This place is crawling with cousins

"Ba! Ba!"

They were all over the place yesterday--tossing frisbees in the meadow, eating watermelon on the deck, sharing family stories in the kitchen. Cousins from all over Ohio gathered for the annual opportunity to make me feel really short. The genes for height are well represented in my husband's family, making the merely average feel small.

I'm not sure how many were here (they wouldn't stay still long enough to be counted), but they demolished two and a half gallons of homemade ice cream. A few even helped turn the crank on the old-fashioned ice cream churn. It's always fun to see some strapping young person say "I can do it!" and attack the crank with great gusto only to poop out pretty quickly. 

My husband was in his element presiding at the grill and then leading a garden tour while the young folks tossed the frisbee. "Ba," said my adorable granddaughter, but it didn't bounce like a ball. She enjoyed having multiple dogs to pet. Hopeful was initially reluctant to welcome a visiting cousin's dog into her home territory, but they got along fine after some mediation. Isn't that just the way with families?

So maybe I'm not the only one feeling small.

The young men are happy to give their uncle a turn at the crank.

Friends...eventually.

Not quite the first tomato from the garden, but close.