on brothers; younger ones, specifically.

on my LNW (late-night-walk) with avery, we talked about how we so badly crave the attention and approval of people who don’t really want to give it to us– people who think we are lame, weird, or obnoxiously good-looking (what? me?). over the past few years, my younger brother chad has fallen into that category of ‘people who think brooke is lame’ — it was such a subtle, slow-moving process! he began to laugh at my jokes less, dodge my ultimate-high-fives, and shy away from my compliments (YOU GUYS! he accused me of ‘hitting on him’ last time i visited– i can think my brother is cute, right?). WHAT HAPPENED? i thought i was automatically ‘cool’ because i was his elder–isn’t that how it works?

but i still seek after his danged approval! and how! 

while jeff and i were home earlier this month, chad celebrated his birthday with a SURPRISE! slip-n-slide birthday party and a family dinner. we decided to anti-roast him at dinner and tell seventeen reasons why he was rad (truth: i never say ‘rad’ in person, is that weird?). mostly it was about how he is the funniest, outgoing-est, party-starting-est member of the family. because he is, duh. you just want to be apart of his club, you know? 

anyways, happy belated birthday chadwick! sorry for hitting on you and holding your hand for far too many years, i am sure that was scarring. i will continue to try to buy your love forever. as long as it can be bought with a bed bath & beyond gift card.

happy birthday kenzie girl!

you guys, mckenzie claire is TEN today! she is in the double digits!when i was home, i could feel her getting older. perhaps it was because she no longer laughed at all my stupid jokes or perhaps it was because she put me in my place a few couple hundred times (in one instance, i had promised to have a sleepover but was dreading the thought of sharing her small twin bed so i asked if we had to share a bed. her reply: “you can either share the bed with me or you can sleep on the floor. i am going to enjoy the bed either way.” oh…okay…and into the bed we squeezed!)

and now she’s ten. now everybody sing-say it in unison: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MCKENZIE!love you like crazy! you are my most favorite ten-year old with a first name starting with ‘m’ and ending with ‘e’ out there (…the competition for most favorite ten-year old is tough this year…)

“oh, darling, don’t you ever grow up,
just stay this little.
oh, darling, don’t you ever grow up,
it could stay this simple.”

i’m so glad you were born.

it seems i have somehow turned this weekend into a makeshift ‘brooke’s big birthday and friend fawning’ session?

earlier last week, i mentioned how a postcard from my dear friend murny constituted for the best day ever. little did i know (ugh, story of my finals…)! little did i know, that i was going to keep having the best days ever.

for in my mailbox awaited……lots and lots and lots more postcards from some of my favorite people!

the notes made me laugh, cry (almost!), and cringe from the raw sentimentality. each one was so special and reminded me of the friendship that i had with each person (okay…stop…finals are making me sappy).

i am so glad that all of them were born. cyber hug!

and i’m so glad that i was born too…because this life has a lot of best days ever and that’s pretty rad.

birthday part two.

the rest of the my birthday just served as an affirmation that i have some of the best and most sweetest friends in the whole world of wide (accidental fat joke). i feel like i am a portly man dating a superstar supermodel; i have no idea what i have done to deserve these friends but i am so, so grateful for them.

as i was getting ready for the night, lily, rach, and avery walked in and sang me happy birthday and presented me with the sweetest gift ever: 19 things that i love for my 19th birthday. the gift included sweet nothings like chocolate covered almonds, a gift card to mcdonald’s, cosmopolitan, nail polish, and a picture book entitled ‘hot guys and baby animals.’ they know me all too well.

after i had opened the gift and gushed over everything, we picked up ally and syd and headed over to spark–a hilariously ironic and suave non-alcoholic lounge. there we ordered drinks and split food and soaked in how suave and grown up we were (“i feel like i’m TWENTY right now!”).when the last of the drinks had been slurped, we ran down the stairs and shoved our checks at the waiter. i was really curious as to why we were in such a hurry but thought that maybe everyone was on the same cycle? or really sick of me? or the hour my mom had paid for them to be my friends was up? something to that extent.

we then piled into lily’s car, blasted christmas music, and sped off to ‘the chocolate’ where a surprise was awaiting.

when we arrived, i thought things were a little bit weird. sydney and ally were nowhere to be found, the man behind the counter was sheepishly smiling at me, and lily, rach, and aves refused to walk up the stairs first. ummm…okay?

as i walked up the stairs, the first people i saw were my brother and his wife and my friend and her boyfriend…was this some weird group date that i was barging in on? i awkwardly smiled at them only to be met with a loud ‘SURPRISEEEEE!’ coming from the next room.a surprise party.

for me!

