Happy Birthday Katie!

Happy Birthday to Katie!! I have said many things about Katie over the course of this year on my blog, but as my best friend it is bound to happen! Katie is amazing, she is so faithful to the Gospel and has a strong desire to do what is right. I admire her and the mother that she is to Kaitlyn and the wife she is to Dale. My cousin Josh has told me several times something as to the following: Katie and Dale are truly made for each other and love each other so much that it is evident!

Kaite always includes me, remembers birthdays, reminds me so I can send cards, etc... She is always there when I need to talk and gives me great counsel on life. She sympathizes with my trials and reminds me of all my blessings. She stands up for me and she has always been someone I could look up too. She knows me extremely well and we have so many great memories together. I remember when we would play barbies for hours on end with our big Barbie Dream Houses. We would take turns being the teacher in our pretend classroom and we would play house with my brother Robert. We loved to spy on our family members and would often write notes about what they were all doing.

As teenagers we were always interested in different guys and would spend hours talking about it. I remember watching 7th Heaven, Full House, Saved by the Bell, while eating Sun Chips and Cheez-it's. We had best friend rings and would paint our toes with cool colors and that after it dried it would smell like grapes or strawberries. Katie taught me how to wear makeup and we loved to go shopping. One of her favorite stores is JC Penny's!

When I was nine, I remember she came to stay one summer for a few weeks and she hit it off with one of my friend's' in the neighborhood and they were playing. I went home and was crying on my bed and my Mom came into see what was wrong and I told her I did not want to share Katie and that I wanted her all to myself!

When I was a little girl and we lived in California, our houses were next door to each other and so we would run between each other's houses all the time. We shared the same fear of being kidnapped and so we would run halfway from the door to the car and then duck behind the car, look out and make a beeline for the other door. We got into John's birthday cake together and went and hid to avoid being in trouble! We would play with Robert and dream up all sorts of things to act out. We would create cars out of trays and pillows. I remember being at church with Katie and always felt safe knowing she was there to be with me. We took ballet classes together and both messed up in the production of Cinderella. Really she was following me and my leg got stuck between the reign on Cinderella's carriage (we were the horses and I was about five years old, Katie six years old, I think...). I think Katie was prancing next to me. We had the audience laughing! This is all documented on tape!

When my Grandfather past away, I remember being so sad and also guilty because I was so excited to see Katie and get to spend time with her. I remember all the weekends we spent together at my Grandma's house. She would tuck us in for the night and we would get up and try to sneak around the house and not get caught. We loved going on walks with our Grandpa and playing with Chrissy the dog. My Grandma Nonie always kept her freezer stocked with ice cream. We also loved going to Auntie's and Uncle Chuck's where they had candy everwhere and we could indulge in chocolate hoping no one would notice. Katie and I got to go to San Fransisco together to visit my Aunt Judi and I will never forget how much fun that trip was. My first disney experience was with Katie as well with my first time at the beach!

I wanted to be like her so much growing up. Whatever Katie wore I thought was so cool, what she said, how she acted was in my book the greatest way to be! Katie told me later how she hated all the copying I did! My Aunt would try to tell her to take it as a compliment!! Looking back, I can see how it would have been annoying! We loved to play games and do tricks on our cousin Josh when he was in town.

When my family moved to Utah when I was seven, I felt like my heart had been ripped out because I could not spend time with Katie everyday. She even wrote a letter to me and said, "The other night, your Mom was talking to my Mom and I looked at a picture of you and I and I cried and cried and cried." When I got that letter I cried! Katie you mean the world to me and I know for certain my life would be dramatically different if you were not in it and I would suffer a great loss. Thanks for always believing in me and being a continued example of the woman you are! So many life memories are with you in it and I would not have it any other way :)

Happy Birthday!