Cousins Camp!

 Bud's sister Tami is a saint. She'd been talking about hosting a "Cousins Camp" in Chicago for a couple of years and this summer, it came to pass. The twins had had quite the June with nonstop trips, but they were so excited for this one (probably because it was without mom and dad). I went with them to the airport and was pretty brave, but Jake was asking a lot of questions (a sign he's a little nervous) and then I noticed a little extra water in his eyes and that made the tears come to my eyes. I gave them big hugs and kisses and they could see a few tears, but I held it together pretty well until I got outside. Then I burst into tears. Not because I was worried about them, they couldn't have been in more capable hands, but I'd never been without them for a week before. And hate to say it, but at this stage, they're my "easy" kids. The thought of just me and the girls for a week scared me a little. : ) Tami was great at sending updates and having them call us everyday. I think that was a chore for them though. They just were having so much fun. I'm sure I'm going to leave something out, but here's a list of things they did during Cousins Camp.

Day 1: Swimming at Centennial Beach, Basketball at Frontier Park, Hot dogs & s'mores in the backyard fire pit, Sparklers & flashlight tag after dark

        

Day 2: Andrew's basketball game, Raging Waves Water Park, Fontano's Subs for the meatball challenge

Day 3: Arts & crafts in the morning, Field Museum, Sears Tower Skydeck, Giordano's Pizza, Millennium Park Fountains

Day 4: Bread Baking Lessons, Foosball Tournament, Ivory Soap Science Experiments, T-shirt Decorating, Kane County Cougars Game with Fireworks

Day 5: Church and Nauvoo Concert Day 6: Flight home. I was most nervous for this day. The boys were flying by themselves back to Las Vegas. I knew they'd do ok, but I was watching the clock like crazy from the moment Tami told me the flight was in the air, until the moment I saw my boys walk off the jetway. I was thrilled to see them, they had so much fun showing us all their souvenirs and telling us all about their trip. Then they asked if they could call Andrew and Jeremy because they missed them. : )

Jeremy was staying a bit longer since Tara was 9 months pregnant and the fewer kids around the better at that point! However, the second day there, Oliver Charles Fontano decided to join the world a little early and VERY quickly, practically being born in the car!