Enchanting Eighteen

Well today she did it.  My baby sister turned 18.  

Is it crazy that I remember the night she was born?  All 11 lb 7 oz of her.  It was super foggy and quite cold (sound familiar?) and when I called our Aunt, Uncle, and cousins in Ronald to tell them the new babe was a girl, my silly Uncle Pat shouted to his family that it was a boy.  And then my aunt took the phone from him and I told her the real answer.  

And everyone was relieved, after five boys who didn't want the baby to be a girl?

So here's to you, dear sister, may you enjoy 18 and have the happiest of birthdays!

MWAH!

How Much We've Grown...Or Have We?

I was lucky enough to get a stash of old (old as in when the sibs and I were younger...in some cases much younger) photos from Grandma and in the few weeks I've had them, I must have looked through them at least fifty times.  There's something heartwarming in looking back at where we used to be (and seriously, how CUTE were Sis and the boys!?!?!) and it also amazes me that even then, in cherubic faces, little personalities were shining through...and how those faces have grown and their personalities are the same but yet somehow more.

And speaking of more--how crazy that we used to be here:

And now we're here!

And how we can take a great family picture and then the next minute it's...well, personality!

Normal, see?

Can you pick out the Seven Fenns (Pouty, Hungry, I'm Outta Here...)?

Think this is an anomaly?  Try these if you don't believe me.  Watch carefully, here's the nice, normal family:

And seconds later, the reality that is our family (and yes, though it's difficult to tell, there are FOUR adult-sized male children in this photo):

Here's to another Christmas season with these Doll-Faces!

Move It, Move It!

Whether it was growing up on a farm or just the way we were raised, one thing all of us siblings can agree on (yes, we do all occasionally agree on things) is that we like to be active!  It could be organized sports like volleyball or rugby, community athletic events such as 5K runs, getting out into the wide open spaces and enjoying all that Oregon has to offer (not to mention it means the boys have another excuse to take their shirts off...silly show offs) or just tossing the ball around in the yard (be careful of my rhododendrons!)--we enjoy it all!  And some of us...okay ALL of us are a teensie weensie little tiny bit competitive...

Who looks like a dolphin?  This guy.

After taking 1st and 2nd in their divisions they still had enough energy to chase each other around and have a water fight...

Don't come home without the bling, baby!

"Come on, boys, I promise to give you a five-point advantage if you'll play..."

 

Rugby mode. Grunt.  Don't mess with me.  Growl.