Cousins

Oh, tell me, please tell me, is there a trick to get cousins to sit still, even real quick?

One giggles, one wiggles, one tugs on another.

One crawls, one tickles, then they pile on each other.

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, taking pictures with cousins, is way too much fun!

A Hyatt Family Gathering

We were fortunate enough to be able to get all of the Hyatt siblings and their children together for a visit shortly after Christmas. We are always so appreciative to Dan's sister Diane for hosting all 14 of us, especially since she is centrally located. This year Diane's husband Brian went all out with the entertainment by creating the Hyatt Family Carnival Games! He organized a weekend of egg races, darts, Nerf battles, take 2 (aka Bananagrams), foose ball and sling shots!! It all culminated on our last evening with a mini fireworks display, award ceremony and bonfire!!

It was wonderful to see everyone, especially the kids who all grow and change so fast. Many thanks to Brian and Diane for hosting and for all the hard work that went into the Carnival Games...I think I speak for the whole family when I say it was a weekend full of special memories.

8 Grandchildren all in a row

The 3rd Generation

Award ceremony for the Hyatt Family Carnival Games

Carnival Awards

A little bit wrestling, a little bit snuggling

Wii Sing...popular for those singing, not so much for those listening.

Emily was quite electrifying!

Cousins

Megan and Alex

Alex, Aliyah, Lauren and Zach

Katelyn

The night before Diane (Dan's Sister) came to visit with her 3 kids, Dan called to warn her that a monsterous gastric plague small stomach bug had been going around our house, but assured her that it had run it's course.

My oh my were we lying mistaken!! I woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit queasy, but still ok enough to make the trip into Boston for a day at the museum. It was a fun day with lots of discovery...did you know that an automatic toilet flushes itself continuously when a vomiting head hovers over it? Quite a nice feature if you ask me. It's a shame the rest stops along the highway from here to PA didn't have them when Diane and her 3 very sick kids made their way home!!

A few days later, we tried to call Diane and make excuses to avoid blame apologize, but she seemed a little put off. I know, we thought it was weird to.

A Family Gathering

During Christmas break, we drove down to Pennsylvania for a rare gathering of Dan's family...Dan's parents (from Florida), Dan's sister, husband and 3 children (from Pennsylvania) and Dan's brother, wife and 2 kids (from Idaho).

One would think that spending a week in a house with 16 people (8 of which are under the age of 9) would eventually lead to insanity, but it was suprisingly mellow and very enjoyable. The "cousins" had a great time playing and acted as if no time had ever passed since they'd last seen each other. Even the adults were able to relax a bit, although admittedly a lot of time was spent in the kitchen working on the never ending chore of feeding 16 people. It was a running joke for us to watch a platter of cookies or snacks be put down on the table and disappear within minutes!

Thank you to Diane and Brian for hosting and thank you to everyone for the very special memories.