Cousin Visitor

Last week, Paige came for her 8-year-old visit with Grandma and Grandpa.  She was only here for a few days, so we tried to see her as much as possible without being too pushy. 

I only took the camera out once the whole time she was here.  SHAME ON ME!!!

 On the day she arrived, she surprised us all by showing up at the pool with Grandma.  We were so happy to see her!  She's grown up so much and seems so mature and mellow!  She was bombarded by all the cousins as soon as she arrived.  My kids only got to play with her for about a half hour before we had to go home and put the boys to bed, but I heard she stayed for a while longer with the other cousins and that Grandpa Smith even showed up and swam for a while.

The next day, Paige came to our house while Grandma got her hair cut.  I hardly even saw her because the kids just swept her away to the basement and they played the entire time.  I heard a lot of laughing and squealing and rescuing, etc. going on, but whenever I went downstairs to take a photo, it got very boring.  I guess I'm a killjoy.  I'm sure Paige was in culture shock - going from one older teen-aged sister to four rowdy, yelling kids in her face.  It was a scream fest!!  But I think MOST of the screams were fun and part of their games and NONE of the mean screams came from or were directed at her - just sibling battles.  Grandma came back after her haircut with pizza!!!  She really knows how to please the crowds!

Just leave, Mom - we're trying to play here!

Eating Chicago corn and watching TV for a minute. 

We didn't get to see Paige for a couple of days after that because she was having fun with Grandma and Grandpa and her other cousins.  It sounds like she had a lot of fun and packed a lot of stuff into those days - shopping, restaurants, Lagoon, bouncy houses - you name it.  On the night before she left, the girls and I went over to my folks house.  The girls played with Paige one last time while my parents packed their bags (they went back to Chicago with her for a few days).  They had so much fun.  Paige is a very easy kid to get along with - a character trait she inherited from BOTH her parents.  We hadn't even pulled out of my parents driveway when the girls said, "Oh, we miss our cousin!"  And we do!