The Family Crimmins

Crimmins Family circa 2012

Picture it.  Milwaukee.  Summer 2004.  I am meeting the family of my then-boyfriend for the first time.  I'll never forget my anxiety as I sat on the Southwest airplane which would take me to my first Irish Fest.  Conor was quizzing me on the names and birth order of his siblings.  "Okay, okay.  Meaghan, Shannon, Erin, George/Casey, Carey, Colin, you, and then Kelly.  "  Deep breath.  "Is that right?" 

I was so nervous, folks.  In fact, nervous cannot begin to describe how terrified I felt. In fact, terrified is just a better word altogether.  Yeah, let's go with terrified.  Not only was I meeting my boyfriend's family for the very first time, but there were also so freaking many of them.  And I would be meeting all of them.  At.  The.  Same.  Time.  It was a little too much for this introvert to handle.  Yep, I was a certifiable mess.

Fast forward a couple of hours from that plane ride.  Conor and I were stationed at a table inside an Irish pub (of course!) in Milwaukee which was just a few blocks from The Fest (as it will henceforth be called).  I remember that I was sipping some sort of very large beer.  In all honesty, I was probably taking enormous gulps of said large beer, trying to still the butterflies in my stomach.  It didn't work.

Before long, they started to come.  One by one.  Two by two.  Crimmins after Crimmins after Crimmins.  My head was spinning.  My cheeks hurt from smiling.  I'm pretty sure I was sweating through my shirt.  And I definitely hid in the bathroom a few times just to catch my breath. It was awesome and completely overwhelming at the same time.

Eight years and one marriage to Conor later, I have become more accustomed to the critical mass that is present at any given Crimmins Family function.  To my credit, I no longer experience head spinning, profuse sweating, or feel the need to hide in the bathroom (er, at least not as much as in the past -- hehe).  And along the way, I have learned a couple of important things about the Crimmins Clan.

#1: Where there is Crimmins, there will be beer.  It is never a question.  Sometimes it might be homeade brews such as the ones Erin brought to Jubilee this year.  Sometimes it might be the good old standby, Miller Lite.  But beers there will be.  Beers aplenty.  This is a very good thing. 

#2: Expect noise.  And lots of it.  At any given time during a Crimmins Family function, you might hear the following noises: loud guffawing and other such laughter, babies crying, children screaming, Irish music pulsing, police sirens blaring (Ha! Got your attention, didn't I?). 

#3:  They show up.  Plain and simple.  It really is a tribe mentality in the Crimmins Clan.  (Heck, we even have a Chief -- Conor's mom, Jean.)  And in this tribe, you show up to demonstrate your loyalty and to display your love.  And lemme tell you, folks, there is a lot of loyalty and a lot of love in this family.  People show up.  No matter how far away they are or how busy they might be.  They just always show up.  It is remarkable.  And lovely.

This past weekend was a prime example.  The Crimmins Clan came together in Dubuque, Iowa to celebrate the Jubilee of Conor's aunt, Gus Griffin.  You might remember my post last July about a very similar weekend in Dubuque -- only last year we were celebrating the other Sister, Kay Griffin, and her 50 years of service.

This year it was all about Gus (or Sister Mary James as she is known in the sisterhood).  Never was there a more humble, kind, gentle soul than Auntie Gus.  This is going to sound cheesy, but being around her is like holding a mug of hot tea.  You know that warm sensation you get when you wrap your hands around a toasty mug?  Well, that's Gus for you.  She is wonderful.  And so deserving of a little time in the spotlight.

Here's a pic of the Griffin sisters circa Jubilee 2012.  There's our honoree, Gus, on the left.

Conor and I learned a few things since the last Jubilee.  At Kay's special weekend, we basically went from the plane to the car to the hotel to the church and back to the plane again.  Fionn had very little time to run and play and stretch his little legs.  And hardly any time to spend with his cousins whom he adores.  So this year we decided to do things a little differently, arriving in Dubuque a couple of days before the big event so we could explore the area.

