Cousins, princesses, and mud, mud, mud

A few weeks ago we had a great visit with some East Coast cousins! As much as we miss the 12 cousins we left on the West Coast, we have 5 more on this coast. And for an added bonus, they're all very close in age to our kids making fun that much more fun!

Mina and Cole came down for a week from Virginia. Their mom was here to help me while on bed rest (thanks, Marj!) She helped cook, entertain the kids, and get us more unpacked and settled. And the kids...they played, and played, and played. We all had a great week.

Adam and Cole are only 5 months apart. A year ago in the Outer Banks, that was a big age difference and they pretty much ignored each other but now, they are quite the duo. They get the giggles and just sit and laugh together over who knows what. It's so fun to watch. And then Cole had the great idea to put on princess dresses, why not? They were so cute posing and twirling around after their baths. Aren't they pretty? This is going to be so fun to share at their 16th birthday parties :)

And why did they need baths, you ask? Well, thanks to Hurricane Fay, we had some rain and the kids discovered mud! I freaked but Marj convinced me to let kids be kids. And she was right. They had so much fun, and thanks to bed rest, I wasn't the one cleaning them up :) Now we have a pile of "mud" clothes in the garage so nothing else gets ruined, and they are free to play in the mud...well, at least until we redo the lawn in the backyard...These pictures and video where taken while it was actually raining. It was their inaugural mud celebration!