about 100 pictures of that event.
Cute moment with Luke and sweet Haley.
Luke really loves trivia games these days, though his trivia knowledge is not exactly impressive. Doesn't stop him from answering and making up his own questions. He was thrilled that cousins love some trivia too.
He's kinda hoping Caitlin picks him.
He was just a little excited to give his answer. It was very late when they were playing and I laughed so hard my sides were aching. The kids were absolutely hilarious.
We also went to VBS at Grandma and Grandpa's church in the evenings. Luke had a good time but I didn't get many photos.
He was happy, he knew it, and he tweaked his beek.
I went Luke's VBS class with him. I doubt he would have done it without me. But still a good experience for him.
On Friday we planned to take everyone to the zoo. But it was so unbearably hot that we had to find an indoor activity. We headed to Amazement Square, thinking the older cousins might be bored. We were so wrong. Everyone had a blast at this super cute museum/play place.
Everyone enjoyed these cool exhibits that I'm sure demonstrated some physics principals. They loved sending the golf balls flying down the ramps.
Lamar and Jonathan in a bike race. I think this was right after Jonathan slammed his knee on the bike and nearly had to file an incident report with the museum. He was able to convince them a bandaid was all he needed.
They were fighting aliens, I think, on the monitor using this fun green screen.
This simple exhibit using ping pong balls, hair dryers, and basketball goals was a big hit. Jonathan is super talented and balances two balls. Maddie's impressed.
The steps illuminated as you climbed them. The kids agreed to one posed photo. But don't think I didn't get some smart comments about my obsessive photographing.
The kids favorite exhibit by far was in the handicap room. Exhibits showed how people with differences interact everyday. There was even a sensory processing exhibit (not as popular with our crew but I was impressed). Here is their very favorite exhibit, the voice transmitter. It was great fun to type insults about your cousins and listen to the computerized voice say them.
The kids favorite exhibit by far was in the handicap room. Exhibits showed how people with differences interact everyday. There was even a sensory processing exhibit (not as popular with our crew but I was impressed). Here is their very favorite exhibit, the voice transmitter. It was great fun to type insults about your cousins and listen to the computerized voice say them.
Very cute waterway exhibit. I think this floor mostly dealt with Virginian history. I really love the clouds.
Cute house in the play area.
We went the bottom floor last. And Luke discovered a stage setup and RockBand projected onto a large screen. Kind of Luke's nirvana.
Luke's first time on stage. Luke on guitar. Maddie on drums.
Luke really wanted to play drums on the next song. But other children wanted a turn so he waited, planning how to play drums next. Well, another boy got to the drums first. The museum employee stationed at this exhibit (God bless this woman who spends her day supervising RockBand) told Luke he could not play drums. Luke went after the drumsticks. I said, "Lamar, run!!! He's going to attack that boy." But Luke apologized when prompted and quickly agreed to sing when we told him that was his only option. Not perfect, but pretty good coping.
He even looks excited. Probably because he just learned the singer gets to select the song. He was disappointed he was not allowed to change his on screen character. He had already backed to the character selection screen before the museum employee stopped him and said, "I guess you've played before huh?"
Belting it out.
Showing off some dance moves.
The other cousins decided to perform next. They did a fab job on Ghostbusters.
Friday night Haley tried to curl my hair like all the cool kids are doing. (As if I've ever known what the cool kids are doing.)
Luke took a picture of us. He said, "Mom I love that hair!"
Such a fun week. The cousins are so great with Luke. Just listening to their conversations warms my heart. Even their arguing makes me happy because Luke has real relationships with them. I really hope he has lasting memories of the good times he had with them this summer. I still have memories of playing with my cousins in my grandparents front yard when I was about Luke's age.
The older kids and I spent some time talking about my early memories of them. They were all little children when Lamar and I were dating and first married. They loved hearing about the funny things I remembered them doing. They've all grown up so quickly. And Luke told me just last night he is not a little boy. He said, "I am growing up, Mom!" Break my heart. But he wants to be like the big kids. That's an important milestone I think.
Caitlin and Savannah's parents came to get them just before we left on Saturday. Their brother Jesse came too so I got this photo of all the cousins, minus the oldest who had to work. I'm pleased with it, and happy the kids were once again willing subjects.
It was an experience sharing a house with this crew for a week. And sharing a bathroom with 3 teenagers and 2 preteens was reminiscent of dorm life. But the smiles and laughs from my boy, and all the kids, were worth every moment.
Just before we left Luke sat in Maddie's lap, hugged her and didn't want to let go.
Since we've been home Luke's been singing a song I didn't recognize, something about shooting stars and an airplane. Then I heard the song on a movie preview today. Teenage music I guess his cousins taught him. Tonight he was playing Wii swordplay and said to his opponent "You're gonna get a piece of meat." When I laughed he said, "You say that when you fight. 'You want a piece of meat?'" Not quite ready to be a teenager. But close.
1 comments:
Thanks for the photos. I hate I could not go, but this warmed my heart. I, for one greatly appreciated the picts. I can't wait for my kids to get home. Come join us if you can!
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