Just Be Cuz

"Cousins are those childhood playmates who grow up to be forever friends."

Anonymous

These 7 kids are destined to be friends.

Especially if my siblings and I have anything to say about it!

While I do have dear friends in my life, my parents would always say, "In the end, it's your family."

True. Very True.

First day with Kenzie. Everyone had to hold her.

Don't know how many people asked if they were twins.
They're 5 weeks apart. Emerson was late, John was early.

"Cousin to cousin we'll always be, 

Special friends from the same family tree." 

~unknown

Uncle Bill is my photo helper. He can always get the kids to laugh.

The boys got to see the train go by more than once a day while camping.

Mom got all the kids matching camping shirts. 

Great Grandpa Jim with his 6 little rascals.

These 2. Peter always wanted to hold Kenzie.

Levi. Mostly quiet, almost always compliant, is caught on camera here dumping water on John's head.
He's just like his Dad. Behind the scenes sneaky sinister. HA!

How many kids can you fit in a tub? 

Catching the Scenes

A few interesting and beautiful things I saw in Alaska...

I have no idea who owns this great bus.
 And you know what? I learned in college that is called a "bus" not a van. My friend who drove one was adamant that he did not drive a van. I had to edit the bug splats off the Alaska tire cover, but what a fun ride.

This is another view of Seward. 

Camping near the base of Mt. Marathon.
There is a race up and down this mountain every 4th of July. You can barely make out the trail at the top where those brave souls go up one part and come down the other. I've seen the injuries from this race while at the bottom. It's nuts. 

Just some pretty flowers next to a Birch Tree. 

The plane flying over us in Talkeetna.
Peter made sure I took pictures of the planes that came by.

You may see this again on a future business card of mine.
What a neat and very bright little flower!

Memorial Camp May 27-29

My family has been participating in Solid Rock Bible Camp's Memorial Weekend Camp since I can remember. The past 10 years I haven't been able to attend, but this year, my whole family was there together again, plus spouses and offspring. It was a lot of fun. They hold this camp in order to spend a day preparing the camp for summer campers who will be there from June-September. Getting any work done with kids around brings about challenges, but in the end we had a good time and things did get finished.

Of course I had to document the entire two days.

This was our home for a week.
There was an identical one my Dad drove too.

The Fam.

Our whole family was in the group that helped at the waterfront. My brother staining the dock.

Levi helping rake the sand.

Peter looking busy.

Bill staining the other part of the dock.

Jenna...well, holding a sleeping baby is work, right?

Renee staining away.

Andrew helping too.

Mom and John digging grass out of the sand.

Ella always has lots of fun raking.

My Dad helping build a new bench.

John Lewis trying to escape work.

Dad was helping take down the water slide. I will say,  I made him pose like this. 

They helped clear dead trees.

These were all the rakes and shovels used to clean up the area around the buildings.
That's a lot of stuff! I sure looked nice.

Who says "all work and no play?" The kids loved the bungee run when they could just jump in it together.

They climbed up the rock. I don't think I've climbed up that rock since I was 16. 

Peter got about half way in and got scared. That's Peter for you. Thinks  about being daring, then regrets it :)

Ok, this is my brother showing all of us his skills from his new love, P90X. It's a workout he's been doing lately. Here's the yoga portion for your viewing. The kids just kept asking him what he was doing and told him to watch out for the water.

So I mocked him and showed him my pose from Karate Kid.

Ella and John up by the motor homes.

The whole family before we left. 

Last but not least, my niece, Kenzie.
Who doesn't love a fat baby on a stump?

Stones ~ The Ultimate Projectile

As in nature, as in art, so in grace; it is rough treatment that gives souls, as well as stones, their luster.

Thomas Guthrie

You get my nephews and my sons plus a few little women together by water with a supply of stones, and you have an all-time stone throwing extravaganza. In fact, as you will see in a few of the pictures, water isn't even a requirement. If there were stones, their little arms were swinging. Lots of direction and correction was needed in these times, but get them going in the right way and they had a blast. Even Andrew, Bill and John got into skipping stones, and I will say, I impressed my husband with my own stone skipping skills.

Down in Soldotna at camp, the kids had their first go at throwing stones into Miracle Lake. I love pictures taken into the sun. Don't ask me why, something about those light beams makes things nostalgic.

John is beyond thrilled at himself after his throw.

The next day, again in Miracle Lake.

Seward.
This place is beautiful when the sun is out. The mountains are amazing and the stones are nice and flat for tossing about.

Talkeetna.
 Pop Pops and Emerson throwing stones in the river. Also lots of flat stones here. 

My kids having fun up on a bank where we walked a little ways down from the sand bar.

Andrew having his turn at skipping stones. 

Here at the campground, these two peas in a pod kept very busy filling that bush behind them with stones from the pile.

Up at the lookout all the kids threw stones into the woods. See, no water.

Then a plane flew right over them and the throwing stopped for a brief moment.