I could have a family reunion in an elevator.

Four kids? Check.

Wow, I had no idea this story made it to the international news (even though every news report talks about it here today).

Yes! Which is actually great!

Oh, that *is* great. And it makes the possibility of their generation actually being able to really keep in touch that much more realistic (which I think is a very good thing).

The earth is weird.

When I landed in LA, one of the things that really convinced me that I was Somewhere Else (other than all the road signs being in English, and everything being so big) was being on board time.

I'm the least interesting of the adult cousins.

Without knowing them, I feel safe to say: unpossible.

I could have a family reunion in an elevator.

Me to. I think my contribution to this conversation is usually that I have 3 cousins. And we don't really talk.

My father was the youngest of 12, so his oldest brother was a grandfather when I was born. I have second cousins my age.

Do you mean 1st cousins once removed? Those are your cousins' kids. Second cousins would be the kids of your Dad's cousins. I'm the 28th of 28 cousins on my Dad's side. And he married quite late, so a lot of my first cousins' kids are my age and many of them (my cousins) are now grandparents.

I'm the least interesting of the adult cousins.

Without knowing them, I feel safe to say: unpossible.

I balance it out by having the most interesting kids. Though there is only one other kid, aside from my two. Three of my cousins are kids themselves, all 16 year old girls.

I have 22 first cousins, which seems like a small number, given that my dad is one of 9 and my mom one of 6. But I have an aunt on my dad's side and an uncle on my mom's who didn't have kids, plus one of my dad's brothers died as a child, and my parents had the most kids of anyone on either side with the four of us.

I'm the youngest of my generation on my dad's side and the second youngest on my mom's, so I can't even keep up with all my cousins-in-law and first cousins once removed. I have first cousins twice removed, but I'm only vaguely aware of them.

Wow, I had no idea this story made it to the international news (even though every news report talks about it here today).

Never overestimate the 24 hour news cycle's need for important news.

After hosting house guests this weekend (father in law and brother in law), and taking a trip to Wisconsin Dells, I had THREE loads of towels to wash.

Do you mean 1st cousins once removed? Those are your cousins' kids. Second cousins would be the kids of your Dad's cousins. I'm the 28th of 28 cousins on my Dad's side.

Yeah, that's what I meant. That part of geneology always confuses me. Once removes are a cumbersome way to refer to people you spend a lot of time with.

I have an aunt and a sister. I have a half sister with three children, two of whom have two children. I have five first cousins, and, due to complicated family dynamics, I don't really know three of them. One of the first cousins has a son, who has has a brand new son of his own. (Welcome to the world, William!) I have a second cousin on my dad's side who has three children. I think two of them have children, but I haven't seen them in years. That's the sum total, unless you count the fact that we keep in touch with the descendants of a great-great aunt because my mom knew them as kids. I am, however, probably as related to some of y'all as I am to them.

Once removes are a cumbersome way to refer to people you spend a lot of time with.

Agreed -- when you're doing genealogy research, there's a need for precision, but when face to face with humans, it feels more human to just go for the plain terms.

(The problem in my family isn't the removes, of which we don't have very many, but the fact that everyone is a step or a half or an ex or we aren't really related at all but damn it don't tell us we aren't family.)