Cousining

Kaitlyn, Jake, Alanna, Alex, Colin, Mikayla, Nicholas, Ben, Max, Michael, Amanda, Madison, Quinn, Jarred, Ryan, Connor

Having had only 4 cousins that lived in another state, and whom we rarely saw, I  treasure that my kids have so many, and so close by. As siblings we make efforts to make sure the kids have opportunities to be together. Christmas Eve is a wonderful mad house with all 16 kids and respective parents. We have kept traditions, such as Santa arriving to give out books and signal the beginning of the present exchange, even when Santa was one of the cousins. For the past handful of summers we have had what we call " Cousin's Camp". an entire summer day set aside for fun activities together, ranging from Scavenger hunts in downtown Bethel, to a Grandma Bev relay which required the kids to go thru an approximation of what their grandmother's day was like between her two jobs and taking care of her parents. Always present was the egg toss, and food. And when Sean and his crew come to town you can plan on a few occasion's with everyone present.
As with any group of people, some get along better than others, certainly the girls born just two days apart at Danbury hospital have a very cool bond, but all, in their way, reach out to each other in sibling like fashion.You can tell by the giggles or screams coming from the" Man cave" in my house that stuff, good stuff, is going on. I hope the memories they have created together of comradiere and companionship serve them as the grow into adulthood. I am thinking with this many kids, there is very few occupations we will not have some sort of expertise in.  Hearing them share memory stories of vacations spent together, showing concern for each other when life happens is all great training ground for living and loving.
And of course, and an Aunt to such a great group of kids, it is fun to hang out with them all. My kids aren't even home and 8 nieces and nephews just left after spending the better part of the day playing games & hanging out, making memories and being a family