Meet the Family: Aunt Artsy

Aunt Artsy is my mom's fourth child. She shares a dad along with our youngest brother on Mom's side.

I remember when Aunt Artsy was born. I was ten years old and sat in the living room until really late after my first day of school in the fourth grade. I watched Fern Gully. Through mom's noises of discomfort, my impatience grew. What was taking this baby so long to come out?! I fell asleep. I remember them waking me up to see her, but I don't think it really registered for me until the next morning when I went in to see my mother and asked if indeed the baby had FINALLY been born last night. I saw her and was off to my second day of fourth grade, giddy over my new sister. It was the first time I was old enough to really fully enjoy my baby sibling.

I remember sharing a room with little Aunt Artsy. She was slightly obnoxious, especially when she cried in the night. I slept in the same bed with her a few times when she was older...that was not fun. The girl may be very small, but apparently she is an ogre inside because her body doesn't think that one measly side of the bed is enough. She tears through the night like a battle rages on. It isn't pretty.


My childhood is not the only time that her battle-style sleep habits have caused me discomfort and lack of sleep. Last summer she was staying over and Curly had switched to a twin sized bed. We thought that it would be okay for Aunt Artsy to sleep with her instead of the usual sleeping bag on the floor since Curly took up so little of the bed. All was well for the first hour or two, but then. Then something went BUMP in the night...and that something was my little freshly two year old daughter being evicted from her own bed. Handsome wasn't home that night, so I just pulled her in with me and she was fine, though rather ticked at her auntie. She said something and I can't remember her exact words now, but I think it was something along the lines of: sniff, sniff "Aunt Artsy" sniff, tear, sniff "stoled MY BED!" Followed by sobbing and tearful exclamations that made little sense due to the fact that it was two year old speak through massive tears.

We do not put her in a bed with anyone now. Ever. (Well, unless it's for punishment. Then it's okay...)


Aunt Artsy was talented in the area of creativity from a very early age. She used to draw and color things that were very beyond the normal scope of children her age. She drew stick figures at two and even drew a stick figure chicken on the laundry room doors at two and half. It was a very good chicken indeed. She won an art contest when she was four and was in the local paper. Now she does all things artistic including sculpting, pastels, watercolor, beading, and so much more. Her favorite right now is culinary arts. She is extremely talented with cooking and flavors. She was in the culinary club at school and was first place in her class competition to get into the club.

Aunt Artsy is pretty adventurous, unlike her older sister (ME).


She will try most things once...or even twice. That goes for unique food AND thrill seeking adventures. The girl was never afraid of much, though she was a drama queen when she was younger. She used to put on the most elaborate show for us over the slightest stubbing of her toe, which is strange because now she is pretty tough. I guess now that she isn't at the bottom of the list in the house since so many of us have grown up and left the house she doesn't need to do it for attention anymore.


Or she figured out it didn't work. You know, like that one time that she ACTUALLY broke her foot and Mom didn't take her to the doctor for a couple of days because she thought she was making it up. Yeah. That might have done it.

Never cry wolf. That's Aunt Artsy's new motto.

The girl loves animals too. She knows tons of things about them and wants to become a veterinarian or something working with animals. She would probably yell at me for saying veterinarian instead of some fancy word like zoologist or something. I don't know what the heck she wants to be. Some fan-dangled animal loving thing. Okay Aunt Artsy? Is that good enough for you!? She is volunteering at the local nature center doing day camps right now in fact...or finishing up the training stuff at least.


She knows her "big cats" too. Just thought I would throw that in there for any of you who wanted to know. Don't mess those up or she'll eat you alive!

Aunt Artsy is pretty cool. She is one of the favorite Aunts around. Curly loves to have her come over and play with play doh. They make all kinds of cool things that I could never dream of making, like macaroni and cheese. "WITH A BOWL MOM!" Yep, Aunt Artsy makes her play doh mac and cheese with the additional bowl and spoon. Now that's an awesome playmate.

Curly and Aunt Artsy have a special thing. Licking.

When Curly was being taught not to lick people, well...she was taught not to lick people other than Aunt Artsy. (And Grandma Burger sometimes.) I don't know how Aunt Artsy came to be the one it's okay to lick, but somehow that is the case.


In fact, I am sure Aunt Artsy has indeed wondered the same thing. "How did I become the one that it was okay to lick?" The world may never know.

While Aunt Artsy is much younger than I am, I would have to say that she is one of the siblings that I enjoy most. When she comes over to spend the night we end up laughing a lot, and we bond over things like Photoshop. It's great. It also helps that she is great with the kids and doesn't hesitate to get in and get dirty with them. I love to have this girl around!

