Since Coyt, the oldest, is looking at the end of his high school career in the next year, my mom wanted to do one last hurrah with the cousins getting to hang out en masse. So, she planned trips back and forth between Michigan and Texas (and Texas and Michigan) taking first those who didn't get to go a few summers ago.
William was the oldest of that group, so he got to go first.
As these things go, we did have to pack medication for his trip, but he did well keeping tabs on it.
We found that Lansing also has an airport viewing park, though not nearly as nice as Grand Rapids, it was pleasant enough for us to watch while we waited for William and Avia's plane to take off.
In his absence the house sure was quiet! We went to the library for a crafting day, and went swimming, which you can read about here and a second installment here.
When it was time to pick up Avia, William and Leon, everyone except for Alice and Daddy wanted to go!
When Leon was heading home, Grace was heading out. It was a 5am flight, which was a ridiculous wake up time, so Avia slept at our house for the night. Juliet wanted to spend as much time with Grace as possible, so she got up and came to the airport with us.
Juliet cries when it's just Avia leaving, so for it to be both Avia and Grace, she was a sad girl! We stopped to buy donuts on the way home (since not even Chick-fil-a was opened yet) which helped buoy her mood a little bit.
We did some parks and swimming while Grace was gone, you can check out some of our antics in this post.
When it was time for Grace to come home, Leah was starting out on her adventure, but I didn't get any airport picks during their late night pick up.
The twins spent the week vying for Leah's attention. At first Grace and Leah were spending the most time together, but as the week progressed, and Juliet's trip was nearing, they seemed to pair up more frequently.
We had to adjust our calendar for the week when the Endocrinologist's office called to let us know that their medication was not approved, and we needed new labs, x-rays and office notes before the end of the month. So, we packed our lunches the night before (and made up a crock pot meal for dinner upon our return.)
In Grand Rapids, Avia, Leah and Emily went adventuring, while the rest of us waited in waiting rooms or had bloodwork and x-rays done. The actual appointment was on time and fast, so we joined them to adventure around downtown too!
Avia treated us all to ice cream! Then we loaded back up in the car to find new adventures!
Just outside of town, we found a cookie vending machine! $3/each, but pretty tasty! We all shared one, because it was huge!
Our next stop was at a thrift shop to look for Emily shorts. We didn't find anything for her, but almost everyone else left with something (including a few items, (like a Texas Tech shirt!!) for Christin's baby girl.)
We found a beach/playground/dog/skate park down the road from the thrift store, and stopped in to play, but I was heading for a state park, so we didn't get too far into the water.
We finally made it to Ionia State Park Beach! Sadly, their shop is closed every Wednesday. = (
All 6 had a really great time playing in the water. Since Alice didn't change into her suit, and proceeded to get wet, we stayed until her dress was dry enough to not make a 'butt print' on the wooden bench seat.
Before meeting up with Abby's family at the pool one day, we tried to go to a Meet up and Eat up in Potterville. Sadly, the website lied, and we missed it, but a very helpful gentleman (coach? assistant principal?) called the food service department directly, and let me speak with the woman in charge. They were transitioning from serving a meal 2x each day, to a food distribution once a week. So, at 11:30, that Thursday, we drove back to Potterville and they loaded our car up with a week's worth of prepared groceries for 6 children for breakfast and dinner each day!!!!
We had so much milk, some of it had to be put in the basement fridge. This program is now my favorite. They provide a meal plan and re-heating instructions!!
After our failed attempt in Potterville, we went to the Middle School in Holt, where Alice would have been for the past two years, had Covid not happened, and they fed them there. Sadly, they weren't cooking many extras, so 4/6 ended up with cereal. Not that they minded one bit.
Leah's 'special' outing was to the Eaton County Fair. It was a nice way to spend 7 hours!
