Last weekend Stuart’s cousin Erik and family had a road trip from Southern California up to the bay area, and they came to visit us at San Jose.  They arrived in the afternoon on Saturday, and the boys were happy to meet these “First Cousins Once Removed”, Eleanor, Amelia and Edward, who they had never met before.  We chatted briefly; then we changed into swimming gear, and moved over to the community pool to swim.  Most of us swam while Stuart had a chance to catch up with Erik and Alison.  We then relaxed in our backyard for a bit and had a barbeque dinner at home.   After dinner the boys wanted to go outside to play “Kick the Can” and they convinced their cousins to join them.  The boys introduced their “English cousins” to their neighborhood friends; Eleanor and Edward just jumped right in to play with everyone.  We all stayed out on the street to talk for awhile as well.  I also enjoyed a little chat with Eleanor (14) while we had dessert in the house; she is still the nice and proper little girl who I met in England 11 years ago.  The boys had fun playing games with Edward and they bonded quickly within minutes of meeting each other.

    The next morning we all woke up and had breakfast together.  We chatted some more and the kids played more games, then it was time for the Horns to take off to San Francisco.  Logan kept asking them if they could stay longer or return to see us after visited San Francisco.  Overall this was a nice visit for us to meet and spend some time with the Horns.