Kimberly

My sister, Kimberly, has a birthday today. I don't know what I'd do without Kimberly. We are only two years apart, and have always been great friends. We were together my 7th and 10th grade years and then we both went to BYU. I lived near her my freshman year, and it was wonderful having her there, since generally the transition to college was a little rough for me. My dorm room was on the ground floor, so when Kimberly passed by on her way to campus, she would often knock at my window and say "hi." Sometimes, she would go in when I wasn't there and make my bed and leave a little treat. One night, she came and knocked on my window and said that she was taking me to see The Princess Bride with her and her roommate. (It had just come out, and I was dying to see it.) When she went on her mission, I missed her terribly, but upon her return, we roomed together for our senior year in college. It was the best year for me there by far. She was so fun to be with, and it didn't hurt my social standing to be seen with her! (The two guys I dated seriously that year both liked Kimberly first.)

Although I didn't want Kimberly to be single for as long as I was, it was certainly comforting to go through it together. And it gave us time to travel together and do a lot of fun things. Also, we could swap bad dating stories. We got married near the same time, and have had our kids at the same time. She's a great friend, and I'm lucky to live near her and continue sharing the ups and downs.

(I could write this kind of tribute about my other sisters as well - and will do so soon.)

Here are some pictures from Kimberly's birthday get-together yesterday, including one of Jonah eating lasagna and ice cream.

Here is a picture of my kids playing with the little girl who lives downstairs. We absolutely love the family we have renting our basement right now. For their sakes, I hope they don't have to live there long-term, but we certainly wouldn't mind if they did.