A special bond exists between siblings. I am the oldest of seven children, and while circumstances of course vary from family to family, my younger siblings and I grew up in the same house, in the same town, and went to the same schools. While I am more than 15 years older than my youngest sibling, my little sister McKell, we all still have many shared experiences and interests.
Five of my six siblings currently live in Grantsville, where we grew up (McKell lives 45 minutes away in Midvale) so we see each other often. Monthly gatherings at Mom's, taking turns using Brent's tickets to attend BYU football games together, Grantsville Cowboy football and basketball games, annual Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving morning, and many more occasions and activities that bring us together.
Wanted to write today about my six siblings and my memories and relationship with each of them.
McKell
McKell was born in the spring of my freshman year of high school, when I was 15. After six consecutive boys, the whole family was extremely excited to be getting a little girl. My mom would have to say for sure, but I think McKell was the only of my mom's children where they were able to learn the sex beforehand so we knew Mom was having a girl (though I don't think my mom really believed it until she was born).
McKell would have been four when I left on my mission in 1996. I don't know if I was beforehand, but when I left I definitely became her favorite brother. I think that trend continued and whichever brother was on a mission at the time was McKell's favorite. (Not sure how that always worked when we overlapped, but when Scott and I were both out, pretty sure I remained the favorite until I got home).
I don't have a lot of memories of McKell's growing up years. I got married when she was eight and had mostly been out of the house since she was three so I can't claim that we spent a lot of time together when she was younger.
As she became an adult, we didn't always get along the best. As an older brother, I liked to tease, and McKell didn't always appreciate that. But I think over time, we found a middle ground and I feel we have a good relationship now.
McKell has had some challenges in her life and I've always admired how she just keeps working and moving forward. She is a wonderful mother to two great kids, has a great partnership with her husband Alex, and has built a career for herself as a woman in tech.
McKell taught herself to crochet and has made many wonderful creations. My favorites are her Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the baby Yoda she made for Jeanell.
Proud of McKell and grateful to have her as a sister.
McKell and I at the airport following my mission
Brent
Brent was born the spring of my 5th grade year, when I was 11. Like with McKell, we didn't spend much time living in the same house. Brent was always his older brothers' biggest fan and spent his childhood on the sidelines of Grantsville football and basketball games.
When Brent got into high school, he became quite an athlete in his own right, and I have fond memories of attending some of his games. He likes to point out that he played at Grantsville after they went 3A and faced tougher competition than some of his older brothers. He probably has a point.
Brent also participated in theater and played a memorable Gaston in GHS's production of "Beauty and the Beast", which I had the privilege of attending.
In high school, Brent won a car for being the student that attended the most GHS events and that passion has continued into adulthood. He runs the clock for both football and basketball games. I don't know if he's still able to do this, but at one time he had a rule that if a GHS sporting event was happening within 45 miles of his house, he would attend. When Grantsville won the state championship in baseball in 2014, Brent famously posted on Facebook: "We had a baby today, but the cowboys taking state is still the best part of my weekend."
Despite that, Brent is a great dad and always seems to have one or both of his girls with him as he indulges in his fandom. It's easy to see that his girls adore him (as I'm sure his son will too, eventually).
Brent has equal passion for his BYU Cougars. While we grew up BYU fans, most of us ended up attending USU. Brent started at USU, but transferred after his mission, and is the only of my siblings to have graduated from BYU. He's had football season tickets for several years and never misses a game. He used to arrive home from a late game in Provo and immediately rewatch the game. He says that since he became a bishop, he doesn't have the stamina for that anymore.
Speaking of which, Brent, while the youngest, was the first of my brothers to become a bishop. Not that it's a competition, but I believe President Killian did tell him he could rub it in a little bit, but not to take it too far. When Brent was called, he told President Killian, "I think all of my brothers would be better at this than me, including my brother who doesn't go to church." I've had multiple people tell me what a good job he's done and I can tell he enjoys it, especially working with the youth.
At a meeting he did with the youth not long after becoming bishop, he did a slideshow of his life, in part to show them that he had grown up and had many of the same teachers and experiences that they had. Part of his presentation showed him in a Superman costume he had obtained on his mission and sometimes wore because people in his mission told him he looked like Superman. One of the youth asked him, "How much would we have to pay you to put that on for us?" to which Brent replied, "Not as much as you might think."
While Brent is generally kind, he is not always empathetic and not very emotional, while his wife Hannah is as sweet and sensitive as they come. I sometimes worry about that contrast, but it seems to work well for them. They are both a blessing in my life.
I love Brent's spontaneity and passion for life. He's always up for an adventure. Grateful that he's my brother.
Brent and I (and Kevin) at the Las Vegas Ragnar
Kevin
Kevin was born a couple of months after my 10th birthday, on the same day as the Challenger tragedy.
Like the others in the younger half of my siblings, I don't have many memories that involve them during their childhood. Like all of my brothers, he participated in a lot of sports, but as I recall Kevin was maybe more of a performer than his older brothers. I don't know if I saw him perform in anything, but I seem to remember a VHS recording of him singling "Get Me to the Church On Time" from "My Fair Lady." If I recall correctly, he was also in "Pirates of Penzance" at some point.
His senior year of football, he (along with Paul Clark) was part of the formidable linebacking corps that anchored the Cowboy defense. That Cowboy team pulled off an improbable run to the state championship game (before falling to Bear River). That run included a win over Park City, who had blown them out in the regular season, in the quarterfinals and a last-second field goal to beat Morgan in the semis. Despite a loss in the finals (against a school with more than twice the number of students), it was a fun season and I was glad I got to attend some of the games.
Kevin got a bachelor's degree in English from Utah State and then continued on to get a Masters of Information Systems from Weber State. Like all but two of my brothers, he works in tech.
Kevin is the organizer in our family. He lays out the agenda for our yearly Mouritsen Reunion and spends a lot of time preparing activities, such as Jeopardy or a treasure hunt throughout Grantsville. One year, we were trying to decide which movie to watch as part of our reunion so Kevin setup a bracket and we voted on the different movies until a winner was declared, with "Newsies" narrowly defeating "School of Rock" in the championship. As I recall, once the reunion rolled around, no one had much interest in watching the movie, but we had a lot of fun determining which movie we would watch.
When I was asked to do the PA at the football games, Kevin was quick to volunteer to help me as a spotter. I said that I didn't want to be responsible for playing music, so Kevin took the initiative to put together a playlist and became responsible for playing the music during the games. He also filled in for me when I was gone and did a great job.
Kevin is a terrific husband and father. He frequently has his kids in tow and has a sweet relationship with them. When his wife Natalie wanted to go live in San Antonio to be near her sister, Kevin was supportive and they moved to Texas for a couple of years.
Kevin rarely if ever calls me intentionally, but I have received numerous "butt-dials" from him over the years. I would always laugh because if he called, I could pretty much count on getting a text shortly afterward that it was accidental.
I so appreciate Kevin's organization, love of family, and sense of humor. Glad that he's my brother.
Kevin and I performing with the other brothers at my wedding
I fully intended to write about all six of my siblings today, but ended up writing more than anticipated. I'll have to leave another cliff-hanger. If you're big fans of Scott, Alan, and Carl, be sure to check back next week.
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