Update since August

Wow so there's a lot to catch up on and I'm not sure if I can do it all in one post so I'll do some highlights and descriptions in each post. I'll update later with pics.

The Penthouse - So in my ward boundaries there is an apartment complex called terrace apartments, on the top floor of this complex is a huge apartment we called the Penthouse. 7 girls live there on a regular basis and the apartment was the place to go to party. about August I started hanging out with what I call "The Penthouse Girls" which at the time consisted of Alli, Amanda, Sylvie, Erica, Jenny, Kate, and Natalie(whom i only include because she lived there but for any story of the penthouse she is pretty much never present). The apartment is above most every building in its area and has a balcony. there is a pool and small playground in the courtyard, big bay windows on the south side (where the balcony is) and roof access but you aren't technically allowed on the roof. So most of august through December I speant in the Penthouse partying with all the fun new friends I'd made.

The Penthouse Girls (My favorites)

Amanda - Definitely the girl I clicked most with from the penthouse. Amanda Duce is an astounding combination of Sexy and powerful. She works at victoria's secret and Curves, Played Rugby for SUU and I think BYU. She's Boisterous and playful, she loves to snuggle, and brings the party where ever she goes. I can always rely on her to do anything active and she's one of the most forgiving people I know(Story behind that later). All-in-all Amada is my favorite person to snuggle with, I tell her pretty much everything, and I can't imagine the last 9 months without her. She kinda reminds me of myself but a way cooler version. she's inspirational in her ability to be herself no matter who she is with.

Jenny - Holy Crap this girl has more energy than a nuclear bomb! Honestly when I first started hanging out with the penthouse girls Jenny was just the Crazy chick that I could go on wild adventures with and I knew if she was at the party I never had to worry about being to loud. But some time in about January Jenny and I started to get to know each other a lot better. She is the perfect combination of femininity and backwoods roughing it. We started going country dancing on Thursday nights together and after dancing was over we'd have nice long chats about life. She is a Shotgun loaded with pink shotgun shells(she actually carries two shotguns in the back of her little white car as well as a case or two of shotgun shells, I got her pink ones for her birthday). She knows about cars, Pink is an everpresent color in her life, she flirts like a natural and dances for fun. She isn't afraid of anything and would jump off a cliff for the thrill. She and I are actually signed up to run a half marathon, and I can't wait. she is a lot more experienced when it comes to running but she's helping me learn. She adores the Temple and has made a point to go once a week. there aren't enough good things I can say about Jenny.

Kate - The Prospector, that's the name we called her all of august through december. I'm not entirely sure of the story but she basically has a super power that allows her to flirt with, date, and keep interested 6 men at a time!!! I didn't really hang out with Kate anywhere but at parties usually, until after January. She's from all over, her dad is in the armed forces so she grew up in mostly South Africa and Georgia. She's very kind to everyone, but she puts her foot down when she views someone being cruel to another. She's a good listener and because she's a convert to the church she has some really great life experience stories that have helped me out a few times. It took me a while to warm up to her, but now that I've been able to talk with her and get to know her I really am glad we're friends.

Jakes VIP

Dad-I recently got to spend time with Jake and was very pleased to be in his company. Pursuing schooling for a career and raising a family are not easy tasks but Jake knows where he is going and how to get their. I told Mr. Huning I was going to Florida to see Jake and he shared a story that I didn't know. One summer Jake worked for him doing computer stuff. In fact both Jake and Luke were working for him. He said that both boys would sing musicals back and forth as well as together while they were working and he commented that he

never enjoyed working with anyone as much as he did those boys. Jake and I went to Little Rock for a chess tournament when he was in 6th grade I think it was exciting to be rubbing shoulders with the big boys of chess. The following season he went by himself to Michigan or Wisconson or Thailand I don't know for a tournament. We called the Bishop in the area to see if he would take him to church and we sent him off. I trusted Jake. I felt he would be fine. I love having such awesome children. We are a family with multiple talents and gifts. Who loves Jacob??? I dooo!

Aaron-A couple of memories I want to share about Jake are ones we have enjoyed together recently. They took place over this last Easter weekend. My family and I were fortunate enough to be able to visit with Jake and his family and I got to spend some time with him. One of the memorable moments from the trip was the night Jake afforded Brandon and I the chance to play x box live. Prior to that we last played 18 months ago, but my joy did not reach it's zenith until I was able to hear my brother Kurt on the head set playing on his x box in California. When I get the chance to play with my brothers like that it doesn't seem that we are thousands of miles away from each other but are just rooms away from each other. The other lasting memory from this trip was being able to be a part of malachi's blessing. I

t was great to share the joys of fatherhood with my little big brother. I am so pleased with the man Jake has become I love having such good example just hours away from me instead of days. I am super excited about being able to create many more memories with him and his family now that they live so close, I love you Jake love #1

Nate-One of my favorite memories of Jake technically isn't a memory cuz Jake erased it, but once we were boxing, knowing his record I thought that maybe I’d get lucky…So I hoped for a Marty Mcfly moment with Biff, but… this isn’t Hollywood this is real life. The few times I got good hits in, Jake’s eyes just got more meaner and his punches more stronger. Soon I began to understand what it means to see stars. After I folded like an accordion and ate some dirt, I got up and my vision was accompanied with about 20 tiny cross-like shapes of black spots or maybe white spots it was hard to distinguish.

I feel like I’m tougher (although in my current physical state I am about 1 step up from Gozer in his final years) just cuz I can brag about being knocked out by my younger brother…Even though that statement may seem counter intuitive, it’s kinda like that Robot cartoon with Robin Williams where even the little puppet wants to get slapped by “his majesty” before he lets them in to Mr. Bigwell’s Ball.

I have many others but one that always makes me laugh, unfortunately it’s at Jake’s expense. I also don’t want to minimize the fact that this was likely a scary experience for Jake, but once again for me it was so freakin funny and scary at the same

time and since he didn’t die or anything I mostly remember how funny it was!!! Has anyone seen the hilarious You Tube Video of the news anchor lady crushing craps and she falls and gets the wind knocked out of her? Well this is better!

(NATE WOULD LIKE TO READ THE REST)

Once when we were selling alarms I picked up Jake in a cul-de-sac. He got in the car and started saying really loud “Uhhh, uhhh, uhhh Nate Dog I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe Nate Dog. My rib is stabbing me what do I do Nate?” (I understand that big brothers are supposed to know how to fix everything, but how the F was I supposed to know what to do? Here’s what happened next. We both get out of the car…mind you we are in broad daylight in the middle of a neighborhood with a car with Utah plates, and Jake is making some pretty sweet sounds like a dying animal “ I can’t breathe I can’t breathe Heeeh, Heeehhh, Heeeegh.

So we get out of the car and Jake says “try to crack my back” and we try real fas

t but that doesn’t work so he loudly suggests that I punch him in the back a bunch of times and that doesn’t work, mind you the whole time he saying “hheeh, Hheeeeh, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, heeeeh, heeeeeh, heeeeh. So after the multiple Back rib punches don’t work (which to a person from their home probably look like kidney punches) Jake decides to lay on the concrete sidewalk and put his legs straight up in the air and hope for the best.

In the end that seemed to work really well. I just wish I could have been a complete stranger watering the lawn with a front row seat to this once in a lifetime bizarre occurrence. While typing this email, I remembered one more quick funny story: When Jake laughs he often tightens his lips and blows out air right before he lets out his big high pitch laugh which is very contagious by the way.

Anyways, one night on New Year’s Eve he joined me and my roommates for a party at a rich member girl’s house. When we left at 1 or 2 in the morning we stopped at convenient store and grabbed some snacks. Jake got crumb donuts and a big chocolate milk. So we are driving and telling stories and Jake and I are in the front of my Honda Accord and my crazy roommate Kenny was in the back telling us about how much he hates cops. Then Kenny tells us about 1 time a cop beat the crap out of him late at night on a sidewalk. I guess the cop pulled up in his car and Kenny was walking and the cop said in a very condescending tone: “What are you doing, where are you going, and where have you been.” After Kenny spoke those words (and nobody being prepared for the grand finale of words about to follow) Jake decided to shove 2 crumb donuts in his mouth as well as a huge swig of chocolate milk. Basically Jakes cheeks were puffed out full of milk and donut particles.

So to answer the cops snide remark, Kenny recounted his defiant reply: (this is the PG-13 version by the way) “ I’ll tell you where I’ve been, I’ve been at your house with your wife, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” Imediately all of us started laughing as hard and loud as we could because we did not expect anything like what we had just heard and sure enough Jake in all his chocolate milk and donut glory let out his signature laugh and shot milk and donuts all over my front dash, windshield and floor. Even though that was the last thing I needed in my nice car, it made everything even more funny and we all laughed for about 5 minutes straight.

Thanks for all the memories bro, I love you man!

Kurt-OL Jaker! One of the many things that brings me to thinking of Jake is the temple. Some where along the road Jake and Caroline decided to gift Amy and I temple clothes. They didn’t just give us a part of the clothing set or some hand me downs they had come across. They gave us the slickest nicest temple clothes I've ever seen. Every time I go to the temple I think of my younger giant brother Jake. Jaker and I have gotten really close over the years and it’s been a pleasure to be able to call up Jake whenever I have a moment and just chat about ideas, theories and life principals. Jake has been a great example to me and I love him very much.

Luke-I love singing the song of trend setters in this family and if you're looking for people who stand out, Jake is by far one of the most fascinating case studies. From a very young age Jake was, and I think still is the only child from the Bill Shillig posterity who had absolutely no qualms with being obedient and emulating Dad. It is uncanny how loyal Jake was to Dad, I remember many times when the older brothers were doing things that were blatantly against the standards of morality that Dad had set for them, but Jake would simply tell the brothers flat out, "this is not appropriate, and I am telling Dad." The brothers all knew that if Jake hung around them while they were doing things that openly violated the standard of conduct that Dad had set up for us, they would be in big trouble. I on the other hand was the opposite, I craved that relationship with the older brothers that they would only offer on the grounds of betrayal of all that we had been taught from a young age. So any thing that ha

ppened while Dad and Mom were away, was swept under the rug, and this gave me a right of passage into the brother's room that was permanently locked. For this period of darkness, Jake was a beacon of light, and there was a time in our family when Jake was completely ostracized by all its members but Mom and Dad. The best part was that it didn't even phase Jake, he just kept on chugging along like nothing had ever happened. I always admired Jake for his ability to do the right thing when he knew it was right and good. Jake is definitely one of the people of Lehi's dream who were not persuaded by the prideful people of the building on the other side of the river. That being said, I would also like to mention how Jake changed my life forever. As was mentioned above, Jake was great at emulating Dad, he was so good in fact, that he was the first in our family to go to BYU because Dad, had gone there. Dad said that BYU was so much better than high school, and if one were to attend BYU the opportu

nities for fun and entertainment far exceeded any at the high school level. He was right, and Jake knew it, so Jake focused all of his efforts into achieving that goal. After Jake attended BYU others soon followed, one of which included myself. My attending BYU had nothing to do with myself though, it was all Jake's doing, when I came home from the mis

sion, I thought I would like to learn a trade, something that I could fall back on no matter what happened in my life. Jake had other plans for me, he had Caroline apply to BYU, and BYUI for me and to my surprise I was accepted at BYUI for the winter semester. I later transferred to BYU under the advise of our brother Jake, and it was there that I met my amazing wife. I would love to go on and say so much more, but I think I will conclude by saying that Jake has done an irreplaceable service to the family by stressing the importance of education, and leading by example. We all owe Jake a debt of gratitude for contributing to our families advancement in the social, spiritual, and cultural realms. Thank you Jake for being such an amazing example of how to obey and be happy all day

Larkie-

Audrey- Ask the Farm

Kailie- It’s interesting to look back at the advice Jake has given me throughout my life. He counseled me to make friends with the most spiritual g

irl in my ward, and Now I’m best friends with Caroline Evans. He told me to just focus on college in High school and had I done that instead of screwing around my last 2 years of High school I’d be a lot better off right now. The methods in which he delivers his advice is oft times a little odd, and frustrating, there is still some advice that I won’t take, and I may regret it later n life, but I really do appreciate that Jake tries to share whatever knowledge he has acquired in his life with me.

Isaac-

Elliana

Nate's VIP

Dad- Nate was the cutest fat baby in the world. We had learned some things by the time nate came into the family and so Nate did not have nearly as many near death experiences as Aaron and that was good. He tried to be better than Aaron in all that he did as a consequence of being the second born. One day he said he did not want to play basketball because it sucked. I knew that meant he lacked confidence in that sport so I made him a deal that if he would go out for the sport I would help him and then he could tell me after wards if it still sucked. I helped coach and tried to teach him the finer points to help him succeed. I have since been able to compete with my boys against others in basketball as well as football and baseball and practically nothing thrills as much as having them by my side in competition. Nathan has a gift of being obedient. Once he came to me and said he was not going to church anymore. I said he had only two choices. Attend church happy or I could beat the crap out of him and he could attended sad and in pain. Once he said he no longer wanted to live at home and obey the rules. I said he had two choices. Live somewhere else or live at home and obey the rules. Just as in the other decisions it took some time but he made the right choice. He decided to go on a mission and was so obedient to the letter of the law that he sought to make up for all the misdeeds he was involved in to be right before the Lord. What a stud. When Nathan came off his mission we were playing WarCraft on the computers at school. He said that the computers were really slow and drove him crazy compared to the ones on his mission. I had no idea what he was talking about because we had only started playing and we knew no other speed. A few weeks later we got to see what he was talking about as far as speed of computers and have sought after the fastest and best way to compete with computers ever since.

Aaron-It was great having a brother so close in age to my own. This was very true when it came to playing sports. I had many opportunities to have Nate on my team. The times I enjoyed this most were in high school. My senior year Nate and I were able to play football, basketball, and baseball together. We got to enjoy many memories together. In football we had a game where we were playing CCHS, and Nate and I happened to be on defense at the same time. Well as the family knows Nate and I were pretty small in comparison to other kids our age, but that didn't stop us from playing the greatest sport on earth. Anyway the other team had this running back that had about 60lbs on Nate, he came pounding up the middle and all that stood in his way from scoring another TD was little 150lbs Nate. Well I was on the opposite side of the field running to help tackle that guy but Nate got lower than this kid and at the moment of impact he lunged forward right into the kid impacting his helmet with his nether regions. Needless to say the kid went down, I was so pumped that he brought that guy down all by himself that when I got to him I gave him a hug and told him how awesome it was that he took out that fat guy. I was very proud of my brother and his no fear attitude. One time on an away game, I think it was basketball, we and a couple of other guys put Nate in a shopping cart and tried to go through a drive through at the carls JR because they said we needed to be in a vehicle. I don't think it worked but it sure was fun doing it. As I write this I realize that I need to be better at journaling so I can open up my journals and read memories like this, to be able to tell my kids about how awesome there uncle Nate is and they can read our stories. Nate has been the source of a lifetime of great memories and I love him very much. Nate you are the best thanks for filling my life with so much fun and life, because of you I am a happier and more fulfilled man. Thank you for everything, I love you.

Kurt-Aside from having a special child hood bond what I love about Nate is his sense of humor. The guy has a gift. He can take pretty much anything and turn it into hilarity. On one occasion Nate and I were horsing around on the trampoline and out comes Jake to join in on the fun. I think Jake and Nate had just had a previous disagreement that still wasn't resolved. So Jake starts to take off his shoes in preparation to get on the trampoline. Well Nate didn't want him on. So Nate starts to warn Jake about the consequences of trying to get on the trampoline. Jake doesn't listen to Nate's warnings and begins to board the tramp. Jake was about half way on the tramp when Nate goes over to Jake and kicks him in the face. Jake immediately was flung backward onto the ground and ran off hysterical. My heart went out to the poor guy who'd just been booted in the dome. Baffled by what I'd just witnessed I asked Nate in a disapproving manner "Why did you just do that" His response was "Cause I'm the man heh heh" I could not help my self but laugh at his response. On another occasion we were eating at a local El Pollo Loco and we'd just received our food. As we sat down and started to eat Nate leans over the table and says to me quietly "Watch this" I paused from eating my meal to focus on what Nate was doing. All he did was get up and ask for some hot sauce from the counter. On his way back as he passed the guy eating his food at the table right behind ours he lifted one leg and ripped a huge fart practically on this guys food as he was taking a bite. The guy responded "salud" which in Spanish means Bless You. I FREAKING LOST IT. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to die. How Nate does what he does ONLY ONLY Nate can do. When it comes to making me laugh Nate tops em all. Love you Bro

Jake-Nate ran a tight ship when we were younger. I remember Kurt got out of Gorman School like an hour after me, Nate and Luke so just the three of us would walk home from the bus together. (By the way on one of those trips home I think Nate took a dump in a glass jar and sealed it up then would check on it from time to time as we walked by the shack that used to be on the left side of the road.) Well when we got home Nate would sometimes make us all dinner. His specialty was ramen noodles and he would ask us if we wanted beef, pork or chicken. He was always really funny and entertaining and he would some times sing a song that basically went, "Beef, Pork and Chicken," he would sing that song when we wanted him to combine all three flavors. But it wasn't all fun and games when Nate was in charge, he didn't put up with any crap. One time we were on the trampoline right after school and Nate hurt me somehow and I told him I was going to tell when Mom and Dad got home. Nate proceeded to beat the tar out of me and promised to stop if I wouldn't tell Mom and Dad about when he had hurt me earlier. Well I kept crying and then he would stop and I would say I was still going to tell and the beating session would start up again. I remember the session very well, it was especially painful and it was a real wake up call to see that Nate had all the power and that I needed to appease him or else. I ended up promising not to tell and never did. Nate had a strange convincing power. Sometime after that session I remember Nate telling me that he had a girlfriend named Sheray (probably not spelled right) and that he kissed her. Then he told me he would beat the crap out of me if I told anyone. My thoughts went back to the beating session on the trampoline... I never told anyone. There were other things he told me about as the years progressed and each time he swore me to secrecy. I never told anyone any of the things Nate made me swear not to tell. As I look back I think it's interesting that through one especially memorable beating session Nate was able to convince me to obey him and as a result he was able to share some pretty cool intelligence with me over the years with absolute confidence in my discretion.

Nate set an incredible example for me when he left to serve a full-time mission. When he got home our relationship was different. There were no more secrets, just an open loving brotherly relationship. I was over the moon when he decided to join me at BYU and we even got to be roomates. We had so much fun together and he did an amazing job helping me prepare to serve a mission. After I found out I was going to Chile I asked Nate what I could do to prepare. He gave me his old discussions and told me to memorize them word for word. I did what he said and had such an advantage when I got to Chile as a result. While I was a missionary I met someone that served as a missionary with Nate and he worshipped Nate like some kind of a warrior poet emperor. It was so nice to hear from a reliable source that my brother was the greatest missionary ever to serve in Paraguay. I mean the guy actually said, "When Nate was leading the mission we were on fire! When Nate left we weren't as successful." When I got home from the mission Nate was well established at BYU and took such good care of me. Shortly after I got home from the mission Nate invited me to come do door-to-door sales with him. I think having a Mom that was always selling stuff to people had tainted me to the point where I never wanted to be in sales so I adamantly responded that I did not want to do sales with him. One day Nate was talking on the phone to Dad and they must have been talking about Nate's struggle to recruit salesmen. Dad must have asked why Nate had not recruited me and Nate responded that he had asked but I had said no. In that moment I felt the Spirit tell me to go sell with Nate and the Lord would bring me and Nate success if I would. I had learned to follow the Spirit so right then and there I told Nate I would go with him. We slayed at summer sales together and have some amazing stories about breaking down old ladies doors and making fun of them. Something interesting about Nate is how he always pushed hard to appear classy and rich so he could land the classy rich girls. I'm not like that but I sure as heck benefited from Nate being like that. He ended up dating a classy rich girl with an incredible roomate, and thanks to Nate's association with the upper class of BYU I ended up with Caroline who was way out of my league. Caroline and I were very poor in the initial part of our marriage because we got married mid-semester and couldn't get rid of our singles contracts. As a result we had to find a dumpy laundromat to live in so we could keep paying rent at places we weren't living in. Well I remember for my 22 birthday Nate gave me 222 dollars. We really needed the money and I was so grateful for Nate's generosity. Nate was and is an amazing older brother and I am so grateful for his example! I care very deeply for him and pray on a regular basis for him to be extremely successful in his career that he works so hard for. In conclusion I just want to remind our family of potentially the greatest philosphical truth that Nate ever came up with... Never compare yourself to others, for if you compare and think you're better than someone you will become prideful, and if you compare and think someone is better than you discouragement will find you. Satan wants you to compare yourself to others because if you're prideful or discouraged he has more power over you. Nate taught me this before I left for my mission and I have never forgotten it, Nate also told me only losers tuck their garment top into their bottoms but I ended up going to a mission where fleas would destroy you if you didn't... sorry Bro, and I love you!

Luke-Nate is an awesome brother and he has done a lot for our family. I mentioned in a previous VIP that we should all be grateful to Nate for establishing a pattern of missionary work. If it weren't for Nate's unselfish service I am quite confident that the number of missionaries our family put out would be much smaller. I am have also noticed that Nate has a natural ability to lead. When I lived in Utah we would play Halo a lot together, and Nate was always organizing our playing together. If he didn't organize anything, I knew I wouldn't be playing at all. So some how Nate could find and unify large groups of people to play Halo but I never could. I miss vandalizing Nate's house and breaking light fixtures, we had a lot of fun together

Larkie- Nate is great he is a wonderful mate. He is always working late but makes up for it 90 times 8. That was just a special little rhyme for nate the great the amazing birthday song maker upper. I have to say I just love that about nate. I love to hear his great bday songs on my bday. You keep those coming even if u do work all the time. I love how nate can make anyone laugh. He is for sure the champ of poor pussy cat. I love that we share the love of dance. We are always ready to party. I love that. I love dancing and Nate took me to my first club. It was club Borderline. We had such an awesome time and he made sure to keep an eye on me. He is always looking out for me and taking care of me. He is so nice and cute. He would come and say hey I just wanted to swing by and say hi and give u this fiji water. I mean how cute and nice is he. I love his spirit and love of music and dancing He is such a joy to be around and makes u feel so good about yourself. Nate I love and you r an amazing brother thanks for all the fun and great advice over the years. I love how close we became after his mission. Love you xoxo

Audrey- I’m not going to lie, when thinking about my childhood memories of Nate the first ones that come to mind aren’t the most pleasant ones. I am reminded of the many times when I was sacred almost to tears or the time I got a drill in my hair and the consequences of that. But that is just because the mind works that way sometimes. After thinking about it a minute my mind is flooded with all the good memories. For example the times Nate would take me lizard hunting, specifically the time when Nate caught a leopard lizard because he up rooted a whole sage bush to catch it. I remember realizing how strong Nate was because he could rip a massive sage bush out of the ground. Another was the time that Nate showed me how to make Top Ramen by myself (I couldn’t have been more than seven). After this golden knowledge was bestowed on me I moved up in the world and ate less microwaved bologna. The last childhood memory I’d like to share involves the motorcycle wagon combo. This is how I remember it, one day Nate and I decided to go beyond our property borders but Nate insisted that I wear the whole protective get-up: pants, chest protector, gloves, helmet. So I did and we were off. I don’t remember the route we took exactly but I remember coming back towards our house. On our way we were going up the hill by the Frances’s, and it seem we were going a little fast. I don’t remember if Nate got any air when we hit the top but I remember flying through the air, no longer in my wagon. Which seemed like a 30-yard flight, but was probably only 3 ft, ended with me hitting the ground face and chest first. I remember thinking immediately “Wow this protective gear is amazing that didn’t even really hurt.” Of course I got the wind knocked out of me too but all in all I sustained little to no damage. Nate asked if I was all right and I said yeah and stood up and got back in the wagon to head home.

As an adult living in Nate’s home he shared wonderful spiritual insights with me. The time that was the most memorable for me began with me feeling sorry for myself and comparing myself to others. I don’t know how it started but I ended up sharing my feelings with Nate. As a result again Nate bestowed golden knowledge on me. He shared something that he learned on the mission. He told me that when you compare yourself to others and feel sorry for your self it’s like your telling Heavenly Father, “hey all the wonderful blessings you’ve given me and gifts, they stink.” When he said that my insides lurched with guilt and the process of being happy with my blessings began. Thank you Nate for helping to open my eyes so I could and can see the tremendous amount of blessings that have been given to me. Also I want to thank you for possibly planting the idea seed of me going on a mission. I remember talking about a mission often while living with you, and that was when I was only 17, 18. You have been one of the biggest supports of me going on a mission. Thanks again. I love you Nate very much.

Kailie- I always love a good story. One night while I was living with Nate and Ashley I got to hear his stories of when he was a little kid. It was amazing because as we shared the stories of our childhoods we realized that we had such a large gap between us that we’d grownup in two totally different families!!! As we recognized this phenomenon we speclated about the changes, and continue to tell some of our funniest stories. I really do enjoy my conversations with Nate.

Not only do Nate and I have awesome conversations we have a lot of similarities. he payed his way through college using State Farm, which is exactly what I’m doing. along this part of my life he’s been a shining ray of hope at the end of my tunnel, he advises me on how to deal with all my insurance questions and I turn to him for advice on all kinds of different things. Once not log ago I got into a bind with Les Schwab tires. Les Schwab had put on brand new equipment without me knowing it and had billed me over $600 when I’d only planned on paying $200. I called Nate in tears and he helped talk me through it. Nate helped me realize that life sometimes throws you curve balls, but crying about it will solve nothing. Thanks for being such a helpful brother.

Isaac- When I was a kid nate gave me $15 for nothing it was sweet. Thanks for the sweet manna from heaven.

Elli- A couple years ago Kailie, Isaac, and I were driving with Nate. All of a sudden Nate pulls off the road and starts kicking up some dust with doughnuts, and the usual of-road fun, he was going crazy. It Was AWESOME!!! After our little side trip Nate took us to a gas station, he went in to get something but before he went inside he turned around and said “If anyone tries to steal my car there is a gun in the door on the passenger side” I laughed until I realized he was serious! when he cae back he showed us all his sweet pistol. Thanks for being my awesome brother tht cuts loose and has fun, and thanks for always being prepared and protecting your family love you bro

Kailie's VIP

Elli- Kailie has always been the sister I talk to the most about friend problems etc. she has always lead me back to the path when I go astray. She has great cooking abilities too. She has this chicken that she makes, it is really good. It is her special recipe that she won't tell anyone. The one time I remember her telling someone was, when a missionary came over and wondered what it was. That missionary probably doesn't remember the recipe but she must have felt really close to that missionary. Close enough to tell him her secret recipe that she didn't tell anyone, but oh well. I love you Kailie.

Isaac- Well the first memory that came to mind about Kailie was she made some baller food for me. Sometimes we would come home from school and I would ask her to make me something, and loving Kailie would start making a full meal. It was so nice to have someone who would make me some thing as small as a meal, and not only would she make it, it also tasted great. I am grateful for a wonderful sister and I love you Kailie.

Audrey- Thinking back when Kailie and I were young we often enjoyed doing the same thing. For example we loved watching the movie Fantasia. We would both want to be the same characters, which would often lead to us fighting over them. Sometimes Kailie would win but most of the time I would win. For some strange reason we couldn’t be the same character we had to be different ones, so Kailie would submit to my will and I would be the character that I wanted. Looking back on this experience I realize that Kailie was being the bigger person. She is such a great example of willingness to serve. Throughout her life Kailie has served others and befriended the friendless. I can remember instances when I thought I was too busy to take care of my chores and I would ask Kailie to do them and she would. She has been a continual example of service throughout her life. In recent years she has taken on project of knitting the stockings for the grandchildren. I was asked if I would and I said no because I was being selfish and didn’t want to have to learn then make a million. Kailie on the other hand took the job and was really excited about it. She has already made two beautiful stockings. And these stockings are not an easy task. She is a wonderful, loving, kind, sister who is not afraid to try new things.

Another thing I’ve always admired about Kailie is the fact that she liked acting and singing even though most of us liked sports. As we got older I kinda thought that maybe acting would be fun, I mean Kailie really enjoyed it and how hard could it be. Well I tried out for a church play and during my audition my voice was shaky the whole time and I tripped up on all my lines. I obviously didn’t get the part but I came away with a greater appreciation for what Kailie did all the time.

Kailie is also a carefree outgoing girl. When I was working at Curves in high school one time this lady was dancing while on the recovery stations and was just rocking out. She wanted me to join her but I was to embarrassed to so I made some excuse. She then said something along the lines of “I wish Kailie were here she would dance with me.” Even now when I work at curves women will ask me “what’s your sister’s name the tall one?” I tell them “Kailie” then they say “ oh yeah, she is funny I really enjoyed talking to her.”

So to wrap it up I am so grateful to have a sister like Kailie because she brings so much diversity to the table and really completes our family. She is so good at finding the good in people and helping them to see it. I am so grateful to have her example in my life. I love you Kailie.

Larkie- Kailie is very special to me, she is so kind and so helpful. She might not have been that helpful growing up but she is now. I have been able to see Kailie blossom and become an adult. We have had very wonderful talks and become closer. She is so willing to give to others. One thing Kailie and I share is the love for dancing. I love dancing with Kailie. I think she is such a good dancer I always look to her to pick up some cool moves. Kailie you are such a sweet, kind, generous, beautiful, amazing daughter of god. I love you and the person you have become. Keep on going to school, keep on dancing and be the amazing person u are. I love you xoxo Larkie

Luke- My relationship with Kailie is a very interesting one because if you observe it closely you can see my understanding and knowledge in linguistics surfacing at a very young age. I can remember very clearly a time when Kailie was at the early stages of acquiring her native tongue and her vocabulary had yet to flower. It was at this point that I decided to perform an experiment, it was of course purely in the name of science and if you want to get an insight into the inner circles of the Shillig family culture you can look at the manner in which I conducted my experiment. Sadly name calling has always taken an embarrassing lead role in the Shillig family. Aaron the Ahole Nate the nigger, Kurt the crap, Jacob the Jockitch, Luke the Puke, are we getting the point yet? Anyway, I hypothesized that the morphosyntactic structure of my speech had little to do with whether or not an individual perceived a segment of language as an insult. I further postulated that it was the tone that portrayed the feeling of aggression in speech and not the word structure. So I decided to test this theory by making up a nonsense word and yelling it at Kailie as a direct insult. The word was izzabaa, and surprisingly it was realized in the lexicon as a verb, along with all the other extremely foul insults in the English language that are quite malicious. Whenever Kailie would do something that was not to my approval I would give a good shout at her face "izzabaa" and sometimes, just for good measure, I would shout the word at her for no reason just so that it would sink in. Before long we got into "izzabaa" shout offs where both parties were involved and could be heard repeatedly using the phrase, "izzabaa you, 'No izzabaa you.'" I feel really horrible, but now that I am looking back on this I realize that the bulk of my relationship with Kailie was spent in doing things to get a dramatic reaction from her. The only thing that I can liken it to is the relationship Joseph Donnelley had with his older brothers in Far and Away. I remember a specific seen where Jacob and Kaulum are out with Joseph in the potato field and the older brothers are looking for some way to pass the time and amuse themselves, so they turn to Joseph because they can always get a rise out of him. Joseph tries to resist yielding to the temptation but after they ask for a nose bleed, he goes crazy and starts hauling off on Kaulum and Jacob. With Kailie it was similar, Jake and I were Colum and Jacob, and we would do all we could to get Kailie into a frenzy so we could have a good laugh. It was amusing at the time but I now see the error of my ways, and I wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to Kailie, for all the years of hurt that were directly attributable to my conduct. Sorry Kailie I love you. P.S. Reggin Freggin.

Jake- I always saw Kailie as the female version of myself. Some of our family might not know that my eyesight in my left eye is poor, Kailie seemed to have gotten a double dose of HCT's bad eyesight(I just recently found out from mom that like me HCT had poor eyesight in his left eye). Kailie surpassed Audrey in reading capability the way for a short time I was faster than Kurt. Kailie was renowned throughout the family for her intelligence as was I and Kailie and I were both a little heavier than our siblings and we both thought we were fat. When you look at pictures of us we certainly weren't fat, we were just a little thicker than our siblings and so we thought we were fat. Thinking you are fat is a major problem in America. I remember making up excuses for why I couldn't go to pool parties because I didn't want people to see my love handles. I remember when I was a sophomore in high school Natalia Mastrocinque grabbed one of my love handles and then surprised by what she discovered said, "wow you're kind of chunky." I was so embarrassed! I can't say I remember Kailie having to go through similar things but I am pretty confident with what I know about American youth, that she had to deal with her fair share of embarrassing moments because of her build. Kailie and I were both very active in sports and other activities that helped us build self confidence despite our hidden misgivings about our weight. In addition to the physical awkwardness of our bodies, we were both very awkward socially. I said pretty much whatever I wanted including things like, "I hate redheads they're so frikin ugly." (Right as Cynthia and Angela Moselle walked by, of course I didn't know they were close by but regardless I shouldn't have been publicly spouting out comments like that), and Kailie for a while had an issue where she would interrupt the flow of a good group conversation to insert a personal story or perspective that didn't really build on the conversation as much as it obstructed the flow to the point where people would kind of wait until she was done talking, pretty much disregard what she had to say and try to get back to the flow they were in before she interrupted. Kailie and I also enjoyed the privilege of getting special treatment from Dad thanks to his special efforts to make sure none of his children ever got screwed like his brother Vance. Why do I bring up all of these painful difficult memories? Well because I feel that sometimes to truly appreciate how magnificent a person really is it helps to know a little about their background. If our family had a most improved player award I think Kailie or eye would win the trophy. Speaking of trophies Kailie and I are also similar in that the sibling right above us broke all records as to high school trophies won. Kurt's shrine in dad's room was only surpassed by Audrey's, we know what it is like to live in someone else's shadow. Several months ago I was reading Kailie's blog and I pointed out to my wife that Kailie was really becoming more and more attractive and that she was evolving socially to the point that she's probably the cool one in her group of friends. I was so overjoyed to see she had fought through all of the adversity she was handed to become such a fine young woman. I love that Kailie is working and going to school and is doing well in both areas. She is totally off on her own like I was when I left for college, and unlike some people may have thought she is more than capable of doing extremely well on her own! Because Kailie is still young I know her development towards becoming the female version of Lanik Mueller(guy that was dealt a tough hand and ended up being the bomb diggity from the book Treason my favorite book and also my favorite character from any story) is still under way and I love reading her blog and being able to see that development first hand. I love you Kailie against all odds you are showing our family what it means to be truly great and I know you will continue to surprise all of us in a very positive life changing way!!!

Kurt- What stands out to me when I think of Kailie is her intensity. She has very intense feelings and will react in accordance to those feelings. As a result I believe Kailies relationships are also more intense. I think the challenge of being such an intense individual is dealing with the other side of it. Someone who feels more intense love will feel more intense pain. To some when asked to clean the room might respond with a sigh or a groan as they begin to work at the task assigned to them. But to little miss intensity it's a little more dramatic "OHHHH WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE ONE WHO CLEANS EVERYTHING" But you know what her intensity makes her stand out from mediocrity. I think Kailie brings much more life to life. Her love is more loving, Her sorrows more sorrowful and her thrills are much more thrilling. How many of us will forever have joy in reminiscing about how thrilling it was to blanket launch Kailie into orbit from the tramp. What an exciting girl. Love Kurt

Nate- Few things:
1st.) apology cuz i was roughest slamming her into chair and yelling cuz 2 close to tv i still feel bad about that

2nd.) two favorite stories: 1.) hairy man speedo, hi dad. 2.) story about her name how i remembered it is not even close.

3rd.) favorite memory(ongoing), Kailie helped my agency mostly by helping at my house and a little at my office, but because she listened to my advice and stayed with me till the end, she now has qualified herself for the 2nd best job (based on pay, flexibility & length of time opportunity will be there for her) during college out of all the brothers and sisters besides my opportunity. It is so cool to have a family member in the same Industry as me, and even cooler that it's the same company. This similarity that we share enhances the connection that we already have!

I know we should not be a proud people, but i am proud of you Kailie for what you are doing in life at such a young age, maybe by the time you are 25 you will have a masters degree and we will call you Master Kailie! Love ya Sis!

Aaron- First of all I want kailie to know how much I love her. I am proud of the woman she has become. I have 2 awesome memories about Kailie. The first was the day she was born. I had the chance to be at home and Linda had brought Nate up so it was nice to have a friend to play with that I hadn't seen in a bit. Well while mom was delivering Kailie Nate and I were outside wrestling on the tramp. When Kailie was birthed dad let me come in and see her and hold her. She was so cute and I was glad to be able to hold her. I really enjoyed watching her grow up. The other memory I have is a recent one. As we all know since grandma died the shilligs have been without when it came to having stockings made for the new babies at christmas time. In fact mandi and I have spent these last six years taking a stocking to the various women of the ward to see if they had the talent to reproduce the masterpiece that was the grandma Neville stocking. We failed time and time again. We felt bad for our last two babies because at Christmas they didn't have a beautiful stocking to hang by the chimney with care. So imagine the overwhelming joy we felt when Kailie calls up and says "Aaron I have cracked the code on grandmas' stocking and I would like to make some stockings for your kids". Well there have been few moments in my life when I have been so overjoyed by what someone has done for me or my family, this one left them all in the dust. Kailie I will be forever grateful to you for providing my kids with a gift that truly does last a life time. I love you #8, love #1

Kailie loves to sing and I love to hear her sing. One of my fondest memories is when she sang in the High School Talent show a number from The Phantom of the Opera. Then Dad got up and sang the part that the young suitor recalls and it was so great to hear and watch and be apart of. Also having her sing in the choir is sweet because she is another Shillig and their is strength in numbers. I do love to sing with her. She also inspired me to start writing a book. Now she is on her adventure and I miss her a lot. Love Dad

Braxton's Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Braxton!!! I got to go to Nate and Ashley's to celebrate his 1st birthday!!!! What a handsome little boy he is, I love hs happy little smile.

It took him a while to get into the cake but once he did it was a good little mess. He started by picking off the little sections of frosting around the edge of the cake, it was quite adorable how dainty he was.

This is him in his sweet little truck, what a pimp.

It was so wonderful seeing my little friend Madi again, I came to Costa Vida and went to her chair to give her a hug. she didn't recognize me at first but once she figured out it was me she wraped her arms around me and gave me a huge hug. it was precious. I miss this little girl so much, but she let's me know everything that goes on in her life on our little vists. She was so excited that my hair was brown because now it was just like her hair color.

This was such a tender litte moment I just had to capture it. The adults were all chatting and little Braxton just booked it to his mama and gave her a big hug it was so sweet

surrounded by presents

He wuld pick the little tufts of red individually and eat one at a time. After the party little Braxton gave me several big open mouthed kisses on my cheek, and Madi asked if I was spending the night, I told her no but that she could call me any time she wanted.

Thanks for my VIP family!!!

You know there is definately divine intervention in our family because I really needed some TLC from the family. I love you all and I'm so thankful for your wonderful stories and memories. I can't wait to see you all in June. I miss you

Updates

I have deleted some of the prior content on this Blog as it was offensive to someone and they pointed this out to me.

On a happier note the semester is almost over, I'm finally getting the raise at my job, and I should be out of debt hopefully by June!! I'm building up my food storage and once school is done I'll be purchasing a Utah Transit pass so that I don't have to use my car as much, I'm hoping that after I get out of debt I can do something about my car before I start school again in the fall or winter semester. I've started my latest stocking, and I've been staying in touch with Grandpa shillig a lot more lately, he's hilarious! Maybe with the extra time I'll have from school being out I'll be able to continue some of my ancestory work, thanks again to mom and larkie for getting me the book with all of Grandma Neville's pedigree's I'm excited to use them. I love you all ad can't wait to see you in JUNE!!!!!