meeting of the cousins

between my sister and i there are 15 children. my mother has not been with all of her grandchildren together in over 6 years. it has been fun to have everyone (except for the husbands) under one roof finally.

meeting my newest niece for the first time

the first day we just visited and let everyone get acclimated to the chaos. by the time we ate dinner and found places for everyone to sleep it was well after 11 PM.

the next day we visited the Omaha Zoo, where my oldest nephew works. a perk of the job is free admission for family members. it was over 100 degrees, but we managed to stay indoors for most of the time. we heard that a giraffe has escaped its enclosure earlier in the day, but had been corralled by the time we got there. that i would have paid to see! we did get to see a baby giraffe and sea lion that had been born recently...too cute.

my sister and i with our children-ages ranging from 5 weeks to 17 years old. well, the kids that is. i am not telling our ages without a signed gag order.

being silly in the desert dome

cooling off at a fountain

touch tank exploring

looking at a whole lotta crab

cuttle fish

A cooling off standing over the air conditioning vent. everyone took a turn puffing up their shorts and dresses.

even though it was a melt your shoes kind of day. we had fun. making memories with family is second only to worshipping the Lord with those you love.