the next hour was filled with hugs (and i’m not a hugger), excitement, and complete awareness that i had apparently peed my pants during the car ride over? thanks so much to everyone that helped make my birthday so great (or: thank mom, for paying my friends so well). i love you all more than you will ever know…ever, because i’m not the affectionate type.

so far, 19 is pretty kick-a.

birthday part one.

when the clock struck midnight, friends and i hurried off to celebrate my nineteenth birthday as any nineteenth birthday should be celebrated: with mcdonald’s diet coke, fresh fries, and rollerskating.earlier that day, landon’s dad came into town and took a big group of us out to tucano’s (truth: it wasn’t for my birthday at all, but it’s fun to pretend). have you ever been to tucano’s?! they just keep feeding you and feeding you and feeding you till you think you’re going to pop. i felt like i was at the fanciest costco in the world with all the samples (and don’t worry, i didn’t refuse any; chicken heart? sure!)

the moral of this story?

ummm…

my birthday was a day in which i happily gained 27 pounds.

(oh. and after tucano’s and before mcdonald’s my intramural team won the division one intramural championship…it’s really no big deal or anything. also, this post is chronologically kooky)

but anyways, after rollerskating i rolled into my bed and woke up a few hours later for a final review in my religion class. and then i gave myself the gift of a few more hours of sleep and got back under the covers (a gift that i’m sure will bite me in the but later…like a cheese plate or butt-hungry pug!).

two hours later, i found myself in sonic (sitting INSIDE! i didn’t even know there was such a thing) with the lovely and blonde morgan. we gulped down route 44’s and munched on tater tots and played with my camera (isn’t she the prettiest?!).for lunch (sonic was just a warm up), a group of girls and i headed up to the sixth floor of the wilkinson center to the fanciest restaurant on campus. it was a buffet. buffets may be the death of me–i just want to try everything! the lighting was perfect so of course i had to snap pictures of them (…they were so annoyed); it was such a task trying to hold the camera still while laughing so hard.i really, really love my friends.

and i really, really love buffets.

and i really, REALLY love my parents for, you know, bringing me into this life. you guys should go to a buffet or something.

happy 13th, paige k.

13 reasons I love Paige:

1. It’s fun to live vicariously through her naturally wavy hair and thin, shapely legs. Seriously.
2. She’s a domestic goddess! For my birthday she made me delicious cupcakes and can rival my mother in making the best chocolate chip cookies in town.
3. She overlooks my hypocrisy (some(MOST) days, she’s not allowed to lay a finger on my clothes but her closet is free reign).
4. Even when she’s mad, she still refers to me as ‘Brookie.’
5. She has a really soft, sensitive and caring side…
6. …but she also can make some seriously cruel jokes.
7. She cares about unity in my family and wants us to be as close as possible.
8. She’s mature (I don’t really feel like today is her 13th birthday…I feel like she was born 17 years old, weird) but doesn’t roll her eyes too much when I ask her to curl my hair or how long to microwave something.
9. She is always up for shopping, taking pictures, and eating and is super-fun to dress.
10. Though she has summoned the eyes of many older boys as of late (DISLIKE!), she doesn’t let it get to her head and still picks Justin Bieber over anyone.
11. She’s has a clear understanding of homonyms and adverb usage and knows how to spell (girl after my own heart!)(…that was a compli-brag, apologies).
12. Even though I’ve done and said mean things to her over the years, she still loves me and puts effort into our relationship.
13. Because she’s my little sister and today is her birthday!

Happy birthday Paige Kimm, I’m going to miss you(and your scarves…and boots…and makeup) next year!

Happy birthday zig!

Today is my littlest sister’s 9th(almost at the double digits…gasp)birthday!

Which warrants a birthday post and 9 reasons why I love her(..because she is 9)!

To McKenzie:

1. Because you’re a free-spirited little girl that would rather stay up and watch Wizards of Waverly place than bathe.
2. Because you compliment others through complimenting yourself(“You look really cute today–everybody says I look like you.”).
3. Because you’re such a sweet little sensitive friend.
4. Because you somehow inherited a ghetto booty.
5. Because you’re surprisingly funny and quick.
6. Because you still shrink into your seat when we talk about boys and other such things.
7. Because you’re the ultimate fan to all of your siblings.
8. Because you leave really great pictures and videos on the computer (for example: ‘McKenzie’s Big Show’).
9. Because you’re you, McKenzie Claire Mosman, and you’re my little sister.

…and you’re 9 years old!

Happy birthday to you, Zig!

“Oh, darling, don’t you ever grow up,
Just stay this little.
Oh, darling, don’t you ever grow up,
It could stay this simple.”