Day 13: BEN

Happy Birthday, Ben, my fellow ferroequinologist**!!!

Ben is so great. He's super tall, super funny, and super kind. Ben has always believed in my potential to do great things, and he's been super supportive of any major or minor step I take in life. I love talking to him about the happenings of daily life, and I love sitting and watching sports with him. We've watched a lot of football and basketball together, and a lot of other sports as well - I attribute a lot of my ability to watch and enjoy almost any sporting event to all my time watching whatever is on espn with him.

I've also watched a number of obscure, random movies with Ben, all of which have become our favorite for the next few months, and which we try to track down all the information on it so we can love it even more. Between Shaolin Soccer and Mothra 3: the Return of Mothra, I think we've picked some real winners over the years.

I think one of my favorite things about Ben is that, in a family of big heads, he's really quite humble. He's really good at A LOT of things, but I feel like he's never the one to tell us all about it. If I was being inducted into any type of Hall of Fame, I'd be telling everyone - humblebragging whenever and wherever I could. But Ben almost completely hid his induction to our high school's athletic HoF and made very little fanfare of it, even as we piled on our own pride of just being related to someone in a HoF! It was so fun to celebrate someone who would never ask to be celebrated (and really doesn't want all that attention on him anyway - too bad, Ben, you're getting it anyway!)

I have a lot more good I could say here, but I sense his cheeks crimsoning at the thought of all these compliments, so perhaps I'll stop. But I'm super glad you're my brother. Can't wait to talk over life's mysteries on that 8-hour car ride to Missouri in a few weeks!!

xoxo!


**train enthusiast

Day 12: ABBY

Uh, what do I say about Abby? Our relationship has grown quite a bit of the many years of knowing each other - from me following her around everywhere she went like a puppy, to her following me around and wishing I'd live closer so we could be around each other more (for the record, I'd like that as well). From her borrowing all my clothes, to me borrowing all her leftover clothes after she went to college, to us buying the same clothes and matching more often than not (I've come to terms with that, for the most part). She's my advisor, my confidante, and my buddy.

I've helped her move from Idaho to Arkansas, and from Chicago to Philadelphia. We have a really amazing roadtrip playlist and, man, do we just crush those songs. Indigo Girls, watch out, we're coming for your guitars. Abby lets me tell her all my stories with all the details, and I'm eternally grateful for her patience because I like to include every. single. detail. possible. We have matching wrinkly foreheads when we lift our eyebrows, people always know we're sisters even if we're not sitting next to each other, and I cry the most when I'm laughing about something with her.

One of my favorite recent memories is probably around last Christmas, when we stayed up ridiculously late my first night in town - we had thought to be reasonable and go to bed at a decent hour to start the holiday...and 2 hours later, Maddie's snapchat was completely spammed with dozens of pictures of us, and we couldn't stop giggling thinking about her waking up to all these pictures out of nowhere. So then we spammed the rest of her family as well, because it'd be even funnier to have THEM ALL wake up to so many pictures of us! Perhaps we're only funny to ourselves, but dangit we're hilarious to us.

xoxo Abs!

Day 11: MAX

Oh Max. I love this guy. He is growing so much faster than I was prepared for - he's a teenager, you guys, and totally becoming his own person. Last time I visited, I got to catch a scrimmage game for his football team and it was so cool to see him in his uniform, just hanging with his teammates, looking totally legit. Chris facetimed me the other day, and it was such a treat to have Max join the call, I don't get to chat with him enough. I like when I can be knowledgeable about one of his interests because he's so fun to talk to about the things he likes - he just really knows his stuff, so you can have a great conversation with him and go more in depth with him than with a lot of other people. And I really love when he doesn't seem to be interested in doing something, but gets talked into it and then totally gets into it - like the Walworth County Fair this last August. You can say what you want, Max, but you enjoyed that caterpillar ride with me screaming in your ear right behind you!!

Max is such a goof, and he doesn't love posing for photos, so when he does take them, he makes the funniest faces! I think most of my photos of him are either candids or him totally mugging for the camera. 

But one of my favorite pictures is below. When I first moved to DC, I flew to Wisconsin and after loitering for a few days, Chris drove me and my belongings to DC, with Caleb and Max in tow. They were such great companions for this trip - they made the drive easy, and then they played tourist with me for a few days. DC is a big city that's meant to be walked, so we walked all over it, and one day we collapsed onto the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and stared at the reflecting pond down the Mall. And I got this little shot, which I just love, because I love the bond of the WI Barlow boys - seeing Max stretched out, with that cute smile of his, while they cooled down for a minute. He just was fun to be with and I'm so glad he came with us on that trip. I see a lot of Chris in him, and I love his relationship with Caleb, but I'm really enjoying seeing those parts of his personality that are uniquely him.

xoxo!

Day 10: DEVN

Hello, Devn of the fancy Christmas suits! First and foremost, Devn wears the fanciest hats, and I always appreciate seeing what he's sporting on any given day.

Devn has always been a good friend to me. Abby and I have a special relationship as each other's only sister, and from the very beginning of joining our family, he has made room for me in their family, and encouraged my visits. D is always kind to me, even when I know he's teasing me about something. We've had some really great conversations over the years - often about women's health (aka my health class 10 years post-high school) - and I like learning from him. Our family is pretty smart, but Devn has this whole other realm of knowledge on areas I know very little about, so I learn a lot from him. He's also incredibly generous; I think maybe 1/4 of my belongings are from him. Which means their family and I can match often - which is what Abby always wants, so I think it's a win all around!

