Grandma, the Ohio Irwins and our family all packed up and headed for Wisconsin. We pulled into a lovely property owned by Daniel’s cousin Jessica and her husband. Look at this gorgeous barn in their backyard!
We got to visit with Jessica, her husband, the Ohio Irwins, Daniel’s other brother’s family, Grandma Linda, his Aunt Janet and her boyfriend, and Jessica’s dad. Can you believe we all fit into that house! They have a nice large home, with a huge back yard, gorgeous barn, woods, river, and lots of summertime fun - minus the mosquitoes. I have never seen so many mosquitoes! All the cousins were together for the weekend! They had a blast! They ran around, swam, had a balloon fight, picked cherries, ate smores by a bonfire, and played at a park!
We took a hike through the woods to get to the river on their property.
After walking through some serious mud, we saw the river.
Hi, my name is Charlotte and I'm just frolicking through the forest.
The girls investigated flowers along the way while Daniel and I cringed at the thought of them getting into Poison Oak. All we could remember was "leaves of three let them be" and we were seeing lots of plants with leaves of three!
Okay, it's hard to see and I'm fully aware that I say this a lot but look at her curls in the bottom picture. Let's see how long I can prolong her first haircut. They're just blonde and wispy and curly and so darn precious!
Charlotte worked
on her tan.
We actually got a picture of all the cousins together in the below picture! From left to right: Scarlett, Matthew, Katelyn, Morgan, Charlotte and Grayson.
Cuddled up with Uncle Nate. This was his first time meeting her.
Playing with cherries. I had no idea cherry trees were so beautiful and fun!
The kids got hours of play out of this pool.
The girls helped Aunt Jessica pick cherries for her cherry pies and cherry jam. We got to take two jars of jam home with us.
I've always loved seeing these two together. There's only a couple of months difference in their age and they're always pretty much the same size. Oh, and Scarlett and Morgan share the same middle name too.
Love this picture of Aunt Jessica picking cherries.
Hands down, my favorite part of the weekend was sitting out in the yard under a tree while relaxing, reading and visiting with my sister-n-laws. These were my views. The leaves were rustling in the wind while a gentle breeze blew all day. There was lush grass all around with gorgeous woods surrounding us.
I got to sit back and watch my girls play. I soaked in their mannerisms, little voices and personalities. It was nice to feel like there was nothing else I needed to be doing in the world other than sitting under that tree on that blanket.
Looking at these pictures make me so happy. Morgan brought me some water balloons for me to throw with her. Below, she and I were sharing a laugh.
The girls joined us for a little while. Below, Morgan and Charlotte walk together. I love seeing them interact like this. I hope they're as close as my sister and I someday. It's like having a built in best friend and person who'll have your back your entire life no matter what.
Grayson is quite the little photographer. He recently got a real camera and was taking great pictures of everyone.
All the kids loudly played together inside too. Cousin Jessica and Todd were oh so patient.
Although it was rare, Charlotte did love on her Aunts too. She cuddled with Aunt Kelly below.
One of the things on my to-do list for the summer was campfire and smores. I got to cross both of those off. The girls loved this experience!
Thankfully Uncle Mark helped keep Charlotte out of the fire while I ran around making smores.
She liked hers! Of course. What's not to like?
These two are only a month apart. So sweet, Matthew and Morgan. I love that all three of us sister-n-laws were pregnant at the same time.
After seeing how much both girls loved the piano, we might need to invest in future lessons!
I love this post. It just screams summer, family, and nostalgia to me!
On Sunday, we all packed up to head our separate ways. Our family traveled with Grandma Linda to stay with Aunt Janet in Chicago!
