On Sunday, we bid farewell to Cam and Don, went to Taesen's for lunch, then drove on to Mansfield, where we had supper with my cousins and their new baby. Then we took a pontoon boat ride. It was a very busy, but fun-filled day.
We attempted a family portrait before leaving Ashville. We did it on the steps since that's where the kids were playing. As always, they had trouble staying still and looking at the camera.
Simon really got a kick out of Don's beard!
We bid a sad farewell to Cam and Don and drove to Taesen's house. So intense is the experience at Taesen's that we completely failed to take any pictures. She gave the kids their birthday presents, then Alice wandered around discovering various toys tucked behind the couches, while Simon fixated on driving his new trains on the coffee table. Lunch was a disaster, as social eating events always are, but I did enjoy my steak. We ate out on the deck and it was quite sunny. Alice played with her cousin Kaelyn a bit, while Braeden mainly did his own thing. Zac and I went with Taesen (and brought Simon) to briefly look at the neighborhood and lot where they planned to build a house. We left Alice there because she appeared to be engaged with some sort of bead bracelet making with Kaelyn. But when we got back, Chea was watching her while she played with ponies alone on the deck. So we've still got to work on building those cousin-relationships up. It's hard when they don't see each other very often. Plus, Alice was really tired and fell right to sleep as soon as we were back in the van, headed to Mansfield.
When we got to Mansfield, we visited for a bit, then my cousin Joey and his wife Hannah and their new baby Amelia come over for supper and a brief pontoon boat ride. It was a lovely evening, and so sweet to see a little baby.
We have a tradition of honking the boat horn when we go under the bridge. Simon and Alice loved it.
