cousins

ramona and james love love love all of their cousins. i suspect that their cousins are the seven most important young people in my children's lives. we talk about the cousins, we look at pictures of the cousins, we role play using the cousins' names.

this weekend, we visited 2 of those 7 cousins. rachel and maggie just turned 12 and 10, respectively, but the difference in age between the girls and ramona and james does not seem to impede their ability to play together. all 4 together had more fun in the easiest of ways this weekend than they ever have in the past. i am certain this has to do with a certain little guy who is finally old enough to (kind of) keep up with the bigger kids. whatever the reason, playing was characterized by prolonged stretches of peaceful interaction, with lots of giggles. there was also a trip to a candy store, which makes everyone happy.

happy beatiful cousins


james makes an adorable betty lou who. he tried SO HARD to get that sucker into his mouth while sticking his face through that hole.  he never did reach his mouth, but A+ for effort.


later that night, david and i went downtown glen ellyn for a drink and a movie (catching fire, because I LOVE the hunger games. sue me). we had a glass of wine at an italian restaurant. i spent the whole time at the bar fantasizing about having that glowing frank sinatra hanging on the wall over my fireplace. i'm not exaggerating.


the next day, we climbed up on stuff at a park.


becky and maggie got the highest.


such a good time. thanks mcfarlands, as always, for a superb weekend!