...And Our Current Favorite Cousin is...HOLDEN!

 Last week was Malone Cousin Camp.  The kids look forward to it every year!  They love getting together with their cousin-friends, riding on Grandpa's boat, driving the golf cart, early morning flag ceremonies, and the ever-special campfire devotional the last night. 

This is only a fraction of the time they will get to spend with their Malone cousins this summer, but it's the only time they will have with Joe and Holden.

 

Joe and Holden live the farthest, so their time with us is GOLD.  We love Joe and Holden because they are so fun.  Joe is just 3 weeks younger than Merr and Holden is a short two weeks older than Joely.

They are Matt's brother's kids, a special bond for sure.  Their dad, Paul, passed away when little Holden was only two weeks old.  Even though they don't live close, their mother has been so dedicated to making sure they get plenty of  "Malone time", which we love! 

 After cousin's camp was over, we got to bring Holden home with us for a couple of days.  It was so fun!  We came home by way of Eat'n Park (Smiley's birthday = 99 cent Kid's meals!)

 

We took her out for snow cones at Festival Fridays, went Blueberry picking (30 Pints!), and took her to her very first drive in movie.  She came to church with us this morning, including the ward potluck.  She spent the majority of her visit with us teaching the kids various gymnastics tricks.  We were so sad to see her go.  Come back, Holdie!  We miss you already!

P.S.

East Coast Reunion and the Color Run

 Last weekend, we had a little East Coast Flake Family reunion.  Six of my parents' eleven children were able to be there.  It was held at Heather's house in Youngstown, Ohio.  Heather has a beautiful, huge yard, so there was lots to do.  First, the neighbors brought their pony over for rides:

The kids had plenty of opportunity to make their own fun, of course.

This swing was a huge hit.  You should've seen the adult men jumping on to the swing from the highest point of the kids' play set!

Justin brought this really long gum for the kids.

Heather and Austin have a really nice fire pit.  We ate there every meal and hung out there a lot.

True to form, the Flake siblings managed to eat their weight in chocolate.  One night, Justin pulled out a bunch of chocolates he had bought.  He opened them up and put them on the floor.  A bunch of us jumped down on the floor and started to dig in.  Suddenly, we realized it was just the "blood" Flakes.  No in-laws had jumped on the floor to eat the chocolates!  Embarrassing?  Maybe it should be, but NO!  Also, we may have played a human version of Hungry Hippo with peanut m&ms and a few of the Flakes.  That's how we roll!

Originally, we all decided to go to Heather's house for The Color Run in Youngstown.  It was very fun and cool!  I highly recommend it for anyone--runner or not!

 

 

 

 

The next day, we headed to Hiram, Ohio for church and to visit the John Johnson farm.

 

After we split up, we took our family to the Kirtland Temple.  It was such a fun visit with everyone!  Thanks for the party, Heather and Austin!