Once upon a time, a long time ago the "teenage" Clawson cousins had a reunion. I was on my mission at the time and heard a wonderful report of the event. Naturally, when the occasion rose to have the next group of teenagers reunite, I volunteered to help "chaparone" the event. I use the term "chaperone" loosely because we all know that went to play and have fun, BUT, I do have a reputation for bringing order amidst chaos, thus I became officially useful.
I flew to San Diego July 6th and arrived just in the time for the second batch of relatives to be shuttled up to Laguna Beach. The teenagers and 8 Gallands who lived there were enjoying themselves thoroughly (water, sand, video games, playground, you name it.... actually, I don't know exactly what they were doing, but I assume it was fun). Without too much delay we changed into nice clothes, loaded up the van (again), and somehow managed to find the Ahmanson Theater in downtown LA (a feat. let me tell you.) The production of Les Miserables was spectacular! A few of the cousins had read the book in school, and one in particular had fallen in love and begged to see the play all summer (thus, it was included at "cousin camp"). It was my second time seeing Les Miz (professional) and it was very well done. Just as much fun as watching it was watching all the kids get excited for it and enjoy it, and showing off my knowledge of the pit orchestra.
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| building bricks to start San Diego |
The next day was "Down town San Diego". We were down to about 9 kids at this point. Which, you'd think, would make it easier for us 3 adults to keep track of. In the hot sun we toured the old streets, ate fresh tortillas and then ice cream, and in an air conditioned building we learned about the Mormon Battalion (an awesome visitors center! a must see!). The boys sailed on a world famous sailboat while the girls SHOPPED at Seaport Village. We did the Maritime tour together, discovering what life was like on a submarine or 1900 iron sailboat. I found it, intriguing. I also found some motherly skills surfacing as I counted heads every 5 minutes and kept asking for people to pose as I clicked away.
The day finished with In&Out burgers, pool time, and you tube videos.
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| the girls posing as "sailboats" |
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| This ship was used in Master and Commander and Pirates IV |
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| i love their smiles in this one! |
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| too cool |
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| the greedy seals were great fun to throw/hand fish to |
Friday we met Shamu!! SeaWorld was awesome! We got there pretty early and stayed until the park closed at 11. We ran around watching the animals and trainers and acrobats perform, eating food (Grandma got everyone the all-day meal pass, which we put to good use), getting splashed on Shipwreck rapids, saving Atlantis, finding arctic animals, feeding seals, and wandering around construction. We only lost 2 kids! And they both found us later on, so I consider the day a success. Fireworks and a dance party finished off the exausting day. I think the boys would say the Atlantis Dance Club was the best part (with those Australian girls who came over to dance with them as soon as the girl cousins left). It was hilarious!
Moral of the story is: I love teenagers. I can't say this has always been true. Usually babies and toddlers are my favorite. I love all kids, but seem to prefer the little ones. After this weekend I have found the joy in teenagers. They are smart. They are funny. They are willing to make mistakes and learn from them. They are trying to be kind and think of others first. They are very opinionated about music. They are friends. They are my cousins.