And explore we did.  First up?  The Alpine slides with Colin, Meghan, and the boys.

Fionn's first words following the ride: "Me need more!"

Conor volunteered to ride back up the hill with both Fionn and Callum.  GULP!

 After the long, hot ride down the Alpine slide, all of our boys needed a little refreshment.  Check out these next couple of pictures.  I think the last one is a new fave of mine.  My stepsister-in-law, Lanier, commented that the boys look like the Little Rascals, and I think she totally nailed it. 

Liam was pretending to throw up in this picture if you must know.  But I love the reaction it got from Fionny.

After the Alpine slide experience, we went back to hotel for some pool time.  If there is one thing I know, it is this.  The Crimmins siblings and Littles love themselves some pool time. 

Adorable Ellena, contemplating a leap as Brenda and her Daddy watch from the sidelines.

In true Crimmins spirit, our boy is a lover of all things pool related.  And, just as he does with all things in life, Fionny committed 100 percent to the activity at hand. 

It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's...it's...a two-year-old!

 And just in case you thought you were seeing things, here's the view from the back.

Bonzai!

 It's no wonder I usually prefer to be elsewhere during pool time, right?  Be still my heart!  But rest assured...our Fionny was having an absolute blast.  His head was barely out of the water after each toss before the word "More!" was uttered with enthusiasm.

The following night, we all got together for a little dinner before the big event on Sunday.  Jean commandeered a big room in the back of the restaurant so our Clan could have space to move about.  This was wonderful for our family because it allowed the kids to run around and play with one another.  Here are a few scenes from the dinner.

Gracie loves her godmother.

Beautiful Schuette ladies.

No, our boy did not take up the pacifier as a 2-year-old.  That would be a ring pop, courtesy of Auntie Shannon.

Family photo -- with ring pop.

Because we ate dinner at 4 pm (you read me right -- 4 pm!), we had a little time to spare following our meal.  At the recommendation of Carey and Brenda, we decided to check out the cable car in downtown Dubuque.  I'd never done anything quite like this.  Check it out.

Fionn was loving it.  He called it a "choo-choo."  We didn't correct him.

The Crimmins ladies (minus Kelly and the girls)

Crimmins Littles (minus Grace and Ann)

The next day was the big event for Auntie Gus.  We put on our Sunday best and attended a church service where the Jubilarians were honored.  The kids, for the most part, were very well behaved, but it's obviously a trying day for the little ones.  Lots of quiet time and good manners required.  Fionn, as you might expect, didn't last too long in the church.  Conor ended up taking him outside to the lobby where he had a blast with Liam and some of the other castaways.

Callum, taking matters into his own hands (quite literally) during the long church service.

The service was followed by a delicious lunch in the dining hall.  By this time, Fionn was literally melting down.  I think four days without a decent nap was starting to wear on him. 

Liam, doing his best to make Fionn smile.

Peek-a-boo in the blinds with Brenda seemed to help a little bit.

How you doin'?

We headed back to Milwaukee shortly after the lunch and caught a flight back the following day.  Our kiddo was clearly beside himself with exhaustion on the flight.  He fell asleep before the plane even took off and woke up just as we were landing in DC.  As the wheels touched down at the Baltimore-Washington Airport, Fionny popped his little head up, and said, "Ah-wah!" which is still how our boy says "All done!"  It was the most delightful flight I have ever had with this kid in tow.  So I can thank Jubilee for that!

Altogether, it was a wonderful but exhausting few days.  We're already looking forward to doing it all over again in a few weeks for The Fest.  It will be much of the same.  Well, minus all the religious stuff.  And adding in some Irish dancing.  

Until next time, folks.  I'll leave you with another pic of our boy stuffing his face with some ice cream.  Why?  Because it's dang cute, and it makes me smile.