cousins.

My cousin Mary posted this picture on facebook recently, and I LOVE it. This is the first time ever that all 14 cousins on my mom's side of the family were in the same place at the same time. Ironically, it took 14 years for that to happen (my brother is the youngest of the bunch and he is 14 here). Unfortunatley, it was at our grandmother's funeral.

We do look like we're having fun, though!

First of all, what a good looking group, if I do say so myself :). No compliments to me, but I have a beautiful family! Secondly, it's amazing to think about family. This is a subject of great intrigue for me. Obviously my mom comes from a large family (she's the youngest of 6), and that provides a diverse group of people and lots of fun times. Everyone lives all over the country (and world) and has unique lives and stories. Thanks to facebook we're able to stay much more connected than we have in the past, and I love that.

If you've ever been stuck with me in for several hours, you've probably heard me tell you all about my family (mom's side). I love telling people about this fun group of people. Maybe it's because my life is pretty boring and all combined, we're a pretty interesting group. Maybe it's because I just want to know more about each of these people and I cling to what I do. Probably some of both :)

SO, since this is my blog and you're a captive audience (if you choose to read...), I guess you're stuck with me. That means, here we go... the cousins:
(starting from top left)
Jed- just finished law school, lives in Southern California with his girlfriend Jackie (who trains animals at Sea World!)
Charles- the oldest cousin- artist living in NYC with his wife and two adorable kids, Louise and Nathan
Sarah- lives in DC and is getting married to Chris this summer!
Kim- lives in Atlanta with husband, Jamie, and two adorable kids, Amber and Tyler
Steve- lives in Iraq, does something that I have never understood regardless of all the times he told me, West Point grad, swimmer, Army guy and mathematical genius
Greg- my bro! the youngest cousin- lives in Georgia, junior in high school, aspiring broadway star
(bottom left)
Greg- (no, I'm not retarded, we have two Gregs. I always wondered why my mom did that...) married to Donna, CPA, lives in Columbus, Ohio
Mary- married to Scott, adorable daughter Reagan, lives in Jacksonville, FL- the beautiful singer at my wedding!
Kelly- lives in New Jersey with her husband Bryce and two adorable boys Ben and Leo
Eliza-lives in Hawaii, getting married to her boyfriend Zach (Darling) this summer
me- duh.
Ashley- my sis! lives in Birmingham, graduating from Nursing school in May
Kevin- senior in high school in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Lisa- married to Bruce, pregnant with Baby Christofferson, lives in snowy Minnesota

I would never guess at ages because I would botch it all up. I know there are a couple of groups that are the same age though. Lisa, Kelly and Kim were all born the same year. Mary, Greg, and Sarah I think are close too... maybe.

Anyways, I know this is nothing profound or earthshattering, but it is something that has been on my mind lately.

I love my Buckley family!