A New Record

The two man-cousins. Eleven years apart in age, but more similar than different. Guys just need to hang together, especially in the presence of almost too many girls. Thomas plays a mean MarioKart ... doesn't he, Collin?

Two Thomas/Arend weekends in a row is a new record. One that we all had fun breaking. There's talk brewing of a vacation in 2010 together! Where do we sign up?

The Arend kids are officially confirmed and declared ... totally sweet.

Highlights of our 24 hours together: adults dinner out for gourmet pizza, Annie escaping out the front door in the dark of night, Mia and Thomas jamming out to The Lads in his bedroom, Uncle Jack taking Kaisha to look at the vanishing Ford Ranger, the perfect breakfast waffles, six cousins riding in the back-back of Uncle Jack's truck, a cruise through the Cabela store including cool fish tanks, kettle corn, and a shooting range. Then there was Uncle Jack and Collin going head to head on the Wii, Brenda taking me for a late night run to Safeway in pursuit of fiber (the identity of said individual will remain anonymous ... but it wasn't for either of us!), kick-the-can interrupted by mysterious shouts coming from a neighbor's house, and last but not least ... a little emesis to finish off the weekend.
A few dozen hugs later, we were out the door, tackling I-5,  in the back seat a makeshift vomit receptacle ready for anything, and me thinking about school starting in a week. I'm feeling up for it. As Collin would say, "It's all good."