Cousins!

So if you thought it was bad that I hadn't seen my Bobba in 6 years, I hadn't seen my cousins, aunt, or uncle in 10. Needless to say, I was really excited to see them again. None of the cousins on my dad's side of the family are my age, and I always wished I had cousins my age that I could be friends with.

I saw them for the first time when just my cousins--Asher and Georgia--took me out to dinner on Thursday night. They picked me up at Bobba's and we walked into Harrogate to pick a restaurant. We decided on a place called Thai Elephant Restaurant, and had an awesome dinner. I was really happy because even though I knew we'd get along just fine, I hadn't seen them since I was 10, so we didn't really know each other anymore. But conversation was easy and we clicked really well, and I just genuinely enjoyed hanging out with them. So yay, I have cool cousins! After dinner, we hung out at Bobba's for a little before Asher and Georgia headed home, and I was highly entertained by Asher's "joshing" relationship with Bobba, as she calls it. Oh Bobba.

I saw my Uncle Raphael and Aunt Chris the next day when they met us for afternoon tea after Bobba and I went to Tropical World. They took us out to a restaurant called the Mansion (because it's in an old stately home, which was beautiful). It was really nice to see them again, and I was really happy when the conversation flowed easily with them too.

That night, I went out with Asher and his friend from high school, Gabriel. We went out for drinks (I'm going to miss being able to do that when I get home) then had a big dinner at Pizza Express. It was fun to hang out with Asher more and to meet someone else my age. Because I've been meeting a lot of old ladies these days. I'm usually introduced like this: "This is my American granddaughter who's come to visit me...from America." So yeah, going out on Friday night was fun.

Saturday was our big family outing day. Bobba and I drove to my cousins' house, and then we split up into two cars to drive to Castle Howard, which is, as you might guess...a castle. Aunt Chris, Asher, Georgia, and I were in one car, and Bobba and Uncle Raphael were in another. On the way up, Georgia and I found that we have similar tastes in MTV shows. Also, I told her about the words "sketchy" and "sketchball," which she's gonna start up in England. I appreciated her response when I said sketchball: "Oh, you mean a dodgy character?" So I think I'll start that one in the U.S.

We got to Castle Howard and started our day with a picnic that Uncle Raphael had prepared. It was delicious! We sat and ate for awhile and then headed into the castle grounds to look around. It was beautiful! You should google Castle Howard. Now. Go.

One of my favorite parts of the grounds was that there were peacocks roaming around everywhere. Exhibit A (all pictures of exotic creatures are enhanced when my Bobba is in them. I'll have to post the one of her next to an anaconda at Tropical World):


We walked down the back green, which had a bunch of statues ("There are bottoms everywhere!" exclaimed my Bobba, since all the statues were naked) and a sweet fountain. And there we took our first cousins picture!

We walked around the pond on the grounds, and guess what?? It's still duckling season here. England win.

We walked around for awhile more, I found out my cousins and uncle watch Dexter (!!!), we went through the gardens, got some ice cream (with a flake!) and then headed back. Luckily, traffic was a little better for the return trip. Aunt Chris invited us in for tea, so we sat around and talked for a little before Bobba and I left. But before we did, we took some silly (Scilly??) pictures. Here's my favorite off my camera:

I'm glad that Georgia and I look familial, because we flank really well in photos. So in conclusion: very successful few days with my family. My cousins are awesome! And I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with them and seeing them sometime soon (and by soon I mean sooner than 10 years from now).