Cousins

Chris and I have lots of cousins. On my side alone I have 26 First Cousins! I cannot even begin to count the second and third cousins. I have stopped  counting at 3rd cousins. Chris has about the same or a few more. We have quite a few who live in the area between the San Francisco Bay Area all the way down to San Luis Obispo.

I have been lucky enough to have met all my first cousins at one time or another. I have a few whom I'm exteremly close to and a few whom I have become close to over the past several years. I love having cousins. They are like having instant brothers and sisters, instant best friends. This past week it's been Cousin Chaos!

My cousin Shelly who lives in Idaho came for a visit, she drove down with one of her cousins to visit us for  a night. Shelly's sister, my cousin Jenny came the next day...we had such a lovely time, chatting about when we were kids, eating yummy food and hanging out poolside. What I love about my cousins is that I get to see a side to myself that I would not otherwise get to see. We have lots in common, mannerisms being one,  pet peeves being another. It's funny when you discover where all your little quirks come from.

After Cousin Shelly and Cousin Jenny's visit, it was time to visit with Chris' cousins' from the Hadland side of the family. There are only 3 girl cousins on the Hadland side of the family the rest are all boys. Cousin Kjester (she lives in Las Vegas), Cousin Gala (she lives here in SC) and Cousin Star (she lives in Brussles, Belgium). Cousin Star is also about to add to the cousins this Fall. All three gals are sisters, and what lovely sisters they are! Some of the best women ever. They are all unique and have warm personalities. I always enjoy hanging out with them. We did not get a photo of the adults but we got a photo of all the second cousins. It was a fun day had by all. 

At one point Jettson asked me why he had so many cousins. I told him because he was lucky enough to be born into a large family. Then he asked me, "what is a cousin, anyway?" I told him it's the child of an aunt or uncle. However, the more I thought about it...there is so much more to cousins. For me, my cousins were my instant friends, they always had my back, if anything was wrong they were always there for me. They were a way for me to find out more about myself. I have always loved my cousins and their families. I hope for the same relationships for Jettson and Owen. They have already started...and they know that their cousin is like a brother or sister and that they are always there for one another.

This weekend we have more cousins to visit...let the chaos continue!! Love you cousins!!

Me, Cousin Jenny and Cousin Shelly

Owen and Jett (Chris Hadland's kids), Sela & Felicity (Cousin Kjester's identical twin girls) and Avery and Kayla (Uncle Jeremy's girls). Sadly, Cousin Gala's girls; Jade and Anada, were at home with colds, otherwise they would have been in this photo.