After Christmas

the days after Christmas before driving back to school are a blur. We visited my grandparents, but mostly we jsut hung out with each other at home, and it was fantastic. Katrina and her family were with us, Donny and his family, too. It was all just happy and relaxed. we played Super Nintendo and played with babies and laughed and laughed. 

have i mentioned that Derek braids hair? because he does. it's adorable. 

Ryder is the cutest human being on the planet

every time i go home, i MUST get an extra large hawaian from my local Round table because it truly is the last honest pizza, and my local round table is the only good round table i've ever been to in my life. but not onoly is this pizza 'good', it is the flipping BEST PIZZA that i have ever eaten, or will ever eat. it's maybe an addiction. 

priorities, guys. 

speaking of which, no Christmas season seems complete any more without a good does of Justin Potter. we all went to see "Into the Woods" (which i thought was fantastic) together and afterward we went to In-N-Out and then came home for a rousing, and hilarious, round of "Rivers, Roads, and Rails". Oh, Justin, we do so love you.

also, i love Evelyn. I fed her a danish cookie so she'd hold still while i braided her hair. 

i'm an aunt and can do that. haha. sorry Christine. 

Justin

I was waiting for just the right thing to be my first post of 2014, but oh well, i'm tired of waiting. ha. 

My siblings have had some great friends over the years, and there are few who i have enjoyed so much as Justin, one of Derek's best friends. he's certainly the longest friend (besides Jonathan, of course.) 

I was going through old photos of me and my oldest sister Rebecca for a Christmas present that failed (ha.) and i kept finding pictures of Justin.

I chuckled, because they looked SO tiny. 

and i'm glad that he has been in Derek's life for so long, and really in all our lives. My family, that is. 

(sorry/not sorry for the very poor resolution pictures)

call me a creep, Derek. Call. me. a. creep. 

And just to clarify, i love Landon and Anthony, too. So grateful for them that i can't really explain. and countless other friends of siblings over the years! Rebecca's Gina Dawson, Allison's Theadra Gaufin, Katrina's Andrea Viramontes, Donny's Brady Dibble - my first crush. ;) Jonathan's Tony Williams, and Jenae's Tara Harford. love them all, learned from them all, cheered with them when their first child was born, marveled over their PhDs, rejoiced in their faith, was filled with gratitude for their heart and understanding, and overcome with pride in their perseverance. 

but today i am especially grateful for Justin.

Grateful that he has been there for my brothers for so long, all three of them. He was there when i started kindergarten and when i got braces and all my haircuts. He was there before and after High School, before and after Derek went to Denver for two years, before and after Landon. And he will be there for a long time, maybe ever. hopefully ever. 

Thanks Justin, for everything, and for being pretty much a part of the family.