Finding My Everyday Happy: Happy #4: My Blood

Rachael, me, and Ashley at our cousin Amanda's wedding, Summer 2009

My sisters have always been my best friends. Of course we've always been there for each other; when we were little, we were nuts-o together! My mom and dad had their hands full!! When we were younger, my mom worked night shift on the weekends as an ICU/CCU nurse. On those nights, my dad would do his best to entertain three girls and still watch his favorite sport, Bearcat basketball (to him, this was the only sport). He'd feed us dinner right when the game came on, so we would be occupied for a little while. And that way he could watch some of the game while we goofed around and ate our food.

My mom usually put some kind of dessert in the fridge for us to eat after dinner. She really missed spending weekend nights with us :)! Sometimes we'd have 3-layer jello. Sometimes we had fruit. Sometimes we had her special peach cobbler.

1-2-3 (3 Layer) Jello

One night in particular, I remember we had 3-layer jello. We LOVED that stuff! As we were eating our jello and dad was enthralled in his Bearcats game (they were his "boys"), we realized we needed to find something to do. Dad was seriously not going be done watching the game soon.

Our solution: torpedo our 3-layer jello at each other across the table with our dessert spoons! We all though it was a rather fun and exciting idea!! We ducked and hid under and behind the kitchen tables and chairs. We dodged shots of flying jello. Sometimes it hit us. Other times it hit the floor. A few times it stuck to my mom's new wallpaper! My dad was so engrossed in his game in the familyroom that he didn't even notice our game of jello war was in full swing.

Once my dad came in to check on us to see if we had finished our dessert when there was a break in the game. We sure had! We had finished it and left a huge mess everywhere! I think the jello won that war, but we were pretty proud of ourselves for having so much fun on our own! My dad, on the other hand, looked pretty mad. But he held it together, took a deep breath, and walked away. That was my dad: he took a deep breath and carried on.

Found at Kimkardashian.celebuzz.com

When he came back, it was time to clean-up the jello. Let's just say that in the morning, there was no sign of jello for my mom to see and realize that there was an all-out jello brawl in the kitchen the night before. She actually didn't know any of this happened until a few years ago!!! I think we told her the story when my dad was sick. She cracked up!!

Growing up, we always found ways to amuse ourselves, and get ourselves in some trouble too. We were always creative; we even made lists of things to do separately and then came back together to compromise and agree on what it is we should play for the day!! We were very organized crazies!!

A Little About My Sisters

Ashley and Rachael dancing at my wedding October 9, 2010.

Rachael and I get to hang out A LOT! She still lives in Cincinnati. A day out with Rachael can make everything better, no matter how bad your day has been!! She is goofy, caring, and insightful. She helps me put my anxiety in perspective. She can turn a walk around Target into a fun time! She's a no-nonsense kind of person, so don't mess with her! But she is also one of the sweetest people you'll meet. She's also the person you text when you're tutoring and you don't know how to answer a middle school math problem!! She loves sports, make-up, music, coffee, and chocolate. We can yell at the Bearcats together to play better and then blast music in the car and sing on the way to get a coffee. Perfect day. We enjoy a lot of the same things, so we can always find something fun to do together. She is my sanity!

My wedding

Ashley moved out to Utah a few years ago and before that lived in Columbus. We don't get to see each other a lot anymore, and I miss her! I did get to see her this summer when we took a family vacation to Florida!! Fun!!!!!!! Ashley is funny, caring, and loving. She has a big heart and cares so much about people. She will help anyone in any way that she can. I love that she knows sign language! She has a huge smile. When you see it, you can't help but smile too. She texts me to tell me she loves me in the middle of the day. She calls just to say she misses me. She has a creative eye too. One year she made me flower barrettes for my hair on her own! They were so cute! Boo, if you ever move closer, we need to start a crafting club! We'll make Rachael join, even though she hates that stuff! She can just drink wine and watch!

Epcot 2013

Summer 2013 in Naples with my sisters.

I LOVE my sisters and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. They are amazing. They can brighten my day, make me laugh, and make me smile. They make me happy :) They are my happy.