The Schwab Brothers

The boys' primary teacher was giving a talk in sacrament meeting.  He was listing the kids he had in his class and he said "the Schwab brothers" and it caused a bit of a stir in the room while people sort of laughed with him about what a handful the class might be.  I was grinning from ear to ear because I love that these two have each other as brothers.  The idea that they have a reputation and all  you have to say is "Schwab brothers" to tell a story makes me smile.

After the meeting, several people came over and laughed about the boys and one guy said "all he had to do was say 'Schwab boys' and we all knew exactly what must go on in that class room."

There aren't any other kids Nate's age in our ward, so sometimes he is with Jason's class, and sometimes he goes up with the next group, but they are turning 9 this year. There's a big age difference.  Anyway, it's great for them to be in the same class this year.

They really are good buddies.  They care about each other and then they hurt each other.

But deep down, they are fiercely loyal.

I remember after Sam died, I saw a picture frame that said "brothers" and my eyes filled with unexpected tears for my Jake who wouldn't get to grow up with Sam.
He has a good relationship with Allie, but there wasn't a picture frame that said "brother and sister".
I'm sad that Allie doesn't have a sister, but I am so grateful for the fact that all the little Schwabbies have each other.  The age gaps seem to work just fine; where the olders have each other, the littles have each other, and they all make a good team together.  I remind them all the time that they are all on the same team, and sometimes I get pretty bummed that they tease their teammates, but I really do think deep down that they are all loyal to each other and they will always be.

Anyway, I took these pictures because the boys wanted to match.  It cracks me up that I have two shifty eyed kids and it's nearly impossible to get a picture with both of them looking at the camera.  This photo shoot also ended in a wrestling match (sadly, I didn't take any pictures...what was I thinking?!)  I guess I was just trying to break it up before they messed up their nice church look.

I am so thankful for these little Schwab brothers.