B2N2 Visit

Just before Easter, my cousin Becky and her family from Chicago came out for a visit. Becky and her husband Brian (B2) have boy/girl twins, Natalie and Noah (N2). Natalie and Noah recently turned 7, and this was our first time meeting them. That shows that it's been way too long since our families have connected! We were so thankful that their family made the effort to travel here.

On their first full day in town, we visited the zoo. The day started out surprisingly cool and then turned into a perfect day to be outside. True to form as a parent of twins, Brian handled a multitude of kids very nicely :)

Cody and Jaden warmed up to N2 right away, although for some reason they especially chose to clamor for Natalie's attention. She was definitely the popular lady of the week! Noah was a very good sport about it (and I think he ended up getting some special attention from Ian and Ryan later on in the week, so it seemed to balance out!).

It was a really good experience for Jaden and Cody to visit the zoo with older kids. Our boys typically breeze through each exhibit so quickly, but since N2 took a little more time to observe the animals, Cody and Jaden slowed down a bit too. Some of their favorite spots on this trip included the elephants,

the meerkats,

and the gorillas.

We stopped at the gibbons' exhibit at just the right time (around noon) and happened to hear quite a show. Our family had never heard the gibbons making loud calls before, and it was fascinating. The kids were very entertained! It was actually much louder and more ongoing than what this video shows, but at least you can get an idea of what we heard. 

Jaden and Cody always love the non-animal aspects of the zoo, too.... like the bongo drums,

the animal cutouts,

and the carousel.

The animals in the petting zoo didn't seem to be too fazed by our two sets of twins. These poor animals likely endure a lot. :)

What a beautiful day at the zoo!

In between our outings, N2 and Cody and Jaden played together very well at home. Sometimes, they just played next to each other,

while other times, they actually did activities together.

Natalie and Noah even read a few books to the boys. Jaden and Cody truly adored their second cousins! (The boys have asked almost weekly since their visit, "When can Natalie and Noah come back and play with us again?")

On the second day of their visit, we went strawberry picking. Because our area schools had spring break just the week before, much of the field appeared to be picked-over. The berries didn't look too impressive, unfortunately, and the farm had run out of baskets for us to use. Collecting berries with grocery bags doesn't have quite the same feel...

These facts didn't deter our two sets of twins, however. All four kiddos were enthusiastic about their strawberry picking (and very much enjoyed the taste-testing too!).

This was Jaden and Cody's first strawberry-picking experience, so we had to teach them the rules about what "good" strawberries might look like.

Despite my attempt at instruction, our bag of berries was filled with a wide variety of sizes, colors, and condition of strawberries. :)

The kiddos all seemed to enjoy the experience, though, so that's a win in my book!

After lunch and rest time for my boys, we met N2 at the tire park-- our favorite playground! Since our move nearly a year ago, Jaden and Cody have developed so much independence on this zip line. All they need is a starting push from me and they're off!

We love all that there is to do at this park! It's apparently community-built and kid-designed, so that's probably why it's so popular.

Another lovely day down here in Texas!

On B2N2's final full day with us, our families journeyed to Galveston. Jason had been planning on joining us this day, but he came down with a high fever. Unfortunately, that meant we left him uncomfortable at home. :( Thankfully he was able to get caught up on some much-needed sleep, but we missed him! Once the rest of us arrived in Galveston, we first rode the car ferry but had a tough time seeing many dolphin. The day was very windy and a bit cool too, so the boys and I spent much of our ride inside the ferry boat. 

We got to the gulf shore at around lunch time, but of course the kids had to test out the water before stopping to eat. The water felt cold!

But as you can tell, the chilly water did not slow Jaden and Cody down one bit!

Mommy, however, was much too wimpy to even put on a swimming suit. I was quite content in my T-shirt and yoga pants! This is about as far as I went into the water. :)

Natalie and Noah were much more exciting jumping partners. What a fun picture!

Thankfully, despite the cooler temperatures and the high winds that day, our section of the beach was filled with smiles and laughter from our kiddos. This was N2's first visit to the ocean, so their enthusiasm seemed to rub off on everyone. :)

We were thankful for a reason to enjoy the beach early in the season. Jaden and Cody had a delightful time!

Thanks again, B2N2, for your fun visit. We loved our time with you!