My Homes: How many different homes have you lived in throughout your life?
Compared to some, I haven't lived in too many places. When I was a little kid, we lived in a double wide trailer on Thunderbird Street. I shared a room at the front of the house with Jessica and Sterling had the other room that doubled as my mom's sewing room and my dad's gun room. My parent's bedroom was at the back of the house. Even though I was little when we moved, I can still picture that house in my mind.
I can see the hall tree my dad built for my mom in the entry way. To the right was the dining room with the built in china cabinet that my mom's china doll, Sarah Jane sat (I was terrified of her and always ran past her to get to my room). The kitchen was behind a wall separating the dining room and it had white and green linoleum. Connected to the kitchen was a small laundry room and a side door that led to the dirt yard outside. The kid bedrooms and bathroom were down the hall. To the left of the entry way was the living room. It had paneled walls and a wood burning stove that my dad built a beautiful hearth for. My parents' bedroom and master bath were just on the other side of the living room.
When I was 7, we moved to the other side of town into a house that had enough bedrooms that Jessica and I didn't have to share. I won't go into detail about this house because that was the question a couple of weeks back. I lived in that house until I got married.
When Nathan and I got married, we moved to Salt Lake City so Nathan could attend LDS Business College. We had a one bedroom apartment off of Redwood Rd. It had a tiny kitchen and was over all very small but it worked for us. We lived there for one semester but struggled to make enough money to pay our expenses. From there we moved back in with my parents for a couple of months.
After moving back home, Nathan and I decided to move back up to Washington where Nathan had more job connections. We lived with his parents for a month while Nathan found a job and we looked for an apartment. After that, we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in Redmond. It was a very nice apartment and worked well for when my family came to visit. I really liked it there. Nathan and I had a very happy life and I could easily go back to it, if I didn't have five kids. ;) We lived there for about a year and a half and then decided we were ready for our own walls.
Next, we moved to Snohomish County to a town called Monroe. It's a beautiful town set near mountains and a river. Nathan's sister Yvonne was there and so we were excited to be so close to family. We were also very excited to be buying our very first house! I was 21 and Nathan was 24 when we moved in. We were so young! Our house was a split-level set on a cul-de-sac. It was very basic and if I think about it, had a floor plan very similar to our apartment except it had an extra bedroom and a basement level. It was a nice house and a good starter home but the split floor plan was a big pain, as were our neighbors. We lived there for 2 1/2 years and finally decided to move closer to Everett to be near our friends.
House #2 was in the town of Mill Creek, also in Snohomish County. It had a nice open floor plan and a big kitchen. I loved the open staircase and how easily the girls could run around. I disliked how tiny the bedrooms and closets were and how small our yard was. We really loved the area though and at that point thought we'd live in Washington for a long time. So when Gavin was on his way we decided to sell our home while the housing market was hot and move to a larger home with more storage and bigger bedrooms and yard. We wanted a house that we wouldn't outgrow, as we thought Gavin would be our last child. We lived there for 3 years.
Our last Washington home was about a mile away from the previous house. We loved the area and loved being close to our friends so we decided to stay close. This house too had an open floor plan and big kitchen but the bedrooms were much larger and all had walk-in closets. The backyard had a nice large deck and swing set. It was a very nice yard to spend time in. We truly thought we'd be there forever until Nathan received a job offer from the Church in Salt Lake City. After only a year and half in our home, we moved to Utah. Our children were 6, 3 and 1 and sadly only Ainsley has memories of Washington.
We've been here in our Utah home now for over 8 years. We've almost lived here as long as we lived in all of our homes in Washington combined. Although I never imagined myself raising my family in Utah, because we truly liked Washington and the people there, Utah feels more like home than any other place we've lived.
I have a saying on my wall that says, "Home is wherever I am with you." It's so true. I could live anywhere and be happy, as long as I have Nathan and my kids by my side. A house is just a house. It's the love that's in it that makes it a home. :)
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Week 11: My Childhood Bedroom
What kind of things did you display in your childhood bedroom?
As a kid I loved my stuffed animals and dolls. I always had a huge pile of them on my bed. I believed that they were really alive and would get up and play when I was at school. I would always lecture them to "get along" and behave themselves. :)
When I got older I kept my three china dolls on my bed, Carol, Amber, and Katie. I loved them and still have them. They are in Aftyn's room now.
On my walls I had things that I made or inspirational pictures like the temple. Funny, when I grew up, got married, and left home, my mom kept my room exactly the same. Everything just stayed on my walls as a shrine to my childhood. :)
As far as collections go, I wasn't really a collector, per se. I did collect troll dolls for a while and still have those. I had a goal as a kid to collect one stuffed animal of every kind of animal. I didn't make it too far but I did have a lot of stuffed animals. I've gotten rid of most of them but still have a few of my favorites. I also collected Baby-Sitters Club books and kept those for my own girls to read.
I think I've learned from reading this post that I haven't changed much from when I was a kid. I suppose that's a good thing. ;)
As a kid I loved my stuffed animals and dolls. I always had a huge pile of them on my bed. I believed that they were really alive and would get up and play when I was at school. I would always lecture them to "get along" and behave themselves. :)
When I got older I kept my three china dolls on my bed, Carol, Amber, and Katie. I loved them and still have them. They are in Aftyn's room now.
On my walls I had things that I made or inspirational pictures like the temple. Funny, when I grew up, got married, and left home, my mom kept my room exactly the same. Everything just stayed on my walls as a shrine to my childhood. :)
As far as collections go, I wasn't really a collector, per se. I did collect troll dolls for a while and still have those. I had a goal as a kid to collect one stuffed animal of every kind of animal. I didn't make it too far but I did have a lot of stuffed animals. I've gotten rid of most of them but still have a few of my favorites. I also collected Baby-Sitters Club books and kept those for my own girls to read.
I think I've learned from reading this post that I haven't changed much from when I was a kid. I suppose that's a good thing. ;)
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
#52Stories: Week 10 My Childhood Home
What was your childhood home like?
My childhood home was a typical 70's house. It was painted a faded yellow. All the wood was dark, the carpet was dark, and the walls had lovely waffle-weave wallpaper. The kitchen was super tiny with gold linoleum and I still marvel at how we functioned in it. Yet despite all its flaws, it was home and I loved it there.
I slept down in the basement with Jessica. She and I had our own rooms but shared a bathroom. Actually, I was only allowed to use the toilet in the bathroom. Everything else I did in the upstairs bathroom because Jessica was mad that I had the bigger bedroom. ;)
My room had ugly rust colored carpet that stayed in there the entire time I lived at home. It wasn't pretty but functional. My mom stenciled pink roses along the walls and my bedding coordinated with it. Funny, I don't decorate with pink anymore but I loved it and was grateful to my mom for taking the time to decorate it for me. I loved my room. I could play in there for hours with my dolls and stuffed animals.
Jessica's room had hearts of course. She was born on Valentine's Day so it only made sense. It started out with rainbow hearts and later turned to blue hearts that my mom stenciled on the walls. Our bathroom was old and nasty but we did our best to make it pretty. It was decorated with fish. :)
Sterling, my younger brother, occupied the upstairs bedroom next to my parents' room. His room had yellow carpet and smelled like a little boy. My parents' room had blue carpet and two mirrored his and her closets. Funny, my bedroom was directly under my mom and dad's and I could hear the doors rolling open and closed really well. Whenever I had a friend over they would think the doors were thunder. :)
The front door (which had gold glass windows in the shape of diamonds) opened right into our living room. The living room was cozy and every square inch was decorated with a framed picture or something else. My mom was a bit of a decoration hoarder. Anything anyone ever gave her, she displayed. :)
Looking back, our house was so cluttered. Both of my parents had problems with letting things go. They've gotten better since they've retired but man, every counter, every empty spot had something in it. I can still see the giant pile of my dad's catalogs that were stacked as high as the microwave cart in the dining room. I think that's the reason I hate clutter so much now. As a kid, I didn't know any different, but when I grew up and went home to visit, I realized how crammed with stuff their house was.
My favorite part about my childhood home were the yards. We lived on a corner and so we had a front yard, side yard, and backyard to play in. All had big shady trees that we loved to climb. I loved how we'd go outside and sit on the front porch with my mom, eating popsicles, and watching the cars go by. In the evenings, when it was cooler, we'd all go out in the backyard as a family and enjoy the shade. I wish my kids had a yard like that now. :)
All in all, although my home was cluttered and dated, it was full of love. All good things from my childhood happened in that home. I introduced Nathan to my family in that home, and went from a kid to an adult there. It was a wonderful place to grow up and I miss it.
It will always have a special place in my heart. :)
My childhood home was a typical 70's house. It was painted a faded yellow. All the wood was dark, the carpet was dark, and the walls had lovely waffle-weave wallpaper. The kitchen was super tiny with gold linoleum and I still marvel at how we functioned in it. Yet despite all its flaws, it was home and I loved it there.
I slept down in the basement with Jessica. She and I had our own rooms but shared a bathroom. Actually, I was only allowed to use the toilet in the bathroom. Everything else I did in the upstairs bathroom because Jessica was mad that I had the bigger bedroom. ;)
My room had ugly rust colored carpet that stayed in there the entire time I lived at home. It wasn't pretty but functional. My mom stenciled pink roses along the walls and my bedding coordinated with it. Funny, I don't decorate with pink anymore but I loved it and was grateful to my mom for taking the time to decorate it for me. I loved my room. I could play in there for hours with my dolls and stuffed animals.
Jessica's room had hearts of course. She was born on Valentine's Day so it only made sense. It started out with rainbow hearts and later turned to blue hearts that my mom stenciled on the walls. Our bathroom was old and nasty but we did our best to make it pretty. It was decorated with fish. :)
Sterling, my younger brother, occupied the upstairs bedroom next to my parents' room. His room had yellow carpet and smelled like a little boy. My parents' room had blue carpet and two mirrored his and her closets. Funny, my bedroom was directly under my mom and dad's and I could hear the doors rolling open and closed really well. Whenever I had a friend over they would think the doors were thunder. :)
The front door (which had gold glass windows in the shape of diamonds) opened right into our living room. The living room was cozy and every square inch was decorated with a framed picture or something else. My mom was a bit of a decoration hoarder. Anything anyone ever gave her, she displayed. :)
Looking back, our house was so cluttered. Both of my parents had problems with letting things go. They've gotten better since they've retired but man, every counter, every empty spot had something in it. I can still see the giant pile of my dad's catalogs that were stacked as high as the microwave cart in the dining room. I think that's the reason I hate clutter so much now. As a kid, I didn't know any different, but when I grew up and went home to visit, I realized how crammed with stuff their house was.
My favorite part about my childhood home were the yards. We lived on a corner and so we had a front yard, side yard, and backyard to play in. All had big shady trees that we loved to climb. I loved how we'd go outside and sit on the front porch with my mom, eating popsicles, and watching the cars go by. In the evenings, when it was cooler, we'd all go out in the backyard as a family and enjoy the shade. I wish my kids had a yard like that now. :)
All in all, although my home was cluttered and dated, it was full of love. All good things from my childhood happened in that home. I introduced Nathan to my family in that home, and went from a kid to an adult there. It was a wonderful place to grow up and I miss it.
It will always have a special place in my heart. :)
Sunday, February 26, 2017
#52Stories: Week 9 Hobbies
This week's question is:
Do you like to dabble in lots of different hobbies? If so, what are they?
By the way, I read this question to Aftyn and she thought the word "dabble" was hysterically funny. :) It is a weird word actually and not one I use in regular conversation. I'm not sure anyone does. ;)
I think everyone has hobbies. If not we'd be pretty boring people. I have lots of hobbies that I like to "dabble" in. I'd have more if I had more time and less kids. ;)
Here's my hobbies:
1. Organizing- I love to organize and since I have seven people in my household, five of whom are children there's always an area in the house or our lives that needs some tweaking. Most recently, I organized the kitchen cupboard under the sink and I'm thinking my next project will be my sock drawer. It may not seem glamorous to most but I find the entire process invigorating and a great stress-reliever.
2. Crafting- Another stress-reliever for me is doing crafts. I love thinking up an idea and then making it come to life. A friend once pointed out to me that the reason so many women like crafts is because unlike housework once you get a craft project done it stays done. There's no redoing it over and over like cleaning a house. #truth ;)
3. Instruments- I can play the piano sort-of-ish. It's not very pleasant to listen to. I start and restart trying to get the notes right unless I'm playing one of the five songs I play well. I do enjoy it though and I can play well enough to do hymns for Family Home Evening. I also play the flute and really enjoy it. And I'm much better at it than the piano. ;) I love that I can convey my love for my Savior through my music.
4. Baking- I enjoy baking and like that most everything I make turns out well. I feel like I'm a better mom if I always have cookies in the cookie jar for my kids. It's silly I know but I love to make cookies for them. Currently we have M&M cookies, Nathan's favorite. :)
5. Blogging- Ha! I almost forgot about blogging! Blogging about my family and my organization projects is a huge part of who I am. I am lousy at conventional journal writing. I have about five journals that I started as a kid and each has just a few pages written in it. Too bad blogging wasn't a thing back then. Funny, when blogs were trendy back when Gavin was a baby, all of my friends and I in my playgroup I ran, had blogs. They had music on them, were decorated all cute, and we all read each other's blogs. Well out of the eleven of us who were in that group there is a grand total of one who still blogs-- me. I'm a die hard, I guess. I have no idea if they still read my blogs (most likely not) but if they do I hope they know I still love them!
6. Walking- This is one I am just now getting back into since my foot surgery. I love going on daily walks. It has always been my favorite form of exercise. I'm not progressing as much as I'd like but a few days a week now I can make it out on a short walk, down to the park by the school and then back up to our house. Not nearly what I used to be able to do but I'm proud of what I can do so far with my "new foot".
As I said before I probably had a lot more hobbies back when I had more time but for now what I do is great and keeps me balanced. Hobbies are a great thing to "dabble" in. ;)
Do you like to dabble in lots of different hobbies? If so, what are they?
By the way, I read this question to Aftyn and she thought the word "dabble" was hysterically funny. :) It is a weird word actually and not one I use in regular conversation. I'm not sure anyone does. ;)
I think everyone has hobbies. If not we'd be pretty boring people. I have lots of hobbies that I like to "dabble" in. I'd have more if I had more time and less kids. ;)
Here's my hobbies:
1. Organizing- I love to organize and since I have seven people in my household, five of whom are children there's always an area in the house or our lives that needs some tweaking. Most recently, I organized the kitchen cupboard under the sink and I'm thinking my next project will be my sock drawer. It may not seem glamorous to most but I find the entire process invigorating and a great stress-reliever.
2. Crafting- Another stress-reliever for me is doing crafts. I love thinking up an idea and then making it come to life. A friend once pointed out to me that the reason so many women like crafts is because unlike housework once you get a craft project done it stays done. There's no redoing it over and over like cleaning a house. #truth ;)
3. Instruments- I can play the piano sort-of-ish. It's not very pleasant to listen to. I start and restart trying to get the notes right unless I'm playing one of the five songs I play well. I do enjoy it though and I can play well enough to do hymns for Family Home Evening. I also play the flute and really enjoy it. And I'm much better at it than the piano. ;) I love that I can convey my love for my Savior through my music.
4. Baking- I enjoy baking and like that most everything I make turns out well. I feel like I'm a better mom if I always have cookies in the cookie jar for my kids. It's silly I know but I love to make cookies for them. Currently we have M&M cookies, Nathan's favorite. :)
5. Blogging- Ha! I almost forgot about blogging! Blogging about my family and my organization projects is a huge part of who I am. I am lousy at conventional journal writing. I have about five journals that I started as a kid and each has just a few pages written in it. Too bad blogging wasn't a thing back then. Funny, when blogs were trendy back when Gavin was a baby, all of my friends and I in my playgroup I ran, had blogs. They had music on them, were decorated all cute, and we all read each other's blogs. Well out of the eleven of us who were in that group there is a grand total of one who still blogs-- me. I'm a die hard, I guess. I have no idea if they still read my blogs (most likely not) but if they do I hope they know I still love them!
6. Walking- This is one I am just now getting back into since my foot surgery. I love going on daily walks. It has always been my favorite form of exercise. I'm not progressing as much as I'd like but a few days a week now I can make it out on a short walk, down to the park by the school and then back up to our house. Not nearly what I used to be able to do but I'm proud of what I can do so far with my "new foot".
As I said before I probably had a lot more hobbies back when I had more time but for now what I do is great and keeps me balanced. Hobbies are a great thing to "dabble" in. ;)
Sunday, February 19, 2017
#52Stories: Week 8 Childhood Pastimes
Week 8: What were your favorite hobbies and pastimes in your childhood?
When I was a kid I had a typical childhood. I loved to play outside with my friends or with my sister and brother. We had lots of trees in our yard and I was always climbing them. I also loved to read and I still do. I don't climb trees anymore though. ;) Video games were a huge part of my childhood too. Back then girls didn't really play video games, at least none of my friends did. Lucky for Nathan he found a girl who liked them and could play them. :) I also watched a lot of TV. My parents both worked and we were often home alone. We filled the hours with TV. I still like to watch TV. I find it relaxing. :)
I loved to play with dolls, barbies, and stuffed animals. I could play for hours with them by myself or with friends. I enjoyed riding my bike and rollerblading until I wasn't in a brace and then couldn't. I loved to be with my family. We'd walk our beagles on nice days or go to the Lake. We'd go for drives and have picnics.
When I got older and outgrew my toys, I was a typical teenager. I liked to hang out with my friends, watching movies and such. Sometimes we'd just drive around because there wasn't much to do in our hometown. :) I liked to go on evening walks with my mom. I enjoyed spoiling my little brother, Sterling. I loved to go on shopping excursions in St.George or Flagstaff. I loved clothes shopping. That hasn't changed. ;)
As far as hobbies go I discovered when I was about 11 that I loved crafting. I began creating things to hang on my bedroom walls. I still make many of the things displayed on my walls. I learned how to play the piano when I was 9 and the flute when I was 11. I took piano for 5 years but didn't progress very far. I can play some hymns and some primary songs but despite my lack of talent piano is a hobby I enjoyed then and now. I loved the flute from the first time I heard my sister play in middle school band. I knew that was an instrument I wanted to learn. I continue to play now because I find it very satisfying. The hobby of music has been a great blessing in my life.
This concludes Week 8. Until next week. :)
#52Stories: Week 7 Qualities in Friends
Here I am again working on my goal of recording my personal history for the year.
This week's question: What qualities in friends do you most admire?
I've really had to give this one some thought! I've looked back at past friends and current friends. I think the quality most of them has had in common is bravery. I have a hard time being brave and I've tended to choose friends who are super confident and not afraid to try new things to help me do the same. It's always good to reach outside of your comfort zone and I've appreciated my friends who aren't afraid to get me to do that. :)
I also look for friends who value kindness as I do. There's always room for kindness. Some of my friends haven't been as kind and that brought out a side that I didn't like in myself; causing me to treat others unkindly. This was in my childhood years, of course, and I've tried my hardest to rectify the unkind things I did to the best of my ability. :) In my adulthood I've had some friends, one in particular, who valued honesty above kindness, what she called brutal honesty, to a fault. She felt it was her duty to tell me some things that were very unkind and it hurt my heart so much. I still struggle with that and needless to say, that particular friend is no longer a friend. I need kindness more than brutal honesty. Besides the things she felt were so pressing to tell me were only her own opinion and not the truth.
Today we watched the new Cinderella movie as a family and the main motto of Cinderella is to, "have courage and be kind." Funny. Those are two things that I value most in a friendship! :)
This week's question: What qualities in friends do you most admire?
I've really had to give this one some thought! I've looked back at past friends and current friends. I think the quality most of them has had in common is bravery. I have a hard time being brave and I've tended to choose friends who are super confident and not afraid to try new things to help me do the same. It's always good to reach outside of your comfort zone and I've appreciated my friends who aren't afraid to get me to do that. :)
I also look for friends who value kindness as I do. There's always room for kindness. Some of my friends haven't been as kind and that brought out a side that I didn't like in myself; causing me to treat others unkindly. This was in my childhood years, of course, and I've tried my hardest to rectify the unkind things I did to the best of my ability. :) In my adulthood I've had some friends, one in particular, who valued honesty above kindness, what she called brutal honesty, to a fault. She felt it was her duty to tell me some things that were very unkind and it hurt my heart so much. I still struggle with that and needless to say, that particular friend is no longer a friend. I need kindness more than brutal honesty. Besides the things she felt were so pressing to tell me were only her own opinion and not the truth.
Today we watched the new Cinderella movie as a family and the main motto of Cinderella is to, "have courage and be kind." Funny. Those are two things that I value most in a friendship! :)
#52Stories Week 6 Childhood Friends
Here's the next question in the #52Stories project:
Who was your first best friend? Are you still in contact with each other?
I had lots of best friends when I was a kid. My first best friend was Ethan Schulz. Our parents were best friends with Ethan's parents, Mark and Elaine, and so naturally their kids had to be too! The lived just down the street from us and Ethan and I had so much fun together. I can still see my little four-year-old self running over to his house. Ethan's brother Robert was a year older than us and with him, Jessica, Ethan, and I, we came up with all sorts of imaginative ways to play. My funniest memory of Ethan is when the four of us were up at the high school track because our moms were walking the track for exercise. It was hot and they were taking forever. Of course being kids I'm sure the time was much shorter than it seemed but we were certain we'd been there forever and we were so thirsty we thought we were going to die. :) Finally, Ethan thought he could handle it no longer so he found a puddle in the parking lot and drank from it! How he really didn't die is beyond me!
Sadly, Ethan's dad got cancer when we were in 6th grade and ended up dying from it on Mother's Day. It was such a sad thing and very hard to see our friends have to go through it. After that my parents' friendship dwindled. My dad didn't have Mark anymore and we all just grew apart. Ethan made some bad friend choices and ended up on drugs. His mom sent him away to a recovery program which saved his life, no doubt. He's doing very well now. He's a chef at a fancy restaurant and has a wife and two adorable little girls. Sadly, I don't keep in contact with him but I am in regular contact with his mom so I follow him that way. :)
My next best friend was a girl named Sari Hulet. We met the summer before third grade. She lived three houses down from us. When they were building the new stake center down the street from our house, Sari's mom invited our family to walk through it with them. When we were there Sari and I broke off from the group to explore the "dark, scary" part by ourselves. We gripped hands and thought it was so fun to be scared. After that we were inseparable. We played together all the time, had sleepovers, and walked to and from school together. I loved her! We would laugh so hard we'd start snorting, which of course made us laugh more. She was a great friend. One time Sari told me she was worried about her dad because he smoked cigarettes. She didn't want him to harm his health and so we snuck the cigarettes out of his pocket, took them to an empty lot in the neighborhood, and buried them. I'm sure her dad was mad when he found out!
The summer before 5th grade Sari and her cousin Melody were crossing a street in Flagstaff and were struck by an oncoming car. Melody broke her pelvis and Sari received a very bad head injury as her head hit the windshield. I was visiting my Aunt Julie when I found out. I remember curling up on my mom's lap and sobbing. I visited Sari as often as I could while she was in the hospital. She was in a coma for a while and then took a long time to relearn things and regain her memories. She never forgot who I was though. She would often ask for me and liked to call me on the phone. It was a hard thing for a 10 year old to go through but I loved Sari so I had to be brave. She eventually recovered and she and I got to be in the same 5th grade class. We had a great time but I found her personality to be altered and she wasn't quite the same as she used to be.
Sari moved to Colorado after 5th grade. I got to stay with her for a couple of weeks. We had fun but we fought a lot, something we had never done before. Sari and I wrote back and forth and she would come visit when she was in town but we mostly lost contact with each other. Her family moved a lot and after a while I didn't know where to send letters. The last time I talked to Sari was about a month before my wedding. It was so good to visit with her. I would like to still be in contact with her but when I asked her mom about it on facebook she said, "Sari prefers to live a private life." and she didn't respond after that. I was sad. I know she's married and has at least one child but other than that I don't know. I wish I did. :(
In middle school I had a new best friend each year. Heather Ott, then Amanda Nicksic, then Lisa Andrus. I loved all of them and remained friends with all of them through high school. I keep in contact with Amanda a little on facebook. Lisa, I hear about from time to time because my mom is friends with her mom, and I still talk to Heather on the phone occasionally.
I had a couple of best friends in high school, Laura Blankenship and then Heidi Roberson. Laura became my "frienemy" because we got into a fight over a boy. We made amends after high school and kept in contact quite regularly. Then one day she disappeared. She either left facebook or she unfriended me. Either way I have no idea what she's up to. Heidi Roberson lives up in WA, ironically, with her long time boyfriend. I hope she's doing well but I don't have regular contact with her either.
As an adult I've decided that good friends are better than best friends. Best friends are too much work. Nathan is now and will forever be my only best friend and that's the way I like it. :)
Who was your first best friend? Are you still in contact with each other?
I had lots of best friends when I was a kid. My first best friend was Ethan Schulz. Our parents were best friends with Ethan's parents, Mark and Elaine, and so naturally their kids had to be too! The lived just down the street from us and Ethan and I had so much fun together. I can still see my little four-year-old self running over to his house. Ethan's brother Robert was a year older than us and with him, Jessica, Ethan, and I, we came up with all sorts of imaginative ways to play. My funniest memory of Ethan is when the four of us were up at the high school track because our moms were walking the track for exercise. It was hot and they were taking forever. Of course being kids I'm sure the time was much shorter than it seemed but we were certain we'd been there forever and we were so thirsty we thought we were going to die. :) Finally, Ethan thought he could handle it no longer so he found a puddle in the parking lot and drank from it! How he really didn't die is beyond me!
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| Me and Ethan at 8th Grade Promotion |
My next best friend was a girl named Sari Hulet. We met the summer before third grade. She lived three houses down from us. When they were building the new stake center down the street from our house, Sari's mom invited our family to walk through it with them. When we were there Sari and I broke off from the group to explore the "dark, scary" part by ourselves. We gripped hands and thought it was so fun to be scared. After that we were inseparable. We played together all the time, had sleepovers, and walked to and from school together. I loved her! We would laugh so hard we'd start snorting, which of course made us laugh more. She was a great friend. One time Sari told me she was worried about her dad because he smoked cigarettes. She didn't want him to harm his health and so we snuck the cigarettes out of his pocket, took them to an empty lot in the neighborhood, and buried them. I'm sure her dad was mad when he found out!
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| Me and Sari at the Grand Canyon |
Sari moved to Colorado after 5th grade. I got to stay with her for a couple of weeks. We had fun but we fought a lot, something we had never done before. Sari and I wrote back and forth and she would come visit when she was in town but we mostly lost contact with each other. Her family moved a lot and after a while I didn't know where to send letters. The last time I talked to Sari was about a month before my wedding. It was so good to visit with her. I would like to still be in contact with her but when I asked her mom about it on facebook she said, "Sari prefers to live a private life." and she didn't respond after that. I was sad. I know she's married and has at least one child but other than that I don't know. I wish I did. :(
In middle school I had a new best friend each year. Heather Ott, then Amanda Nicksic, then Lisa Andrus. I loved all of them and remained friends with all of them through high school. I keep in contact with Amanda a little on facebook. Lisa, I hear about from time to time because my mom is friends with her mom, and I still talk to Heather on the phone occasionally.
I had a couple of best friends in high school, Laura Blankenship and then Heidi Roberson. Laura became my "frienemy" because we got into a fight over a boy. We made amends after high school and kept in contact quite regularly. Then one day she disappeared. She either left facebook or she unfriended me. Either way I have no idea what she's up to. Heidi Roberson lives up in WA, ironically, with her long time boyfriend. I hope she's doing well but I don't have regular contact with her either.
As an adult I've decided that good friends are better than best friends. Best friends are too much work. Nathan is now and will forever be my only best friend and that's the way I like it. :)
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