Family Reunion

So, every year for the last weekend of February we have our Everts family reunion since it is my grandma's birthday weekend. We usually go to Iowa, stay in a hotel for the weekend, hang out, and head home on Sunday. This year we moved it to Lincoln because it's easier for grandma this way. (We used to do it in Iowa cause we have relatives all over the place.) This was just this weekend and not surprisingly, half of our family wasn't there. Okay, grandma was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it's bad when she says, "This could be the last year." That's never a good sign, but I was kinda ticked cause I mean I get that people have lives but she could be right. As much as I don't want to agree with that statement she turned 87 and it's getting close. I spent the summer taking care of her and when I went back to school my cousin took over for me. I know what's going on in her head and I'm sad that more of us couldn't be there.
But I guess the weekend was still pretty fun. Grandma had 8 kids over a lot of amount of years so the cousins are all different ages. There are 21 of us and I am the 3rd youngest. We are all kind of in different age groups but there's a core group of 6 of us that usually come very year aged 11-25ish that hang out. We had a cousins night which we usually do all crammed into one room. It was fun stuff. We usually play alot of cards (poker with candy hearts and BS) watch lame tv, are really loud, and this year there was a lot of drinking involved since now 4 of us are over 21. We had a really nice room this year. Fridge, microwave, coffee maker, big tv, two comfy beds...
Anyway, I forgot my point...I think...I'm a little out of it we don't sleep a lot during these reunions. I think it was that people need to realize that there probably won't be very many more of these and they should make it a priority. It's not like they don't know when we're having it and can't schedule around it, every year it's the same weekend. I'm just confused. I miss the old days when everyone was there and we were all loud and got disturbance notices. We got thrown out of Valentino's for being too loud one year. And we used to have talent contests and two of my guy cousins would do a killer version of "The Perfect Cheer" from SNL. (They did it at my cousin's wedding as well in her cheerleading attire, that was a sight to see). But everyone would be there. It sucks that we're not as close as we used to be.

Random Things Going On With Me

So I've been having a lot of weird dreams lately, which I guess isn't usually all that unusual with me, but usually they have ties to something from real life.
Two night ago I was attacked by an animated killer squid. The night before that I was playing ice hockey with my nemesis from grade school. We were on the same team, it was awkward. Last night had something to do with an army recruiter. What I'm saying is that usually there is something during the day that happens that will cause me to dream about this stuff but no, this is all completely random. Maybe it's cause I'm sick. I do have a fever so I'm sick with something, not surprising since if you read my last post you'll know my whole family was sick last weekend.
Apart from all this weirdness my brother-in-law got the administrative job at Sunderman so they're moving here from SD. Yay! They bought a house, which apparently used to be a prof's house, and they're all excited. I get the priviledge of helping them unpack and paint during my spring break since they are moving on the 7-8.
Today we're having a meeting and going over everything for our presentation Wednesday!! It's so exciting, Sara Holle, Anna Brack and Nikki Baker are in my group for Thurber's Shakespeare class. We're giving ours on Twelfth Night and have really fun ideas. We're basically picking out a bunch of scenes and acting them all out but there's always a major twist, kind of like Whose Line Is It Anyway, so if you're in the class you'll figure it out. Anyway, I'm the props master so I have to head out to Walmart sometime soon.
Birthday plans still not finalized, this Thursday should be interesting. I'm going out with my siblings to Lazlo's but that's as far as we've thought things through. We should probably work on that.

Insert Creative Title Here

Everyone in my family is sick. I'm sitting outside with my laptop (and two lazy cats pacing back and forth in front of me waiting for me to let them back inside) avoiding all the madness. Actually, it's not madness, it's more laying on the couch and asking for things. I'm not feeling the greatest either so I guess the fresh air will do me some good.
As I sit here I think about what I should be doing instead. I have a paper due for Mira on Monday that I haven't started, I have to read 2 acts of Romeo and Juliet for Thurber, I could be reading drafts of my fellow Creative Non-Fiction students, but instead I've decided to sit out here, doing nothing. It's relaxing, and really nice out.
My birthday is in a few weeks. I'll be 21, yay?! Everyone is all excited it seems and they all want to be a part of it. I'm really not a big fan of birthdays so it seems like I'm just along for the ride. They've decided we're going to Lazlo's on Thursday then Tico's on the weekend, then I guess we're going to have a karaoke party - or Carrieoke party as it's usually called Coryoke since he always hosts them - sometime that weekend as well. It's like this because I have a lot of different groups of friends and since everyone feels that they must be involved but they don't all know each other or get along I'm forced to have multiple parties. I really don't do birthdays and I know I should be excited for this one since it's kind of a landmark or whatever but apparently I have no choice in the matter. You would think that since this makes me officially an adult that I would have some say, but no. I got hosed. I have to fake excitement on multiple occasions as people make me sing and blow out candles then try and get me drunk. Have I mentioned how much I love birthdays. The drinking won't be so bad, it's the constant singing that bothers me.
We have this thing in our church now where they sing to the people whose birthdays are during the week, after the service. It's messed up. You don't sing Happy Birthday in a church, that's just not right. I always try to avoid the Sundays around my birthday but since my mother is all Queen of Ladies Aid - I can never remember the word 'President' so I labeled her Queen once and it stuck and caught on, now she hates me for it, then my dad was elected Chairman of the church so now apparently I'm the princess, shoot me in the face - the Sunday that I do show up, may it be weeks afterward, she still makes them sing. It's frustrating but my brother does the same thing that I do. I'm glad I'm not alone in the matter.
Wow, this is really long and you've probably given up reading this by now anyway, I tend to ramble when I'm in this kind of mindset so I'm gonna stop rambling here and go ramble somewhere else.
-CK