Cousin Camp 2002 Report

Cousin Camp was great!! At least no one complained too badly!! Didn't exactly go according to plan, but then what does? This will be a story of flying by the seat of your pants! HA!

The older ones arrived early Saturday and the rest came on Sunday. Then...the rains began. We have been in near-drought conditions for several years now. So, this was the week that changed!! Yes, it rained for the first three days.

Most of the original plans went out the door and we watched a lot of videos and colored and read books. We made trail mix and cookies and chocolate candy and red-hots. The girls played "dress-up" a lot and our 12 year old grandson played a lot of computer games. He also spent time with Granddaddy just talking about "Life".

On Monday evening, we ate watermelon under the carport and spit the seeds everywhere! Fortunately, for me, Granddaddy cleaned up the mess. He's a great guy. I think I'll keep him!!

After eating the watermelon, we all played in the wet street. Even Boaz, the dog, got in on the fun!!

On Tuesday, I took the youngest one to his other granny. We live a couple of hours drive apart, so she met me halfway. That afternoon, the kids and I went to the library for books (and to get them out of the house!)

On Wednesday, we finally made it to the park for breakfast. The rain had pretty much stopped, but the kids still couldn't get in our backyard. It would have just been a huge mud hole, it was so wet. So, we drove through McDonald's as promised and bought breakfast. We took the trail mix and a cooler packed with water and soft drinks. We found a picnic table near the playground and ate our breakfast. Then the kids headed for the playground and I headed for the track. I sat under a tree and read while they played. They were so ready to be outside, we were there for about 4 hours. They didn't even have any problems getting along!

We got the teepee built. It turned in to quite a project. The directions that I found were not complete so I am posting a page with directions for ours. It really turned out nice. As soon as we had it up, the girls moved in. They had one Barbie phone in the teepee and the other was strung up in the tree house. It was great!

We got the hats made. I got the baby's fingerprint before she left for Granny's. Then off and on through the week, we got everyone else. I wrote each one's name by his/her print. We used painter caps. I originally planned to use sunvisors, but couldn't find them when I went to purchase them. Oh well, plan B is always just as good!! Sometimes, it is even better!

We started the decorated boxes from cigar boxes. We'll finish them as they come to visit through the year. The AOL disks are going to have a group picture on them and be in their stockings at Christmas

On Thursday, we went to the opening of "Stuart Little 2". Our daughter in law really treated us. She purchased the tickets and put together goody bags with candy and juice boxes. The movie was great and we all enjoyed the outing. The night before, we watched the original "Stuart Little" so we'd be up to speed. Actually, that was more for me than them. I think they knew the movie very well!!

Another movie we watched was "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". First, we made chocolate candy, then after dinner we watched the movie and ate the candy. The kids thought it was great! So did Granddaddy!!

Pickup Day on Saturday turned into a real hassle. One son was in the middle of moving his mother in to his home (that would be my stepson!!). Another son was in the middle of packing the truck for the move to Kansas with his bride. My daughter and her husband were in the middle of moving from 2 hours on one side of me to 2 hours on the other side of me!! And my new stove was delivered that day. (That's right, in the midst of everything, my stove had to be replaced. Also, the hot water heater went out and had to be replaced during the week. Good thing I have a "No Bath" rule!!) I just put out the food and said "There it is".

After everyone was gone except for the little one that lives in town, I filled the pool with bubble bath and we had a ball!

Well, so much for plans, but that's why you plan. Granddaddy says you can't change plans if you don't have some plans to change. I'm already thinking about next year....Let's see, I think we need to do those totem poles...