A Weekend With the Family

Nope, not my family... met Clayton's family this weekend. I know, I know, I've got to back up and explain Clayton, but I don't want to go back all the way back that far right now. Plus, I don't think I'll have time to type out a long post, I'm just killing time while Clayton works on my snowboard (also a topic for another post :o)

Anywho. Long and short of things, Clayton is my boyfriend :o) It's a recent development, and it's a little rough because he lives in Hooper (near Ogden), while I live in Orem. If you're going 80 MPH for most of the trip, then we can get to each other in a little over an hour. Seeing as I'm terrified to speed because I know I'll get caught, it takes me about an hour and a half to get to my guy :o( So, I basically only get to see him once a week, and we switch off weekends. Last week he was down in Orem, and this week I'm up in Hooper.

Do you know who else is up in Hooper? EVERYONE in his family! So, the last two times I've been up here, I've been able to avoid being introduced to his parents because they've been on trips. Not this weekend... When I drove up on Friday, I picked up Clayton and we went to Ogden to have dinner with Grandma Marlyn. He met one member of my family... his pay back? I met his Mom, Dad, a sister, brother-in-law, and children, a brother, a sister-in-law, and uncle, two aunts, a grandma, and then I saw his other sister and her husband, whom I had already met. Holy fric!

I think I did surprisingly well though, seeing as this whole meeting a guy's family is so new to me. I guess I actually started off well right off the bat when I met his sister and family two weekends or so ago. They came over to borrow a couple of movies (yeah, it took the whole family to come borrow movies, that sounds a little fishy :o) Anyways, I hit it off great with the little nephew Carter. He's freakin adorable :o) My favorite quote from him, "Well that's not good" when I told him that I fell and hurt my hand. The next member of the family I met was his mom. She went to shake my hand, and turned it into a hug instead. I guess she wasn't too hard to please :o) Next up was his dad. Right off, I said some way snotty comment (not on purpose, it slipped out meaner than I intended), but after that, he LOVED me, oh, that and we have a common interest of mocking Clayton- poor guy :o( We had to run a couple houses down to borrow a 22 Riffle from Clayton's sister Stephanie, so I met that family, but only for a couple of seconds. It was a grab and run kind of visit on that one.

Oh, then Saturday night we went to dinner at Jack and Bernie's house. It's an older couple he met on his mission, and then shortly after he came home, they moved out here, so he goes and spends time with them a lot. They're like his second parents. I'd already met Jack last time I was out here, but now it was time to meet Bernie. Yep, got a hug from Bernie right away, but I had to be more careful about mocking Clayton around them, they like him more than his parents.

Then today. We went to church at his home ward instead of the single's ward. Yeah, he failed to mention that almost every member of his family is a member of that ward. So I walk in, and before I can meet the family, everyone is smiling broadly at me, asking Clayton who I am. We make it to our seats, and one guy comes up to talk to Clayton about a computer problem. When the guy walks away, Clayton tells me that that was his Uncle. Then in Relief Society, I follow his mom in and we sit with Grandma Fowers, his Aunt Linda, and then his sister Angie joined us (with her adorable baby girl Sophie). After we were sitting Clayton's mom points out another one of Clayton's aunts. Okay, I guess church wasn't really that bad. I had already met Angie, and I didn't really talk to any of the other family members, I just was introduced to them, and not even as Clayton's girlfriend, just as Brooke :o)

But tonight for dinner we went over to his brother Jeff's house. Jeff and Autumn are sweet. We had a scrumptious chicken dinner and then followed it up with some card games. Always a pleaser with me! Plus, they were super fun! That means that there is only one sister (and sister's family) that I haven't met yet. Oh, and Grandma Johnson apparently she's the be-all-to-end-all. He's told me that if Grandma doesn't approve me, then I'll have to pack up and leave. Yeah, I don't think I want to meet her any time soon. Although his mom has confidence in me, she thinks I'll do just fine with Grandma Johnson. And Clayton already told me that all it really takes is a good hug right off the bat :o)

That's it... a weekend full of lots of family. But, in all fairness, if it ever comes time for him to meet my family, it's going to be the same deal. The Kerby's are all gathered together in the same place too. But at least he'll get longer before he has to face our clan :o)