Family

Happy Easter all!  All in all this Easter was good -- minus Isaac being in Bend with his golf team.  But in all honesty, the highlight was spending the afternoon with my extended family.  Growing up I always felt a little lost in my family.  When everyone gets together, family, spouses, & kids there's easily 60 of us.  A fact that still blows some of my friends away.  There were many Thanksgivings & Christmases spent eating in a garage because that was the only space big enough for all of us.
This year it was one set of my cousins (the Hilligoss' & their kids/spouses), my fave cousin Tasha & her family, my parents, my aunty, the Hilligoss' aunt & uncle & cousin.  Definitely didn't have everyone in attendance, but it still felt like the crazy family get togethers of yesterday.  The only thing missing was our Grandma Jewel.  No one really talked about it - but at the point of hiding eggs for the little kids I felt a small pang missing her & her laugh.  She would have been cracking up at my little cousin Cooper.  
As I get older I appreciate my large family & all it's craziness more & more.  I appreciate all the dynamics that everyone brings to the mix.  I appreciate the way Cindy wants to plan all our big family get togethers, I appreciate the go with the flow naivety of my cousin Tasha & how she sees the best in everyone, I appreciate the awkward intelligence of my cousin Tyler, I appreciate the no bull personality of my cousin Kelly, I appreciate the gentleness & family focus of my cousin Kayla, I appreciate the way my cousin's husband Chad just fits w/ our crazy neurotic clan, I appreciate the spunky personality of Colby's wife Heather, I appreciate the way Colby always seems to make people chuckle, I appreciate the gentleness of my cousin Kyle, and I especially appreciate & love the way all of us want to maintain the big family experience for the next generation.  Maybe that's the biggest realization that came out of today -- it's us now, we are the ones that have to make the plans, keep us getting together, keep the few family traditions alive. Whew that's crazy - it's always been my parents, my aunties & uncles, Grandma & Grandpa Pat & Grandpa Butch.  But I suppose that's the natural course of life...


Crazy how changes seem to sneak up on us...
<3