Take six families - 11 adults, 13 kids (including 4 pre-adolescent girls - yikes!), 5 babies - all with varied opinions and personalities (including too many strong-willed, intense, opinionated Zobrists) - under one roof & you get one hectic, noisy, crazy household! This past weekend we had our 7th annual cousin camp and with that many people, even in a nice, large cabin with plenty of bedrooms & bathrooms, it isn't easy! With such a mix, you are bound to get - sparring cousins, screaming babies, tantruming toddlers & preschoolers, on-edge adults, frustration, stress, mess, hurt feelings, pandamonium, and a bit of insanity. So why do we do this, you may ask. Well . . .
My mom began cousin camp when there were only about 7 cousins & they were all little, with the oldest cousins being almost 5. It was a very sweet time & enjoyable for children & adults. My mom has always felt strongly about giving her grandchildren the experience of cousin camp. As the family has gotten larger, it takes more & more effort on the part of the adults to make cousin camp a success. Every year at the end of cousin camp we try to think up ways to change things or make it so that it is less difficult and stressful for the adults. It seems that most of us take our turns at "cracking" under the pressure - (I took my turn when we were getting ready for a family portrait & I let my feathers get ruffled about a stupid difference of opinion - sorry to all my fellow moms for cracking up a bit! - I was silly!)
However, when I get back home & away from the things that make cousin camp hard, I think about all the fun we had and the memories made despite all the frustration. As Brad & I talked on the way home, he reminded me that there aren't many families that ALL get together & do something like this. I think he is right! I know why, because it takes an incredible amount of sacrifice on the adults' parts to create something that their children will remember for a life time. But - anything worthwhile takes a bit of sacrifice, doesn't it? Let me share the reasons why I think we have cousin camp:
My mom began cousin camp when there were only about 7 cousins & they were all little, with the oldest cousins being almost 5. It was a very sweet time & enjoyable for children & adults. My mom has always felt strongly about giving her grandchildren the experience of cousin camp. As the family has gotten larger, it takes more & more effort on the part of the adults to make cousin camp a success. Every year at the end of cousin camp we try to think up ways to change things or make it so that it is less difficult and stressful for the adults. It seems that most of us take our turns at "cracking" under the pressure - (I took my turn when we were getting ready for a family portrait & I let my feathers get ruffled about a stupid difference of opinion - sorry to all my fellow moms for cracking up a bit! - I was silly!)
However, when I get back home & away from the things that make cousin camp hard, I think about all the fun we had and the memories made despite all the frustration. As Brad & I talked on the way home, he reminded me that there aren't many families that ALL get together & do something like this. I think he is right! I know why, because it takes an incredible amount of sacrifice on the adults' parts to create something that their children will remember for a life time. But - anything worthwhile takes a bit of sacrifice, doesn't it? Let me share the reasons why I think we have cousin camp:
1. Our children get the opportunity to interact and bond with aunts & uncles in a way they may not during a typical family get-together.
Lacey with Aunt Katie & cousin Ella
Uncles Jared & Phillip lead the senior campers in doing a little metal detecting.
Aunt Stephanie reads to the junior campers2. We get to be creative & make really cool stuff!
Junior campers have fun doing spray bottle art
Katie during the blanket-making activity
Ava, Isabelle, & Lacey paint flower pots
The big girls getting creative
3. We get really cool cousin camp t-shirts
4. We get to be together & interact in a way we may not on a usual day
Lilli reads Lacey a story
Madi reads Ava a story
Katie & Janae escape for a quiet moment on the deck
5. We get to work on projects with "mammy"
6. We get to hike to beautiful places
7. We get to play in the rain with our cousins
8. We get to do something for our kids - we get to spend time with them, sacrifice our own desires for them, help create memories for them - and isn't that worth a little inconvenience for a weekend? I definitiely think so!
9 comments:
What a GREAT idea! I LOVE it! That is so cool. I wish I got to do something like that growing up. I am so jealous.
You guys ROCK! ;) What a cool family.
Wow!!! So, so great!! You have a very inspired mother to put this together and keep it going. I love reading about your childhood family memories, and I know how much those experiences mean to you. It's going to be fun for you to hear your kids talk about these years, too. I love those camp t-shirts! Your kids look so healthy and happy, and growing. It must be fun and challenging to have different personalities you get to learn how to love and motivate. You and Brad are very blessed, and I know that you know that because you act like a woman with gratitude.
It's true... We had some crazy moments that's for sure, but all in all, it was pretty dang fun and the kids really had fun...most of the time!
This really is a great thing for all the kids in your family. I have cousins who are all older than I am and I hardly ever see them and my kids have no cousins on my side of the family and all the ones on Wayne's side are a) older (Wayne has neices and nephews older than he is) and b) They are all in Canada. SO, my kids have no concept of 'cousin,' and really, neither do I. But your parents are really great for providing this experience and a place to get away for some bonding, family time! I did notice that your family is certainly full of many PINK shirts and not too many BLUE ones!
Judy - you always make such thoughtful & nice comments. Thank you!
Janet - I can't imagine not having a concept of "cousins". I guess that is truly a relationship I have taken for granted. I have a ton of cousins - so does Brad - & obviously, so do my kids - on both sides. I am working on a post with some fun "cousin time" my kids recently enjoyed on the Wallace side. I guess I should appreciate the cousin relationship more! You are very right - the pink out-number the blue substantially!
thanks to larae for that very nice and down to earth true post. this is one tired grandmother who sometimes wonders is it all worth it??? but i know these kids need good memories in this crazy world and we try hard to build some bonds. i hope it is working, sometimes it is hard esp. with all the pink shirts as you say janet., we have somany young ladies it gets pretty wild sometimes. but we all try and we all do our best to have fun. we now have 18 cousin campers and the really hard part is I get OLDER every year that is a bummer as the energy level keeps going down . no fair. hope all of them will keep up family times whne i am too old. thanks for all the positive feedback sometimes we need it when we get discouraged. this yr the kids read for charity. that was our theme and they did GREAT i was really proud of them! jkz larae's mom.
So true!!! It is hard for us grown ups..and things seem so chaotic and crazy, and we are sure that referring (sp)our childrens and adults little spats will never end. Then your son who is the odd man out....doesn't want to leave, and on the way home, your kids start to talk about all the fun they had, and soon all I can remember is all the good stuff. I know mom wants to graduate the older ones...but what a good experience they had this year reading for charity! I do hate to see it end. Maybe if we all had more realistic expectations, that it is going to be noisy, difficult to sleep, difficult to get our kids to sleep, messy, contentious at times...maybe it might work better. ????
I hope mom reads this post.....
Well, I new I better get my post done before I read yours. I am glad I did:) A perfect post LaRae. A great time for our kids, and a wonderful Mammy to sponsor it all:)
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