my first life-loves.

i was tempted to "get lost" on the drive home.

you know when conversations are so good and mutually uplifting and even groundbreaking and you never want them to end? you know the times when you sit in the driveway for an extra hour before dropping a friend off?

i had a lovely time at the beach but it was simply heaven driving to and from with my little brother, bren.

can i get a "huzzah" for siblings?
 photo _DSC8942_zps099feb2d.jpg photo _DSC8956_zpsdc3a6f0d.jpg photo _DSC8963_zps48d3c6b9.jpg
emily was sitting in the back with the kiddos for the drive.

you know, i just adore that girl. who'd have thought that a 16 year gap could start to close between us?

if i've learned anything it's that there is always hope for family relationships. we invest in each other and watch our bonds become the most fulfilling features of this life.
 photo _DSC8970_zpsc237ce40.jpg photo _DSC8971_zpsa365e56a.jpg photo _DSC9001_zps151f4fa2.jpg photo _DSC9027_zpse762c5aa.jpg
 photo _DSC9045-1_zps0ef04edb.jpg photo _DSC9071_zps6e108aee.jpg photo _DSC9245_zps3149ae7a.jpg photo _DSC9269_zpsc240f377.jpg photo _DSC9284_zpscfdcf4ce.jpg
did you know that i was very good at being the older sister growing up?

by this i mean i was the bossiest, nosiest, know-it-all of a bully. once i kicked joey off or a bunk-bed and he broke his collar bone. i stabbed bren in the butt-cheek with a pickle fork and he had to get stitches. we used to do this thing called "upside down T" where i'd make one of my brothers lay on the floor and i'd stand on his stomach for as long as i could. i'd yell, "upside down T!" and they'd fall to the floor.

to my amazement they've forgiven me for all that. joey, who suffered most from my rudeness, has become one of my greatest friends. we are raising our kids in a paralel. we give each other help and strength and the comfort of knowing we're not alone in our struggles with children.

we silently rejoiced together to leave the beach novelty stores without having had a crew-member break something.
 photo _DSC9289_zps710ace24.jpg photo _DSC9300_zpse30a355c.jpg photo _DSC9301_zps89bdf5d4.jpg photo _DSC9337_zps92faae18.jpg photo _DSC9339_zps5e51a09d.jpg photo _DSC9341_zps51d345a2.jpg
we missed tamsin who was a state away suffering in her college apartment with the worst sunburn she's ever had. happily she's got her wonderful, new husband by her side. they were both miserably sunburned this last weekend.

we've started planning a disneyland trip for a year and a half from now. the thought of being all together in such a magical place fills me with Christmas-eve-caliber excitement.
 photo _DSC9346_zps02ccf4f0.jpg photo _DSC9365_zpsd71d5fc6.jpg photo _DSC9377_zpsfdc251c9.jpg
one last cheer for sibling love!

Comments

joolee said…
oh my heavens - the picture of your dad consoling little E...priceless.