I married into a large family and when each of Tim’s siblings got married and had kids, the family grew even larger. Between the five couples we have a grand total of 18 kids. 17 of them are ten and under. There’s no such thing as a small family gathering.

Every summer we make our annual pilgrimage to visit Tim’s grandparents for a family reunion. We take all the time we can to spend with each other, visiting, swimming in the lake, sitting by the fire, and watching the kids play.

Life doesn’t get much better than this particular week of the year. The kids run themselves ragged with their cousins each day, and sleep soundly at night. They push themselves out of their comfort zones and they build the friendships that will carry them through life.

Thankful for the cousins my kids will do life with. Except for one, here they are from oldest to youngest.