Cousins

I went to a birthday party at my aunt Salena's last night.  It was for the daughter of one of my cousins.  All of my aunts kids were there and their children.  It was a blast.  I really felt what I've been missing the last twelve years of my life.  I love my siblings an I love getting together with them and getting together with cousins is almost the same...it's like the siblings you have that you never fought with because you didn't have to share a room.  The great thing about cousins too is that sometimes they are a little older than you or just the same age so (this is coming from an oldest child's perspective) so while your siblings might have kids that don't overlap your older kids ages, your cousins have multiple kids that do....and there way older kids still think it is fun to drag your babies around and entertain them as opposed to your children who are worn out by that crazy little cheetah.  Last night when we first got there my kids were a little hesitant.  I think the last time they'd seen any of my cousins was 2 1/2 years ago at forth of July.  Even when you are ten that is a long time.  They stood in a corner of the kitchen by me an ate pizza while they watched kids running in and out.  After about ten minutes something finally gave though and the next thing I knew they were running the house with a pack of cousins.  Here is were some of the highlights of the night.

1) Everyone calls Cheetah Cheetah there.  She of course responded in kind.  At one point she was wrestling with two of my cousins' older boys and had them on the floor because she was biting them :)

2) My cousin Jacob looks like my dad and uncles in their 20's.  It is just a trip to see him looking like a time warp version of my dad.

3) I love my cousin Sami and Peggy.  They are just a smidgen older than me but they were some of my favorite playmates when I was a kid.  It was so great to catch up on their lives and all the family gossip.  It was also nice to commiserate about our fathers.  All the (P) men are super charming.  FYI, this is not necessarily a blessing, but at this point it is kind of hilarious. 

4) One of my cousins is starting to look more and more like her dad who is starting to look more and more like our grandma and it made me realize that Captain E looked like all three of them.  I recognized when we first came out here that his eyes are like my sister Jo.  Now I realize that here eyes are like our cousin, whose are like her father, whose are like his mother...meaning my kid not only has some resemblance to me and my family but it is actually my Mexican family.

5) My cousins have a bunch of boys just a little older than Captain E....guess what they are also moody!  It was nice to see that I'm not the only one constantly asking my child to relax...and while I can attest they do it much better than I do, it was nice to see this is probably almost normal.

6) My cousin sami is married to the nicest guy.  I mean he is super tall big dude but he always is laughing and smiling...I mean the man just puts off the air of jolly.  For whatever reason Cheetah decided he was a monster and kept running to my cousin Michael who is literally the opposite.  I'm not saying he's mean but he is like super stoic, a lot more quiet, very serious, and when the teenage boys get out of hand he is usually the one who rounds them up and gives them the stern get back in line talk.  This is who my daughter choose to love on all night.  Everyone thought it was hilarious.  What can I say the girl really likes manly men. 

It  was so fun to spend time with them.  Before I knew it it was 9:30 and I had to pry my kids literally out of their arms.  Hope I can move closer so I can see them more often!