Surprise!

Last weekend, before the sickies descended, we headed up to Bubby and Poppa's house... to surprise them.  Well, weren't we surprised when Della was there for the weekend, too!  Fun times!

Lots of thanks for the prayers for our croupy baby.  Nico is doing much better now.  In fact, he's unfolding my folded laundry as we speak!  (One of these days I'll learn to put that stuff away...)

The Boy is Here

As I write this, my baby brother is sacked out on the couch next to me.

We picked him up from our tiny airport this afternoon, drove him around the perimeter of our little island, and dumped him into the pool with two very happy boys.

I fed him a real home-cooked meal.

And then he fell asleep.

Tomorrow, I figure we'll show him some more of what Key West has to offer.

But for right now, with FIVE of my favorite men under my roof,

all is right with the world.

Note From an Aunt

You know what I think is really cool?

I've got these nephews.

And they are really into photography.

I always knew they'd grow up and want to be just like their Aunt Jen.

Or not.

So, even though I really can't claim credit,

I'm way proud of them.

Check out James' photo blog here.

Family Reunion 2011

We spent last week with our favorite people.

Aunt Debbie and all the cousins were there.

These kids are why my kids count down to the reunion all year long.

We Nuggets were there, too.

We even have a picture to prove it!

Aunt Fran brought her crew along.

When I grow up, I want to be like Aunt Fran.

Oh, and her girls did my nails.

Aunt Bekah and Uncle Jacob came all the way fyrom Utah.

Yippee!

And of course there were Uncle Bob and Aunt Ro.

Life of the party, as always!

My favorite photo of the whole week.

Poppy, Uncle Bob, and Aunt Fran.

See, your siblings really are your best friends for life!

Uncle John and Aunt Maria continue to be too cute for words.

And pretty awsome, too.

Yay for Granny and Poppy!

They make it all happen.

So I wanted a picture of the O-kids (minus two who weren't there and we missed them terribly).

And this is what they give me.

This right here - this is why I like these people.

Of course we took the silly mom and sisters shot.

We meant to take a nice one, too.  But it never actually happened.

Put this one on your mantels, girls!

There is nothing in this world quite like the friendship of a cousin.

They see each other once a year, but every time it's like not a moment has passed.

Love it.

We had a blast, and I'll be sharing what we did over the next few days.

Stay tuned!

Personal Preference

Personally, I like my marshmallows perfectly toasted - lightly browned and crispy on the outside, warm and ooey-gooey on the inside.

I understand, however, that some have other preferences. Like on fire.

Show-Off

Okay, so I have this sister-in-law named Maria. She's beautiful. Gorgeous hair, skin, smile, body... You get the idea. I'd be okay with all that if it weren't for one other thing. She's nice, too! Show-off.

Meet Mic

This is Mic.

According to my boys, Mic is the primary reason to go to our family reunion each year.

I'm so glad they have cousins. And that they enjoy and love their cousins so much.

Even when those cousins shoot me with water guns every chance they get.

This Man

This man rebuilt this 1967 Mustang.

It actually runs and everything.

This man teaches science in a small-town high school.

His students even like him.

This man still finishes his PT runs before the 20-somethings he runs with.

Did I mention he's 55?

This man spent summers in his youth working at a carnival

and sleeping under the trucks.

He lived to tell about it.

This man plays guitar and sings oldies and classic rock.

Even when he can't remember the words.

This man has served in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Repeat.

This man knows his children can do anything.

Even if they don't.

This man is my dad.

I'm a pretty lucky girl.

We do our part.

This handsome guy is my brother.  He looks just like me.  Except that you'd be hard-pressed to find a picture of me holding that dog.  We don't get along.  The dog and I, that is.  My brother and I get along great.  Glad we got that cleared up.

Well, Clark's heading off to Iraq for a year.  We figured that with Dan coming home we were leaving a vacancy in the Middle East.  And apparently those spots can only be filled by members of our family.  Yeah, we try to do our part.

Good luck, Boy.  We'll miss you!  But we know you're going to do great.  We love you and can't wait to get you home next year!