So, for Aunt Artsy- "HARD MIX!!!"

Meet the Family: Drem Drem

I realize that as I go to do this post, I have very few pictures of Drem Drem. Naturally then, I hijaked some photos from her Facebook. Drem Drem is the third daughter of my Dad and his second wife S.

Drem Drem is a free spirit. From the start she has always gone her own way and not been led by others. I like that about her. She is a very silly girl and the unexpected things that come from her are always good for some giggling.


I am one of those that thinks the meaning of a name is important. It seems that the meaning of a person's name often goes with their personality and is telling of who they are. Think about Jesus changing a couple of names way back. It must be important then if you ask me =). Well, Drem Drem has the most unique name I have ever heard in my life thus far (it came to Dad in a dream if I recall correctly), and it suits her to a T. She is a very unique person indeed.


Drem Drem loves to sleep. She loves juice. She wears mismatched socks. She is the perfect image of the camp counselor that every kid wants to have- full of energy and strange ideas. She might get her cabin into a little trouble for a prank or two, but they will sure have fun doing it! (To the best of my knowledge she has never been a camp counselor, but I am just imagining what it would be like if it did happen.)


This girl is awesome with kids, they just love her. She helped out with our MOPS group a couple of times and did wonderfully with the kids that have a really hard time. She just knows how to distract well and focus on fun. She even won Curly over pretty quickly, and that is a hard thing to do. Curly likes to be shy for a long time.

Drem Drem is most often found attached at the hip with her cousin K. For a long time they seemed to do everything together. The two are a pair (even did MOPS together with me...you get one, you get the other too). Had to post about Drem Drem and K together then. Can't have one without the other.


While she is another that I don't see very often, she is brings a lot of fun with her during those times that I do see her. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this girl!

Meet the Family: Neesh

Meet Neesh. She is the second daughter of my Dad and his second wife. She has the same mom and dad as She she.

Neesh is 20 years old and goes to school at BYU Idaho. She is an achiever, that's what she lives for. She is also very silly and particularly obsessive about being neat.

When Neesh was a little girl, she was the silliest thing I ever did meet. That girl would have me rolling in no time. She was just so random and unpredictable, it was crazy. She was crazy. Now that she has grown up a little and some of that has matured out of her, I find that I miss it. Why do children have to grow up anyway? Can't they just stay blissful and young forever?


I remember one time when we were all supposed to be going to sleep late at night. She and Brody were making up some tremendous story about a crazy king of some sort and a newspaper. It was the simplest, most stupid story you've ever heard, but they couldn't get more than one word out at a time because they were laughing so hard. I didn't even understand the story, but couldn't help but have a massive case of the giggles because of their laughter. Those two were extra funny when placed withing half a mile of one another.

When Dad and their mother divorced, I didn't get to see her as much for a long time. She she lived with Dad, but Neesh lived with her mom. There were quite a few years where I rarely saw her at all, and then "poof", she was all grown up. I missed all the in between years.


Neesh ran track in High School. I got to go to one or two of her meets and watch her run, she did very well. Her last season she was running on a leg that she shouldn't have been...I'm not sure how that all turned out, but I am pretty sure it was fractured. She is very driven and placed herself in the spotlight by being good at things in life. She was the sporty girl in the family and the only one that did all of school in public school (on Dad's side).


I don't get to talk to Neesh very often now either, but she seems to be doing well. She was home for a little while when she had a break from school and I saw her a few times, like at Curly's birthday party.

Apparently her new obsessions are Zac Effron and wanting to be a skater girl...but who knows, that's just life according to Facebook.

Meet the Family: The Viking

The Viking is the next brother in line. He belongs to my mother and is her third child. He stands alone in his father (only child at his dad's house), so he has some qualities that differ from some of the rest of us.

The Viking is named such due to a few things. First of all, this young lad has had a six pack as long as I could remember. His abs were strapping from birth- I'm not joking! (Okay, I am.) When he was around the age of six...I may or may not have made him show all my friends. (I will not fully admit to all sins. Just enough sharing so that I am not lying.) Second, he is kinda tough. Or so he likes you to think anyway. He is a scruffy, quick-witted, beer drinking, goes his own way because he wants to guy.


But at the same time, he is a tender hearted, child loving, extremely generous, musically talented, dictionary-like, chicken lover. He likes to keep you guessing I suppose.

