family night

well tonight was family night! we are preparing for all the festivities of a mission farewell which meant, family, family and more family!

it was funny cause we had both sides of two families over. all of my uncles family and their family. and then all my aunts siblings and their kids (my cousins are all a lot older.. so not all of them came).

i use the word funny, cause it is definitely different. i felt for a while that it was like the chocolate and vanilla. like they were going to talk to one another. and really for the most part that is how it was. it was weird. a few people crossed the line, but not many. it is just so interesting human interaction and the boundaries we set on ourselves.

but...my dad had 5 of his 6 siblings there tonight. it was just SO cool to see them all together. it makes me smile. i just wish my grandparents were here with us! i do miss them so much! but it is great to see family still come together. it doesn't happen a lot, but when it does it makes it so much more worth it!

family time can be stressful, it can be memorable. there are definite up's and downs of family nights or gatherings. but just take a step back and think about what it looks like from above.. what your grandma and grandpa think about if they were looking down on all of us!

family memories of the night:
* my aunt and uncle treated us ALL out to coldstone! they own it.. so it was so fun
* buddy... the family dog took a bite out of the one year old roaming around
* the one up-ing of the other's children
* swapping notes of sex education between kids and generations.
* talking spanish with my cousin, and making plans to hang out more
* looking at our cousin's yearbook and reminiscing of our days in high school
* a million kids running around and jumping up and down