Cousins!

The title of this one is deceiving. It is really about Father's Day but the underlying theme is all about cousins. I wanted Jon to have a nice relaxing father's day. I knew that there wasn't a present or a card that could have said or showed what I felt. Instead I decided to make the day as enjoyable as possible.

I had planned on letting Jon sleep late. He woke up before all of us! I heard him gently whisper "the kids just got up" and he was already up and dressed. So much for letting him sleep late. I got up and since we didn't really have the necessary items for a big fancy breakfast, I got the kids ready and we headed to the diner. Jon is still getting used to how diners work. We have had a few meals at the diner but not Sunday Breakfast. It may sound silly but people who are from the east take them for granted. Denver doesn't have diners. The few that do exist are based on the novelty of them and do not live up to the high standards that "east coasters" have established. Anyway, I digress. We arrived at the diner and the line went out the door. Jon was flabbergasted. The line moved quickly and we had an amazing breakfast. More food than you know what to do with! The kids ate so much. I couldn't believe that we actually cleared so many plates. I think Jon may now be addicted! :)

After breakfast, we headed home for a few hours before heading to my cousin's house in Beacon. We must have eaten too much at breakfast because within a couple of hours of arriving at home we were all asleep! I was the first to wake up around 1:00. The kids and Jon were still sleeping so I layed down again for another hour. What a nice relaxing time! I don't know if we've ever done that before. The kids woke up next. I mentioned the party we were going to and the kids got very excited. Their excitement woke Jon and before I knew it we were packing up our stuff and we were out the door.

Beacon, NY, I still call it my hometown although I haven't lived there since I was a teenager. It is where many family members still call home. My cousin Mary lives across the street from her parents. Her brother, Michael and his family live a few houses down the street. My dad lives next door to Michael. The list can go on and does go on. To put it as easy as possible, I have a huge family and they all live very close. We arrived at Mary's house for the bbq. Most of the family was already there. We were greeted at the back gate by a warm rush of happy partygoers. The grill was heating up. The pool was full of kids. There were conversations in clusters around the yard. Many conversations stopped to greet us. Aidan and Amanda were immediately overwhelmed by all of the people that introduced themselves. "Hi guys, I'm __. I'm your cousin" Yes, they have all met before but when you are 2, it is hard to remember 6 months ago when they saw them last. There are many generations. This is my dad's family. He has 2 brothers. One brother has five children. The other brother has three children. There are lots of kids and they have lots of kids. Ahh, the Irish Catholics.

The kids run off to play with their cousin Liam. Liam is turning two in a few weeks. He is Michael's son and lives next to my dad. Aidan, Amanda and Liam have become very good friends. They will actually be celebrating their birthdays together since they are so close. We'll have one big family birthday celebration. Anyway, the kids were entertained. Jon and I went to visit with the family. Jon was given a nice cigar by my uncle. Many of the guys went over to the side yard and smoked their cigars while the rest of the folks hung around and chatted, had a few drinks, played darts and swam in the pool.

It was a wonderful day. Jon took the kids swimming in the pool. Amanda did not want to get out. Unfortunately I did not bring my swimsuit so Jon had to take turns with the kids. They swam with their older cousins a bit but eventually Amanda's lips were purple and I had to pull her out. She screamed! She has not been able to stop talking about the pool since that day.

After a nice long afternoon of visiting, it was time to head home. It was Sunday night and we had to get ready for another long week ahead of us. My mom is heading on vacation on Thursday and there is a lot to do to prepare for their trip.

ETA: I forgot that I never posted this... Ooops...