Cousins

A cousin is a ready-made friend for life.
Anonymous

One of my favorite things about spending time with Kathy and Mark is watching our kids interact.  They are cousins, but more importantly, they are the best of friends! Our kids love doing everything together...from swimming, to watching TV.

One day Alex and Kiannah decided to take the paddle boat out...not knowing that it was broken to the point that it was nearly impossible to paddle and steer.  They paddled using their hands and after a valiant attempt to paddle to shore, they signaled to be rescued.  We all got a good chuckle out of their distress! lol!

 I think these two boys compare almost everything...even their tans...yes, they do have tans, but unfortunately the bright sunlight doesn't allow for it to show.

Don't you love the glazed over look on each of their faces? ha ha!

I think one of the most memorable things that happened was Alex's encounter with a forest animal.  Our evenings usually ended with the little girls being tucked into bed,  the older kids watching a movie, and us adults playing a game of Settlers...LOVE that game!  One evening I asked Alex to go check on the girls...reminding him to stand outside the camper door and count to 20 to make sure they were quiet and asleep.  I remember feeling a little guilty that I wasn't doing it myself...but concluded it would be good for Alex.  A few seconds later Alex came running inside...eyes wide, face white, shouting "I saw a bear!  I saw a bear!"   Martin immediately asked where, and looked out the window to see a 300 lbs bear meander into the bush!  The next day we asked Alex to show us exactly where the bear had been and where he had been standing.  Low and behold he was a mere 6-8 feet away from the bear!  I was so very thankful it had been Alex checking on the girls and not me!  I would have fainted on the spot!

We notified the owner and to our surprise realized the screen in front of the porch window was there because shortly before we arrived, this exact same bear had broken the window looking for food!!  We were assured he had only been searching for the dog food he had grown accustomed to having...

Our pictures may fade, but our memories won’t.
Anonymous