She is Kindness Itself

I know most of my posts start out with me talking about my siblings looking like my twin, but it's always true and it is this time too. I've had a full conversation with cousins and uncles before they realized I was Becky, not Chrissy. When I went to Chrissy's ward and I wasn't right next to Chrissy some people mistook me for Chrissy. Believe me though, I don't mind. I'd love to be mistaken for Chrissy any day.

Chrissy is a great example to me, I've always looked up to her. One time in Primary we were going around the classroom saying who our examples were. I went first and I said, "My older sister, Chrissy." Everyone else said Jesus. Whoops, but not really. Chrissy is very Christlike. She's very thoughtful, always putting others before herself. One time Chrissy promised Jessie and me that she would play games with us that night if we did our work. Well we did our work and in the meantime Chrissy was invited to go hang out with friends. Chrissy kept her promise though and stayed to play games with her little sisters.

Chrissy is an excellent host. You want to a fun trip? Go to North Dakota. No that's not a joke. A trip to ND to see the Thomas family is so much fun. A couple years a go a bunch of us went out to ND to be there for April's blessing. It was a surprise and even though she wasn't expecting us, she had us around the table eating after 20 min. of being there. That's one example of excellent hosting. :) Last month I was able to go out and visit Chrissy and her family for a week. We had so much fun watching Jane Austen movies, trying to co-pilot a plane, swimming, exercising, doing puzzles, cooking, playing games, dueting, and spending time with her kids.

Chrissy and I got some of the same genes. Like the non-athletic genes, and the cry a lot genes. By the way I don't really appreciate either of those. We do have other things in common though. We both love to do puzzles. Not many people love puzzles, and I don't understand that. They're awesome! Also Chrissy has excellent taste in books. I have yet to disagree with her on a book. Seriously no one understands my love of reading like Chrissy does. Chrissy has given me probably half of the books that I own and I've loved all of them. One of the times when Chrissy was visiting we were going through the Twilight series. We would read when April went down for her nap. Well I was one book ahead of her so we sat there on separate couches reading separate books and it was so fun to hear her reactions to everything and discuss the books as we read them. Another common love we have is for Jane Austen books and movies. If I was watching a Jane Austen movie, or any movie from that time period, and I could have any one person watch it with me it would be Chrissy.

Other awesome things about Chrissy:
- Chrissy is very humble. I found out she passed all of her CPA exams on the first try years after she had taken them, and that was only after I asked her specifically about them. You'd never find out from her that she was offered a full right scholarship to BYU for piano. Or that she has perfect pitch and can read most anything. You'd have no idea that Chrissy is a great cook, unless you've had the opportunity to eat her food.
- Chrissy is always serving. It doesn't matter how busy she is Chrissy always finds someone who could use a friend. When I was in ND I found out she was befriending a single girl in her ward that's a little older than me and expecting a baby. Chrissy (and Kevin) had invited her over for dinner and games. This is just one of example of so, so many...
- Chrissy is always the perfect person to talk to. It doesn't matter what I have to say, she'll always listen. If I'm frustrated then she's sympathetic. If I have something fun going on, then she's excited for me. I don't know what I'm going to do next month when I can't talk to her at least every week. E-mail maybe? Not as fun, but it'll have to work.
- Chrissy makes a great second mother. This is kind of a joke in our family, but I'm serious. When my dad passed away Chrissy took on a lot of responsibility. My mom couldn't do it all and so Chrissy was always helping her. As the years went on Chrissy kept on helping, especially with the "little girls." (Me and Jess) I don't think I'll ever know everything that she gave up so she could be there for me, but I'm so grateful for it.

This picture is from one of my trips to ND. I don't think Chrissy and I look that alike, but I can see it in this picture. I'm on the right. :)

The only thing he's guilty of is being awesome!

This is a very typical picture of David and me. This is after Marie's wedding reception. Everyone was helping clean up and this is what we did. After we helped.

David and I are very alike. We have the same sarcasm, sense of humor, nose, teeth, and much to my dismay, hands. Seriously though David and I have pretty much the same sense of humor. Occasionally we spend a ridiculous amount of time on Hulu showing each other the lastest and greatest SNL clips. When I want to talk to someone about the latest movie I've seen, I know that David will probably have seen it and he'll know what I'm talking about. The day after Starstruck came out he was the first one I talked to about it! We're so alike we've even picked some of the exact piano pieces to play. Some of them aren't that coincidental since we've had the same teacher, but when we had different teachers we picked the same piece. Weird, huh? It's not like it was The Waterfall (heaven forbid, that would never happen!) or something common, it was Gottschalk's The Banjo. Random? Yeah.


