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If a Grandma could have any wish in the world, I suspect it would be to have all of her kids and grandkids live around her. It wouldn’t really matter where just so they were all close enough to go to church together followed by Sunday dinner at Grandma’s House. Unfortunately, the days of June Cleaver are over. 
Kids go off to college, meet the ideal mate or get the perfect job which often means moving away from Mayberry. And it’s even harder when the grandkids arrive.
There’s nothing better in this world than having all my kids and grandkids together, especially for a whole week! A few years ago, after a long week-end family get together, we all agreed it just wasn’t long enough. We barely got settled in and it was time to go home! That’s when we came up with the idea of “Cuzin’s Week!” Because the whole idea started with getting the little cousins together for some quality and quantity time and building lifetime relationships. A whole week together just having fun and not having to cram everything into two days.
What good is a week of fun without great memories. Memories do happen. But Great memories are made! As much as I love our annual Cuzin’s Week, I can’t bare the thought of a week just coming and going. That’s why I start months ahead of time planning extremely fun memorable events for the week that everyone will not only love but will always remember. Anyone can go on a vacation and sit by the pool or on the beach every day, cooking hotdogs on the grill or finding the best local restaurants. But when your grandkids tell you that you always come up with the best ideas, that’s what I’m talking about! I’m always thinking about what they’ll tell their families and friends about their grandma when they grow up. If they just say my grandma had the Best Ideas I’ll be happy!
CUZIN’S WEEK 2
One of our most memorable weeks together was when we all met at a vacation house on Anna Marie Island Florida! It was an adorable vacation home with perfect accommodations for all 14 of us, including eight adults, age wise anyway, and six feisty granddaughters. This beautiful home couldn’t have been more perfect with a pool in the backyard, surrounded by a private courtyard, 
and just three short blocks to the beach on the Gulf of Mexico! One of the nice things about kids growing up and having real jobs with families of their own is, they can pay their share, usually!
THE SUPER FUN ARRIVAL – THE GANG’S ALL HERE!
The first day is the most exciting with everyone arriving from different directions and seeing each other again. It’s fun taking a tour of the beach house for the first time, getting settled in and anticipating a whole week together. This is especially important because with a whole week ahead of them, there’s time to relax and not feel like they immediately have to start cramming everything in like when they only have three days. The little girls are thrilled to see each other, running around squealing and hugging while throwing on their swimming suits and heading to the pool.
Of course, I am so incredibly excited that as the Matriarch I have to arrive ahead of time and make sure everything is perfect when they walk in the door. This is Cuzin’s Week, but it’s my week! This is my brood, my family that I brought into this world and I’m still Mom, and Grandma too. Keeping my kids together and happy is an awesome responsibility I take very seriously. It starts from day one and never stops.
I greet them when they arrive with hugs and kisses and a smile the size of the ocean. When I take them to their rooms they find beach towels and visors beautifully embroidered with “Cuzin’s Week 2016” 
along with bottles of water with labels that say the same! Memories to take home with them. I ordered the labels for the water from Oriental Trading, purchased a few cases of water, removed the labels and replaced them with the ones I ordered. So easy! They felt like they were in a high rent resort but better. Never underestimate a Grandma! I had stuffed the refrigerator and pantry with an outrageous number of snacks, dips, lunch food, alcohol and sodas. Gotta have lots to munch on at the pool and when we all play games together in the evening, something our family loves to do. Vacation is no time to worry about calories!
We were ready. Let the fun begin!
FIREWORKS AND CELEBRATIONS!
This year happened to be the week of the 4th of July, and there’s nothing better that celebrating Independence Day on an island. The production started early the next morning with the men heading to the corner of our street to put up umbrellas and chairs , which just happened to be on the route of the annual parade. It was hot! We all headed down with a cooler of cold drinks to watch the parade and what a delightful parade it was. Of course, they had all the small-town floats with the local clowns, local clubs and local queens. It was a festive way to kick off our week.
Anna Maria is the cutest small town, so quaint, and perfect for a family reunion like ours. Just a few blocks away was the local coffee shop, so as tradition would have it, after the parade all of us girls made our way to enjoy a cup of Joe in the sidewalk rockers they have out front. If only life could slow down, and these moments would last forever.
That night, loaded with chairs and toting a beach wagon full of goodies, we walked three blocks to the beach and sat on the sand, watching the beautiful fireworks over the ocean in the dark. The giggles of the little girls never stopped. Music to my ears. What could be more perfect. It reminded me of a movie. We walked back to our beach house loving life and crowned the evening with poolside cocktails.