When The Viking was a baby, he was very easy going and happy. He and Brody spent lots of time together when they were little and were very close. Don't assume that means there was no fighting, it just means they spent a lot of time together and loved having one another around. He liked Lego's, video games, climbing trees (but not quite the same way that Brody did), getting dirty...you know, all stuff little boys like.


As he got older, he shifted his likes a little. He is still all boy. Or I am required to call him man now? I am the big sister and this is my blog, so he is still boy to me. No matter how old he gets. He is insanely talented at playing the guitar. His dad is a musician, so it's in the genes. He plays every type of music that you can think of on the guitar, both acoustic and electric. I am not just saying he is talented because he is my brother either. He really is!

He learned to read very young and has always carried around a large vocabulary. His reading level was far beyond his grade level and he often got bored in school. I also think I recall a time he got in trouble in Kindergarten for correcting his teacher. I think perhaps he might have been a kid that would have benefited from homeschooling.

(This picture is just for kicks. It fits with nothing.)

When we were all little, we would finish our candy or snacks first (Brody and I) and The Viking would always share his. He didn't care about the fact that both of us had just eaten the exact same portion as what he'd received. He always shared everything and still does, at least as far as I know. Sadly I don't get to see him as much as I would like to.

For a couple of years when we were younger, right before Mom and Chalupa moved in together, we had chickens. The Viking loved the chickens. Truth be told I love them too and would really really like to have some. Unfortunately we cannot have them right now. Our HOA carries a steel whip. No joke, they are harsh. (That and the fact that we already have enough reasons that our neighbors hate us...like our weeds.) Back to the point, this lucky Viking gets to have some chickens at his girlfriend's house. Her parents like to live amongst the bird. We have purchased some of their eggs in the past, which totally grossed Handsome out. He is eggist and thinks they should all be clean white eggs like you find at the grocery store. All the same size.


The Viking loves my kids, kids in general really. Curly took a couple years to warm up to him because she can be that way sometimes, but Smiles liked him right away. That's just how the two personalities vary anyway. She is a very shy little girl most of the time. It doesn't help that he has a scruffy little beard and long hair. Facial hair freaks my girl out big time! It was really neat a couple of months back when he and Curly jumped on the trampoline at my Mom's house. She was much more excited to see him that time.


So, don't let the appearance fool you. This boy might have long hair and tattoos. He might like you to think he is rough around the edges, but he really isn't. He is an affectionate and generous young man who wants you to have to get to know him before you get the benefit of his strong points.

Aren't you lucky! You got to meet him right here in the comfort of your own home!


I also wanted to mention, due to rather reality based posts recently, I promise to give you some laundry chronicles next week at some point. I have one waiting in the wings, you just have to wait and see what day. I figure that might lighten things up a bit.

Meet the Family: She She

Meet She She. Or Shn Shn if you prefer. She is the next oldest of my younger siblings. Curly couldn't say her name properly, so this is what she was called at our house for a long time. It was a sad day for She she when Curly actually started to call her by her name.

While on the subject of my siblings names, I might add that you are better off for memory with the false names. The ones that are from my dad and his second wife all have very interesting names that I had a hard time learning to spell. I remember being so proud the day that I learned to spell the third one's name properly...but that's a different topic in itself.


So, as I just shared in passing, She she is a daughter of my Dad and his second wife, S. (Not to be confused with Grandma S...which I guess could be confusing now that I write that out for you. Grandma S just happens to have the same first initial and did not give birth to She she. Different wife that starts with S.) All siblings hereto after born to my Dad are children of his second wife, S. I'm letting you meet them by order of their ages, so I will clarify at the start of their posts which parent they belong to and whom their other parent is. It will go back and forth from Mom's kids to Dad's kids quite a bit. Just to let you know ahead of time.

Okay, She she. Well, there are lots of things to say about She she. I could probably go on for ages about her...but I won't. You see, She she and I have had our moments. We don't always get along, and that's partly because we both have the same weak areas. We are both first-borns (and I bet not many siblings share that!), and we both like to be in control. That's part of being a first-born and also part of a childhood that feels out of control.

Stop for a sec. I just have to clear up that I turned out well in spite of divorce and I never wished that my parents had stayed married just for me. I don't want you to take that as me saying that I had a terrible childhood or that my life wasn't fantastic as a kid. I had an amazing childhood. That was just to state that divorce does play a role in the way you view things and I do think that some of my desire for control and controlling nature come from that. Some of it is just part of the genetic make up that made me.

Okay, this is bound to be a long post...


