Cousin Besties

I love my cousins so crazy much that I'll drive a million miles across the state just to eat dinner with them.  We've been through so much together over the years, and we're still going strong.  Even though we are all starting to get pretty spread out, we know it's important to get together and celebrate our family every once and a while.  It was time, and we were feeling it...a cousin's trip to see Aunt Sally and eat at Josie's.  It had to be done, so we did it.

 

I was absolutely thrilled to be able to see Taryn play volleyball when I arrived in Osawatomie to pick up Jenny, and I got to see Aunt Janice and Uncle Mike too.  In fact, I got to see all of Jenny's clan.  Score!

 

 

My familial roots run deep in southeastern Kansas.  I'm proud of those roots, and as I age, I am more and more curious about the places my grandparents grew up and my distant relatives who still live there.  The clock is always ticking, so there's no use waiting for that prime moment to visit family.  It is for these reasons that I drove to the big O to pick up little Jenny F, and then off we went.

 

With me behind the wheel and Jenny as the navigator, it was a miracle we even got to Scammon at all.  There were zombie houses and strange backcountry men folk with long creepy stares.  There was a trip to Sonic and a trip to Starbucks.  And let's not forget the dollar store or the mall.  Seriously, how on earth did we make it to our destination?

 

Cousins truly do make the bestest friends.

 

Ahhh, Josie's.  Oh how we love you.  Jenny and I finally met Lori at the restaurant, where we dined like royalty.  I cannot even begin to express how yummy Josie's food is.  Their sausage is mind blowing, and I drooled as we drove up to the restaurant.

 

Micah and Lori, high on Italian food.

Mindy working hard, Kynlee playing hard.

 

Aunt Sally fed us until we were overflowing with sausage ravioli, hugged us the way only a grandmother/aunt/mother can, and then told us good stories about our family.  Good gossip, that is.  Shh, it's a secret.

 

 

I can't even tell you how many times I've had Aunt Sally's spaghetti and ravioli and salad, but it's not too often we make it all the way down to Scammon for the true Josie's experience.  It's a long haul, but it's always worth it.

 

Shelly and Lori in the kitchen.

 

Wendy, Lori, Sally and Jenny.

We had a great night chatting at Mindy's house, and we had a great morning chatting at Aunt Sally's house.  We learned about how loving and completely nutso we Jones girls are, and I am SO proud to be a part of this family.