One of my favorite things, though, is that he fully supports and even requests that Abby & I play tons of Dr. Mario when I visit. I love when he comes and sits and watches us compete - we get really funny the longer we play, and the later it gets, and his laughter is the best gift, he's a great audience to perform for. And when we went and saw a late showing of Pitch Perfect 2 (because my persuading him to watch the 1st one was probably the best thing I ever did for him), he sat and laughed and laughed as Abby & I danced down the aisle of the empty theater during the closing credits. I couldn't ask for a better reaction than that.

 xoxo Dr D!

Day 9: CHLOE

Chloe is my sassy sister. A few years ago, Chris and Jodi brought their family to visit me in DC because their kids are gems and chose my city as their spring break destination (I'm still not sure how I got so lucky, or how I can be lucky enough to make it happen again). We had a blast, but one night I remember particularly well was maybe about mid-way through their trip? We were back at their hotel and the older kids had retired to their other room, while Libby had already fallen asleep and Chloe probably should've been, too. But she and I were having this back-and-forth conversation like we were stylists at a hair salon, gossiping with our clients about so-and-so and what she did and how we "couldn't even" and "she says to me, she says" and "oh no he di-n't!" and so on and so forth. This probably went on for about 10 minutes (8 minutes too long for Chris's patience, but he let us go on), and I couldn't stop laughing about this exchange as it went on. Eventually we ran out of new material and had to give up the game, but man it was so fun while it was happening!

Chloe is sassy. She is strong. And she's got a mind of her own - if she decides something, she sticks with it. That's an ability I do not have, so I fully appreciate her conviction. She can definitely do more push-ups than me, no question, and her tumbling skills are for sure the best in our entire family. I'm seriously amazed at the things she can do, and her willingness to try a new trick or skill. She refuses to trail behind her older siblings and wants to be able to do anything someone older than her can do - age is just a number for her. She truly is an old soul in a young girl's body, and I really love sitting around the firepit with her - after she's done just about everything except strike the match to get the fire going, of course, she's so invested in projects and she will take initiative to make something happen.

But mostly, I love seeing her with her younger cousins (and sister) - there's a caring nature that shines when she's watching over a toddler or younger kid. She lugs them around everywhere, getting them whatever they may want, showing them everything all around them, sitting with them and eating with them and walking slowly enough that they can easily tag along behind - because they always do. That might be one of my favorite things about her - she loves the children, and they love her.

xoxo Chlo!

Day 8: EMILIE

Dear Emilie, our actress and musician. Em has such talent and bravery, I'm in awe of her. She sings beautifully, and she's willing to sing in public, as a soloist, in front of lots of people - that's a gift I do not have but am seriously jealous about. She works on plays and musicals, and she's just a total character. She's a ham for the camera, and as I've been going through my pictures of many years, I kept running into all these close-up selfies she's sneakily taken at different ages and they crack me up! Plus those freckles?!?! {insert heart eyes emoji}

When Emilie was almost 1 year old, I lived with Ben and Laura during my off-semester of college and I nannied for Em while Ben finished his last semester of law school in Iowa. I still think of those months as precious when I consider how much of her life I got to be a part of, even if she doesn't remember it at all. She learned to walk while I was there and we practiced stairs when we were feeling brave. We had breakfast dance parties to Green Day and Kelly Clarkson on VH1, where she learned how to bounce/squat dance. We fell asleep to Baby Einstein videos (I have never once made it through a whole video awake...). We dressed up in matching BYU t-shirts. I loved being an impact in her life and even if she can't remember any part of it, I will still claim 3 months' worth of influence on who she has become and is becoming. And I will be ready for all the Dallas sunset trampoline parties she wants until I can no longer do front flips anymore. And then I'll still gladly cheer her on from the grass.

xoxo Bug-bug!

Day 7: ZOEY

Okay, this girl. Last time I went to Rolla, last Summer, Mom and Dad picked me up from the St. Louis airport and we got back to town a few hours before any of the other siblings, I think. So, after our parents, I was the first family to appear in the house. I walked through the door, and I immediately heard a pitter patter of little feet along with an adorable squeal of "Aunt Kate! Aunt Kate!! Aunt Kate!!!" 3 seconds later, Zoey ran into my arms, squeezing my shoulders in such a tight hug. I hadn't seen her in a while and wondered if she'd even remember me, so that welcome was the sweetest thing I could've asked for. Then she quickly took my hand and led me over to meet her fluffy stuffed animal friends in her room and we all became quite the squad for that afternoon.

I love that Zoey is not shy, and I love how much she loves. Her hugs come freely and powerfully. I'm so glad that Zach and Jamie keep her very aware of her extended family, even if we don't get to see each other often enough, so that when I do see her, she loves me like we're neighbors. Zoey is a free spirit and lives life in breakneck speed - I swear she's a blur more than a solid human girl when I see her. She does what she wants and does it very confidently. She's a super fancy dresser and she's just all girl - even as she's best friends with her boy cousins, she maintains a strong sense of a lady. I love seeing Zoey love her little sister to the point of suffocation and I hope that strong bond remains their whole lives. She's got her dad wrapped around her little finger, and it's so precious to me to see how they get along with one another - she has his volume and spastic excitement and it makes me so happy to see them play off each other. Her super big, open-mouth smile just kills me.

One of my favorite things, though, is watching her with her cousins and how she just follows them around and wants to be with them. She's just such a treat and I'm having so much fun seeing her personality develop. That and she has the most fabulously long, curly hair, amiright??

 xoxo!