When I was 17 my dance partner dumped me. I was devestated because it was my last year dancing and I really wanted to compete one last time. So David suggested we dance and with the support of his awesome wife, Heather, we danced together. We had so many good times, even at six in the morning! (Which says a lot for both of us.) How many 23 year olds do you know would spend time to dance with their little sisters in high school? This will always be one of my favorite memories with David. It meant so much to me.

Whenever I ask David for help he stops what he's doing and helps me right then. When I told him I needed a laptop and asked him for suggestions he stopped what he was doing and helped me. After doing research we completed an order less than two hours later. This is just one example of so, so many! More importantly than this help, I know that whenever I need a blessing I can call him. He'll drive down in a dress shirt and tie just for that. This is just one way he fills my father's shoes.

Other awesome things about David:
- David is the epitomy of an informed citizen. Seriously he knows about everything going on in the world, from all the natural disasters to the latest Provo High basketball score!
- David writes the best notes ever. These aren't traditional thank you notes, they're notes just because and I love them.
- David gives the best surprises. Best surprise #1. David and Sara's husband Chris planned a trip out to ND so we could be there for April's baby blessing. David was so excited to surprise Chrissy and her husband that it's the only thing he talked about for weeks, which we all loved. That really was such a great surprise. Best surprise #2. David decided that for Christmas we should give our mom a new room. He and his wife figured out all the details from the color of paint to the new shelves. So I convinced my mom to come up and visit me in ID for a weekend. During the weekend everyone at home worked through the nights to complete my mom's new room. Let's be honest it does look quite amazing now and she loves it!
- David is always working to further develop his talents. Last year he went back to taking piano lessons. Isn't that cool?

So there you have it. That's David and the only thing he's guilty of is being AWESOME!

Ma Soeur Sara

I know this picture isn't great, but I love it. I was 14 and I had gone to visit Sara in Idaho. This is us in an ice cave. We're standing like that because when we tried to get closer we kept falling down.

Sara is the older sister that every kid dreams of. While Sara is one of the most mature people I know, she is never "too old" to do anything and she knows how to make fun. On saturdays when we had to clean the house Sara decided we should have races. So we'd start in a circle with our bums in the middle and then race. When she came home from college and we were making up dances she would always join in the fun. When we had to put up the Christmas lights and it was not fun, she suggested we eat lunch up there. That was fun.

Sara is one of the most understated person I know. (She and Chrissy tie for first.) There are many examples of this, but I'll tell you my favorite. At Sara's college graduation when my mom was browsing through the program she discovered Sara was graduating magna cumlaude. She felt like a horrible mother because she had no idea. After the program she went up to Sara and said, "Uh, Sara, why didn't you tell me you were graduating magna cumlaude?" To which Sara replied, "What's that?" Now I don't know about you, but if I graduated magna cumlaude I'd make sure everyone knew about it. (What do you think Facebook is for?)

More awesome things about Sara:
- Sara is a lifelong learner. She loves to learn and she is always finding opportunities to expand her knowledge. She will read the entire biography of some historical figure, learn a new piece on the piano (just for the heck of it!), and the list goes on...
- Sara gives the most thoughtful gifts. Every Christmas you hear about giving "gifts from the heart." Sara always gives these types of gifts.
- Sara is a great example of being healthy. I know you're thinking this is something silly to say, but hey I admire it. Candy lasts in her cupboard for a long time. I know what candy she has better than she does. One time when I asked her for a Rolo, she said, "Sorry, we don't have any." You can imagine my embarrassment when I went and grabbed the Rolo I had been spying and showed it to her.
- There are two people in my family who understand why I go to BYU-Idaho, Chrissy and Sara. (They both went there.) While it flatters me that the rest of my family is constantly asking me to transfer it's nice to know that Sara really gets it. The day I left for college she gave me a letter about BYU-I. She gave me a great must-do list and I love pulling it out every semester and getting ideas.

Growing up has shortened the six year gap, and I've loved it. Last month I had the chance to go stay with Sara for a few days and I had such a great time. We stayed at home, cooked together, exercised, watched awesome movies, did puzzles, played with her adorable son, and just talked. I am always glad to spend time with Sara and it was nice be in her home and see her in "her element."

We're not twins, we're sisters.

Last time I told you about my true twin, so today I'll tell you about the sister that everyone thinks is my twin. Okay not everyone, but a lot of people. When we went to Fiji this last summer and we weren't wearing make-up, everyday people would ask, "Are you two twins?" Then we would answer in unison, "No. We're sisters." (Believe me the unison part was not planned.)

