Cousins are the Best

July was a busy month from start to finish.  It started with me flying out to New York for a four-day Sisters Road Trip as I helped Tanya cover nine states in her Volvo all the way back to Brookings, with her one-year-old in the back seat and her greyhound in the extended back. If that's not fun, I don't know what is - especially with the soundtrack options we had, not to mention the great quantity of hot fudge malts! The month ended with Misha and Josh traveling to Boston to see friends and later our whole family of four visiting Bud and Ashley in Houston. 

But this post is about the in between, which has been filled with lots and lots of fun getting the cousins together. Here are the three of them at the Kids' Museum:

Of course, what really makes summer summer in my book is heading out on the bike trail. It works perfectly with Nara and Sebby sharing the buggy ("sharing" is loosely defined) while Misha cruises along on his new bike, keeping up quite well with Tanya and me.

Let's go!

Ready to roll.

Leading the group.

Misha's favorite destination - the pond. Great for picnics, bugs, and frogs.

Homeward bound.

Grandma and Grandpa's house is also a daily destination.




Just before the 4th of July, Misha joined Grandpa and Grandpa for a trip to Murdo.



A few shots of Sebby with his big brother:

Treasures from the library.

Fun at the park.

When Misha and Josh left for Boston, Sebby barely noticed because he still had Nara as his full-time playmate. He woke up every morning saying, "I want Tanya Nara." We took advantage of the kiddie pool ...

baths at Grandma's ...



Gary's trampoline ...


and riding on toy cars indoors and outdoors.



We also welcomed another monarch to the world,





played at the Kids' Museum some more,


fixed up our big unicycles for the Brookings Tour de Gardens,

and played in the backyard wading pool.

We even whisked Grandma away to spend a relaxing afternoon in Sioux Falls, chasing after the toddlers to make sure they didn't fall into the water at Falls Park and carrying the tired and the grumpy after too much excitement on the sculpture walk. :)

Luckily, the weather was perfect. A beautiful day!