I must admit, when I woke up this morning I didn’t know it was National Siblings Day. Dude, there’s a holiday for everything these days. I could go on an on about my kids being the most adorable siblings I know… Ok, ok I can’t resist, here’s one photo:

But hey, it’s National Siblings Day, and what better opportunity to I have to brag about my own siblings?

I’m the oldest of five children. And while I maintain the belief that the first child tends to get the best of the gene pool and the rest split what’s left over, I must say, despite that, my siblings are still pretty awesome.

My sister Heather is currently 24 years old. Holy cow, she’s getting up there! When we were growing up I was forced to bring her along with me when I wanted to play. Of course back then I thought that was some of the worst punishment ever, but we had a lot of fun together.

Fun memory: Some of my fondest early memories involve us sliding down the stairs in our sleeping bags, and acting out full-length Disney movies.

My brother Michael is 20 now I believe. Jeez, I still imagine these kids being closer to 6. He’s hilarious, and has some of the best one liners. We don’t keep in touch as much as I’d like, but hopefully we will work on that this year.

Fun memory: He was so proud when he learned he was an uncle, he was so gentle with his little niece.

My sister Lauren is so fun. She’s 17 and getting ready to finish high school and go to BYU Hawaii. I’m so excited for her, and so proud of her. She’s 11 years younger than me, so growing up we didn’t really hang out much. She was only about 6 when I moved away for college. We’ve really started connecting these last few years. She’s a lot quieter than the rest of us, but once she opens up she’s really funny. She was a lifesaver helping with both of my kids’ first birthday parties, so I owe her big time once she has her own parties to throw.

Fun memory: She called me “old” and “un-cool” then taught me new texting slang terms, and I tried to prove my coolness for singing and dancing to hip hop.

My youngest sister, Kimberly is just 8 years old. The good ‘ol Mormon joke about the bride’s mom being pregnant at the wedding totally rang true with us. So my husband has been her brother-in-law as long as she’s had me as a sister. Bazzar. But she’s so playful and adorable, and my little girl can’t get enough of her aunt. Lil’ J played with her non-stop during their visit, and Kimmie did the best job of keeping up.

Fun memory: She helped me draw a snazzy elephant for my son’s first birthday party, and she is NOT humble about her talents, and I love it. She kept bragging about her athletic abilities, loving being in pictures, and more, and it’s all so true.

My kids won’t have a slew of siblings to grow up with. As of now we’re thinking they’ll just have each other. They are so close right now, and I’m hopeful they’ll stay friends. Siblings are built-in buddies, and I’m grateful for mine, and the little pair we created.

How many siblings do you have? What fond memories do you have? And if you’re an only child I’m curious… Does today suck for you? Or did you prefer flying solo?

Tags: family, love, national siblings day, siblings