There were never such devoted sisters...

One brother. One sister. 8 year gap. Some assume this means I am not very close with my siblings. Oh how wrong they are. I often ponder how much I love and admire my sister (and brother) but on THIS day, her BIRTHDAY, I think about it a little more. There is really no one else like her. She always has been, and always will be my hero. My entire life I have wanted nothing more than to be just like her. Luckily she is pretty amazing so me trying to copy everything she did (even down to the clothing) never lead me astray. As long as I can remember she has had time for me. She will drop everything to be there for me. Because of the age gap I tended to beg for attention from my older siblings. Michelle would always drop things to build a fort, play a game, or read a story. This has never stopped. She is always there. She helped me with everything. She taught me so many lessons I still remember to this day.

This post could go on for years listing all the amazing things she has done for me and all our fabulous memories but I will just list a few of my favorite Michelle memories (in no particular order).

1. Spending Sunday afternoons in the closet forts she built for me and always being invited to her room down the hall for sweet parties. (ie: open craft box)

2. Getting my hair done in french braids and the famous "wicker basket" on summer mornings.

3. Reading the Ramona books before bed each night.

3.5. Going to Jack in the Box for a shake when she got her license.

4. Going to visit in St. Louis during senior year and standing in on "parent night" on the WHS football field.

5. Driving around jamming to radio disney since the car only had an AM radio.

6. Strapping random toys to our ceiling fan and counting how long they held on before flying off.

7. Sleeping over in Campus Plaza then going to clean the Wilk at 5 am. (I will boot you)

8. Being allowed to tag along on dates with her and Chris at least once a week.

9. Staying over in CO and AZ

10. Having someone to call every 10 minutes during my freshman year at BYU. Also having Michelle always uplift and encourage me no matter how rough her day was. She has never let me down and really is the most selfless person I know. She has always acted like every little thing is huge and important (volleyball sugar cookies).

11. Playing the bird face game and laughing til we cry.

12. Watching FOTB and laughing til we cry.

13. WHERE IS ALL THE ICE CREAM? and then laughing til we cry.

14. Sending each other random hoops and yoyo cards just for fun.

15. My most favorite thing about Michelle and I is that it has been years since we have shared the same country, but I still love her more all the time and know she is my best friend.

Thank you for endulging all those inside jokes and random rambling. I love you sister! Happy birthday! I hope its one of the last few we won't be able to celebrate closer. And now just for fun, a few old pics to show how far we have come.