23

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.  -M*A*S*H

Zoe & Uncle Al

As I sit down to write today's entry, I laugh at the irony of it.  It is before 7:00 AM and I have corresponded emails with Uncle Al several times already.  Today's countdown post goes to that off (drum roll please)......

THE WULFF PACK.

Not everybody has a last name that is always misspelled, awkward to say (who puts an L and an F next to each other?  Germans!), but allows for a family title as beautiful as "Wulff Pack."  We are quite the crew.

Christmas 2010--Ugly Sweaters!!

My Dad is one of 4 boys and 1 girl.  In the South, my Dad would be described as "the nee baby," meaning second youngest.  All of the boys look alike--tall, bald, and have the same face.  And hairy backs.  All of my male cousins have that to look forward to.  Hey, Wulffs are hairy, what can we say?!  The entire Wulff pack consists of my family (Mom, Dad, Riah, me), 3 uncles, 4 aunts, 7 cousins, a cousin-in-law, and a brand new tiny baby boy!! 

Baby Jake & Baby Nate--did Jake remember his shoes
this year?

I did write earlier this week about the difficulty of living far away from family.  I grew up about 4 hours away from all of my MN cousins, and light years away from the VA cousins.   Despite this distance, I think every time I see any of my cousins, we interact more like siblings and less like cousins.  I'm the 3rd oldest of our generation--and the oldest girl--and the shortest of everybody (except the new baby--good thing he came along or I might have a complex!!).  The Wulff pack has developed some great family traditions--some of which have already been mentioned, but I think further detail is only appropriate.

"Up North" 2011

When my Grandparents were younger and their children were young, they began going on vacation "Up North."  For those who are not from the Midwest, "Up North" is a generic location meaning "somewhere in Northern Minnesota."  The brothers chose to carry on this tradition with their children, so summer after summer throughout my youth, we spent a week Up North with all of the relatives.  Every family had a cabin at a resort on the lake.  My Dad would bring the boat, Kev's family would bring the DVD player/VCR, Allan's family would bring the most amazing taco fixin's ever, Grandma would bring every condiment known to man in an old medicine bottle that she'd reused, and Ateen would bring the Mad Libs.  Every night, each family took turns hosting dinner, so we would rotate from house to house.  During the day, the adults mostly sat around reading or sleeping while the kids played in the water, knocked around a volleyball, and listened to Zoe whining (sorry Zo Zo, the truth must be heard).  The evenings were filled with bonfires, s'mores, ghost stories (Jake always told the best ones) and Mad Libs.  We all tubed, waterskiied, and spent an entire week with the family. 

Jenny--so happy!

Every Christmas has followed a very traditional meal--pizza.  Everybody would show up at Grandma's (and since she died, the uncles have taken turns hosting) and bring a few pizzas with.  Ateen mans the oven and hot pizzas are coming out every 10 minutes.  In the rare event that there is no pizza out, fear not!!  Grandma Penny's secret family recipe frosting has been placed upon delicious sugar cookies and these are eaten by the handful.  When Grandma lived at her old house, all the kids were to eat in the basement and the grown ups upstairs.  As a young child, I remember that we took turns opening gifts--but I couldn't tell you a single gift I got at Christmas because I was more excited to see all the relatives.  We always have a gas of a time.  In recent years, we have also added games to our Christmas Eve agenda, spending time laughing and enjoying games like Balderdash, Things, and always making time for a Holiday Mad Lib. 

Half of the dogs

As the Wulff Pack seems to mingle with its own kind, our family gatherings are also overrun with animals.  Between my Aunt and my Dad, I believe there are about 8 or 9 dogs at every family event--most of them collies, with a beagle & an Australian Shepherd in the mix.  Again--not a fan of these 4 legged beasts--but it wouldn't be a family gathering without them. 

Baby Zoe

When I moved down South, I had no idea how far away I would be from family.  Much to my surprise,  my VA cousins live less than 2 hours up the road.  My aunt's family has taken me in as their own, as well, and I've been lucky as can be to get to know this branch of the family that I've known the least because of the miles that had always been between us. 

Al, Jeff, Kev, Rusty & Andrea--Wulff sibs

My uncles are like having extra Dads--and hook me up with oil changes/car advice, free eye exams, and life advice.  And political opinions which provide free entertainment.  My aunts are like having extra Moms--Teresa even introduced me as her daughter at a volleyball game last year.  And as a whole, the entire Wulff pack works together as one, supporting each other in times of need, and providing laughter at every opportunity.

Nate, Riah, Jake, Zoe, Jenny, La, Mitch, Amy
Missing Aaron & Martha!

A couple of my cousins will be joining me at the marathon in Des Moines--and have even taken it a step further and registered for the 5k so they can also run that day. 

So if I have to get stuck with a last name like Wulff (double u-u-ell-eff as in frank, eff as in frank.....no double u U, not o, yes U, ell, eff as in Frank, eff as in Frank--yes, two effs,   yes a u--yes I  know it is an unusual spelling--oh you know someone who spells it like that?--well that's great--yes, we are German--yes, 2 F's....), I'm glad I can share it with my Pack!

Baby Aaron & Baby La