Cousins...

I always knew I was lucky. I have an incredible extended family - and just the right size. Each of my parents were 1 of four siblings, and on both sides there are 9 grandchildren. So I have 14 cousins - and each one of them are interesting people (well, we don't know much about baby Maclean, since he's only a week old, but I'm sure he will be interesting too!).

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Boise for my cousin Adam's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, and Adam's bride April is a great addition to our family. The absolute highlight of the trip was meeting my niece, Savannah, for the first time. But, a close second was hanging out with my cousins. Chris, Mandy, and Adam are very close in age to Erin and I, and we spent a ton of time together as very young children. Unfortunately, it has been a very long time since we could all be in the same place at the same time. We had a great time just hanging out, catching up, and giving each other a bad time. And I don't know the last time I laughed as hard as when we were trying to take this picture.

As silly as it sounds, I'm so proud of who we all have become.

There is something so wonderful about spending time with people who love you, and knowing that while times have changed a great deal, who we are hasn't. Our common past gives us a place to start. So while Adam is headed back to Iraq, Erin's in Ottawa, Mandy's in Phoenix, and Chris is in Boise, we will always be those five rugrats chasing and teasing and laughing and loving. 'Cause we're good like that...