Twenty Somethings

My youngest sister Hillary turns 20 years old today.  That means that me and my 4 siblings are now all "twenty somethings."  This is the first time we've all been classified in the same age group.  We weren't all in elementary school at the same time, and we weren't all teenagers together, but now we all get to be in our twenties for the next year and a half.  

My siblings are some of the most important people in my life.  There were times when we were growing up that we didn't get along very well, but now we are all really good friends.  We live far away from each other so we enjoy the few times we call all get together.  We support each other and take care of one another.  We all have the same sense of humor.  None of us can spell worth a darn either.  (Playing Scrabble as a family resembles a game of BS.)

So many times 20 - 29 year olds are portrayed as irresponsible and lazy.  That's not the case in our family.  I want to tell you about each of my amazing siblings.  Sorry if this comes across as a little braggy, but if you can't brag about your own family then who can you brag about?    

Hillary

Hillary's pre-mission photo shoot

Hillary is currently serving on an LDS mission to the Louisville, Kentucky area.  She's part of the wave of 18 year old elders and 19 year old sister missionaries.  According to her most recent e-mail her mission has 14 experienced missionaries, 20 twelve week missionaries, about 16 six week missionaries, and 22 greenies on the way.  As of tomorrow she will be in charge of her area - and she's one of the ones who has only been out for 6 weeks! 

Hillary is a very talented person.  She is an amazing cook and worked for the Joseph Smith Memorial Banquet Kitchen before her mission.  She can also do hair like no one else.  You know all those amazing hair updos you see on pinterest?  Well Hillary can do them all - on herself!

Hillary struggles with a learning disability, but that hasn't stopped her from "reading" hundreds of books.  She gets around her reading issues by listening to audio books.  That leaves her hands free to knit, crochet, paint, mow the lawn, garden, or whatever else she wants to do.

Billy

Billy with Mom, Dad, and Hillary after one of his BYU Symphony concerts

My sisters and I say that Billy actually has the musical talent that we just pretended to have.  Billy started playing the trumpet when he was in 5th grade.  In 8th grade decided he wanted to play the French Horn too.  Later he started exclusively playing the French Horn.  In high school he was a member of the Granite Sr Youth Symphony and the Utah Youth Symphony.  He used his talent to get himself a music scholarship to BYU.

He went to BYU for a year and then took a break while he served a Summer Service Mission in Nauvoo (playing the marching band version of the French Horn, of course), and a two year Spanish speaking mission to Tucson, Arizona.  When he came home from his mission he was a little worried about how well he would be able to play after such a long break.  But he shouldn't have been too worried.  He started practicing again and was soon able to secure a spot in BYU's top symphony.

Emily

Emily and David with Asher and Bridger

Emily lives in Colorado and she says that people are always surprised when they find out how young she is.  Despite being "only" 24 she has been married for 4 and 1/2 years, earned her bachelor's degree from BYU-Idaho, and has two sons.  If that isn't enough she has also encouraged her husband, David, as he worked on his Bachelor's degree and then his Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.  Oh and she's also expecting her third son this September (about a week before my baby is due.)

This past year Emily worked for the student housing department and helped plan activities for the residents.  At the end of the school year she won an award for planning the best activities and always staying within her budget.  Emily has also been teaching Zumba for about a year.

This week Emily and David start a new chapter in their lives as they move out of student housing and into an apartment in the town where David has a job.  I'm sure it wont take Emily long to make new friends and find lots of new things to do.

Lindsey

Lindsey and John with Rocklond, Knoxx, and Gretta the dog

Those of you who have been reading my blog these past few months know what a great sister Lindsey is.  Let me tell you about some of the other amazing things she has done.

Lindsey holds the record for graduating from high school with the highest GPA out of all of us kids - she was in at least the top 10% of her graduating class.  She also graduated Cum Laude from Southern Utah University.  (Which she earned even though she had a baby and moved out of state during her Sr year.)  She's decided to stay at home while her kids are little. So aside from student aid jobs and student teaching she hasn't taught in a school yet.  In the meantime she teaches pre-school for her son Rocklond and 4 other children.

Lindsey can do anything she sets her mind to do.  Whether it's tiling her in-laws kitchen back splash, playing pranks on her book club, running a marathon, sewing baby blankets, or making a fondant wedding cake (that was her most recent accomplishment) she can do it all.

Valerie 

Me and Brandon with Charlotte Derrick and Lydia

And then there's me.  Sometimes I feel a little inferior when compared to my talented siblings.  But I've done some awesome stuff too.

It would be easy to say that the most amazing thing I've done is gestate/raise 4 kids in a ridiculously short amount of time.  But I'm don't really want to talk about that right now.  There's more to me than the Mommy side.

In high school I passed 6 AP tests which translated into 36 credit hours.  I went to Snow College for two years and earned an associates degree.  Then I spent a year at the Salt Lake Community College and picked up some credits for cheap before transferring to Utah State.  I went to USU for a grand total of 3 semesters before I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Economics.  And I did it all without taking out a single student loan. (Thank you financial aid and younger siblings still at home.)

I spent 2 summers working for the Snow Fun Youth Conference department at Snow College.  My favorite part of that job was working on the ropes course.  I also spent a season working as a Tax Associate for H&R Block.  And lets not forget the 2 1/2 years spent as a Billing Manager and later Internal Auditor for Conservice.

Brandon and I have been married for 6 years.  He's in the Army and pursuing her dream of being paid to fly (instead of paying to fly which isn't as fun).  Right now we are just in the application phase, but soon we hope to be off to flight school.

Oh and I also have this little blog that I've maintained with at least one post a week for the past 4 1/2 years.

. . . 

So there you have 5 twenty somethings who aren't sitting on their parents' couch playing X-box or whatever the current stereotype for the age group is.

The most recent picture of all of us together.  This was taken last September when Billy came home from his mission.