Today is Kent's birthday. He would be 41. There is a lot I could say about Kent. I remember back in 1997 right before my mission I traveled to Las Vegas with my mom for Halloween. Kent and I were really big into wrestling (as we always have been). The big match at the Pay-Per-View that weekend was Hogan versus Sting for the WCW World Championship. Kent and I were stoked to watch it. We were so stoked that we dressed up in Hogan and Sting costumes that we (along with my mom's help) made. Here is a picture:

Oh the memories! I remember we went to the church Halloween party that week and scared the crap out of everyone. It was a blast!

Speaking of church that reminds me of the days where all 4 of us boys were at home and Kent would drive us to church every Sunday. There was this street on the way to Church that went over a huge water pipe. The street was paved in such a way that it made a jump. Needless to say Kent would cruise around the corner and jump the old Ford van we had over that jump. I remember it vividly because I'd be in the back freaking out because every time he went over the jump I'd slam my head against the ceiling of the van. Dang, that hurt!

The following picture is of us boys from 1985. We all were into the taco shell haircut.

This next picture is of us after Kent got back from his mission to Germany. I remember that Dave would tell him to stop acting like a prophet! LOL

When Kent and his family lived in Las Vegas I remember when we as a family would go down and visit them. One of the many memories I have with Kent is of eating. Kent loved food, I have a passion for food and have really increased that passion over time as I've developed my cooking skills. My family was a family that the casino's didn't really like. We wouldn't go to the casino's for the gambling or shopping, but we would go for the buffets! I remember when I went down around Christmas time of 1996 and we went to many buffets. I gained 10 pounds the week that we were down there! One day we were crazy enough that we got up and went to a buffet around 7 am and had crab legs! It was an interesting taste to have crab legs for breakfast, I don't think I'll ever do that again. During that time in Vegas we went and toured the Hoover damn. Here are a few pics of that visit:

The house that we grew up in was a tri-level house. We had a large backyard where my mom tried to grow a garden. As we got older and all of us boys were so involved in sports my parents decided to bag the garden idea and put in a sports court. I can't tell you how many times that sports court got used, especially with competitive games between Kent and Dave versus James or Jim and myself. The games I remember the most and had the most fun with were the games where Kent and Dave were past their "prime" but James and I were just finishing up high school and were in great football shape. Kent and Dave would get so frustrated, it was hilarious. They would talk so much smack before getting out on the court and then once we were out there it was lights out for them. I'd cast up ill-advised 3's and James would be there for the rebound and put back (if I missed). Here is a pic of one of the many times we played on the sport court.

Prior to my senior year of high school I attended BYU football camp with James. During that summer James and I spent a lot of time hanging out with Kent and Conners (Kent's best friend). I remember one time we went over to Conners apartment where he had a swimming pool. We went out to have some fun and there was some old guy out there reading a book. This wasn't a good idea for the old guy to be out there. We started "wrastlin'" in the swimming pool and started really goofing around and splashing a lot of water out of the pool. When we all decided to do a cannon ball at the same time, that is when the old man had enough and decided to leave, I can't remember exactly what he said when he left but I knew he was pissed and his book was wet! LOL

(From left to right: Kent, Matt, James, Conners)

Here is another example of how much Kent and I loved wrestling. We were taking nice family pictures out at Hudson photography and we saw some props out back one of which was a empty trash can. Kent got the idea "hey Matt, let me bash you over the head with this trash can!" I agreed (except over the back instead of the head). Here are a few pictures of that:

My family isn't one that takes a lot of family photos but this is the last family photo we took prior to Kent's death. It was at Taelor's baptism.

One of the things I'll always remember about Kent is his ability to tell great stories, many of them are related to football. Kent was so proud of the time he spent as a BYU football player. Here are two BYU football pictures of Kent, one is his portrait photo and the other is the famous photo where he is blocking for the best BYU quarterback in history Ty Detmer.

One of the things I'll always cherish is the opportunity that Meag and I had to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family the Thanksgiving before Kent passed away. These are the last photos that were taken of all four of us boys together with our Dad. When I see this I tear up and think what a great group of men! What a great group of Fathers! (Jim is soon to be a daddy) What a great group of friends! We have had such a brotherly bond that I cannot describe it in words. Of course we've had our disagreements over the years but when it comes down to it any one of us would do anything to help each other out.

Kent will always be remembered for a fun loving brother, son, father, and friend. I still miss him very much and will always miss him. The brotherly love that we all showed toward each other was an awesome thing to experience. Not every brother is as close as us four are. I love you Kent! Can't wait to see you in heaven!