So, we have a lot of the same weaknesses and thus have butted heads. But, I also have some of my fondest memories with She she. Because we understand each other in a lot of ways. She is probably one of the sisters that I have had the most late night chats with and is definately the one that I feel I have been able to be a "big sister" to the most.

When Handsome and I lived in the milking barn on my Dad's property, she would come over all the time. There was a time period that wasn't all that small where I wasn't working (we didn't have children while living there either) and I was home all day. She would come over and we would talk and cook and all sorts of things. There wasn't a lot of learning of home making skills at Dad's house, so she came and "tried" to learn some of those. Now that she is married I will have to ask her husband how she is doing with learning those skills. =)

She would come over all the time. Probably more than once daily. I can't even remember what we did all the time, but I know that our conversations ranged from silly to very deep and everything in the middle. I had this pair of black mules (slip on shoes) that she would wear to run over to her house if she needed to go over for anything. Recently I was getting rid of them since Smiles made me go from an 9 1/2 to an 11 (DARN that boy!) and she took them. They weren't anything pretty, but she said they had memories for her. Because of this I know that she has fond memories of those times too.


About a year before Smiles was born, maybe a little before that, She she came to live with us. There was a lot going on in her family and she didn't have anywhere to go. She came to live in my craft room, which is now Smiles' room. During that time I think we both learned a lot. I would say this was when we butted heads a lot too. She didn't have a car or a job and I was at home all day with Curly and her little friend that is 5 months younger than she is. We were all stuck in the house all day long. ALL DAY. Every. Day.

After some searching in the locations nearby (because she didn't have a car yet and so I had to be able to take her to work at first), she got her first job. It was at our friendly neighborhood Fred Meyer. My favorite store! (Other than Target of course...and that's the truth!) She did awesome and I knew she would. One of the greatest feelings that you can have is feeling like you can take care of yourself. That feeling of accomplishment that employment gives you is a wonderful thing and I knew it would have a good effect on her. I didn't have a clue how much she would grow through it though.

Can I just tell you that I am so proud of that girl? She has grown up so much in the last year and a half, it's amazing. She took her life into he own hands (and don't take that to mean that the Lord was left out...I just mean that she stopped expecting everything from her parents) and learned how to take care of herself. She has blossomed into a wonderful young woman and has matured in so many ways. She she has worked hard to turn things around and that hard work shows.


A couple of months ago she got married to Rosie. Yep. You get the name Rosie "C", and I'm sure that's no surprise to you =). Rosie is in the Army and is a good clean cut boy. He has a good effect on She she, he has brought some things to her life that she desperately needed and I love that she found a man that is as great for her as he is. They both have the same solid beliefs, which I am also glad for. I know that they will raise a fine young brood of children (okay, or just a couple) when the time comes. I am still mad at them for going off and getting married before they were supposed to though. They were supposed to be the first wedding that I got to photograph.


Okay, maybe not. I still forgive you.

She she is extremely silly. I mean EXTREMELY. And random. So random that it doesn't make sense most of the time. That's a J family thing though. I have been known in my day to be nearly as random, if not equally so. Most would say that I have grown out of that now. Most of the time. BUT, She she can bring it right back out. It's the special bond of sisters. She is, in fact, so random and silly that I can't even think of an example or how to fit it so that you could possibly grasp and understand. I don't know how to type out such sounds and make believe words. Just can't do it.


She she and the J clan are a mystery that you have to unfold in person to fully understand. The pictures of me in this post might give a glimpse. Or the one of Brody and the lens cap that became a great many things in this post. That's about all the glimpse you are going to get right now. And She she, well, she is right up there with the silliest of them.

She she loves ASL. She is thinking about going to school in order to become an interpreter right now in fact. (She she- did you register for school yet? You better get your booty in gear and do it before it's too late for the next quarter. You know this sister will be on you about that, but only because you asked me to.) While she lived with us she was working very part time as a tutor for ASL at the local community college. It was fun to have someone to sign with from time to time. It had been so long for me since I had learned ASL that I had forgotten it all. Sadly, I would probably say that I am back in that boat again. Now there are some fun memories. Being silly while signing is even more fun!


I just got a flash back of when she was living with us and we didn't have a bed for her. Poor girl was sleeping on an inflatable mattress. Well, after a few weeks of daily sleeping on our cheap air mattress, it sprung a leak. She was on the floor by morning...even within an hour or so I would say. So, I remember going in and chatting until way too late at night, giggling and bugging Handsome to no end. And I recall sitting down on the mattress so that it would raise her up off the floor for just a moment. And don't think that we were slight of mind (did I just make that term up?). We tried to patch it, but you know how when you get a hole on the seam it just won't be patched? Well, that was our issue.

