Uncle Devin

All my pictures of Devin or from a few years ago!  This is 2008 and he's at his own house holding Annie and talking to a nephew.

This is Devin holding his nephew Sam

When I think of Devin the word boring does not really come to mind.  What comes to mind are images of Devin dramatically entertaining the kids with stories, or carrying them around on his back or shoulders, or playing the role of devil's advocate in family discussions, or marching around at a family reunion pretending to be Captain Moroni from the Book of Mormon while many of his nieces, nephews, and children followed him around wearing their homemade shields and swords.  His way of expressing himself is not boring either, but sometimes we might need a dictionary to make sure we've caught the meaning of his words properly.

Devin is fun, and has always been a good uncle for my children.  He makes us smile and we all love him.  He has always been very helpful to our family, and has on many occasions chosen to come help us with a project rather than do something he would perhaps enjoy more.  Before he was married we liked to try to take more than our fair share of his time because we enjoyed having him here so much.  We especially liked having him over for his birthdays.   I've made Devin the occasional birthday cake, and I was always made to feel like I had done the most wonderful thing for him.  It is fun to do nice things for someone who is thankful, and Devin is good at being thankful.  Of course, he did say that I didn't need to make a crashed motorcycle cake for him again:).

Devin is really smart, but somehow he also manages to be very humble.  He does not get offended easily and I have often been impressed with his willingness to believe the best of those around him.  He studies, thinks about things a lot, and has well thought-out opinions.  Still, he is willing to listen to the opinions of others and to change his opinion as he learns new information.

Devin is a musician.  I love to hear him play the violin and he has a great singing voice.  The singing always sounds better at family gatherings if Devin is there and participating.  Devin is also a good athlete.  Derek has told me before how impressed he is with Devin because Devin has determination and would practice and practice to become better at things he wanted to be able to do.

Devin is married to Mandy, who is awesome, and they have four children.  Devin is thankful to be a Dad and he loves his children well.  My kids sometimes comment after family hikes about how many children Devin can carry at once.  Of course, this was before Madeleine and Annie got so big, but he does have some pretty impressive children carrying abilities!

Devin on a reunion hike 2008 carrying Madeleine and Annie.

When I asked Connor what he likes about Uncle Devin he said, "Super fun, great prayers, awesome vocabulary".

Happy Birthday Devin!