This was last summer...note my darling daughter Alison with her suit on BACKWARDS...she's still a little crazy with her fashion sense, but at least she has decided that the tags actually do go in back:)
This was this past weekend...my how they have grown. From left to right is my nephew, Clayton (8..soon to be 9), Madison (7), my niece Morgan (6), Sammi (4) and Alison (3). What a crew!!
My mother, the saint, decided to have the oldest four over for a sleep over on Saturday night. Yep, she's crazy. I think I'll add "Accessories for her padded-room and beautiful white-straight jacket" to her Christmas list. God love that woman for taking all four rugrats overnight. I'm told they were very well behaved and slept like little angels. Oh the love of a grandmother - you just can't beat it.
Our little Ali-Bubba is still a bit young for this kind of adventure (and it throws the whole balance off...Clayton & Madison....Sammi & Morgan...and then there is Alison fighting her way into one of the groups at all times!!) so she got a special date with her Mom. We went to the video store and rented a movie - one she picked out herself (Aladdin and the King of Thieves...she's on a Jasmine kick right now because she is "bootiful"), got her a bucket of popcorn that she didn't have to share and some yummy lemonade. She loved it and I loved the special time with her, cuddling under blankets with the air conditioning blasting.
When I look at the picture of these five fabulous kids, I get a whole mixed-bag of emotions. One, I get melancholy because I can't believe how time is flashing before my eyes. My nephew was just a baby in my very insecure arms just a moment ago - now he is talking Star Wars with his Uncle Scott and telling me about his girlfriend from school (who knew I had been replaced as the girlfriend!!). My niece is growing up so quickly and becoming this beautiful young lady. Her long dark hair and bright blue eyes remind me so much of my brother everytime I look at her. My own kids change daily and without notice. Time is marching on whether I'm paying attention or not.
I'm also so very excited when I see their smiling faces through the lens of my camera. Yes, because there are five faces that I have to have looking in one direction (no small task!!), but also because all of them get to be with each other so often. They have learned to love each other more like siblings than cousins. They talk on the phone, they send postcards when they go on trips, they make bookmarks for each other and send snail-mail...just sweet, sweet stuff that you don't want to have end. I so hope that the love they have for each other now will grow and develop into lifelong friendships that they will carry into their adulthood - wherever they may end up.
This weekend is Clayton's birthday and another day for them to get together, have some fun and just be kids. You can bet that I'll be there, camera in hand, ready to capture the moments as they unfold. I'm just hoping my picture-taking ability is at the top of its game because I fear I will be ducking water balloons and dodging silly string to get any good shots!! And when the cake is rolled out and the birthday wish is made, I know what I'll be wishing for...another year together just like this one - full of pool days, sledding trips and sleep overs:)
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