It all began with these two people - Tom and Eleine Craig.
This is actually how "I" remember them...
They had 4 girls and 1 boy. (My poor Grandpa!) Here they are in birth order because my mother was VERY adamant that they stand that way. Everyone made fun of her of course.
Colleen, Bonnie, April, Shavaun, and Shawn
Here they are with their spouses - there was no one there by the name of Ken to stand with my mom...
Here are all the cousins. It's been 15 years since we have all been together like this.
Here are some pictures of all of us cousins from over the years. This was Tam's wedding. (I'm always one to point out the obvious!)
This was all of us in Owosso when my Aunt April and Uncle Bill used to live there. I'm going to say this was the mid 90's sometime! The reason I can tell this is because I have a god awful perm that I let my mother talk me into. We all know better then to take any type of hair advice from my mom and Aunts - I must have been vulnerable at the time.
This was the summer Jolene and I had to wear the exact same outfits everywhere we went. I think this was also the summer all of us kids got kicked out of every place we went for acting like fools. Specifically, the time I tried to politely give Jeremy a french fry at White Castle and he hit my arm, sending it sailing right into the plate of the nice gentleman sitting at the next table. Our moms started screaming "THAT'S IT!!! Get out to the car right now!!!" and we giggled and laughed all the way there! That same day we got kicked out of the thrift store for running through the aisles with the cart chasing each other. My favorite from that summer though was when Jeremy and Craig were acting up at the mall and Aunt April came at them with one of the clothes hangers. I will never forget Jolene's face when she leaned over and said "Aunt April's RUDE!" I should probably never complain about my own kids acting up!
We look sweet and innocent...actually all I ever hear about is how Tam was so great and that it was me and Jeremy that caused all the trouble!!!
This was before Bobbie, Genie, Megan, Leah and Corey!
And here is the fourth generation of Craigs! Just as the long line of family members that came before them, they too make fun of their mothers every single chance they get!
They played outside the entire time.
Jacqui, Matt, Cadence and Chase!
Here is the most recent picture of Leah, Jacqui, and Kyla. I have one of them at several stages of their little lives starting when they were all about 2-3 years old.
Leah, Jacqui and Kyla - around 8-9 years old.
Leah, Jacqui and Kyla - 2/3 years old. Tam swore up and down that this wasn't Jacqui!!!
Here are more pictures of the reunion.
Uncle Bill (No one warned him what he was marrying into and he reminds my Uncle Shawn every chance he gets!), Uncle Shawn and Bobby. It was at Bobby and Tina's wedding that Tam snuck me so many orange juice and vodka's that the bride ended up holding my hair while I threw up in her toilet. Such special wedding night memories! We also have video's of me dancing and the more drunk I got, the more I shook my butt! But, then again who can forget my debut at their wedding when I sang the B-52's song "Love Shack" at the top of my lungs? "TIN ROOF - RUSTED!" Did I mention I was 16? I blame you Tam...I still can't drink Vodka to this day!
Uncle Tom (he DOES exist) Aunt Shavaun - we all call her Aunt Dee Dee and I don't even know why, Aunt Anita and Uncle Todd. In every picture you'll see Aunt Dee Dee making this face because she hates pictures - she's saying "Oh get that camera out of here!"
Tam, Tina and Aunt April. Aunt April is the more wild out spoken of all of my Aunts and my mom. You can rely on her as someone to call if you roll your explorer three times while your mom is on vacation. (Even though she really thinks your about to tell her your pregnant! - right Genie!) She's also the one who will tell you straight out if you look stupid. I think she's the one that came up with the phrase "I'll beat your ass!" that we are all so famous for saying to each other! Best of all though, she's the one that always makes me my favorite foods when I come home! Taco salad, Sweet and sour weenies and BBQ meatballs!
A great picture of my mom, playing with a one year old all the while a pack of cigarettes hangs out of her pocket. Yes, we represent the Warren / Hazel Park area!!! Let's just say my mom is the easiest person to make fun of and she's always got the story wrong. It doesn't matter what the story is - she is going to mess it up! When I was in the Marine Corps and got promoted to Lance Corporal, she'd call my barracks and ALWAYS asked for Lance Colonel Mader. Next thing you know I'd hear "Mader, your mom is on the phone!!!" They all knew...