BRING OUT THE MELONS. YOU’RE GOING DOWN!
After a couple of days of pool, food and fun, it was time for my next big surprise, the Melon Carving Contest! Another Grandma Memory Creation.
We formed three teams. Each of my two sons and my son-in-law had two of the six little girls on their team. The boys drew names for their teams to make it fair. My son-in-law is a high-end builder with incredible decorating skills, my oldest son is a mechanical engineer who had his drills, saws and tools in his truck and my youngest son is an accomplished artistic chef, so as you can imagine the competition was fierce. And Fun! I loved the way they worked together with the little girls to create three amazing teams.
Each team had a watermelon of equal size and were stationed in their own isolated areas. The women, who were originally supposed to be the judges, weren’t supposed to know which carved melon came from which team. That turned out to be impossible, so we decided that each of us would put a picture of each entry on facebook with a number and ask our friends to vote.
It was great fun going from one carving station to another, and watch the amazing creations as they evolved. The men, who for safety reasons did all the major carvin, were wonderful to include the little girls and their ideas in the creations. The girls were really into it, and in it to win! But the competition became a laughable competitive contest between three talented competitive men.
Watching the votes come in over the three-hour time limit we had set was great fun. After several Margaritas, Pina Coladas, beer, wine and sodas. we had several hundred votes. The votes were close, but we had a winner and more importantly we had a ball, along with challenges made for the next Melon Carving Contest. In the end it didn’t matter who won. We all did. We laughed for days to come about the great fun we had. Who would you vote for?
WHAT’S A VACATION WITHOUT T-SHIRTS?
There’s one thing you can be sure of when you go to a hot vacation spot. There’ll be a t-shirt shop on every corner, right next to the fudge store. But anyone can buy a tshirt!
For Cuzin’s Week I always pack my tshirt kit for tshirt day! We make it a celebration with lots of loud music and dancing around the pool, yummy burgers on the grill and special beverages for everyone. It has to be a bright sunny day. And of course, you have to have the famous Cuzin’s Essential Tshirt Kit!
Using large tables (or tarps on the ground), lay a plain t-shirt out
for each person in the appropriate size on top of newspapers to protect the table. Depending on the table size, put all the decorations in the middle of the table. If the table is too small, find another small side table to use and cover it with newspaper as well.
Use the scissors to shorten sleeves, cut a slit in the front or back neckline, cut fringe-like strips around the bottom or sleeves, change the hemline length or style, or anything else creative they want to do.
Have everyone personally decorate their shirts front and back. Let one side dry before decorating the other side. BE SURE EACH PERSON DECORATIVELY PUTS THEIR NAME AND THE NAME OF YOUR WEEK WITH THE YEAR SOMEPLACE ON THE SHIRT. I.E. EMME CUZIN’S WEEK 2018 Anna Maria Island.
Take group pictures in your shirts being sure to include the really silly crazy ones.
A LITTLE CULTURE FOR A GROUP OF ISLANDERS
By midweek it’s time to take a break and get the kids out of the sun for a day. It’s also an opportunity to soak a little local culture into our sunbaked heads. That doesn’t mean taking a break from FUN! Anna Maria Island is very close to Sarasota, Florida, home of the famous Ringling Brothers Museum, and that’s where we headed.
After enjoying a delicious lunch at the museum, we toured the amazing exhibits that document and preserve the life of John Ringling of the Ringling Brothers Circus and his wife Mable. John was a very wealthy railroad, real estate and circus baron with a fascinating life. The museum is home to the World’s Largest Miniature Circus which displays the life work of Howard Tibbal. Mr. Tibbal has spent over 50 years carving an exact ¾ inch to the foot scale replica of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus from pictures, as it might have looked from 1919-1938. If you don’t go visit this landmark for any other reason, go to see this collection. 
The museum also has a theatre with live shows. We attended the matinee and saw a show that all of us, including the kids, agreed was one of the funniest shows we had ever seen. After the show, the entertainers did photo ops with all is us in the lobby. Link
If you ever get to this area, I highly recommend you set aside a day to visit this museum and take advantage of all it has to offer, like the Ca’ d’Zan, a Mediterranean Revival resident that was the winter home of John and Mable Ringling. The estate also incorporates their personal collection of artworks in what is now Florida’s state art museum.
It was the perfect break from the sun and now we were ready to head back to beach life.
