I Wrote You This Big Sexy Post I Think You're Going To Really Dig

When we weren't hauling children to and from the pool and the cottage we could most likely be found spending our in-between time s'more-ing, camping, swinging, sliding, watering, eating, talking, laughing, re-desiging living rooms, talking, You-Tubing, Hulu-ing, laughing, laughing, laughing, drawing, painting, talking, eating, eating, and swimming with our clothes on.

We tried our darndest to cover all our bases, but in the end, we were just left wanting more. More madness, more late nights(more sleep), more time.

and so let's get to it

This is the tale of Captain Jack Sparrow

a pirate so brave on the seven seas

a mystical quest

to the isle of Tortuga

raven locks sway on the ocean breeze

Captain Jack

Johnny Depp

Davy Jones

giant squid

Now back to the good part

Thanks to Juje for hosting the loud and the crazy and the very sticky

Thanks to Bek for scrubbing up paint in the bathroom grout for over an hour and for the laughs- always for the laughs.

Thanks to Dylan- uncle of the year goes to you

Thanks to Mini Jeff for sleeping through the night every night

Thanks to Bop Bop for succumbing to peer pressure and taking the full-clothed dive

& Thanks to heaven on high, for I feel blessed blessed blessed to be a part of such a crazy family

My beloved Vaiseys: you complete me(<-click).

An Art Pageant: Spare No Glitz

Guess what happens when the oldest cousin is 10 and a girl?

Free babysitting.

But guess what else happens. Organized play run by a dictatorship.

And specifically for this year...an art pageant.

It might have been our recent family marathon of Toddlers and Tiaras that brought on the pageant theme. Man that show is awesome.

Either way, Lena loves being bossed around by Delia almost as much as she like to boss. Which is a lot.

They worked so hard all afternoon on their masterpieces.

Because technically this pageant was also an art auction, everyone else in the family was given a paddle and as far as budget was concerned, that was up to every individual family to determine what was in their means to spend.

These children weren't born yesterday and the one that was born a year ago wasn't participating.

They know the way to their Grandparents'(that'd be Bop Bop and BabaJuje) hearts (wallets): home-crafted grandchild artwork.

To keep up with the children's excitement and sheer momentum we played along and in the end there was real money to be found in each grubby child-sized paw.

Even dear old family friend, Hartman, dug deep and walked away with a prize collector's piece.

I think I spent a grand total of like 20 bucks! Whew.

*

even though I forget most of the names, they were the best part. I believe one went something like: Lollipop Eye

Dee Dee was crowned pageant queen

5...5...do I hear 5? 6...6? 6.50? 7...7...do I hear 7?

Things to appreciate here: Steve's socks/sandal power combo, Hartman's sword and change counting

Aunt Bekah takes home Lolipop Eye

Lemonade stands have nothing on this crafty bunch. Pun. And two bits (for you Bek, you can have my two bits any day)!

*no child was spray-tanned during the making of this post

In The Pool Again

My skin is still shedding the sunburn from that first day in the pool with them.

Lucky for him, the baby found hours of ultraviolet free refuge napping in a pack-n-play inside.

The semi-littles found worry free safety in life jackets

and we all tore it up in the pool.

remind me to get a pool put in when my grandchildren arrive.

As far as entertainment/ sleep sedatives go, it's a toughie to beat.

It Was Like a Blink of an Eye

Since their departure one measly week after their arrival I haven't brought myself to sit down and unload the vast amounts of pictures that were taken of our togetherness until now.

Boy, I'm tired! I had the tinniest twinge to blog today so I'm running with it. I remember why I prefer to write a little something more often because now I can't move forward until the Fourth is behind us in full force.

Here in New York, when the cousins come in July, we press repeat and keep it traditional.

Ready for stale parades and cousin luuuv?

It went like this, Monday: Fairport villiage parade

but not before

Sunday: Wolcott fireworks & cottage

of the fourth of July.

I hope I keep feeling twingy so I can share the rest of our week together in what will be known as the Summerish of Vaisey in honor of last year and because we got the condensed version this year.

I offered to have them stay longer(the rest of the summer?) and all sleep in our upstairs multipurpose "playroom" complete with fold out bed and limited floor space due to what I refer to as "obese amounts of un-played with toys and crap," but for some reason they declined. I can't figure it out?

All I can think of it that I guess you grow pretty snobby when you become new home owners.