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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had to do a special Thanksgiving post since some of the boys were so disappointed that I started celebrating Christmas a few weeks ago, they didn't want me to forget this most lovely of holidays.  So here you go boys, just for you.  

I'm so thankful for many, many things but perhaps most of all I am thankful for my healthy, albeit strange family--even though some of them can't make it here with us today (which means I'm thankful that they have jobs, despite it keeping them away)--here's one for you, Paddy & Greg. 

How could we not miss these boys and all they obviously have to offer at a family meal?

Here's hoping that everyone is as lucky as we are this holiday season--Happy Thanksgiving!

Pride

One of the most significant feelings I have for my siblings (aside from love, exasperation, disbelief...) is pride.  It seems a week can't go by where one of you aren't blowing me away with some kind of amazingness.  Most recently I'm proud of ya for...

TONY: Bones, you're only 6 1/2 months away from completing your Bachelor's Degree!  

PADDY: Bro packed up his bags and moved to Kuwait to teach 7th grade math...and he's still there kicking butt, need I say more?

KP: I'm still in shock that you're a dad, and I am so proud that you are such a good one!

GABER: After 1 1/2 years of living on your own...still making full time work and school happen.  Wow.

GREGGY (notice how I didn't add 'poo' to the end?): This is actually something I'm proud of you for (and yet also secretly hate you for)...your eating habits.  Can't you cheat once in awhile and have salad dressing or ice cream?!?!?  

SIS: New job alert!  Girlfriend's gonna kick it at Nike!

So proud of you all!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

I love winter in the PNW.  I love the rain.  Hence why I love winter in the PNW.  I L.O.V.E. the holidays.  All those warm, fuzzy good wishes, the food, Christmas tree smells, pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, candles, and everyone stressed and hurried yet friendly and happy.

And I love nothing more than being able to spend the holidays with my family.  Mostly because I just love hanging with them all but also partially because, well...you just never know when one of those 'Fenns' will do something crazy (I mean it's fairly predictable that one of them will do something so nutty that we'll remember it forever, but the fun is that you don't know who it will come from or what exactly it will be). 

Take the Christmas of 2007 for example (and I know the year is correct because I have all my digital photos downloaded and organized by season and year...yup, I know, I even have sub-folders).

Our usual family Christmas agenda goes like this: Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's with all the aunts and uncles and cousins and Christmas morning is breakfast at Grandpa and Grandma's before we all rush down the hill to my dad's house to have our 'little' family Christmas which means grab a seat and get ready to open stockings and gifts!  Wrestling optional.

Well on this particular Christmas morning we were part-way through the gift opening when we looked out the window (big sliding glass door in the living room) and noticed that it was starting to snow.  Snow might not be a big deal to many people but to us residents at 150 ft above sea level, it's cause to celebrate.  And celebrate we did.  Gifts were abandoned and we stood out between the house and the vineyard fields and did all the things you can do when it's barely dusting snow...like try to catch it on your tongue and pose for pictures.

Notice how you can't really see snow?  Nevertheless it had snowed and was super cold so we were still excited.  

And then, while we're all congratulating ourselves on a successful family picture, we suddenly notice Paddy bounding graceful as a deer towards the grape fields, faithful family dog nipping at his heels.

And oh yeah, he was wearing nothing but boxer briefs.

No drugs or alcohol were harmed in the making of this photo, this is just how crazy our family is.  And we take pride in it. 

So as dutiful siblings we rushed back inside and throughout the house and made sure all the windows and doors were locked--ongoing joke from childhood--and then waited for him to come back (and hoped Grandma and Grandpa didn't look out their window down the hill and deduce that the nearly-naked crazy guy in the vineyard was their grandson.  Heck who am I kidding, they know.)

And here he was when he got back...freezing cold, high from his little jaunt, and still blissfully unaware all the doors are locked:

Yes we (eventually) let Paddy back in the house and yes he (eventually) put his clothes back on and yes (eventually) my dad stopped shaking his head and wondering where he went wrong and yes, we (eventually) opened the rest of our presents and enjoyed the rest of our Christmas.

Now as I look out my window and see frosty white rooftops and fog settling between naked tree branches I can't help but think it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and wonder what's in store for us this year?

Therese--Sibling Submission

There is one more of the “7 Fenns” that has yet to be written about.  This one is the oldest, most married, most educated, and essentially the metaphorical “glue” of the family.  That’s right, I am talking about Therese.  Although she was a little embarrassed with our last name so she went and changed it to Gerlits, she could have at least put a hyphen in there or something but oh well, not the point.  Therese has been the one that each of us has turned to when we were in need of advice.  She usually had a sound mind and had the ability to give us advice both from a family perspective, as well as an outsider looking in.  And we love her for it.  She has been a surrogate mother to us when our real mother left.  She was all of our games, matches, organized study sessions for those still in high school, and even let her little brother into her home for 9 months until he went off to college.  This woman even moved back into her parent’s house after she graduated from college just to take care of those of us who were still there, thus you have the stairwell story where she screamed. 

Although it probably wasn’t her first choice, she became that mother figure in our lives that we needed.  When we did something wrong, she was there both to scold us like a parent, as well as make fun of us like an older sister would.  If we ever need an escape to get away from everything, we know we can call her up and she’ll have an empty room and a full plate waiting for us.  She never asks for much from us, with the exception of the occasional hauling and stacking wood, frequently house/dog sitting on a weekend, walking the dogs, or even just to come over and make a fool of ourselves on her new dance game on the Wii.  I truly don’t believe we would be how we are today if it weren’t for her.  From relationship advice, fashion advice, FAFSA, financial aid, what classes to take, when to apply for this, stop touching that; she’s always there for us.  Even though we don’t say it nearly enough, thank you for all you do.  

Another submission from Paddy in Kuwait.