NIGHT ON THE ISLAND
Top of the list of fun things to do in a new place is discovering the local favorites. We had found our morning coffee shop. But what’s coffee without donuts! A little research led us to the cutest little donut shop I’ve ever seen. All 14 of us piled out of the cars in front of this little joint called The Donut Experiment. We knew we were in the right place when we saw the crowd lined up out the front door onto the quaint wooden porch. Picnic tables crowed with people were scattered here and there. But we’re on vacation. What do we have to do? When we walked in, there were order forms with a list of several kinds of cake donuts, including their seasonal favorites. After choosing the donut, you chose the toppings. Then they make them fresh to order. It took a long time to get your order, but they were delicious. Guess that’s why they’re on an island. Come on lottery! We took some order forms with us and called in our order after that. Island life!
After a couple of days of sitting by the pool, shopping at the adorable boutiques and cooking on the grill, we all headed out to a well-known bar restaurant on the island called Duffy’s Tavern. If you want to know where the fun places are, just ask the locals. 
I wore my new bamboo dress I had bought at one of the local boutiques and felt like an islander. I didn’t dare look at the label to see where it was made! All of us including the little girls 
had a great time and if we get to go back to AMI, Duffy’s will be on our to do list. No shoes required?
Of course, what would a week on an island be without dining at a beachside waterfront outdoor seafood restaurant? Again, we asked the locals and found a great place called The Sandbar Restaurant. Being an island, we meandered our way through little streets until we came upon this place nestled down on the white sands of the Gulf. While we were waiting for our table, we walked the beach with a cocktail in hand and savored the time together. Salty air has a remarkable way of making you hungry for crab and thirsty for a rum cocktail. Or two. Ever notice that? 
ALOHA Y’ALL
The Grand Party! The Cuzin’s Week Luau. Time to Hula!
Surprises are the most fun, especially surprise parties! And what a party it was!
I led all the ladies of the house were taken into our bedroom where they were dressed for a Luau. Their grass skirts and leis awaited them along with bright tropical sunglasses, plastic pineapple drinking vessels and a large variety of luau straws. There were straws with flowers, surfboards, colorful stripes and something for everyone. The crazy fun Nemo hats I gave them early in the week came out for some and of course Hawaiian flowered headbands. And what’s a Luau without Hawaiian music?
Pitchers of Pina Coladas and Margaritas for the adults and the virgin variety for the kids filled the Pineapple Cups to complete the ensemble. The announcement to let the cameras roll was made and the procession of Hawaiian girls made its way down the hall, down the steps of the deck and out to the pool to the tune of the Hawaii Aloha-Oe-Song.
The coals were heating up and bowls of Teriyaki marinated chicken and beef, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and what else, large chunks of pineapple of course awaited the skewers nearby. Bowls of rice, fresh fruit and salads and a variety of other accompaniments covered the table. Everyone filled their skewers with their favorites and the drinks flowed. The amazing smell of outdoor grilling filled the air.
Dressing up has a way of lowering inhibitions and grass skirts are no exception. Everyone was doing their best Hula including the little girls, along with singing, laughing and having just good old down home crazy fun. We danced as a large group, small groups, all by ourselves just walking around the pool. It was amazing and none of us wanted it to end.
Then the Limbo game came out and the kids about knocked each other down getting in line. Jack be nimble Jack be quick played as they went lower and lower. They played over and over. As the adults, there’s not enough run or grass skirts to get us that low!
From Hula to Limbo as the night wore on. From Luau food to campfire as the S’mores came out. A great time was had by all and some of the best memories of all time were made. No matter what their age, everyone loves a Luau.
RECIPE FOR A GREAT EASY LUAU Luaus are easy and inexpensive. They are bright and fun and everyone loves them. Here’s an easy one-two-three guide to surprising your family with a Surprise Luau.
Click on the picture for great prices on all of your Luau supplies delivered to your door. Here are some additional links for individual items:
Grass Skirts Luau Hair Pieces Leis Pineapple Cups Coconut Cups Plates Napkins, etc. Straws Nemo Hats Luau Decorations Grass Tablecloths Water Bottle Labels Colorful Sunglasses Luau Limbo Luau Jewelry
YOU MAY LEAVE YOUR BATHING SUIT BEHIND….. BUT YOU’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE MEMORIES
Our family loves games, especially board games. I find a table out of the way and set up a jigsaw puzzle for anyone to work on for a little quiet time or a group. One year my son and I sat up until five in the morning to finish one, only to find the last piece was missing. Them he son pulled it out of his pocket and held it up with a heaty laugh and a grin. Gotcha. He loves to put in the last piece. You’d think I’d be onto him by now.
We loved our evenings sitting by the pool, playing games and just talking, laughing and catching up with funny stories and what’s to come. We celebrated birthdays, reminisced with stories, laughed and caught up with our lives. Until next time.
GALLERY
