my boys

I don't talk much about my family on here, but I should. My family is flawed, of course, but it is also pretty damn rad.
So rad in fact that I am getting a little choked up as I type this.

In honor of Father's Day on the 19th and LB2's birthday on the 20th I thought I would share a little bit about 'my boys' and why I'm so blessed to have them.

My Papa.

What can I say about my dad that every other girl doesn't already say about theirs? He has the BEST laugh. (Those who've heard it know what I'm talking about.) He taught me how to ride my bike, barbecue, and fish. He taught me how to make manicotti. I am his favorite oldest daughter. :) We share a love of The Muppets-Animal is our favorite, roller coasters-the higher and faster the better, and muscle cars. I went on the White Roller coaster for the first time with my dad. All I can remember is him saying "whooooaahhh whoooaaaaahhhh!" the whole time and laughing his head off. He loved it and because of him I love it too. He is the reason I was a tomboy until I was 10. He taught me that "roughing it" does not include a camper and running water. It's air mattresses and tents. He taught me to love, appreciate, and respect nature. He loves animals. Growing up he would always complain about how we had too many dogs-but he was the saddest of any of us when they would pass away. He has the greenest thumb of anyone I have ever known-he can make almost anything grow out of almost any soil. He builds the most beautiful ponds and has a knack for raising koi and frogs. Inside his rough and gruff exterior is the softest, most tender heart. He is fiercely loyal (gee, I wonder where I got it?), and always fights for the under dog. He loves John Wayne movies, but Legally Blonde is one of his all time favorites. I remember when I was about 20 I had rented 'Chocolat' and was watching it in the family room. When he came home he started to gripe about how he "didn't want to watch that chick flick crap". Yet by the time it was over he had joined me on the couch and looked at me and said, "well that wasn't half bad." He will come up to Salt Lake to watch me perform-although he HATES the city almost as much as he hates the theatre. My daddy is just too awesome for words.

Little Brother #1 (LB1). According to my mom LB1 and I were best friends when we were little. We did EVERYTHING together-including a game where I would get a spray bottle of water and say "open up Jonsie" and spray water into his mouth. My mom didn't understand why, but he loved that game. I am the only person alive who is allowed to call him "Jonsie" (the other is my Grammy V who passed away in 2002). I don't know why, but I love that it's something only I'm allowed to do. LB1 is smart-sometimes too smart for his own good. And he has the BEST comedic timing. He has always been able to make us all laugh so hard it hurts. He loves to fish and snowboard. Growing up he was a whiz at Mario Brothers and would make up songs and sing along to the music as he played. He would build blanket forts in the living room and call them his "inventions". Legos were his thing. He was always playing with them and coming up with things WAY cooler than my lame houses. He LOVED giving people bunny ears in photos-he was a ninja about it, too. He was a year behind me in school, but I was the one who always got "you're Jon Fox's sister?" He was the boy who had girls calling our house at 13, and I'm pretty sure it didn't end until he met My sister in law. He has such a knack for keeping a positive attitude, even when he's knee-deep in turd. In the last few years he's surprised me and shown me what a big softie he is. He married one of the sweetest, kindest, most lovely ladies around and is now an adorable daddy to two of the most adorable girls. He surprised us all in what an amazing father he is. He's the most adorable, loving, doting daddy around-although he was convinced he would rule his house with an iron fist. Those three girls definitely have him wrapped around their fingers! LB1 and I butted heads the most growing up, but as we get older I have come to love and appreciate him more than I could have ever imagined possible.

Little Brother #2. What can I say about My LB2? He loves to point out how much taller he is than me-earning me the nickname "little big sis". He tries so hard to be rough and tough but like all the other men in our family he's a big softie. He is the one who's most like my dad-right down to their identical feet. He's not a dad yet, but he is so good with kids, and they just LOVE him-maybe it's because he is a big kid too. He is a hard worker and so good with his hands. He can build almost anything. He LOVES animals and has his own menagerie complete with chickens! Growing up LB2 was the one who would bring home random animals like pigeons and crickets and snakes and lizards and crawfish and catfish and BEG my mom to let him keep them as pets. LB2 LOVED Kraft mac and cheese growing up. LOVED IT. So much that we would tease him about making his birthday cake out of it instead of letting him have it for his birthday dinner. LB2 wasn't quite the ladies' man LB1 was, but he did have a pretty good following in High School. (I can't say I blame these girls though. My brothers are cute!) LB2 is so protective of me and my sister-he's made it his responsibility to make sure we're always safe and happy. (Yes he's given Mr. Wonderful "the talk".) LB2 is the scariest good driver I've ever seen. He has the sweetest, kindest wife who is the girl version of him. They are perfect for each other. He is always thinking of me and will drive all the way up to SLC from St George to let me use his truck to move. Like the rest of us Foxes he's a stubborn git, but he can also admit when he's wrong.

There are so many more memories I could share, but they are for another day. Although I don't see them near enough, I love my boys so much, and I am so so lucky to have the best daddy and brothers around.