Is the Energizer Bunny a Distant Relative?

This is my wife. In case you didn't notice, she looks a little crazy in the above picture. This is quite normal. She also looks like this a lot:

And sometimes like this:

But she prefers to be like this:

I'm not sure why. All the Bell children seem to be quite energetic and active.

Except for Grant. Maybe just the Bell daughters?

No, probably safe to say all of them.

And now I know where they get this from.

I don't write all of this just in an attempt to embarrass my in-laws. I think it's awesome, and so do they. They're proud of their energy and fun-ness. It makes the family run smoother and binds them all together. It also gives me more opportunities to understand my wife. Because when I'm around a bunch of hyperactive Bells, I can apply these experiences and life lessons to living with my wife. For instance, last night we got back from grocery shopping around ten, and I had the "brilliant" idea to make cookies-and-cream milkshakes. We were already pooped from grocery shopping and our delicious dinner (chicken fajitas!), but I thought we could handle it.

I was wrong. Amanda went bonkers. The sugar hit her bloodstream and she was gone. Bouncing all over the place, trying to sniff my neck, being her hyper self. I couldn't figure out if I was sitting next to Amanda or Kathryn (interesting and true fact: when I first took Amanda to prom, her parents tried to send me off with her little sister, claiming she "shrunk in the wash"). The highlight of this night was after I finally got her calmed down and we were peacefully watching Jackson and Johannah squirm through their interviews on 19 Kids and Counting. She grumped to me "being calm is boring". Perhaps. But can't we be a little boring sometimes? There is always time to be crazy.

~B