Alex and Jessica are Laura's very special cousins. They live with their parents, Dave and Kathy, and both currently attend elementary school.
Alex, Jessica and Laura first met at a family reunion in 1996, wherein Alex was generally upset and Jessica was rather unfriendly toward both Laura and her other family members; consequently, the three did not have any notable opportunity to bond on that occasion.
A second, happier meeting took place in early 1997, when Alex and Jessica visited with Laura on their Florida vacation. A mutual love of books was discovered over the course of many readings of the Sandra Boynton classic, "Barnyard Dance". Laura was also pleased to be able to introduce her young cousins to the joys of Veggie Tales on that trip; happily, Alex and Jessica's appreciation of Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato continues to this day.
In 2001, Laura was privileged to visit with Alex and Jessica twice in their home. Among the many pleasures enjoyed by the cousins were Legos, Barbies, ice cream downtown (cousins only), Jessica's end-of-school program, a home recital by Alex, making tiny dolls and glow-in-the-dark super balls, watching videos, playing in the back yard, getting wet at the park, attending a steel drum concert, babysitting our second cousin David at the mall (wherein we only lost him once), GameBoy, "The Paper Sack Princess" (I think that's the title) and inumberable other delights. Laura also received a fabulous massage from her cousins.
Laura recently received new samples of Alex and Jessica's art, which samples are now proudly displayed on her refrigerator. The cousins and friends fondly remember their good times together and look forward to their next opportunity to reunite. |
