Mar 06

Just kidding. The animals didn’t come alive – the 2.0s and I were smart enough to go to the museum during the day. (What, you’ve never seen Night at the Museum? Well, WE have and WE played it safe.)

I’ve discovered it’s easy to keep the title of “BEST SISTER EVER.” No, I did not give myself that title. I totally earned it. Just ask the little girls, who proclaimed it today. (Sorry Alisha and Jessie. I’m the oldest, and I’m likely to keep it.) Today, the rest of our family (minus Logan, who had to study, and Alisha, who is busy in Utah compiling reasons that she should NOT move to Missouri) headed to Nebraska today to attend the Winter Quarters Temple. (Alisha, you can’t count the long drive to a temple as reason number 1309 because we are getting a temple in KC. Scratch that off your list.) Once a temple’s dedicated, you need a recommend to attend it, and little kids can’t get recommends.  You can find out more about temples here or here, if you’re curious. The temple in KC will have an open house for whoever wants to come see it before it’s dedicated.

Since Sam and Cassie can’t go yet, someone had to keep an eye on them. I volunteered and we decided we’d make a girls day of it. It was SO fun! The 2.0s put together a soundtrack for our adventures (iTunes is a wonderful thing), we put it in the CD player, and we were off to Kansas City. They got to check out my new office (loved it!), went to Union Station (to pick up my mail, but they thought it was the coolest building ever), to the Nelson-Atkins (my favorite museum in KC, which is now their favorite too), and to Miller Park (where we ate the picnic they prepared and they ran around for ages). It. Was. Great.

And the whole “best sister ever”? Don’t tell the girls, but I already know who really has the title. Here’s a hint – it’s a tie between four people. Alisha, Jessie, Sam and Cassie have me all beat. For now though, I’ll claim it. After all, isn’t that the point of being the oldest?

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Feb 19

I was on kid duty tonight. A voluntary thing, let me assure you. I like spending time with my siblings. Since Mom, Jess & Logan wanted to go see “Dear John” (I already saw it and enjoyed it – I LOVE Channing Tatum), I offered to watch the kids. Reece was away on a camping trip (who goes camping in the snow anyway?), so it was the 2.0s , Wade and I. Dad is in Brazil, but he gets back soon, wahoo!

At first we said we’d have a “girls night plus Wade.” He quickly corrected us – we were going to have a “girls night plus THE MAN.” And we did – a little popcorn, a movie, cupcakes and some nail polish. (The Man skipped out on the nail polish.)

This isn’t the first time this week that Wade has cracked me up. Mom and I were hanging out at the table while all the boys were being their usual crazy selves.  I said we needed to think of a word to describe them – without skipping a beat, Wade had one. “Sexy.” And then he walked out of the room.

Can I just tell you I love my life? Really, how could I not?

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Feb 10

Yes, I said “heart.” NOT “hate”! Please make sure you’re listening. (Ahem. Reece.) For all of you that are oblivious to the month of February, Valentine’s Day is coming up. At FHE this week (you’ve heard about FHE before), our family talked about L-O-V-E.

My first memories of Valentine’s Day involved special Valentines on our kitchen table surrounded by great treats. (Thanks Mom!) For a couple of years, I didn’t realize that Valentine’s Day was a “romantic love” sort of holiday – I just thought it was a day where everyone made sure to tell the people they loved that they loved them. Really, you should be doing that on a pretty regular basis – how sad would it be if you saved all your telling for one day a year?!? I know that I’d never have enough time to make sure that everyone I loved knew it.

In the spirit of the holiday, this Monday night my siblings, mom and I spent the night making hearts for each other. (Dad is in Brazil, or he would have been making them too, don’t worry. He still likes us. Why on earth do you think he goes to work every other month?) We put them up on the doors in our house so that we’d all remember how much we love each other. (Kind of like texting - except better.)

Here are a few of my favorites…

Is it any wonder I heart my family?

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Jan 27

That’s how many characters I can send in one text. (20 more than a tweet!) My sister Jessie and I have a “feel good” sort of thing going right now. We came up with it during a girls’ night (so normally it’d be top secret), but I’ll let you in on what we’re doing. (I’m so nice.)

Every day, both of us will text the other something nice… anything nice, but it always includes “I love you and…” Here are some examples from the past week.

  • “I love you and your beautiful eyes.”
  • “I love you and your beautiful singing voice.”
  • “I love you and your luscious long hair.”
  • “I love you and admire your guts.”
  • “I love you and think you’re an awesome bottle washer.”
  • “I love you and your luscious long legs.”
  • “I love you and your deep brown eyes.”
  • “I love you and your smokin’ hot booty.”
  • “I love you and how nice you were this morning.”

Now, it’s just a little thing – you’ll notice that all of these things are LESS than 160 characters. I actually think they’re less than 140. (So you could send them in tweets too!) But what a great way to have a connection with your sister! It takes about 10 seconds – more like 60 if you text like my dad – and makes you both smile. Don’t you think it’s worth your time?

Today, I’m issuing a little challenge… well, more like throwing down the gauntlet. Yeah, that’s right. Throwing down the freaking gauntlet.

Text someone. Think of someone you care about, and let them know. It’s easy – you could even copy one of our examples. (Use the “luscious legs” text judiciously please. And the “smokin’ hot booty” should only be used for those people that you are super close too. Trust me.)

Oh? And before all the rest of my siblings start being sad that this is a Jessie/Leila thing – I texted you this morning. Because I love you all too. And your luscious legs.

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Nov 24

Cassie, Me, Mom, Dad, Sam, Reece, JessieFirst off, Happy Thanksgiving!!! (And I know I’m a couple days early, but I’m celebrating all week.) I hope you eat lots of turkey, if that’s your thing. My personal weakness on Thanksgiving is crescent rolls. I can skip the turkey entirely (but I normally don’t) as long as I have crescent rolls. My all-time favorite crescent rolls are made by Alisha. Unfortunately, I will have to settle for not-quite-my-all-time-favorite crescent rolls this Thanksgiving, because she will be stuck in Utah. (Collective *sob* from the entire family.)

At Church this week, the speaker talked about how happiness is a byproduct of gratitude. It’s really made me focus on all the things I’m grateful for – after all, I LIKE being happy! It’s totally worked. It’s been a good week.

I started to write a list of all the things I’m grateful for. It got too long. Like, crazy long. So instead of boring you with all the details (like how grateful I am for the brilliant blue bathmats I have in my bathroom, complete with matching towels), I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve had about the things I’m grateful for.

Me & CassieI realized that the things I am most grateful for in my life can’t be bought. They actually aren’t “things” at all. They are people. And people are irreplaceable. There is nothing that beats being able to be the big sister who comes home on the weekends to curl your 9 and 10 year-old sisters’ hair. Or being able to play cards with your crazy family until midnight and not even noticing the time. Or being able to watch your brothers grow up and learn to be men. It’s fantastic to have girlfriends who you can laugh (and cry) with. It’s so nice to have guy friends you can dance with (and who will move furniture for you). It’s amazing to have professional associates who will send you examples of things you’ve never done before. People rock.

Things are just that – things. Even though they might make life more enjoyable sometimes, they don’t love you back.  And yes, I hear some of you saying your Audi loves you back. Trust me – it’s got nothing on the people I know.

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