Cousin High

Well, then, here's the March story. We had a somewhat spontaneous and coincidental family reunion. First off, my brother, Jeff, was sent to South Korea. By "sent," I mean that he is stationed there with the army. The army sent him over in January to get settled in before his family could join him. My sister-in-law, Cami, and nephew, Jacob, came from Missouri to visit us in Utah before they left for Korea. (Sadly, Jeff was not here for reunion.) Cami's son, Joshua, lives here in Utah with his father. Cami, Jacob, and Joshua stayed with us for a while. Was it two and a half weeks? In the meantime, Cami's other son, Andrew, came to Utah to visit during his pre-Afghanistan-tour leave from the Army. I didn't actually see Andrew while he was here, but I knew he was nearby and I liked that. My other brother, Jacob, and his family came to Utah because Jacob's father-in-law was getting married. It was purely coincidental that everybody (except Jeff) was here at the same time. And we weren't expecting Cami's and Jacob's visit, so that makes it spontaneous. Are you following me?

I have (count them) 4 sisters, 3 brothers, 2 parents, 4 brothers-in-law (on the Rawlins side) and 2 sisters-in-law (on the Rawlins side) and 26 nieces and nephews (also on the Rawlins side. We'll deal with the Woods another day). We spent a lot of time together in March. I LOVE these people. I was in heaven. Even the ones in my family who live nearby came over often whilst the out-of-towners were in-town. Therefore, when everyone went home (or to Korea), I was exhausted.

My kids were also exhausted. The last of our lovely visitors left last Monday, March 22. I thought I'd give my kids a good, solid, laid-back week to come down from their cousin high. This is how that went: On Monday, Kathryn and family came over to work on a project. On Tuesday, we got together with Lisa and Rachel and families to have our homeschool co-op. On Wednesday, it was just us! On Thursday, my nephew, Jamison, came over to babysit. On Friday, my sister, Rachel, babysat my kids whilst I attended a funeral. And then I'm thinking Kathryn came over later. On Saturday, it was just us! On Sunday, we got together with all of my Utah family, plus my aunts and uncle and tons of cousins (and all of their kids) to bid a fond farewell to my aunt and uncle who are off to Tonga on a mission. On Monday, Kathryn and family came over to work on a project. On Tuesday, Rachel and I went somewhere and left all of the children with my brother-in-law Josh.

Are you following me? There is no such thing as coming down from a cousin high. We are in the thick of things cousin-wise. I love my sisters and brothers and their families. And I am grateful we spend so much time with them. I think it is good for my children to have strong bonds with their cousins. These are eternal friendships that they are building. I would like to proudly point out that I didn't sob hysterically half of the night when my brother went back to Iowa. I only cried a little. I had so much fun getting to know my nephew Jacob. I haven't ever spent a lot of time with him. My kids were in heaven having him here. I missed Joshua when he returned to his dad's. He isn't exactly a jabberbox, but I enjoy it when he is around.

And then there's my sisters-in-law, Laura and Cami. I love these women. I love them and admire them and am so glad they are in my family.

So, if you have read through this boring post, you deserve to be rewarded with a few photos. I took most of the pictures at the zoo. I forget to take a lot of pictures at home. Here goes:

Every morning, for several beautiful days, the kids would go outside with cousin Jacob and build a fort. We would take it down at night and then they'd do it all over the next day. I am pretty sure Jacob is relaxing somewhere in this fort. Nathan and Sarah are the ones you can see.

Naomi and Sarah: the Toothless Twins. (Okay, to be fair, Naomi's front teeth are growing in already.)

A lot of kids, all related, checking out some penguins at the zoo. Shall I name them? No. Just trust me that I know them.

Landon with a peacock strutting his stuff in the background. Oh, the fun (and obvious) jokes that can be made to compare these two. :-)

Alyssa and Jaycie being silly by the peacock.

Ammon and Emma with a beautiful WOLF!!! I just wish that the fence wasn't there so that I could have a better view. (Ha ha)

Anna and Naomi with the giraffes.

Rachel and Sophie admiring the baby elephant.

Oh look! I was there, too. It's me with Beth and the baby giraffe and his mama behind us.

My boys: Nathan and Ammon, riding some big ol' cats.

Jacob pretending to be a gorilla just like the one in the statue.

Ryan, trying to make a funny face like Jacob's, but too shy to show me.

Is it any wonder Jacob is the favorite uncle?

Is it any wonder Landon is the favorite cousin? (Okay, we like all the cousins. But Landon's pretty cool.)

I love this picture of Boyce with his grandpa.

All the kids gathered around Jacob to watch the Muppets singing silly songs.

My kids with my brother's kids: Ammon, Sarah, Naomi, Nathan, Boyce, Beth

Boyce and Beth. They are about 5 months apart in age and they got along splendidly. Beth loves Boyce so much.

Sarah and Naomi are only 8 days apart in age. I had forgotten what best friends they are. (As long as Sarah isn't overly tired and emotional. Sorry about that, Naomi!)

Beth and Baby Turtle. I just think she's cute. It's really irrelevant to the whole Cousins Theme.

Eden, Naomi, and Sarah made self-portraits. I love them, especially that they are holding hands.

My children with my brother's son: Beth, Nathan, Jacob, Ammon, Sarah. I regret not taking any photos of Joshua while he was with us. But, like I said, I forget to get my camera out at home.

The aforementioned lovely and wonderful sisters-in-law: Cami and Laura.

My aunt Karen, Mom, and Jacob.

My parents. This was actually taken on Dad's birthday, but I will share it here as the grand finale.