Ashley is a Wutkee, and Wutkees are...

Also-

I love my family.

I have 10 brothers and sisters- 6 brothers, 4 sisters, 5 sisters-in-law, 3 brothers-in-law, 10 nieces, and 9 nephews. And 1 mom and 1 dad.

I want to just talk about my brothers and sisters though. I think we Wutkees think ourselves something special- or maybe that's just me. The way my mom talks about people's reactions to us, I take it we're pretty unique and people take notice. Haha, maybe just me and my mom have a complex. My mom talks about her intentions in raising us: she wanted to raise people that she LIKED, and she didn't want to inhibit our personalities. "Consequently", she and my dad have 11 children that are some combination of many of the following: funny/assertive/honest/stubborn/confident/boisterous/intelligent/righteous/friendly/loving/kind/bold/determined/open/accepting/passionate (temper)/dramatic/creative/talented/energetic/generous...

And I think ALL of us could be described as: HONEST, OPEN, FRIENDLY, FUNNY, PASSIONATE and BOLD.

I'll tell you what we are not: shy/passive/deceptive/ill-meaning.

I love when my brothers or sisters come over and I can see them talking 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 to my mom or my dad and I can just sit back and observe (interjecting something here and there, naturally) and learn them... and see them shine. It's interesting to see what they took from our upbringings and where they went with it, and who they are! You don't have such opportunities to get to know your siblings earlier on, when there are so many.

Some of the things I cherish most from my family is how they make me laugh, and how they are so faithful and constant in living our religion- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although not every single sibling has chosen to do the latter, I think it is a combination of our humor, our testimonies of the Gospel, that make us each such a unique and confident force.

So I maintain that we are special. Even if other people don't give our personalities and characters- collective or individual- a second thought, I think we have just got it goin' on. We have integrity and a whole lot of gusto, and you don't always get that wrapped up in the same package.

:)

And of course, many many kudos to my parents for somehow helping us turn out this way.