#3- A Picture of me and friends

This post brought a very disturbing problem to my attention: I have no recent pictures of me with all my friends.  I'm horrified!  I'll have to get to the task of updating some pictures as soon as possible.

In the meantime, this will have to do.  The above picture was taken the day I got married (in case the white dress didn't already give that away).  It includes my 4 closest friends from high school and my three cousins, all of whom I think are amazing.  I love these girls! 

I am lucky enough to have been blessed with many awesome friends.  Some of them I've met through my husband, some through the wards we've lived in, some through work, and some who I don't ever talk to anymore.  So I've decided that for the purpose of this post, I'm going to post about the 7 people I've stayed close to for years and who for some reason, even stayed close to me while I was going through my crazy/awkward teenage years.  Please know however, that if you are reading this post and your name is not specifically mentioned, it's only because I don't have the motivation required to type about everyone and I still love you to pieces.

So as not to give off any unintentional messages about my closeness with these lovely ladies, I'll put each of them in the spotlight briefly in alphabetical order:

Amanda: We met in high school and have kept in touch ever since.  She is such a great person to talk to because she can see the world from so many perspectives.  Also, she was always willing to play with my hair back in the day and I loved it.

Andrea: I also met Andrea in high school.  There are very few people from high school that I have made an effort to keep in contact with, but she is one of the four.  Sometimes I think that Andrea is an angel in disguise because she's nearly perfect and always kind.

Britty: I've known Britty since Jr. High when we both wore braces and butterfly clips.  She is so much fun, tells amazing stories, and is a great writer.

Christina:  It's been a long time since I typed that name; mostly I just call her Tini.  She is my cousin and she is wonderful.  We've always been close.

Kylee: Also my cousin.  Our hair used to be so alike that we could braid it together and no one could pick out whose piece belonged to who.  I think mine may be a little darker now, but we're still bonded by our redheadedness.  She is a wonderful Mommy and I wish I got to see her more often.

Nikki:  Poor Nikki was always mistaken as the cousin when Kylee and I were together because she doesn't look a thing like us.  In actuality, she is Kylee's sister who felt left out for not having red hair.  She is also a great Mommy and is always fun.  I love going to RSL games with her!

Rachel:  My other half since high school.  She is so intelligent and so hilarious and I love it!  We first bonded at girls camp at the age of 15 when a girl threw up on us in the night.

Tyler:  Well... he's in the picture too, isn't he?  He is my BFF and is already responding positively to this 30 day blog challenge (see Tyler's 3.25 post as evidence).