Greg

Some might think that when I finally get around to sharing about my fifth brother that I would have run out of things to say.  Those 'some' don't know me, or my family, very well.  In fact I have the opposite problem.  Narrowing down what to share.  And at times, how much to share--yup, sometimes it's just that scary and weird.  I'm afraid people won't believe me.

Like the fact that my twin brothers, Gabe and Greg, weighed 10 lb 2.5 oz and 10 lb 9 oz at birth.  For reals.

But that's not today's point.

Greg's sense of humor is.  His laugh.  His poses.  His jokes.  His comments.  It doesn't seem to matter where we are or what pictures are being taken, just look around and Greg will be striking a pose or wisecracking about something.  This is a kid who doesn't wear his 'I've got the blues' t-shirt very often.

Here he is after a family day of terrorizing the mall at Christmas time...oh I mean ice skating (and yes, he is ice skating in shorts and a t-shirt):

And after a family day of terrorizing community events...oh I mean running the Oktoberfest 5K:

There's not that much to contemplate during a rainy rugby match there dude.

Yup he's just plain silly.  And hilarious.  And always good for making someone laugh.  And speaking of laugh you should hear his.  It's like he has multiple personality disorder for laughing because he has so many different kinds.


First is this monotone cheesy 'heh, heh, heh' that he does when someone makes a lame joke--mostly after he makes a lame joke--that even has the brick of cheese groaning.  He has this other one that my brothers have dubbed 'the goat laugh' because well, this one's kind of obvious.

And perhaps my favorite is his silent laugh.  His eyes get all crinkly and close, his shoulders shake up and down and it gets to where you wonder if he's breathing or not and yet he doesn't make a sound.  My favorite way to get him to do this is to say 'woody'.  Over and over and over.  You'd think he was a 2-year old and I was tickling his feet, he just can't stop himself from laughing.


He has a slightly disturbing, freaky laugh too that he uses when he's playing with fire but that's a whole different story for another day.


Then there's his constant dry-humored, sarcastic, mostly self-aggrandizing comments (and no, he's not really an arrogant, egotistical maniac, he just makes cracks as if he is) such as the gratuitous use of 'that's what she said (goat laugh)' or in regards to his summer job as a traffic flagger for the county 'I'm not sure why they gave me a stop/slow sign, I mean everyone is going to be stopping to look at me anyway (cheesy laugh)'.  Okay, he really didn't say that last one but it's an example of the type of stuff he does say.


So Greg, even when I've had enough and am ready to clobber you to get you to stop with the comments (I mean really, give it a break sometime dude...seriously!), ultimately I do appreciate them and your warped but genuine sense of humor.  I wouldn't have it any other way.


And your goat laugh is going to be really funny one day when you're 97 and your dentures fall out. 

Gabe

And now we've made it to Gabe.  Growing up Gabe was often referred to as 'Gabe and Greg' or 'the twins' because he has a (younger) twin brother, Greg.  People often asked 'how can you tell them apart?' and 'how are they different?' and at times it was easier to answer than others (I could always tell them apart but growing up their personalities could be quite similar--like dirt, sports, and farm-outdoor stuff, that kind of thing), but now I can easily say that one of the things I most appreciate and admire about Gabe is his natural curiosity about hundreds of things and enthusiasm to experience life and try new things.  As often as possible.  

In high school, despite being a solid football-basketball-track kid for the three years prior, he decided to also try tennis and and as a senior--swimming.  Even though he'd never done it before.  He joined theater and performed in productions and hooked up with choir despite the fact that not a single person in our family can carry a tune in a bucket--even if the bucket has two ergonomically engineered handles.  He joined the Environmental Club and snow-shoed Tumalo State Park.  In the snowy cold winter.  He helped mentor 9th graders as a LINK leader and mostly attended most of his classes as a senior.  A couple weeks after graduating HS he moved to Central Oregon and a couple weeks after that ran a half marathon, got a job, and enrolled in community college.  

In his adult life, in addition to working, he volunteers for Special Olympics, the Humane Society, and is learning French and would like to do a triathlon and join Search and Rescue. 
How cool is all that?  

I'm so excited to see what he does next and am so proud of who he was, who he is, and who he will become.

  And he hates having his picture taken.  Silly boy.