Adam's uncle has a gigantic house up where you can get mansions for cheap (I don't know exactly what city it's in but you have to pass a lot of farms to get there). Adam says "It's Limehouse, near Acton, you know!" Anyway, we went there for dinner tonight and William had a blast playing with his second cousins, Conrad, Veronica, and Alexandra. Together they flew a kite, played with a remote controlled jeep and rode a skooter. Yes, William is too young for most of these activities but that didn't stop the older kids from trying to teach him. Conrad trying to get William to drive the RC Jeep was particularly amusing. Conrad kept telling William which button turned the car and which one made it go forwards and backward, and William kept saying "I will press this one" then smiling when the car made any kind of movement or noise.
When talking about cousins, one often gets confused as to whether they're second cousins, first cousins once removed, or just a bunch of kids who aren't actually related to you. For some reason, I clearly remember my friend's mother explaining cousin relations to me at a restaurant with crayon and a napkin. I don't have a napkin handy but here's my understanding:
I assume that everyone knows that your aunts and uncles are your parents' sisters and brothers.
Your aunts and uncles' kids are your first cousins.
Your first cousins' kids are your first cousins once removed.
Your kids and your first cousins' kids are second cousins.
If your second cousins had kids, they would be your first cousins twice removed. They would be your kids' second cousins once removed and your grandkids' third cousins.
Adam says that there is way too much learning and logic in this blog post and not enough humour. That may be so, but I like knowing stuff, and seeing as most people reading this are trolling the internet reading random things, I'm guessing you like to know stuff too. But just in case you too were looking for more humour, here's a picture of me in an old Polish army officer's cap:
