Ryan David Roundy - Happy 30th!!!

Seriously handsome.

Making sure my kids grow up 'cool'. Also just had to include the Land Rover.

A big kid himself

Who else would help make a zillion spider cupcakes

A big shot movie guy.

My mom had her kids close together. That means that my big brother Ryan is almost exactly a year older than me. Dustin, the next brother, is about 18 months younger. Growing up this close in age means that we had some great memories. So here they are....30 sibling memories in commemoration of 30 great years (or 29 in my case....or 28 in Dustin's case ;-)

1. Drawing on the walls as kids and then signing his name so he would get into trouble. I don't actually remember this but it is a family favorite story. Also, eating the worm to show him how not to be scared of them. Also possibly a family myth but a good story nonetheless.
   
2. Ryan having to take care of the humongous garden by the side of my grandmother's house. I remember he was out watering it when the infamous mud fight happened.
   
3. Ryan taking the bark off the tree to make a canoe. I think he killed the tree.
   
4. Ryan and mom discussing Santa Claus one Christmas. I was not listening and he turned to me and said, 'you know by now, right?' I didn't want to look naive so I answered, 'yeeahhh...' and then proceeded to find out that there was no Santa Claus. He figured it out later and made me feel better.
   
5. Sneaking around Grandma's house after we were suppose to be in bed. Trying to get past the gap that led into the living room on our hands and knees and giggling a lot.
   
6. Playing castle blocks when it rained.
7. Teaching me how to play pool. I think others tried but I didn't get it until he showed me.
8. Riding our bikes down to Grandpa's office and then going to the 7Eleven for a drink.
9. My first car was a Camaro. I hated the interior - a baby blue color. Ryan totally redid it in black leather. I then loved that car.
   
10. When the Camaro started making funny noises and I told him that it was the big round thing and when you took that off and moved the flappy thing the funny noise stopped. I got a full lesson on the part names of a car.
11. In California Dustin remembers Ryan taking him everywhere even though Ryan didn't always want to. Once, Ryan had to take Dustin with him to a playground to meet a friend there. Dustin called the friend's mom a butthead. The mom took both of them home. Dustin says sorry.
12. Both Dustin and I remember helping Ryan wrap rubber bands around the newspapers Ryan had on his paper route...or was he a sub for a friend on a paper route. Anyhow, we use to shoot the rubber bands at each other.
    
13. When I went to college with Ryan I got a 3.9 We had all the same classes and use to study together. The word Scope reminds me of the Scope mouthwash commercial with the song that goes....'uh, uh, uh, uuuhhhh, uh uh' and that sort of sounds like Tarzan and that reminds me of a monkey which reminds me of evolution. And so the John Scopes trial was about evolution. See....I still remember it!
    
14. When we were in Junior High Ryan got chosen as student of the month. When they asked him who his best friend was he said it was his sister. Pretty brave for a junior high kid but I always remembered it. He always made me feel beautiful and special.
    
15. Dustin remembers calling Ryan and saying that Jeff Brown needed help. Ryan headed out immediately to go past Salt Lake (from Pleasant Grove) in traffic in order to fix the car immediately. There are TONS of stories like this about Ryan.
16. On another car story, Dustin said his key wouldn't turn and Ryan came out and turned it and the car started immediately. Ryan has a knack with cars.
    
17. Dustin came upstairs once at 3 am and saw Ryan walking in the door. Ryan asked what Dustin was doing and he said he had woken up to get a drink so Ryan threw him an RC Cola. They don't sell RC Cola in Utah so Dustin asked where he had gotten it. Ryan had decided to go for a drive and ended up in Idaho where he bought it and then came home. Ryan likes drives.
    
18. When I was dating Ben we went up the canyon to play capture the flag. Ryan came with and when Ben got the flag Ryan simply picked him up and moved him.
    
19. In a similar incident.....my friend Andrea once said she was a Lakers fan and so Ryan picked her up and set her outside the door, then locked it.
    
20. I visited Ryan while he was on his mission and I was on my honeymoon. We purposely went to England to see him because I was so bummed that he had missed the wedding. We got in trouble for that one. Sorry.
    
21. Ryan once had a car fall on him. The bruise was unbelievable. He told us it was a shark bite. We called him stubby for awhile. Not sure if he knew we called him that....
22. I remember that he came to visit me in Austin and mom made him bring a really big pink horse called sweetie pie for my girls. Big guy driving a big truck with a big pink horse in the back. Sorry again.
    
23. Ryan loves for us to be together. He insisted on flying me out with my kids for two weeks the Thanksgiving before our younger brother Nathan died. Nate died in February. If I hadn't have flown out to Utah in November then it would have been over a year and half since the last time I saw him. I can never repay Ryan for that.
    
24. We were playing a card game called Maow (I don't really know how to spell it) with Ben's family who are insanely competitive and Ryan came up with crazy rules like switching your hand with the person next to you. I think Ryan might still be a favorite person for Craig to play. And forget I told you that Ryan came up with a rule because we aren't suppose to talk about the rules.
    
25. We use to play war in the backyard in California and I would climb up in the tree or on the swingset and throw dirt clods at the boys. Ryan's weapon of choice was a push broom handle. Dustin favored the croquet mallet. We use to play a lot on top of the Flying Tigers trailer too....what were you thinking mom? :-)
26. Dustin and Ryan were trying to see who was the better shot at the bow and arrow and Dustin's arrow went over the fence and hit Aunt Lara's car. Oops. Ryan did teach us how to play so it isn't really Dustin's fault.
27. Our Uncle Mark use to play really fun games with us like 'run me over'. Another game was playing darts. We would wrap screws with paper and blow them out of pipes. Ryan was the best at it.
    
28. Ryan was also the best at paper airplanes. He use to check out books from the library and somehow his super long jet like planes went farther than our regular ones.
    
29. We use to play spaceship in the old blue van. Ryan was the pilot and we were the co-pilots. He also came up with building sand volcanoes and then sticking the hose up through the bottom to set it off.
    
30. Ryan once shot Uncle Mark in the butt with a paint ball gun while they were packing the trailer for our move to Utah. That would be one of Dustin's favorite memories.

And......one extra for good luck (although I have a few written down I missed....these are kind of fun to think about once you get going). Dustin says you guys invented Christmas songs while painting Grandpa's fence. His friends still ask him to sing one every now and again.

Okay, I could keep going but this could get really long. If you can't tell Ryan has always been my hero. He is the one who made me feel worthwhile growing up and I pretty much credit him with my self-esteem. He never gossips, is always willing to help out, actually cleans, loves getting people nice presents, and has always been a huge example. We love you!!