April 2022 - The Rest

What makes this month different from all other months? Well, NOT the fact that we have a miscellaneous collection of pictures to smush together in a blog post. Here ya go!

special aunt/mommy time!

When the bros usurp your camera without permission:


Bedtime bros snuggles:

Gab-girl spotlight:

April flowers

my new favorite Rona picture

breakfast tacos with Daddy

E-man spotlight:

Ethan's family tree from his school heritage project

thinking he's pretty cool with his "coffee"

no caption necessary, just an eye roll

excited about his free pretzels at the bike shop

Feffer spotlight:

not a box

Super Potter

1 pair of shorts for 2 cuties

Yes, the Team Cohen Circus continues to include six 4-legged animals. Sometimes, they're more intrusive than others.

ENZ

When Nana and Zayde invited Ethan to an all-by-himself special sleepover, the affectionate "CNZ" for Camp Nana Zayde took on a temporary new name of "ENZ." He LOVED all the attention, the invitation to finish any Passover food in the house (cookies and ice cream included), and the chance to have full range of the entire 10-bedroom house with no siblings or cousins.

They went to the Founders Day Festival in Dripping Springs where they had a whole lot of ride tickets to use and only one kid as the boss. I wasn't there but the pictures certainly tell quite the story of a very very happy E-man.

Passover Party 2022

How was this year different from all other years? For starters, ALL TEN of Nana and Zayde's grandchildren were together for the first time. Mira and Jacob were in Driftwood for Passover for the first time. Uncle Mitch's family in Boston met Micah for the first time. We met cousin Dan's wife, Julia, for the first time. And for the first time in almost 3 years, we ALL could be together, hug together, laugh together, cook together, sing together, and crazy Passover together. Let's go!

We had TWENTY TWO people in the Kaye Kompound playing and celebrating together, many of whom were meeting for the first time, so Team Cohen worked together ahead of time to make nametag necklaces for everyone.

After dinner on night 1, we had a special request from the half-birthday girl of honor, Shayna, for a dance party. And dance party, we had!

My children may not have seen Aunt Susan in 3 years, but they know how to play when family is ready to play.

The night before Passover had officially arrived, and we were prepared to bedikat (search for) chametz.


The children worked together and took turns finding pieces of bread strategically "hidden" around the house.



In Driftwood, you gotta be ready to up-and-at-'em early!

Gabi got into the Passover spirit right away with her artwork:

It was time to biur (burn the) chametz and be rid of it in our house for 8 days.



On the day of seders, adults often have to divide and conquer between entertaining children and preparing food in the kitchen. Sometimes, the stars align perfectly and you can kill both tasks with one empty cake bowl.

Thank goodness for adult cousins Dan and Julia for helping entertain the nudniks as well!


The Kaye Kompound rounded out in the afternoon when - at long last - Boston and Houston arrived, and the 22-person party could begin. Aunt Mandy and I brought 8/10 kiddos to the clubhouse playground for some energy burning before Seder 1. Game on.







Back at the ranch, where the uncles seemed to be in charge of the children's entertainment:

We got ourselves cleaned up and ready to rock n' roll.



As per usual, some children were ready before the whole gang, so they had extra time to do their Passover prep.

Seder 1 begins.






Video highlights from the first seder:

Ethan and Mira partnered together for their Night 1 Mah Nishtanah.

Pay REALLY close attention and realize how much you're wishing you would have heard the first 80 seconds...

A happy seder to all, and to all, a good night!

Some people got some sleep. In the morning, the kids were super eager to go swimming in a super cold pool before continuing more Passover pursuits. Kudos to the brave adults who dared to enter.




Around the house with 10 kids - As a mother and an aunt, it makes my heart incredibly happy to see my children finding such value in these moments and immersing themselves in these experiences with their cousins. We are very lucky.









Feeding 22 people many times a day took a lot of kitchen help!

Since we hadn't seen our Boston family in over 2.5 years, they had never met Ms. Reggie. Noah and Sam were both incredibly sweet with her and wanted to help take good care of her!

And speaking of that pitiful pup...

Puppy needs a soft cushion for her head AND her princess paw.

Uncle Craig and Aunt Mandy are the best.

Seder 2 finally brought the opportunity to get out the amazingly coordinated Krazy Krew t-shirts that Aunt Sandi labored over more than a year ago. The photo shoot with 10 children, 9 Kayes descendent adults, and 3 great Galels couldn't have gone better. Success!

10 sweet cousins squished together and getting alonglylike

birth order

ALL TWENTY TWO Passover Players:

OG's all grown up:

OG's and Outlaws

Seder 2 was on the record books! With Aunt Debbie in the leader position, we were in for some dramatic interpretation and storytelling. Buckle up!


There was singing:


Less than half of the children were harmed in the making of this film:


The children worked together to hide the afikomen, which meant it was Leader Debbie who had to search for it. So I lined up the children in birth order and had each one of them give me a clue.

The afikoman was found. Presents were distributed. Adults and children were distracted. Seder 2 complete.

The next morning, we succeeded in fitting 22 people and 2 dogs into 3 vans and venturing on a field trip to Morrow Park. With something for everyone, and lots of things for some, it was a great excursion.







Gaga ball was a huge hit!





We walked across the street to find a rock cliff that the brave among us hiked up.

at the top!

Back at the ranch, many of the hot and sweaty family were relieved to dip in the pool for an afternoon swim.

Aunt Mandy and Uncle Craig are the best.

When we had one last day together, we hiked on down to the clubhouse for pool, playground, and some last cousin time squeezed in.

third children club

One last dip in the pool before calling Passover at Driftwood a success!