Cousin Love.

My cousin Ron came to town for a visit with his wife, Rebecca, and daughter, Nicole.  It is always awesome to visit them.  He and I were pretty close growing up.  Our mom's are sisters.  We were both born in Santa Cruz and were raised during a very different time.  We spent much of our childhood on the beaches of Capitola.  It was wild.  It was crazy. 

 

We all have a story.  I will not tell Ronnie's for him.  What I will say is that he had it rough during his early childhood.  In middle school, he ended up moving in with our 7th grade science teacher and her husband, who was also a teacher.  They had three boys similar to Ron's age.  It worked out well for him.  Sometimes our past can define how we live our future.  For Ron, his past has made him driven to succeed in life.  His family is very important to him, and I believe he would do anything to keep them together.  He is a good man.

 

When Ron is around, there is never a dull moment.  He lives life to the full.  During their visit, he did not disappoint.  The weekend was filled with water gun fights, gymnastics, slime and lots of story telling.

Nicole was super good with the girls.  She helped them make tie dye shirts and took them to Jump Time to practice their gymnastics.  It was perfect since Nicole was a gymnast growing up.  She had lots of tips and tricks for them.

Ron has several coffee shops in California and sells beans to retailers.  Whole Foods, here in Boise, distributes his coffee.  So, the trip would not have been complete without a visit to Whole Foods.

Nicole also helped the girls do a cool science experiment while she was here.

Our visits are way to few and far between.  I think we all realized that we have to change that.  It was a great time with family!