Don't be too dismayed. Nana loaned us a good air mattress shortly after and then a little later she was given a bed by her church that she got to keep. It was a very nice bed. Much welcomed after such a rough time for the first weeks of being here.

Oh! And she got me addicted to Free Cell, you know the solitare game on the computer. Yep. That was all her and I was really addicted. Like really badly. But it's okay. I am now free. Freed from Free Cell!

Blogging may have taken it's place...


You see, I could go on for ages about She she. Being that she lived with us as an adult it gives you way more stories. Just like I could tell you oh so many things about Handsome or Curly. But I will stop now so that you can rest your eyes. I know that they hurt now.

I think you should go give your eyes a cucumber or two after that. Oooh. I have a cucumber in the frige. That sounds good.

Happy Friday! More Meet the Family next week!

Meet the Family: Brody

Brody is my first brother. He is the only sibling that has both of the same parents as myself. Same Mom, same Dad.

Because of this, Brody and I understood each other better as kids. We understood the crazy mass of relatives that we had and all the strange special things about both sides of the family. And let me tell you, our family has interesting methods of life. On either side of the gene pool.

I can't say that Brody and I always got along well. He is three years younger than I am and when I got older I used to get stuck babysitting him a lot (along with the other kids). Now, because not many of you know this wonderful young man, I will share with you that you missed out on a little guy who could terrorize the best of babysitters. My mom couldn't keep a babysitter with him around!

He used to get angry with me and climb up the REALLY tall trees in the front yard. That was skill. Those trees had no branches for at least 10 feet, but he would just bear hug the tree and get a good grip, then shimmy himself up the tree. And not come down. For a long time.

I might have provoked him once in awhile. Maybe.


When Brody got to Junior High, he really just needed his Dad. A boy gets to a time when he just needs man time. He moved in with Dad and I got to see him less. I missed him, though I still got to see him plenty often. It was just different, and since I was in High School I started to have my own life outside of my family anyway.

Brody really blossomed as he got older. Mind you, this kid has always been awesome, but he learned how to make his stubborn will and independent nature work for the best. EVERYONE that knows Brody will tell you that if he doesn't want to do something- he is NOT going to do it. That's the end. Done. Finished. And that serves him well now because he is a young man with integrity and good character. I am so proud of my younger brother for the man that he is becoming.


When he sees a need, he usually jumps right in to help. He may be stubborn when he feels that anyone is pushing him into something, but if you let him be you don't have to push much. He steers himself pretty well. And now he has a wonderful wife that can help nudge him if need be. That's right, last August my little brother got married to a special young woman that he had dated for less than a year officially... (But don't be fooled, they were "just friends" for a very long time. In Brody speak that means that he was interested, but had to be sure that he was ready to marry her before official dating began.)


Now, lets not get too ahead of ourselves. Brody is a stubborn boy that really does march to his own drummer. And what beautiful music that drummer plays. I love that boy more than ever, he has become such a well rounded guy that oozes kindness.

Brody likes all things weird. He always did such strange stuff when we were kids. I remember when he would be out on the back courtyard practicing shooting a basketball while ON. A. POGOSTICK. What the heck you say? Well, that's all in a day's work with Brody. And he got good too! He could pogo with no hands and make a lot of baskets before missing one. There are other tricks on the pogo stick too, according to Mom who is sitting behind me playing with Curly.


He also got into juggling sticks, rock collecting and polishing, electronic things (he was working on making his own electronic chess board for awhile), and lots of other things.

Brody married Sunny in August of last year. They are really sweet together. Right now Sunny is going to school to become a pharmacy technician and Brody works for medical transport company. He drives people in ambulance looking van things from hospitals and nursing homes and such. (Non-emergency only)

Sunny likes to giggle a lot and they both enjoy playing games. A couple of weeks ago they came over to play Handsome's favorite game, Monopoly. I despise that game. I really don't like to play it. Unfortunately for all involved, Handsome was at work and couldn't play, but another brother was here staying over during his spring break and he played with them. I watched. I do like playing other games with them, just not that particular one.

One last thing about this pair, they enjoy cooking. I have heard a story or two about my brother getting a wild hair nearing the 2 am time frame and cooking up some stuff right then and there. They have some interesting cook books with different cuisine. It's all very creative.

That's my Brody in a nutshell...or a post anyway. Hope you liked meeting him.

Next week, more siblings on the way.