halfway there: family

. . . best big brother. . .

4:05 PM

not many of you know, but i've got this terrific big brother. like i'm talking about, smart, funny, kind, spiritual. (sorry, ladies, he is married.) but here are some reasons i love him.

- he is the first one to get me interested in science. when he was insane about space travel and astronauts i would sneak his books and read about the first Russian woman in space. i knew then that women could be scientists and it was ok.

- adam was also the one to get me interested in playing the violin. i wanted to play the violin because he played the violin. and i wanted to take from the same piano teach he did, because maybe that meant i would be as cool as he was.

- this kid is super smart. like i'm talkin about getting 5's on AP tests, acing college and getting a master's degree in chemical and electrical engineering. i'm pretty sure he's a genius.

- he's the funnest to watch football or basketball with him. let's just say that i spent the "Jimmer Era" cheering on BYU with adam- and it was a blast.

- he's always been there for me. one time when i was little and my sister and younger brother were being mean, adam let me come in his room and "hide" from them. another time when i had a crappy day my sophomore year of college, he brought me ice cream. after my first bad break up, he (and his wife) let me come to their house multiple times a week, just to eat dinner, have FHE, watch psych, or do homework.

- adam has been super good at staying in touch with me personally. he's always willing to Facetime (mostly so i can see his cute kids) or talk. he sends me the best birthday gifts (i'm thinking maybe his wife is also part of this haha). i just know that he is there for me

- he is always trying to make our family a fun and happy place. he's the first to make a joke and to try to relieve the tension (because we never ever fight haha).

- probably one of the greatest ways he is an example to me though is that he is an amazing father. even though we live thousands of miles away from him and his family, i know that he loves his wife and children. he puts them first and teaches his kids the Gospel.

thanks Adam for being the best big brother i could ask for you! love you!

blessed

. . .reasons my mum is the bomb.com

10:57 AM

. . . she knows how to give you the best personal gifts. on my mission she sent me Harry Potter stamps because she knows i love Harry Potter. . .

. . . she taught me how to love reading. we have a literal library in our basement. growing up with didn't have enough bookshelves so we used wooden boxes stacked on top of each other as bookshelves. i continue to have an addiction to books. don't let me in a bookstore because i end up buying too many books. . .

. . . she's always up for an adventure. she let me plan our entire trip to British Columbia last summer and was totally chill with eating authentic Chinese food, going to the most hippie farmer's market in the PNW, getting bubble tea in downtown Vancouver, going whale watching, and chasing cattle in Vanderhoof. . .

. . .she knows what's up when it comes to oils. one night when i was so anxious and upset that i couldn't sleep, she came and brought me her diffuser, a melatonin and some miracle oil that helped me sleep through that hellish night. . .

. . . every year my mum cooks us whatever we want for our birthday dinner. she's even made me chicken tikka masala and let us eat in the living room, sitting on the floor, whilst listening to Indian music. . .

. . . she puts up with having (almost) ALL adult children! and only one of us is married so basically that means she gets to hear the rest of us complain about dating and every other part of hashtag adult life. she's pretty much a therapist who doesn't get paid anything. we're pretty much goobers as you can see below. . .

. . . she is so selfless! she took care of my aunt who had cancer and liver failure during the last months of my aunt's life. she did all this while doing her calling, working from home, preparing to teach her home school english literature class, and keeping up with us kids. . .

. . . she's helped all five sons get their Eagle Scout Award (and let's face it people she probably did most of the work). and helped me and my sister get our Young Womanhood Recognition Award. now she's Young Women's president and is helping all the YW in our ward! what a rockstar. . .

. . . mum taught me how to be grammatically correct. and yes, even though i'm a scientist at heart, i am still bugged by bad grammar and bad spelling. . .

. . . she taught me the importance of getting an education and more importantly, of following my dreams. she supported me 100% in going to Africa, even helped me fund raise money to go. she supports me in my current job. she helped me survive BYU by reminding me I didn't want to flip burgers for a living. she's continually supporting me as a apply to nursing schools. and she is supporting me as I run for the Huntsman Cancer Institute in June. . .

. . . probably the most impactful thing my mum has taught me is to have faith, to follow the promptings I receive, and to keep going even when things get hard. my mom has had many trials, but she has always stayed faithful and true to her covenants. she reads her scriptures and prays fervently. she attends the temple. she loves her church calling. she tries to be a better person all the time. she's not perfect, but she is perfect at trying. . .

love you mum!!!!

**disclaimer: i use "mum" because i wish i was british. obvi.

family

. . reasons my dad is rad. .

7:56 PM

he wakes up every morning [and has for the last 10 years] to make breakfast so my mom can exercise
he massages my mom's feet every night [i don't even like feet but think this is cute of him]
he was in scouts for years and years and even hiked Timp just a few years ago [he isn't a young creature either]
when i was a baby my dad was getting his PhD at BYU and he had like no time with the family. but every night when he got he would give me a bath just so he could spend time with me.
when we were little we'd get "late nights" with mom and dad. most often dad and i would end up in the Barbie aisle at Toys R Us.
my dad used to fence on the roof with his friend John [this was when he was a teenager, not when he was my dad haha]
once when my dad was a YSA like me, he went to a church dance dressed as a gorilla- his date dressed as a banana. can anyone say hysterical?
my dad loves Joseph Smith- and so all of us kids love him too.
he used to rock a really awesome beard- he really looked like an 80's psychologist. too bad mom made him shave it before they got married
when we were little he'd call us on "mini missions." we'd go take our picture in front of the old MTC sign, get little name tags and eat a meal from the country we'd been called to. this might be one of the reasons 6 out of the 7 of us kids have served missions!
dad is easy to convince that we need something; "dad, we should stop and get frosty's at Wendy's. we need them!"
dad will join in the crazy games we play- even if they make him look foolish
even though i know his work can be very depressing and sad, he never brings that home with him. i never really understood how hard his work was until i started working in mental health as well. respect.
once my mom told me how mad my dad got when a guy broke up with me- thanks dad for being protective and for wanting me to be happy.
when i would fall asleep in the car on the way home he would carry me inside. i even would purposefully "fall" out of bed when i was "sleeping" so he'd have to come put me back in bed.

dad, you're pretty rad.

last night my friend at work told me that my dad is amazing and that he is the reason i've got such high expectations for finding a husband. you know what? i think she's right.