Inwa's, Ewoks, and Jabba the Hut

I really don't like pickles.

Is that going to cause a problem between us?

I hope not.

Anyway, I thought you might also be interested to hear a little bit about my weekend. We drove out to California to celebrate Pete's grandparents' 80th birthdays. The whole family came over for dinner and a hymn-singing one night, then came back over for lunch and games the next day. It was, like, totally rockin', Dude!

At some points, you may not want to be around all of your extended family for an entire weekend with no hope of escaping E-V-E-R.

But I do.

I really really like my in-laws. They're all very quirky and kooky and goofy and sweet and saucy and all kinds of wonderful things like that.

At one point, my father-in-law sang a song about his recent colonoscopy, complete with lyrics such as

Shine, little butt light
Glimmer, glimmer


and

In the end and round the bend


I wish I could remember more from that line because it was stinkin' hilarious. But I can't.

In honor of how much I love in-laws, and because my 2-year old is also goofy and kooky and quirky and...well, you can read the list from above just as easily as I can type it again. Okay, fine. More easily. Now that you've made me look bad...

Oh, right. The story. So my 2-year old asks me to make up songs about random things that he likes or is curious about when he's cuddling with me in the chair in his room before he goes to bed at night. One time he asked for a song about the men at the fire station. One time he asked for a song about the sky being purple. I don't censor his requests, I just acquiesce. It's what any decent, self-respecting mom would do, don't you think? So a little while ago, he asked me to sing a song about how Daddy and Auntie (my sister) are in-laws. I had to have him repeat the direction several times because I just plain couldn't figure out what an inwa was. Once I got it, I asked him how he knew they were in-laws. He said, and I quote, "Sing it, Mama!"

So I did. I just make the songs up as I go along. Sometimes he asks me to sing them again, so occasionally I even remember what I sing. This one has been a favorite for several weeks, so I remember it really well. In light of the weekend with my in-laws, I'd like to share our little song with you.

Daddy is Mommy's husband
And Auntie is Mommy's sister
That makes Daddy Auntie Michal's brother-in-law
And since Auntie's Mommy's sister,
She is Daddy's sister-in-law too!


In-laws are just more family
(Yes, they are!)
We love them, they love us too
(Yes, they do!)
Oh, In-laws are just more family
(Yes, they are!)
We love them...
And they love us too!


Now Mommy has in-laws too
Their names are Mimi and Poppop
And Auntie Karinne and Uncle Benji too
(Doo-Doo-Doo)
More family is better than no family
So even if they're kooky or quacky or crazy or goofy or weird...


In-laws are just more family
(Yes, they are!)
We love them, they love us too
(Yes, they do!)
In-laws are just more family
(Yes, they are!)
We love them...
And they love us too!


We love them...
And they love us too!!


Aren't you amazed with my song-writing abilities? I thought you would be. I'll be glad to sing it for you when you see me next. Ri-bees will probably join in with me and start shouting Yes, they are! at various points in the song.

Once we get unpacked, I'll try to find my camera and show you some pictures from the weekend. Until then, I leave you with another chorus of:

In-laws are just more family

(Yes, they are!)
We love them, they love us too

(Yes, they do!)

In-laws are just more family

(Yes, they are!)

We love them...

And they love us too!

Ha Ha. You so deserved that.

P.S. Any Star Wars references had no actual place in this post, because, as you can see, there was not a thing written about them in here. Sorry for any miscommunication! I hope we can still be friends after this.