Cousin Weekend
My sister and her family came to visit us on Labor Day holiday. We had a great time hanging out. Cousins played nonstop!
I love that they are all ages where they can play real games. The fourth number is a great number because if a person is not feeling a game, there is another number to play with.
Even the great Mazen was not too old for many. Here he is carrying Prince Ali to the palace!
Mom and Dad were there too
Mom and Dad came to meet us on Saturday. They’ve stayed in a hotel in Cville and done their own thing at times so we had to have ‘young time’ too 🙂
I had lunch with them on Friday while the boys were at school!
Friday Taco
Allen arrived on Friday in time for dinner. We had a margarita and a cheese board to nibble on.
Taco Buffet
You should hear their conversations!
Saturday
I took Matt to my favorite exercise class on Saturday morning – it was great!!
Meanwhile, Uncle Thomas made pancakes for all the children.
We discussed going to a park, pool, or splash park, but the kids had plenty of games in the house, and we kept the morning on schedule.
Lunch in Cardinal Hall
For lunch, we met up with Donnes at Cardinal Hall. There is plenty of room to spread out there!
I had the most delicious crunchy quinoa salad with salmon.
And beer!
And the best fries ever! So crunchy!
Birthday surprise!
Nonna and I snuck in early so we could throw a surprise party for Mazen!! Since cousins and grandparents were here, we had a small family party. We had a loose fishing themed party with some favours.
With a cake of course!!!
I got gluten free for my sister from Caked Up Cville And everyone said it tasted as good as any cake they had. If you need a gluten-free cake in Cville, Norkeita has you.
Was Beautiful!
Mazen was the last car to leave lunch and they were “late” in making the long way there, so everyone was inside to say surprise (except for those in the car with him of course).
Mazen was surprised, but said he saw hints, like our favorite cake baker in the aisle.
She gave Nonna and Grandpa Mazen a new ugly fishing rod with a fish balloon tied to the end.
Grammy and Pia got LEGO and this adorable Bald Head Island print with a BFF crocodile on it! (Remember when they saw the monster on the golf course?!)
“Everyone says caaaaakkkeee”
leftovers!
a decade!
Rest + swimming pool
After the party we all relaxed until the parents took 3/4 kids to the pool. Let’s hear it for parents!
date night
Mom and Dad offered to babysit while the big kids went to dinner. Let us also hear it for the grandparents; )
We put the little kids to sleep, and then we headed outside. We were hoping to get to Mas but that failed, so we went to Bang!
This was the only photo I took of the food – everything was great!
Sunday high
We had breakfast on a Sunday morning and took everyone down the Monticello for a walk.
Of course the highlight was playing on the giant poplar trunk.
lunch + rest
We came home and made salads and sandwiches for everyone’s lunch. And take a break to watch a little Aladdin.
North Garden
After rest, we moved to North Garden to Thomas’ parents’ house. They have a new zip line and a great sandbox.
love cup
Nonna and Grandpa watched the kids a bit while we went on the road to wine tasting in love cup.
Laura can only drink organic wine due to her being hypersensitive to wine ingredients, and so we were excited to take her to Virginia’s only organic winery.
Carl, the owner and winemaker, used to take care of Thomas! He welcomed us and taught us all about organic winemaking. We bought bottles of the Loving Cup White and the Sparkling Loving Cup Red.
Love these bug paintings!!
Brazos + IX Art Park
We are back in town for an early dinner at Brazos Taco!
This is a great place to take the kids because they can play in the grass and IX Art Park after eating.
The Cousins had a great time playing Aladdin, including Prince Ali arriving on elephants and going in and out of the Cave of Wonders.
I can’t wait for next weekend to cousin
Although realistically it’s probably Christmas!!
Emerson said ‘Mom and Dad, I’d like to move here. That’s cute village.” haha! It’s a beautiful village and they should move here!
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