ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:Oct. 26, 1972...

...my brother, Willy, was born! He was the first of many siblings I would have, but since I can't remember life without him and we grew up so close, our relationship might have been the most significant.There we are; I'm hugging "My Willow" and

we are both hugging our Easter Booty, Easter, 1973.
And here we are later--maybe a year later (?). Look at Will's cute dimples! I thought he was seriously the cutest little boy ever!

December 1991: Willy leaving the Salt Lake City airport to serve a mission in Michigan. We are all washed out because we are facing the morning sun--Will, Me, and our Tucson friend, Paul.
1989: Will & his friend, Ty, on the day after Thanksgiving
June 1990: Willy's graduation from Buena High School- that's Willy with our great-grandmother, Marie (Gramareeee!).

If you click here and here, or even here, you'll read a little example of the relationship I have with Willy. Sometimes he drove me nuts because he always seemed "bulletproof"--like that Oingo Boingo song, "Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me," and I often felt like I was carrying the weight of the world. I had to work so hard for everything, while things just fell into Willy's lap because he was so terribly charming. Of course as the years have gone by, I have learned that the weight I thought I was carrying wasn't all that bad, and besides, it allowed my brother to be who he was--happy and goofy and free from too much worry. And we were always there for eachother-- dating each other's friends, racing home for curfew, working at Donut Hell, boogeyin' at Stake Dances, swapping clothes. Thanks for making it fun, Will. Happy 33rd Birthday!

Will & his cute family in 2004: He and Audrey have been married for 11 years(!!!!!); Will is now a Chemical Engineer with a company in Salt Lake City; they have three kids: Melanie (7), Liam (almost 5--Will's mini-me), and Spencer (20 months).

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY: October 25, 1979 in Tucson, AZ...

...my sister JILL was born! Happy 26th Birthday, Jill!!!Here is Jill with her Isabelle
Me & Jill playing w/ the viewmaster on Christmas Morning 1980.
Jill as a foxy high schooler in Ohio, 1993.

Not only is Jill like 72 weeks pregnant wit her 4th child right now (really, he's due Novemeber 20-ish), she has had the week from hell--POBRECITA! We hope your fun birthday surprises more than make up for the previous week (and the whole 9 months). LOVE YOU!!!!

Our Week in Pictures [10.15-10.23]

Last weekend, Addie helped me clean up her room and earned this Princess poster. Here she is posing with her new poster and her tiara.
It's still warm enough to hang out on the lawn! Rich and Addie made the most of it by watching for shooting stars and the northern lights the other night.
Here is a preview of Addie's Halloween costume, as modeled by Heidi. We made a great big Strawberry Shortcake hat and Heidi loves wearing it. She has a smaller Apple Dumpling hat.

10-19 at the Park

Addie swinging!
Heidi sporting her new hair-do at the swings

Also on Wednesday, we planted bulbs along the front walk way--tulips and daffodils! Of course Heidi just ate dirt.There we are, digging 6" bulb holes.
AdAddie and Heidi head for the swings at Sacajawea Park
Addie trid to make a leaf angel

Quick Trip to Helena

On Friday Night we drove to Helena to have a sleepover with Matt& Amie at their new house. It's the cutest little starter place and they are already making it so cute! When we got there, they had just finished painting their stark-white kitchen a pretty shade of lichen green. And they painted thier dark 70's style wood cabinets a pretty almond off-white. It looks great! Here's the front of the house in the sunset.
There's Matt trying to make Jake laugh instead of cry. Jake was asleep when we got there, but early Saturday morning all the little munchkins got up and were so happy to see each other, they just ran around in circles giggling! Anytime I wonder why we make these silly trips, I am reminded that we are, at the very least, building the relationship between the little cousins and that is a very worth-it thing. I love that they are always so happy to get together. Of course we always have fun with Amie and Matt, too. Amie had a Pampered Chef party and the boys worked on designing and pricing a bathroom in the basement, so it was productive and instructional and fun!

More from Helena Handbasket

Heidi playing in Uncle Matt's backyard
Addie playing with Aunt Amie's soap dish in the back yard; she and Heidi kept fighting over the "Nemo"--then we found there was a lotion pump AND a soap dish, so they both could have a "Nemo." Luckily, Jacob didn't care about the fish--he was loving Heidi's baby doll!

Heidi & Jake are Growing Up!

Jacob & Heidi in August 2004 right after Jake moved to Montana.
Heidi and Jacob October 2005--they are getting big and play so cute together!