And on Friday, we met the bus in one of the church parking lots, where they got a meal each to go! It was a lucky day, since it was a 'lunchable' type kit, with a side of veggies and milk. = )
We went to the playground in Dimondale with their lunches, and everyone had a good time on the playground, except for Alice who went and holed herself up in the library on a computer.
There was a snake in the port-a-potty! [Emily] the snake was a baby Northern ribbon snake
Sometimes the twins and Leah would all play together nicely, but there was more and more fighting as the week progressed, mostly Juliet and Leah vs. Grace.
And the big kids had some library computer time.
When the little ones did get along, it was a wonderful time! During the twilight one night, the three of them spent hours outside coloring with chalk, playing on the swings, and catching lightning bugs.
But, with all the bickering, I must admit I was relived for Juliet and Leah to leave.
While Juliet was gone, Emily was at summer camp, and the rest of us picked up the next week of meals in Potterville, and started preparing for the Murder Mystery party next week.
I also made a Sam's run, because the swimsuit I ordered for Emily was a size too small. Luckily for me, the suits in store were half off, so I picked up two (since the twins will grow into them) and Emily was able to wear a clean one each day, without my having to run a small load of laundry every night.
On Friday, we made the trip out to Charlotte for the pool, again. This time we were joined by William's friend Jack and his family.
We waited impatiently Monday and Tuesday for the return of Juliet and arrival of Coyt, Cali and Elizabeth.
We bought so much food!!
We had to take the freezer food out of the boxes to make it fit, so I cut out the picture and instructions, taped them together, then put them all on a binder ring that we hung on the front of the fridge. It was a really good system, as they could see what we had without even opening the fridge, and the instructions were also easy to find! Too bad it looked awful...lol
They made it!! My mom had parked at the airport, and since Alice stayed home with Billy, we were all able to fit into my car.
Between all the freezer food, and then the Meet Up and Eat up pick up, I only made a sit down dinner once. They filled up the table, even without Billy and me!
One of the days at the hot food Meet Up and Eat Up, they had smiley face fries on the menu, so we called ahead to make sure they could accommodate our crowd. My mom had to follow in her car with a few children, since not all of us could fit in mine.
With full bellies, they were doing a conga line out to the car.
Cali, Emily and Grace were bosom buddies while Cali was here, and they made up several choreographed dances and routines. This one, set to one of the songs from Tangled, was my favorite.
The weekend of my murder mystery party, I was feeling very adventurous or insane, depending on how you want to look at it, and agreed to let Emily host her yard sale the morning after*. Since Cali was here, it wasn't the worst plan, and we were able to put out several months of get rid of pile from our house, Aunt Rocky's and all of the items that I had purchased specifically for the party, that we no longer need. = ) They, surprisingly, did not get much traffic, but combine with Grace's lemonade stand pulled in around $50. They did sell quite a bit, but my car was still full en route to the thrift store on Monday**.
They made another routine while waiting for the bats to come out.
It was such a fun time having the "big" cousins here, and Alice and Emily, well, at least Emily, were excited about their trip to Texas!
Their return trip was pretty smooth, until the final hour.
They were on the plan, when the left engine would not start. They tried several things, then had them disembark. They were passing out snacks (happy Alice) when the decision was made that they would postpone the flight until morning (sad Alice.) William, Grace, Juliet and I made a dry run to the airport before learning of the first delay. It was after midnight by the time this was decided and so we went back home. Thankfully my sister made the drive down to Detroit to retrieve them, because I was falling asleep in the chair waiting for them at 3am.
A little too exciting of an end to cousin summer, but I think all 10 of them had a wonderful time, and now that Avia has had a week to recover, I think that she had a good time too!
later days
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And, Pictures from my mom, on their way back into Texas after visiting my grandma in Oklahoma (Yes, she went 4 times, so that all of the great-grandkids could go.)
William
Juliet
Alice
Emily
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*Then, that afternoon Billy and I went to the BaconFest with the Cornishes.
**but I still only had to make one trip!!
Edited 7/18/2023: This post is now a part of my project: 78 State Parks! #54
