The Eakes Family Adventures: a quick visit with cousins

Warren and I drove over to spend the night with my sister the other day. i still had a bag of Christmas presents belonging to her children that i was to deliver (egad!!) and i also was bringing my nephew his belated happy birthday presents. sigh. what is the DEAL with my tardiness here of late?? please note that they didn't seem to mind.

it was a very quick trip, and my sister was very busy. she and her husband have recently opened a coffee shop in Pass Christian, and between their efforts there, building a new home, and managing the school/after-school schedules of two children we didn't get too much time to visit! but some is definitely better than none.

Warren and Samantha got to spend the most time together. my sister has a phenomenal yard to play in, and they had a ball - along with Mocha the dog!

Warren decided to try his hand at excavating...

Samantha ran around trying to escape the "lickiness" of Mocha the dog (i.e., the dog has a saliva problem; she really likes to share it with people too!!):

and then they discovered the garage. i do believe their garage is larger than their living quarters at present time (they're living in the "shop" or "guest house" while they build their new home) - but it's a good thing! how many times does one get to ride bikes in a garage??

but it was too pretty out to stay inside long, even though it was a novel concept.

the sidewalk chalk got put to good use...

and later that night Richard worked on his snake charming skills..."the force is with you, my nephew..."

we had to leave town by 10 the next morning, but it was a good visit nonetheless. and warren took full advantage of his remaining time at his cousins'...