Way Too Fast

The four of them together are a formidable group to an outsider. They are cousins and they're close. Close in age and in relationship. The older two are 7 months apart in age, the younger two, 3 months. Cousins and friends.

Since the older two were born, we've spent nearly every Friday at my parents' house visiting my Dad (or Boppa if you want the kids to know who you're talking about) who retired (mostly) shortly after my brother's oldest was born.

The result of the cousins getting together regularly and often since they were very young (I know they are still young) has been that they get along famously. And terribly. They get along like siblings.

This morning, Miss M had a late-start for school so school started 2 hours later than usual. We took the opportunity to go play at Boppa's house with the cousins.

It was chilly today with highs in the 50s, but we're hearty Minnesotans and the kids still played outside. B took M in the house to show her his photo of himself on his 4-wheeler that he was taking to his afternoon Kindergarten show-and-tell today. The four of them used Boppa's tools, hammers, a saw, screwdrivers, to destroy cardboard boxes. They rode bikes 2 driveways down, then turned around because that's as far as Boppa says they can go. They pretended to mow the lawn.

They stood in a line at the end of the driveway to watch the refuse truck arrive to pick up the trash from the house across the street.

My Dad turned to me with watery eyes (hey, it was cold and windy today) and commented "They're growing up way too fast."

Indeed they are.