Summer... Cossel style

Summer is in full swing and  we are hittin it hard!  The entire month of June consists of 4 nights a week at the ball diamonds, 2 nights a week of officiating basketball for Russ, and one night where we can all actually see each other!  And we also have to fit in work, and life in between innings!

Logan getting ready to bat for the first time!

We are lucky enough to have Logan for the whole summer starting this year.  It has been awesome!  We got him in t-ball and have packed in as much swimming as possible, and he is starting to make some friends here in Abilene.  His games are on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Gavin's coach pitch games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We might as well camp out at the ball diamonds, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

The first weekend of June, I traveled back to Meriden, KS, my parents' home town to a family reunion for my dad's side.  My dad is one of 14 kids in his family, and we are a crazy beautiful bunch.  Twelve of the siblings made it back, and many of my cousins and their kids.  My Uncle Scott and Aunt Steph were generous enough to host, and organize the first family reunion us Welborn's have had since before my granny passed away in '03.  It was hosted at her old house, where Uncle Scott and his family live.  I hadn't been back to the house since she passed, and I'll be honest, I was very nervous about going.  I didn't know what kind of emotion it would bring out to walk through Granny's house again.  I miss her like crazy, and wish my kids had gotten a chance to know her.  But, it didn't make me as sad as I thought it would.  Instead, when I saw all of the work that my aunt and uncle have poured into this home, and remodeling it, and cleaning it up, it made me realize how happy Granny would be that they kept the home in the family, and are taking great care of it, and making it a beautiful home.  But the night was awesome!  It seems like anymore, the only time we all get together anymore is at funerals.  The unexpected loss of my cousin, Rochelle, in October really got us all on the ball of realizing that we can take time for granted.  These relationships with cousins and family are 1 of a kind.  My cousin Crystal was my first best friend, and there is still a connection there no one can touch.  But, it was great to see everyone, and we are going to make it an annual thing now! We are working on hosting it in Abilene next year, around he time of my Uncle Danny's 70th birthday, so that we can get him to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with my dad.  We will see if we can get Uncle Dan to skydive, I taunted him with the fact that if his little brother can do it, he should be able to :).

My dad with 11 of his siblings.  My Aunt Connie, Aunt Pam,
Uncle Danny, Aunt Norma, Uncle John, Aunt Edie, Uncle Scott,
Aunt Nancy, My Dad, Uncle Dean, Aunt Fleeda, and Aunt Sally 

A whole lot of us from our crazy clan.  There were too many
cameras flashing, no one quite knew where to look!

Last weekend, we had a wedding to go to, and Russ's Florida Family was in town.  So for Fathers Day, we all got together, where burgers were grilled, and the kids wore themselves out on a bounce house.  Both sides of his family were there.  I absolutely love his cousins in both sides of the family, so it was a great day for all!

This week we are traveling to Indianapolis to the bi-annual family conference for FIRST.  I'm so excited to see our friends and extended "family" that we have made in this little community of ours.  Russ and I will be speaking about fundraising on Friday, and other than that, we will be attending classes, support groups, etc.  I don't think it could come at a better time for Ash.  She is getting ready to start middle school, and her confidence could use some boosting right now.  Two years ago, when we attended for the first time, I saw my daughter completely relaxed, and come out of her shell.  She was, quite possibly for the first time, completely comfortable in her skin.  My parents are going to be able to go with us this time, and I am so excited for them to get to  wet some of the amazing families that I have had the opportunity of meeting.  I am, however, having flashbacks thinking of the cross country road trips with the family when I was a kid!  Let's just hope technology, such as portable DVD players and tablets and GPS make this trip a bit smoother than some I remember from my childhood!

I'm sure I will have plenty to update everyone on throughout this week.  Stay tuned for shenanigans from the road to Indy!!!