My family, like vampires, needs fresh blood.

As anyone who has spent an extended amount of time1 with my immediate family will tell you: We are an exhausting bunch. It's exhausting enough to spend time with us if you're one of us, let alone if you're just showing up to the pickle party2. Don't get me wrong. I love my family. We usually have some pretty good laughs together. But we are tiring and Janna would usually end up crying for a reason no one else understands3. Which is why I prefer to have my family time in short, controlled bursts.

As a group, we are intimidating (even aside from the fact we're all built like giant brick buildings- thankyouverymuch, Viking ancestry.) We're stubborn, we think a lot of inappropriate things are insanely funny, we're moody, we're competitive, we're sarcastic, we're definitely argumentative. It's a wonder that anything good can come out of getting involved with our craziness. A sheer miracle, I tell you.

But we're also incredibly loyal (especially to the BYU Cougars) and watch out for each other. Over the years, we had just accepted the insanity about each other and mostly tried to stay in our separate corners of the county, state, or country, as the case may be.

Then along comes Lori. She married my kid brother over 8 years ago. EIGHT YEARS! (The only recent picture I have of you right now is this one, sorry, L.) She is the epitome of patience and understanding and is such a wonderful mother to this little wildebeest and Allie. Lori is always conscious of people and their needs. She is also very fashionable and keeps a lovely home for her family. I look up to her a great deal.And then Jackson. How much do I love this kid?? He has changed all of our lives. He is so smart, it is scary. And he remembers EVERYTHING, which is terrifying. Actually, I may be more afraid of him than anything. But he is so funny and I love to spend every minute I can with him.

And Allie, the chunky monkey, just got here. I adore her. LOOK. AT. THIS. FACE. How could you not be in love with her already? Get within 20 feet of me and I'll show you more pictures. I can't wait to see the changes she will bring about in all of us. And I am jealous of her wicked awesome hair.

Then there is Chelsi, who is going to kill me for posting this photo, but I love it, as she is so quirky. She started dating another kid brother about 132 years ago. Even though it's not official yet (COME ON ALREADY!), she is family. She's so much fun to be around and is unabashedly loving, which is a lesson we all are learning from her. Most importantly, she has helped each of us get to know our brother better. And I am grateful.

I don't know if any one of these people know just how MUCH they are loved by the rest of us, The Certifiable Ones. Since they've all come along, we all get along so much more and enjoy spending more time together. I'm so grateful to these two amazing ladies and two adorable kiddies. Without them, we'd be a whole lot less tolerable as a group. But definitely me, in particular.

1 Time with my family is like dog years. 1 day feels like 7 days, etc

2 "Pickle Party" is a family term for BBQ or picnic. I don't know why and don't want to ask.

3 My family has come to know this as "pulling a Janna."