Happy (belated... sorry!) Birthday to...

My brother, Josh!

I can still remember meeting this guy. I was in 8th grade and my sister, Angie, had just started dating him. Since I was the nosey little sister, I just happened to be up when he dropped her off after a date which gave me prime opportunity to meet him. Convenient. So out I went, dressed in Mickey Mouse pajamas (yes, I still wore Mickey Mouse pajamas in 8th grade. Granted, I also wore a pair about 2 nights ago. Don't judge me.) and introduced myself in the driveway behind our house. With a mouth full of braces and hair a complete disaster, I was a mess. And since that day, I'm pretty sure that he still sees me that way! But because he's been around so long, I cannot really remember a time when he wasn't in our family. He used to tell me that he had to make up for the years that I spend without a brother (exhibit A: throwing me in the pool at my rehearsal dinner... that would be the back of his head as he is doubled over with laughter)

and I have to say that he definitely succeeded! But more than the practical jokes, he came to my soccer games, played Nintendo with me, and has always been there for me no matter what. Their house was a home for me to visit when I was in college and my parents lived far away and I have washed countless loads of laundry in their machine because of this! One year I even crashed their family camping trip, which is still the best Memorial Day weekend I've ever spent and I hope that our families do this together in the near future.

When my Josh came along, the debate began as to how to distinguish between the 2 in the family. While I won't go into details as to the suggestions, it was obvious from day one that the two of them hit it off. The scary part is that they often get asked if they are brothers- probably far more than Angie and I get asked if we're sisters! I'll let you see why for yourself.

We don't always get to hand-pick our relatives, but Angie did a good job with this one.

Happy 35th, Bro! I hope you get to indulge in something like this on your big day:

Josh, Jakie, and I love you!