“Hey- what’s your favorite kind of fart?”

“Favorite kind? What do you mean?”

“Like loud ones, stinky ones, quiet ones?”

:Oh man- I like ’em all.”

– actually conversation overheard between Scorch and his cousin this weekend.

~*~*~*~*~

I have 9 first cousins- and growing up, none of them lived more then an hour away. We got together for every holiday, birthday and random event you can think of.   My kids have 3 cousins- and the closest one lives 6 hours away. Not quite the same upbringing I had, huh?

Thanksgiving is a big deal on the Hubs side of the family because (most of the time) it’s the one time of year my mother-in-law gets all 3 of her sons and their families together for a holiday. This year my youngest brother-in-law and his wife couldn’t make it (you were missed!) but my older brother-in-law made the 16 hour trip with his boys. Fric is 8 and Frack is 7 (he’s 6 months older then Scorch). We only see the boys 2-3 times a year, so I hold my breath every time we see them. Will the kids still get along? Will they be shy with each other? Will they take forever to warm up with each other?

And, once again, I worried for nothing. I don’t think my kids let their cousins even take off their jacket before they were all over them, asking them to play, wanting to show them their tricks and asking them all sorts of question. And the Fric and Frack gave it back just as good as they get it- and it’s awesome because the kids don’t need us for any reason except as referees.

What wasn’t so awesome were the farting contests and the arguments over who won them, the stinky smell of sneakers, and the rivers of sweat from some crazy games of wall ball- but those are small prices to pay for 3 days of pure fun with some of our favorite people.