One thing about Marie is I tell her everything, seriously everything. One time when I was up at school I realized I had called Marie 5x that day!(Oops...) The thing is whenever something completely insignificant happens I always have to call her and tell her about it. I'm sure my calls get a little tiring but she always listens and cares.

Marie has always taken care of me. In high school when I didn't want to make friends Marie always let me tag along. Whenever there was a big occassion Marie always helped me look my best. (Heaven knows I'm clueless...) Not only did Marie blow dry my hair when she was 8 and I was 6, she did my hair for dance competitions, school dances, etc. One time she told me that it was the last time she was going to do my hair. That only lasted one competition. Marie had mercy on me when she saw my sweet, awful atempt and she never said anything about it but always did my hair from then on.

I have so many fun memories with Marie from sitting in the car at the parking lot at school waiting until we absolutely had to go in, to traveling, to double dates,to late night photo shoots and the list goes on!

Other reasons why Marie would be an awesome twin:
- Marie always tells it as it is. I used to see this as harsh, but now I see it as honest. I never have to worry about her telling me one thing and thinking another.
- Marie has a gift of making any song sound horrible. Don't get me wrong she's very musical, but she knows which harmonies to sing to make you go crazy. Marie and I make beautiful music together. It's a gift. Just ask my cousin Barbara, she loves it!
- Marie doesn't care what others think. Maybe that's why she and her husband are fine dancing in the middle of the grocery store. Okay so no one else was on the aisle, but still...
- Marie knows the line between right and wrong and she always does the right thing. One time she was in Vegas for a dance competition. Even though no one else was planning on going to church the day after the competition Marie looked up where church was and she and her dance partner walked miles to go to church. Talk about dedication!

To be honest I never thought Marie could be my twin until I saw this picture:

My True Twin

Betcha didn't know I had a twin! Probably because I don't, but when I was young my little sister Jessie and I both wished we were twins. So we pretended we were. We figured we were "true twins." Hence the cheesy title.

Let's start at the beginning. I wasn't necessarily a saintly child and Jessie was the sweetest little girl. She always let me get my way, and never tattle-told. (And believe me she could've...) We always found little projects to do. One of our favorite Saturday activities was packing surprise lunches for each other then climbing our cherry tree in the backyard and eating them. Another favorite of ours was to make up dances. My mother has a plethora of videos that are so painful to watch now. Another Becky and Jessie classic is our many paper chain countdowns. And these aren't just lame tear it off throw it out paper chains. We had full on ceremonies with a drum and the countdown paper had an awesome poem on it!

Jessie and I are very different. My idea of fun is to read a book, and hers is to shop. I hate shopping, and she hates reading but somehow we still find awesome things to do, like maybe we still make up dances. Maybe we still watch Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movies. Maybe we still go down the big slides at the swimming pool. (We feel so cool standing in line with all the 6 year olds!)

Other awesome things about Jessie:
-She is such a hard worker. In between her job, dance, and school she stays so busy. Yet somehow she never gets stressed. Jealous.
- She's way OCD and I think it's hilarious. Try wearing just one sock around her. She will literally tear it off your foot. Until I left for college we shared the same room. She claims she couldn't sleep with any drawers open and the closet and room door had to be shut.
-Jessie is comfortable with everyone. Seriously everyone. She has this gift of acting like she's known someone she just met her whole life. I can't even count the number of "best friends" she has or secret hand shakes.
-Sometimes she says the funniest things. Here's one classic:
"Is it man made?"
Barbara- "No."
"Oh, so it's human made!"
- Jessie doesn't care what people think about her. Her confidence always amazes me!

So what about you? Do you have a true twin?

Here's to You!

Welcome to Sibling Series part 1. Today I'm going to tell you about my awesome little brother Benjy.

First thing about Benjy is he is a hardcore cowboy and proud of it! If he had a million dollars he'd probably buy a cabin in Wyoming, horses,and hay. I didn't reaize how big of a cowboy he was until he referred to a spork as a halfbreed of a spoon and fork.

I love being around Benjy because he always brings out the mature side of me. We jump on the tramp together with sprinklers under it, dance around at Lonestar concerts, watch Wizards of Waverly Place (a great show!), and box each other! That's right last week Benjy and I had a boxing match...on the tramp. He was nice enough to go easy on me. I almost felt like I won. What a good brother I have.

Other favorite things about Benjy:
- He gives me the best hugs. Seriously they are so good.
- He looks for ways to serve others. He has taken so many people horse back riding!
- He makes really good cornbread. I don't really like cornbread, but I actually enjoy his. Isn't that awesome that he's a cook?
- Like his dad, he's a big people person. I used to be jealous when I was little and we went caroling because everyone just loved him so much. Seriously though if you knew him, you'd love him too!