Thirty!

Now might be a good time to talk about how much I love my little brother!  Because today is the day that he turns thirty years old!!!!



He loves his family, he is fiercely loyal to his friends, and he is devoted to and adoring of his beautiful wife.  He works hard, he plays hard, and he fights and argues hard.  He's so smart and outgoing and always the center of energy in the room.  He's loud and opinionated and stubborn, just like me....which means I can be those things around him and not feel like I have to apologize for it.  Love that.

We've had such adventures together!  Jumping out of a helicopter to go snowboarding on untouched, gorgeous powder in Valdez; backpacking in the remotest country either of us will ever see in the Brooks Range of Alaska; wandering around the campgrounds late at night in Telluride.  Annual river trips and cabin trips.  Countless nights camping and talking and just being with each other. Plenty of not-so-sober nights that were more fun and ridiculous and not-so-scary since we were with each other.  Crazy nights at concerts and festivals and bars all over this country.  Introductions to boyfriends and girlfriends, comforting each other through breakups and heartache, and finally...introducing each other to THE ONE.

We've navigated our unique family dynamic, cultural background, and childhood lifestyle together.  That's the cool thing about siblings, right? No one else gets it, except your sibling.  No one else knows what it was like to grow up in that little log house in the woods.  What it was like to spend nights on that heavenly piece of the planet that our family has in the Sangre de Cristos.  How it felt to get thrown in the back of the car (sans seatbelt in those days), to go back to sleep, and to wake up 5 hours later just in time for breakfast in Taos, New Mexico.  No one else can remember all the Saturdays we worked for my dad when he was starting his business, the cool treehouse dad built in the backyard, how cold the house is on the mornings when no one has started a fire yet, how that heater in the bathroom was probably the only thing that got us going in the mornings when we were kids.  We share a knowledge of the forest and mountains and dirt roads that we grew up on.  We know the best place to get a sandwich in our small mountain town, where to camp with friends and not get caught for underage drinking, and the best shortcut to pass a slow car on Indian Hills Road. 

This sibling relationship of mine is one of the most treasured of my life.  I'm so thankful and proud to call Adam my brother.  I love all the ways our relationship and friendship has changed over the years, and can't wait to see where the next thirty years together takes us.

I love you Adam, happiest of birthdays to you!