my lil munchkins

Tonight, I made an impromptu visit to see my lil munchkins (aka my littlest cousins). Seeing them always makes my day. They truly are the light of my life. They are the two people that can always make me smile no matter what mood I'm in. I'm so lucky to be watching them grow up because they are turning into two extraordinary girls.

The funny thing is, their dad (my mom's brother) lived in Sacramento when he was my age. He was around on a regular basis to watch my sister and I at these same ages (6 and almost 8). Now, onto the next generation, here I am watching his two girls. The oldest, Kylie, he says is the spitting image of me at that age -- independent, smart, quick, mature, and an all-around athlete who'd rather be outside kicking the soccer ball around then playing with dolls. The youngest, Kendyl, is a lot like my sister at that age -- comedic, devious, attention-craving, and an all-around girly girl who loves dresses and hates to be dirty. (If my sister is reading this she'd probably disagree, but these are the words that came out of my uncle's mouth.)

It's been such a joy to be able to spend so much time with them, especially at this age. Before I know it, they'll be teenagers and want nothing to do with me (I'm praying that time will never come and I'll always be their cool older cousin). And, I can't begin to describe how happy it makes me to know they look up to me. They're almost like dogs (hear me out...); dogs love you unconditionally no matter what. You may have just yelled at them and then 2 seconds later they're right up in your face trying to kiss you. They have no concept (or maybe they do) of whether or not their owner is a bad person -- they don't judge, and neither do my cousins. They have no clue who I am in the "real world," but they love me anyway, faults and all. The only thing they care about is that I play games, have dance parties, watch movies, and make sundaes with them (if only life were really that simple). One day I hope that they will look up to me for other reasons besides the fact that I have fun with them. I hope they'll know that I'm a good person. I hope they'll feel like they can come to me for anything, and I'll always be around. They're more than my little cousins; they're like my kids. I even told my aunt that tonight..."What do I need kids for? I have yours." I'm beginning to understand how mom's/parent's feel when they say "I never thought I could love someone so much." I, too, never thought I could love someone so much, but I can't imagine my life without them.

**Wish I had some pics of them to post. Hopefully soon.**