So We Drove Across the Country With Two Children Under the Age of Four...

We might be crazy.  Mr. MadeIt and I drove across the country with two children under four years old...And Daddy's Girl (at least half the time) hates her carseat.  Which is really funny, because she used to sleep best when in her carseat...hmm.

But it was family reunion time, and we were determined to go!  The three married couples from the hubby's siblings all had babies last year (Daddy's Girl is the youngest by three weeks), and the other three cousins are within three years of each other, so I really really really want the cousins to get to know each other and be friends.  My own cousins are pretty widely spaced in age and geographic distance, and I don't think I even know all their names!  I don't want this to happen with my little ones.

So we nervously set off for my in-laws' home with a "Magic Bag" full of things my parents surprised us with to keep little ones entertained during the long (long, long, long) car ride.  (I'm so glad some family lives close!)  We drove through the night to have as little children-awake-and-wanting-out time as possible.  By two in the morning, whenever I'd see another car on the road, I would think, "What's the matter with you, you lunatics!  Go to bed!  ...Oh, wait..."  

The plan worked.  We made excellent time and the girls did really surprisingly well.  The next leg of the journey was easier, as we carpooled with Grammie and Pa (that's what the grandkids call Mr. MadeIt's parents) the rest of the way.

And it was worth it.

One day, we all went to the beach.  We all had so much fun, but the cousins enjoyed themselves the most.  This was Daddy's Girl's first time at a beach.  (It's been super rainy here, remember?  No lake-going for us.)  Her slightly older cousin taught her about eating sand, unfortunately...Oh, well.  It's extra minerals, right?  Gotta have your minerals...  Needless to say, Daddy's Girl loved every bit of playing in the sand.  She was "helping" with the sand castle, digging in the sand, eating the sand...

Boo had a great time, too.  She LOVES playing with her cousins.  And just look at those cute sandy legs--she had a great time making the sand castle, too.

Here's the cousin who's closest to Boo's age; she's almost exactly one year older.  We stayed at their house for a week, and I almost didn't see Boo during that time!  These two were playing pretend 24/7--Princesses, Incredibles, Mommies and Daddies, all the time!  I love that Boo got to have this time with her cousin.

This is "SweetCheeks."  She's the next cousin, and is, oh, probably 18 months younger than Boo.  She is such a sweetheart.  With her own baby sister almost exactly Daddy's Girl's age, I might have thought she'd be tired of the babies, but no--she loved playing with Daddy's Girl.  It was so cute.

Out of six cousins on this side of the family, this little man is the only boy.  Maybe more will join him later, but for now, he's pretty outnumbered!

This is "Tootsie."  Yep, she's the one who taught Daddy's Girl to eat sand.  I'm sure these two will be getting into all kinds of mischief together when they get older.

That's enough with the talking.  Let's get some more pictures of these little ones having fun!

Okay, maybe just a little more talking.  Daddy's Girl took a couple of steps by herself while playing at the lake!  I can't believe she's not still my little tiny preemie "just borned" (as Boo would say) baby.  Why do they have to grow so quickly?

Thanks to my brother-in-law for taking these pictures!  Mr. MadeIt and I chose not to risk our nice camera around all this sand and water, but I'm glad we didn't have to do without pictures of our little ones having so much fun!

Did you get to visit cousins this summer?