A visit with Grandma Mary!

On Thursday the 21st we went out to GH to visit Grandma Mary. It took us about an hour just to pack the van to cover all the contingencies!! But it was worth the effort!!

Running through the sprinklers was still a hit - just like it was, in this same backyard, when I was a child!

The ever-popular water guns! We brought Razor Scooters too, since Grandma Mary has an excellent circular driveway for zooming around on. We parked cars at each end to keep anyone from zooming into the street - it worked just fine!

We brought sewing projects - and got all of them done!! PJ pants for the boys, a skirt for Agnes, a pile of mending for Phoebe! I even got a pair of pants hemmed up for myself!

Grandma Mary can still help lay out a pattern just right!

The backyard was just right in the afternoon.

Leslie and Sarah helped out with the kids, and Leslie made a mean dish of Martha Stewart's Homemade Mac and Cheese - a winner for sure!! Just sitting and visiting was lots of fun - Mom would say, noting the clutter of toys on the floor, "This is just how it used to be!"

Mary and Donna joined us after work, and we also saw David and Diane. We didn't leave til 10 p.m. - it was hard to tear ourselves away - there's always more news to catch up on!

The required "group photos" - always a chore!! But good for a laugh!!

Henry, Calvin, and Agnes fell in love with Donna's upstairs hideaway!! And loved having so many movies to choose from!

It was like old times - at least like the old times when I came down when my kids were "little kids!" Sometimes you can go home again!!

Where did the days go?

Phoebe and kids left this a.m. Got a call from her that they had been making good progress and having a fun trip home. How can she be gone, and I haven't even finished posting the visit??

Henry, Eve, and Agnes were with Phoebe and Bonny's girls - the girls were visiting the American Girl Doll Store - so we had some water gun fun and then lunch at McDonalds. This was Wednesday - Porter, Harry, and Eve spent the night.

The water gun fun soon morphed into some kind of spy mission!!

The fierce fighters!!

And ever-pleasant Sully - I miss him - and the others - already!! Good thing more grandkids are coming this week to stay a few days!!

In the meantime, Dad and I went and saw Harry Potter.

A day at the beach!

It would not be a Cousin Camp experience without a day at the beach!! We were not there bright and early, but we were there when it counted - when it was warm but not too hot, and the waves were just right for everyone!

I did spend a lot of time under the canopy - I admit it. But I was surveying the scene with interest and enthusiasm!

After we went to B and B's for dinner - and Miss Isla found the "rocking chair" and promptly claimed it as her own!

Bruce's sister and family were in town for the family reunion on Bruce's side, so we had extra kids around - the acreage handled it fine!

It's fun to watch kids keep running back for more dunking in the waves!

And of course, someone has to be buried in the sand!!

Don't you love the random order these photos ended up in??

Fearless Cal!

Sully loved the sand!

As did Agnes!

Those beautiful Terrill Women!! (and "men!!")

Instructions from Dad!!

Tuesday night was a sleepover night for Eve, Porter, and Harry - fortunately everyone was tired enough to fall asleep without much fooling around - as is common on sleepovers.

Stay tuned for Wednesday's adventures!

Birthday Night at the Backyard Bar-B-Q!

After the water games, the dinner and birthday party on Monday night got underway. Miss Isla and Miss Agnes exchanging greetings no doubt!

Sully eventually got to liking the idea of his little cake!

Agnes enjoyed another cake and candles event.

Sully enjoyed the meal too - at least his mother's meal!

Sarah - and her mom and sister - were with us - and who can resist tetherball?

The "cousins" wanted to recreate "the pyramid" - and almost managed it!

Some folks took it easy!

Grandma Mary, Aunt Donna, and Aunt Mary were with us too. It was a nice evening.

We did manage to get the 12 grandkids in attendance in a photo with almost everyone facing forward! We missed Theo, Ida, and Lars!!

Outdoor picnics on a pleasant summer evening - a perfect end to the first day of Cousin Camp!

Coloring Cookies

After the swimming activities we had the kids "color" the frosting on some sugar cookies I found at the Monrovia Bakery. The pens have food coloring in them, so everything is edible.

I saw them when I took Agnes for a "Birthday Donut" last Saturday.

I was a little surprised that every single kid enjoyed doing it! I had been convinced that some would think it was "too young" to be doing.

But it was a big hit.

And the cookies tasted pretty good too!

Too bad there wasn't a bigger variety to choose from.

It was either Dora the Explorer,

or Sponge Bob.

So I opted for Dora!! (On a walk to the park at the beginning of the Fillmore's visit, Agnes was talking a lot about her friend Dora. I said, "Who is your friend Dora?" Agnes replied, with obvious surprise that I would ask such a question, "Of course she's imaginary!")

Cousin Camp Continues!

After an afternoon of swimming, you would have thought that we'd be tired of water, but this was not the case. The kids came home and began filling water balloons!!

Ara was an ace water balloon filler!! And she had lots of willing helpers too!

Some hardy souls even tried blowing up the water balloons. To no avail of course!

Bonny seemed to have the knack for tying the knots in the balloons.

After some organized water balloon tossing, we had a free for all - and it was heartily enjoyed by all!

Stay tuned for more Cousin Camp festivities!

Cousin Came Commences!!

A few years ago - when "the cousins" who were old enough to spend the night away from home were in the same place at the same time - Bonny conceived of the idea of Cousin Camp. I have to hand it to her, it was a great idea!! It has evolved over the years, and everyone isn't involved every year, but by and large it's a big hit!! It's very loosely structured - we are all Terrills after all - but thus far this year every "event" has been a big hit.

This year started with Dad, Greg, and Noah heading off for the Grand Canyon and a week of camping. Maybe someday Cousin Camp will actually be a camping event. It could happen!

After we got organized in the a.m., we went over to Harry and Dawn's to say hi to Aunt Leslie and Sarah and Ellen, who had arrived in the wee hours from Omaha! Then we had lunch at Rec Park - courtesy of Market Grill Restaurant - let me just say if you haven't tried them, you should!!

Then we headed to Seely's for an afternoon of swimming fun and frolics. The kids - and the grown-ups who know how to act like kids - had a wonderful time swimming and diving and splashing. You need to click on this photo for the full effect!! Bonny and Phoebe forbade me to publish the photos of them - but let me just say they look fine - I'm not sure why they objected!

There was a lot of diving through a "ring" with varying degrees of success and hilarity!!

11 of the 12 cousins who were in town participated - Isla opted for a nap - wise young lady!!

Sully - one of the birthday kids this go round - took a little coaxing, but came to love the water.

Miss Agnes - always making a fashion statement!!

This is to prove to my absent kids that I do get wet!

What did we do before we had "noodles??"

It has been work to have everyone here - it's crazy to pretend otherwise - but it's certainly "work worth doing" in my book to watch everyone have such a good time together.

Watch for more posts - I took lots of pictures, so it will take a few posts to get them all in - and the events that prompted them. For now let me just say that it's been a fun few days - usually Cousin Camp was out at Bonny's, and I didn't go out there, so this was my "maiden voyage" on the adventure - I'm sold on it!!