Cousins!

On Monday, Jason and Paige brought their three kids over to stay for a few days. Since they both work and the kids are on Christmas break, we thought it would be the perfect time for the cousins to come and enjoy some time with us.

It was an interesting dynamic having so many at once, but all seven kids did great together. Their ages dovetail with one another nicely: 2, 5, 9, 9, 11, 14, 15. They explored the woods outside, played basketball and rode bikes, played board and card games - the favorite, I think, being Machi Koro. They also challenged each other to playing games on the Wii, like Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and Mario Kart.

Sarah, Joel and Kaity playing Machi Koro.

Joel and Kaity playing Jeopardy!

At one point during a grudge match between the two oldest cousins, I sent this text message to my brother-in-law: "So our kids have been playing Jeopardy! and I think we need to revisit our plans to have them carry the torch of our genius. To wit: Kaity just used the phrase Koala Toast." 

They built worlds on Minecraft ...

Joe and Jacob

 and played with Play-Doh.

This is the disaster area that was my living room in the mornings. The kids all piled on pillows and blankets sprawled on the floor and across the furniture. Because who needs a perfectly good bed when everyone can camp out in the living room? As Opie Taylor says, it's "adventure sleeping"!

It was a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to doing it again!