cousins hugging cousins.

kale moves in to demonstrate his new hugging techniques on grandspecial jeri.

this is the house riley built for the faries. the feather is for sliding down (much like a fire pole). i think the faries were psyched.

serious silliness with special craig.

uncle hubie and his mesmerizing box of shapes.

there is almost nothing more fun than getting to "test drive" a giant swiss tractor.

riley and kale get acquainted with sally, big da gets aquainted with his cigar.

truly a two person band worth listening to.

we were all pretty excited when mommy finally joined us in new hampshire.

"i am going to swim so far into the lake with big da and savannah."

amari taught kale how to do fist bumps, high fives and baby huggies.

it's almost too cute.

give kale five minutes alone with a marker and suddenly he's the youngest member of duran duran.

...to get five cousins under four into one photo.

it takes a lot of wrangling...

cousin calliope made it in time for pizza night.

riley leads his campmates in a search for fairy treasure.

kale thinks there is nothing so good as a nap in the car, amari remains unconvinced.

happiness is sharing a peanut butter and jelly sanny with your brother.

cousin asher and kale do a little parallel play tractor driving. and before you harass me for not mentioning his hair - yes i know it's hillarious.

the swimmingest swimmer in swim town.

playing in a mud puddle in front of the tepee - it's like kale is reliving mama's childhood.

reunited and it feels so good.

obviously we have a strict no toy guns policy in our family.

back from the beach and ready to sniff the petunias with aunt hoolie.

riley directs, mimi kicks.

kale enjoys a lofty perch.

does anyone else remember when he wouldn't even go near the ocean?

the pied piper of quonnie.

either the shovel is very big or the baby is surprisingly far away.

uncle dean is so tasty who wouldn't want to take a bite?

6:45 am. surprisingly we have the beach to ourselves.

tide pool surfing is totally the next big thing.

no horseshoe crabs were harmed in the making of this photo.

lis and david join the kiddos for a spot of wrasslin on the couch.

this ocean has a lot of nooks and crannies.

colby and kale demonstrate a little maxin and relaxin.

enjoying the ocean, for real.

a panny breakfast really fortifies you for a day at the beach.

despite the unseasonable chill, it took the kids less than two minutes to shed all their clothing.

kale would like to direct your attention to the giant ocean over there.

time for a siesta.

"we are a couple of fix-it men fixing the fire engine."

beatific bathing beauties.