31 reasons my sister is cooler than yours

it was maria's 31st birthday on wednesday. in her honor- i've listed 31 reasons why my sister is cooler than your sister!!
1-she's beautiful
2-her kid angie is the coolest kid in the entire world
3-she's the funnest person in the world to play duets with
4-her kid emma is the coolest kid in the entire world
5-she's a great example
6-her kid keller is the coolest kid in the entire world
7-who needs cliff notes when you're got maria?
8-her mom mary is the coolest mom in the entire world
9-she's a health food nut
10-her dad roger is the coolest dad in the entire world
11-she has a cool truck
12-her brother clark is the coolest brother in the entire world
13-she's a great mom
14-her brother ned is the coolest brother in the entire world
15-she's a great teacher
16-she helps anyone in a pickle
17-she learned spanish from a friend
18-she's a rockin' karaoke QUEEN!
19-she's gonna be a lawyer
20-she's hiked borah
21-she can organize anything
22-she lets you use her garage for storage
23-she's stylish
24-she can sing
25-she composes music
26-she also plays the recorder, violin, viola, organ, and guitar (what did i miss?)
27-she's gonna bike the white rim in march
28-she's a good loser to set
29-she has impecable dental hygiene
30-she's the best pinochle partner EVER
31-SHE'S MY SISTER!!!
i hope you had an awesome birthday, maria! i love you!!

a scare...

my brother, clark, called me at 3:30 in the morning last week. whenever ANYONE calls you a 3:30 in the morning, what's your first reaction? well, knowing clark and his accident prone-ness my first reaction was "oh shit, what'd he break now, and am i going to have to call in sick to work and drive to vegas to make sure he's ok? (clark was in vegas at the time)"
so after having prepped myself for bad news, and a little terrified of what might have happened (remember- 3:30AM) i hear clark, rather perky on the other line: "what was the name of the hike you went on this weekend?"

me- *awkward pause* "what?"

clark (perky)- "the name of the hike! what was it called?"

me- "the wave."

clark (perky)- "because i'm trying to find pictures online and i can't find anything. did i wake you up? some buddies and i want to go hike it today. how long was it? where is it? can you tell me how to get there?"

me- "it's in southern utah. *pause, pause as i try to find the correct words, it's still 3:30, mind you* look up pariah canyon or buckskin gulch. the trailhead starts there. but the wave breaks off from it and the cairns don't help. get a book."

clark (still perky)- "can you email me directions? i'm playing blackjack right now!"

me- "not right now. i will when i wake up"

clark (really disappointed)- "oh. ok."
so after laying in bed for about 15 minutes, my mind still hadn't slowed down from the scare i had of my accident-prone brother who was apparantly jazzed up on many a redbull... i emailed him directions to the wave and called him back

me- "clark- i emailed you directions to the wave. good luck."

clark (perky)- "hey thanks!! blah blah blah- something about vegas and blackjack"

me- "clark- i work in 3 1/2 hours. DON'T call me again."

clark (annoyingly perky)- "ok! sorry!"

*click*

an hour later (no joke) i get a text message. "sorry for waking you up. i'm a little high on pain meds and redbull. i can't hike tomorrow anyway. love you!"

aren't brothers great???