For the second year, we have forgone exchanging wrapped gifts with Libby and Zig's girls for Christmas and opted to give each other the gift of time together. I can't tell you how much all of us have been looking forward to the Cousins' slumber party weekend we had planned for this past weekend. After Lauren's basketball game was over, we took off (in the snow) for Lewistown with what looked like enough stuff for a month's vacation and three very excited kids.
Libby and I left the itinerary up to the kids. They had requested that we go bowling, do crafts, have snacks, go to the movies and eat pancakes. So after some initial playing and giggling, we set out to meet all of their requests. I had found some cool coloring pages that they seemed to get a kick out of. And when you add in a whole big package of brand new Crayola markers, everyone gets excited. The coloring actually occupied them longer than I thought it would.
We ordered party packs from the OIP for dinner- Josh's absolute favorite Lewistown food option because of their wings. So after our bellies were full of wings and pizza and ribs we packed up and headed for Lewistown Lanes for some bowling.
It was the first time in a long time that our kids had bowled (since a Nemacolin trip when it rained and we resorted to hiding out indoors at the bowling alley there) and the first time for Brooke and Hayden. They all had a blast! We saw quite a few strikes thanks to the gutter guards and the ramp that the little girls were using. We ran into some familiar faces (Hi, Nancy!) so that was a highlight for me. After an icy ride home with a super packed Suburban, we settled in at home for the night with some pj's and a trial run with Josh's snow cone machine that he had gotten for Christmas. That was a huge hit and will definitely make the packing list for all of our camping trips this summer.
We had some super sleepy kids, and most of them went to sleep quickly after we settled down. Brooke and Lauren seemed to stay awake the longest- not that I knew because I had passed out promptly upon laying down on Libby and Zig's couch. It was just like all the slumber parties I had attended as a kid where I was the first one to go to sleep and ended up missing all of the shenanigans because of it.
Sunday morning brought lots of coffee and a delicious big breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes and french toast. And then the kids played and played. Hayden took me to school in a game of Memory in which I decided she must have xray vision with the way every card she turned over was a match. She was awfully proud of herself and I was dumbfounded.
We enjoyed a quick visit with Nana who was still recovering from a meniscus surgery late the week prior. I know we were all happy to see her, as well as Pap for the few minutes he was there to get Mom picked up on his way home from church.
In the afternoon, we loaded up our shuttle bus to take the kids to the movies to see "Sing", which was super cute. Very little has changed at the Miller Cinema since I was in high school which was a little mind blowing for me. The man taking money was a familiar face and the concession stand lady literally looked to me like she had been standing there since the 90's. Strange as it may seem, there is something so comforting about being home...where so many things have stayed the same. It's always surreal.
I could try to explain the fun we had, but I think this picture says it all. Libby sent me this picture of Brooke's journal entry from school. It just made my heart so happy. Mission accomplished if her sweet little heart is full of cousin love and happy memories of the time we gave each other.
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