Cousins!!

Cousin Phil and his family came out this weekend for an ordination of a college friend. It was a great weekend filled with ice cream,

matching outfits,

sharing,

and wading in the kiddie pool!



There was also Great Aunt and Uncle time, which is almost as good as Grandma & Grandpa time.

Great Aunts are good for suggles.

...as Great Uncles are for teasing. (Katie knows how to hold her own in this arena.)

Great Uncles are good for suggles too, I guess.

During the course of the weekend, Miriam lost two more teeth!

Of course, I wouldn't have chosen her method for losing them -- namely, falling down and smashing her face against the rim of the kiddie pool. (Thank heavens they were already-loose baby teeth! And aside from sporting an extremely fat lip the rest of the day, one popsicle later she was fine.)

It was so nice having family visit. It reminded us of how much we miss living so far away from family -- particularly the sharing of ideas (yay! adult conversation!) and jokes and stories. Just as being married broadens your views in ways you never anticipated, talking with family members gets you to think about things and consider ideas you wouldn't necessarily have otherwise. I always feel my brain stretch a little bit when there are other adults around. :)

If nothing else, this has strengthened our resolve to have people over more often. If we can't have family nearby, the next best thing is good friends! And we're blessed to have so many in this area.