When I grew up it was with my little brother and two cousins--we did a lot together. Then we became young adults and my cousins moved away. My brother hasn't had any kids and while my cousins did, they lived halfway across the country. So my girls haven't had the exposure to cousins.

One of my cousins has moved back to our small town with his wife and two boys. And we stopped by to meet the boys--it's been nearly 10 years since I've seen their dad. The kids were not at all shy and were fast friends. They're fairly close in age: 9, 8, 7, and 5, so it's a good match-up.

We stayed only for a few minutes since they were still unpacking their moving van, but the girls couldn't wait to go back and play.

I tried to explain how we were related, but at this age they don't get it. They can't imagine me or my cousin as kids. One thing they do understand, however, is family.