The Glories of Aunthood

will tryin' on ian's longjohns for pajamas

ian and i had my youngest brother jack (8) and our nephews alex (8) and will (5) over the other week to take them to my company picnic. rico (16) was here too, but he is old enough to count as a usual guest, not a kid. each time i have the little ones over, the more i appreciate the luxury i have being an aunt/sister without any kids. i get to create a chaoticly fun environment where all the rules are broken (in good ways). where else will my nephews and brother get to stay up late reading calvin and hobbes by flashlight? or... as shown above, try on a 29 year old's long johns for pajamas?

it's at times like this that i appreciate a) how much of a big kid ian is and how fun he makes things for the boys, b) how mature the boys are, especially rico who totally backs me up with watchin' the kids, and c) just how much fun kids can have when left to their own devices. YAY for play!

i took the boys to my work picnic, and it was wonderful to see how well they entertained themselves. they played tennis, tag, chess, but my favorite part was watching them play baseball without any equipment. see below: