My First Friends

Today is National Sibling Day!

Circa 1997 - Somewhere in Southern Utah, I imagine

These two are my first friends and best buds.  Growing up with them as been my favorite.  They have witnessed first hand the many awkward, sad, glorious, embarrassing, angry, happy moments in my life.  They help me become the person I need to become.  I am grateful for them in every way.  I love you Sam and Riley!

happy halloween!

jeremy and i will be making pizza, watching hocus pocus, and eating loads of candy. what a way to kick off a weekend?!

all night

we have been playing it up for the last week in utah, so from our family ranch we present... another dance video.  be on the lookout for sammy's cameo appearance.  it's epic.

 

"All Night" by Icona Pop

hey sammy,

happy birthday, little brother!

i love this picture of you are as a little tike. it takes me back to our fun childhood. we would do almost everything together: climb trees, play catch with dad in the front yard, play t-ball, go to tae kwon do tournaments, have tennis lessons, play legos, play soccer games, play roller hockey in the driveway... i could go on and on.

when i think back over the years of many teams and seasons, the seasons that stick out to me as being the most fun are the seasons that we were on the same team.  those were hilarious games, especially when all three of us were on the rec soccer team when i was in high school.  we owned that team.  i remember one specific play that still leaves me in awe.  we were down by our opponents goal and you were about to throw the ball in.  you threw it to me and i passed it right back to you.  you shot it all the way from just inside the sideline and the ball went in the back of the net to score a goal.  it was amazing! you were always the star player, while i played the supportive and goofy sister.

i have been thinking about how our relationship has morphed over the years. i beat up on you a lot when we were smaller. sorry about that. we would fight and wrestle and we still managed to get along most of the time.  we didn't harbor ill feelings towards each other for long, or at least i hope you didn't either. i remember the moment i realized you were stronger than me.  we were wrestling and suddenly i noticed that you were winning. you were able to get out of my holds, your hits hurt more, and you were able to pin me down.  that was probably the best thing for our relationship because as soon as i knew that i was going to lose those physical battles, i decided that we didn't fight anymore.  before our next brawl was about to spill out of our antsy bodies i remember saying to you, "sam, we don't fight, we are friends."

i'm so glad we have stuck to that.  we have our little tiffs once in a while and they never question our deep friendship.  sam, you are such a great person.  you teach me how to look for ways to help others.  you teach me how to put family first.  you teach me how to work hard.  you also teach me very practical things, like how to play with little kids since little kids always love you the most, what i should buy while shopping because you certainly have an eye for what looks good, and how to make smart career decisions because you always simplify and bring ration to the emotion laden choices.

well, sammy, i love you.  i'm so glad you are my brother.  you are wonderful and talented and have so much in store for you.  i believe in you.  i pray for you.  and i care so much about you.  have a fabulous birthday... you deserve it.
 

to my brothers:

it's national sibling day!
so hooray for siblings, especially cool ones like YOU!

Christmas circa 1994: i am 6, riley is 2, sam is 4

you are my first friends and best buds.  i'm so grateful i got to grow up with you two goofs. we sure have a good time.  you two have always been there for me. thank you for the advice, the support, and the laughs. i can't wait for the fun adventures ahead.  i love you.  i miss you.

xoxo - your favorite sister

all three

This weekend my brothers came to play!!

 (warning: picture overload)

It was the first time we were all together since Christmas of 2011, so it was about time.  We loved every minute of it.  Here's what we did:

Friday

I had to work (boo!).  So the boys went to the Museum of Science.  When I caught up with them, we walked around Back Bay to see the sites and had dinner at Joe's American Bar and Grill on Newbury Street.  Then we went home, watched a movie, and ate popcorn. 

Saturday

We filmed our dance video at Fenway Park while we waited for our tour to start.  Then we went on the tour, which I totally recommend!!  They do an awesome job - it's over an hour, they tell you great stories, and they take you to the Green Monster, the visiting locker room, the press box, and a museum of memorabilia at the end.  You have to go!  

After Fenway we got some grub at Tasty Burger next to Fenway (hooray for gluten free buns!).  Then we headed into the heart of Boston to start our journey on the Freedom Trail.  We had some hot chocolate pit stops because of the cold so we were able to survive.

Stroke of Luck:  We arrived at the Old North Church (where the lanterns were lit) and we found it to be closed.  So we sat on the steps and wallowed in our sorrows.  Then a man arrived that was on the other side of the locked gate.  He clearly had a key, so naturally I started talking to him.  Well, he is my new favorite person, because he let us in!  He gave us the whole historical spiel and let us walk around.  It rocked.

After the freedom trail, we went to see 3 Days to Kill.  It was intense at parts and pretty funny, too.  The boys loved it.  After our movie we went to The Cheesecake Factory for a very late dinner.  And then we headed home to get some sleep.

Sunday

We went to church.  (How amazing is it that we were on time with 4 adults and one bathroom!!?)  After church we headed up the coast to beautiful Marblehead and climbed around Castle Rock.  It was a great excuse to take some much needed pictures with my brothers with the beautiful scenery all around.  I love that rock!  I foresee Sunday picnics here in the spring!

After we had our fun of climbing around and checking out the mansions of Marblehead we made our way home.  There, the boys helped Jeremy out with a glutenous lasagna we had in the freezer and then they had to pack up their gear. We had such a great time!  My family rocks.  I hope they can come visit me soon.  If I had it my way (and if airfare didn't cost an arm and a leg) I would want them to come visit me all the time!  

Thanks for the fun boys.  It sure felt good to be together.

on the slopes

after taking a 7 year break from snowboarding, i joined the boys on the mountain.  i was just thrilled that i could get down the mountain in one piece and boy are my muscles hurting!

  it was mine and jeremy's first time skiing together and i don't know why we haven't gone before.  we had a blast!!

giving thanks #17

i'm thankful for my little brothers.

christmas at disneyland 2011
(we are a bunch of goons!)

they are the BEST!  they are both loving, smart, hilarious, and hard working.  we watch out for each other, pray for each other, and always have fun together.  sure, sometimes we argue, relentlessly tease, and push buttons, we are like any siblings.  but we know that we love and care for each other and that trumps all our differences.  growing up with these two has been a blast.  i can't wait for the adventures ahead. 

round three

round two

after the first family reunion we had one day of rest before our next one.  we went to church, took naps, flipped through old scrapbooks, grilled up some steaks (yum!!),

celebrated sammy's belated birthday with wafer cake and presents, played games, and watched a movie.  we ended the night by sleeping on the trampoline under the stars.  by we, i mean sammy and i, jeremy wasn't up for getting a crappy night's sleep, so he opted for the cozy bed inside.  if i had known i was going to sleep so poorly, i may have also rethought the idea, but seeing six shooting stars in one night was totally worth it.

getting these crazy shots was also totally worth it.

there's about 35 in total on my phone. we are a bunch of goofs.  

family is the best!