A Winter Cousin Reunion

As I write this blog entry, it is 75 degrees outside and feels more like a summer evening than a winter's night.  It is definitely an odd time to update the blog with more snow memories.  But picture of Callie and her cousins playing in the snow are cute no matter what the season or temperature.  Becky, Jon and the kids came up after Christmas this year and, after they spent some time in Williamsburg and after Jon flew back home, Callie and I picked them up and we all went to the lake for a week.  The first few pictures are of a quick outing to the aquarium that we went on a few days before heading to the lake, while Becky was still with the Schumachers.  They came to our house first and Brighton and Will immediately invaded Callie's playroom and took over all her toys.  She just watched from the side and wouldn't interact with them.  When Monday morning came, I asked Callie if she was ready to go pick up Will and Brighton and she shook her head vehemently and whined her little "no" sound.  But she quickly warmed up to them and missed them so much once the week together was over.  It snowed just an inch or so at the lake, but it was the perfect amount of snow for sledding as you will see.  We also celebrated Becky's 30th birthday, met up with our cousin and met their new little baby, went to the mall for a not so fun shopping spree with three whiny kids, visited Grannyroo and went on walks and "tractor" rides.  It was a great week full of squealing, tickling and chasing (the kids, not the adults!) and we all can't wait to get back together again.  

 One day these girls might be too scared to get right up in the face of this crocodile, but they weren't a bit afraid that day.

 Brighton's snowball eating had some rather nasty consequences later.  It wasn't always pure snow.  She seemed to prefer it to have leaves and dirt mixed in.

 This was how Callie preferred to be pulled back up the hill.  We called it "the injured skier" position.

 A big hug for Callie from Will.

Ready...Set...Go!  

Last time these girls were together, they looked like this...and they interacted but weren't quite best buds.

  

 Six months later, they really enjoyed being together and started what we hope to be a lifelong bond.  Brighton was very protective of Callie, holding her hand and shielding her from the wild, tickling Will-monster.  And Brighton regularly stated aloud that she loved Callie and even referred to me as her Callie-mommy.  Notice, in the bath picture, how different their skin tones are!

Here is a cute video of them chasing each other.  The growling noise is the garbage disposal.   When Callie started giggling, Brighton thought it meant it was time to chase each other.

 Grannyroo was having a very good day and enjoyed being near the girls.  Will has hit the stage of being frightened by older people and did not enjoy being there as much as his cousin and sister did.

Callie also learned a new skill at Nana and Papa's house.  She figured out that steps were best descended on her belly.  Brighton is at the bottom of the stairs playing with the light switch which explains why the light in this video keeps changing.