"Mean" Uncle Shawn and Chase
And by "Mean" Uncle Shawn I mean the below picture - he used to chain us up in milk cartons. This particular picture is Jeremy inside there. He also used to handcuff Tam to the staircase and freeze her barbies heads and pull our pig tails and tie us up with rope (although we would run past him with a rope and scream "You can't get us!!!") I make him out to sound like a monster but he wasn't! We all loved him and constantly did stuff to get him to do these things! He is a genius when it comes to cars, or electrical work, or pretty much any type of renovation that needs to be done and whenever any of us need help with anything he's always there. His daughter Leah will never know the torture we went through - and it's a shame really!!!!!!
Jenny from the block was there - she's started out as Genie's friend but now she's been adopted into the family as one of our own!
This is a classic "I'll beat your ass" look that Tam gives often! Isn't CJ adorable. I think he needs a little brother or sister!
Me, Matt and Jeremy. When Jeremy and I were little we were inseparable. They said we looked so much alike that we could be bookends - and with that we got the nickname "The Bookends". When Matt came along, the resemblance between me Matt and Jeremy was amazing. He's like the third bookend.
Here we are when we are little. Lets focus for a second on the plaid pants my mother dressed me in. There are countless outfits like this that fill our family albums...
Aunt Anita and Chase. When Uncle Shawn married her, apparently I welcomed her into the family by grilling her with questions such as "Do you have AIDS?" There are many moments like this in my childhood where my mother just swelled with pride over my actions!
Megan's boyfriend Twin. His name is really Ishmael, and he doesn't have a twin.
Here they all are sitting around talking. It's one of my favorite things about going home. We all sit around like this and talk, tell the same stories over and over, make fun of each other (usually my mom!) and eventually we laugh so hard that one of them pee's their pants. They even take bets on who is going to do it first. Every Wednesday since my Grandmother passed away in 1997 we have had what is called "Girls night" at one of our houses. My mom, my Aunts and my cousins all get together and play games, talk, laugh etc. They rotate who is going to bring the treat. They celebrate everyone's birthdays and have girls night Christmas every Christmas. We've always been very close and girls night is a way to stay that way!
That night after the reunion the majority of us cousins all went out to the bar. It was definitely a lot different then our days going to Major Magics together! Don't ask why my head is doing that. I have no idea!
My cousin Genie - her alias is Cinnamon...she's always fun to have at the bar!
We should have seen this coming...
No pole is safe when she is around!
I don't even know what to say here...
It's a family thing I guess!!!
We were all so surprised that Jeremy came along with us! Usually years go by before we see him because he's always with his friends or his band. Plus he danced!!!! It was so good to see him again and hang out with him! Especially since we were inseparable when we were little!
Theresa came out with us too! One awesome thing about her is that she realizes how close we all are and bought us all a shot to do to celebrate being together again! It was such a great night! I love this picture because there is a similar one of the three of us the summer before our senior year before any of us had any worries! Now here we are 15 years later! It's amazing how close Jo and I are even though she lived in Idaho and I only saw her for two weeks every other summer. Me her and Jeremy called each other "The buds!" and told Craig he'd never be part of "The buds" Such lovely children we were!
Jolene and I had a rough start though - this was the first time we met each other. She bit me on the neck...
We got over it though as you can see! We were 16 here!
My little cousin Craig isn't so little anymore either! Last time I saw him he was only 14. Now he's like 6'4" and was the ladies man that night! I couldn't get over the fact that he could drink. Then he reminded me "I'm 28 years old!" Yeah, I guess he's qualified to have a beer or two!
His women hanging all over him!
Jolene wanted to hear NOTHING about her little brother and women!!!
And then there is Tam. She's definitely not the huggy person she is in this picture. Too many Chocolate Cake shots for her! However, what she and I really want to know is how I got so much taller then her here! (Tam, it could be because I'm standing on a shell!)
And one last picture of our night out - my sister Megan, her boyfriend Twin and Theresa. Look how happy Megan looks with Twin! He's a great guy for her - although before I got there she scared him into thinking I was really mean and would start yelling at him the minute I walked in the door. No wonder he seemed to stay away from me for a few days! What she should have warned him about was her and I yelling at each other! Oh it's always good to be home!!!!
And there you have it, the people who helped make me who I am today! When I think of my family, I don't just think of my mom and dad and sister. I think of all of these people. My mom and dad and aunts and uncles and grandparents - they helped raise every single one of us cousins. We've laughed together and cried together and made fun of each other when someone had a tantrum. We've picked each other up when one of us we're down (Or when one of us DROPS the other on our knee leaving a scar - TAM!!!) and we've celebrated just about every accomplishment each of us has ever had. And it all started from two people - Tom (King) and Eleine Craig.
This is a picture of my Aunts and Uncles just 7 months before my Grandpa passed away. They had a long happy life together but what they left behind is just as amazing!
