What a weekend!

So much to blog about. First of all, we had a great weekend when my family descended upon our house for Samantha's first birthday party. My parents and every one of my siblings and their families were there, as well Sharon's sister and brother in law and her mom. We had 24 people in my little house. It was packed, but a fun time was had by all. I made stuffed shells and got so many compliments I am on a cooking high two days later. The angel food cake I made was well received too. Sami liked her presents and Rachel liked them even more. The next day, Rachel woke us up with "Sami told me she wanted to take her Little People Ark out of the box."

(A quick side story about the Noah's Ark toy. My brother David got that for Sami. Now, I am not a religious person. David, who very much is, knows this. I give him a sidelong long after it's opened and he winks at me. Heh. Very funny, bro. The next day, I told Rachel the story of Noah's Ark without once mentioning God.)

Rachel and I got to swim yesterday at the hotel my family stayed at. That was a lot of fun. She's getting so big! She can hold her breath underwater now. And she's working on her kicking. I'd love to see her swimming by the time she turns five. I think if she's interested, she'll pull it off. Of course, if she decides she doesn't want to, nothing I can say will make a difference. My big girl is stubborn. Sunday, the day after the birthday, we had a nice albeit late Christmas with Sharon's family. Her Dad joined us for that event. I received a University of Iowa alumni sweatshirt, the Return of the King extended edition, and two very interesting books. It was a very busy weekend, but a very nice one. I feel lucky to have such a big family that is so close. And what's great is both Sharon and I are lucky in that regard.

More to blog later!