Summer Vacation Part V

Bode called all the cousins "The Friends," probably because there were so many kids' names to remember.  One night, we went over to Jim's house (Eileen's son).  Jim is married to Lisa, and they have three kids: Little Jim (who is 6'4" or so), Shannon (who is in 11th grade and also 6' tall) and Jared, who, I think, is in 9th grade.  He might not be 6' tall, but he'll get there.  Eileen's two other sons, Charlie and John, and their families, were there.  Charlie and his wife Jessica have four kids (three were mentioned in a previous post; their fourth is their oldest son, Charlie).  John and his wife, Leea, also have four kids.  Jake and Tara are both in college, while Rory and Max were at the beach with us.  The entire family has a great setup--Jim and Lisa live in Ventura, while John and Leea have a beach house a few doors over from Eileen.  Tom (the youngest of Eileen's children) and his family also live in Ventura.  They all live within a one mile radius of each other, so there is always someone around, which is why Bode had such a good time.  Charlie and Jessica have lived near San Diego, but are moving to Boston for a two-year stint (why they are leaving the beach is a long story, and hopefully it works out).  Should be a big change for them (there will be pictures of the adults in a later post; for now, let's focus on the kids).

Like I said, Bode had so many friends around.  He often had to ask me, "Daddy, what's his name?"  Just as often, I had to ask the same to Aunt Eileen.  At Jim and Lisa's, a number of the kids watched a movie.

In the above, we have Shannon and Jared on the coach, and Jamie and Rory on the ground.  There was also a mean game of foosball being played.

In the above, the adults are me and Charlie.  In front of Charlie is Dane, and we were whipping up on little Charlie, Max, and Locklund.  Tons of fun.

Night-time brought what amounted to a big slumber party.  The top floor of Eileen's house is a big dormitory.  Along the back wall is a row of bunks.  Find a spot, grab a blanket and pillow, and you better not snore.  To my surprise, Eileen has a TV with cable in this room.  Growing up, the McDermotts did not have television, and they turned out pretty good.  Perhaps Eileen has mellowed.  Here's a shot of Bode, Dane, and Jamie getting ready for bed while watching some Disney.

Finally, here's a movie of this same scene, because it's always nice to hear the kids' voices.

When we got home yesterday, it was a bit sad to see Bode going to sleep in his room...by himself.  Hopefully he had some great dreams of all the fun he had to keep him company.