The Biannual Phone Call

  
Yep, that is my (favorite) brother, Wade. Oopsie! Did I just write "favorite"? What? I have no idea what you're talking about! You must all be delusional. I totally understand your condition, especially after gazing at the picture above. I mean, who wouldn't get all mind boggled after seeing that face?! Seeing as my other brothers probably don't even have the decency to read my blog, I find it totally acceptable to say Wade is my favorite brother haha! But, Cameron and Keagan, if you do ever read this, the entire above paragraph is a complete lie. Consider it void from this time forth.

That picture was taken about 2 years ago when Wade was a senior in High School; back when it wasn't a luxury to live at home and hang out with all of our friends every Friday night, doing crazy stupid things just because we were kids and we could. Back when we would stay up past our bedtimes, eating graham crackers with milk, Wade was usually shirtless and singing some ridiculous song. Back when I could call him just to laugh, or text him
just to get a reply along the lines of "go on girl, go ahead get down." Ya, I don't get it either, but that was the beauty of Wade. He would say whatever he wanted and do whatever he wanted and he didn't care. I hate that we both had to grow up and move away. Sometimes, I wish it could always be the summer of 2010 and we could go night swimming whenever we wanted and ride our bikes to 711 for a slurpee everyday. Those were the days...                                                                                     

Right now, he's on his mission in South Cali. Or at least, that's what he calls it. Normal people would call it Ventura, California, but you know, whatever floats your boat :) He left in August and we have been communicating weekly by email for about 9 months now. So when I used to be able to call Wade whenever I wanted, which was usually at 11 o clock at night, just so I could listen to him and his friends throwing "parties" in their dorm room, I had to get used to good old letter writing. It was terrible at first. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find an hour of your time on a Sunday night to devote to recapping your entire week into a little email to send to your brother, especially when all you want to do is call him up and explain to him every detail of whats happened in the past week. But, the emails aren't so bad, now that I'm used to it. At least there's a reason to be excited for Monday's now, seeing as that is the day I get to open up my email and read whatever Wade has sent us that week, which usually consists of a lot of rubbish poetry and catch phrases, but the majority of it... wow. I can't tell you how much he has grown up on his mission. It's like he can actually describe a sincere feeling without being sarcastic or cracking a joke right afterwards. I'm so excited to see him after these 2 years are up and see how much he has grown as a person.

Wow. Tangent much, Kaitlan? Always. Anyway, Mother's day and Christmas, he is allowed to call his family, and Mother's day just happened to be a week ago! Since most of us kids are all grown and gone, we set up a big conference call with my house, me in DC, my brother in Rexburg, Idaho, and my sister in Driggs, Idaho, and of course, Wade in Cali :). It was so great just to hear his voice and his laugh. It's nice to know he still has the same sense of humor and, for the most part, he is the same brother that used to stay up all night with me and camp out on the trampoline when the mosquitoes weren't swarming. He sounded great, like he was really enjoying himself, and I think he is really loving the mission. He always reminds me that God does things in his own time and that we can't rush His work in our lives. I think he gets frustrated sometimes because he lives in a place where people aren't jumping at the idea of joining the church. I mean, people living in mansions, driving Lamborghinis probably don't think they need God in their lives, but that's just what Wade is there to teach them. He has learned so much and I am so proud of him for choosing to devote 2 years of his life to this amazing work. He's going to gain so much from it. We got to talk to him for almost 2 hours and we all just told stories and he told stories about the people there and everything he's been doing. I just wanted to sit there and listen, which is just what I did.

The Youngins on a road trip. I miss this...

The downside to the twice yearly phone call is how much you miss them after it's over. I am missing Wade more than ever right now. I can't imagine going home for the summer and him not being there to make everything funny and awesome. He always had a way of making every situation more fun. Even Disney World was more fun with Wade there. I don't know what summer is going to be like without him there. He was the one who always suggested going to the park at midnight just for the heck of it, or seeing how many people could fit into our closet full of sleeping bags. One of my favorite memories is when Wade would come in my room and just say "sleep over?". Then him and Bayley, my little sis, would come in with their pillows and we'd all pile on the bed. And even though I always hated when they imposed on my perfect night's sleep and gracious moving room, it was so much fun with all of us in there, talking til early hours of the morning and trying to keep it down as to not wake the parents. Ugh. I hate growing up.

And now for some great pictures of Wade, as a tribute to the greatest, most hilarious brother anyone could ask for. ..

First day of Summer with our friend Taylor :) Always a good time at the pool

I can't remember a time he wasn't playing guitar... seriously

Wade's classic outfit haha!

Best half of the family :) Just sayin!

 Hope you enjoyed that trip down memory lane. Moral of the story: I miss Wade!! Practically counting down the days til he comes home. But, I am so proud of him and so happy for everything he is doing and has accomplished. Miss you, Wade! Love ya, kid!