Family Reunion

We've been really busy the last few days and I've been staying up late, so I haven't had time to write lately. Thursday we spent cleaning and organizing the house and yard in preparation for all the siblings coming. DD had no problem staying occupied playing with her sand and water table all morning while I cleaned the yard.

Friday we played with cousins (they all got in late Thursday night), and DD got her first taste of sharing her toys with others. She hasn't had to do that since before we moved, and back then she was not in the possessive toddler stage. All things considered, she's done quite well, though of course, not without problems. She seems to feel that because it's hers, she should be able to play with it whenever she wants, even if someone else already is. My sister and I went to the pool and swam laps, and she gave me some good pointers on form (she has a group she swims with every week, so she knows way more than I do). I ended up swimming one mile! The farthest I've ever swam (swum?).

We each were supposed to come up with an activity to do; mine was a birthday party for all the grand kids, which consisted of a pinata and cake and ice cream (the kids helped Oma and Opa make the ice cream). I made little bags with cheap little toys for each of the kiddos, and then put a bunch of loose candy in as well. The cheap little toys have actually been quite a hit and have kept them occupied in spare moments.

Today we did family pictures. We had the most people present than we've had in years: 21 out of 22 (DH was the only one not present). Later we did bottle rockets and had a water balloon fight. After dinner we had our book discussion (which went about as I expected: dad and older bro managed to find something to disagree about, and the rest of us had to change the subject quick, though other than that, it went pretty well), and then we played Wisconsinopoly, courtesy of another sister who inherited it from a roommate. We also played Pit, which can be a really noisy game. When we were younger we would sometimes play it in the back of the van on road trips, though for some reason, dad never appreciated it when we did that.