neato frito: friends

I'd like to introduce you to some of my friends.

Gillette

Gillette is one of the coolest, classiest young women you'll ever meet. She's sweet, bubbly, stylish, smiley, encouraging, upbeat, talented... Yeah, all that. She was on a state officer team a couple years after me. We went on a few 4-H trips together, most memorably Canada.
I'm excited to announce she was ANCHORING on MT-PBS tonight. Woohoo! Unfortunately I didn't see it because I don't have tv. I feel a little bit cool to be able to say that she'll be staying at my house one of these weekends.

Steph & Rach

My currentish/formerish coworkers. I mostly like them because we celebrate/d Ice Cream Thursdays together. Steph, aka The Nosepicker, aka Pregnant Lady, aka Agent X is very fun. And random. And very good at layering. She's like the Energizer Bunny of spunkiness. She is also in the middle of an office garbage can war with the Tan Man.

Rachel. What can I say about Rachel? I find that its good to ask her as she's just starting into a story, "Now Rachel, did this REALLY happen?" It helps remind her to check her exagerations before they blow out of proportion. She was the intern. Do you think she ever got me a cup of coffee? No. Pff, what's up with that? Last time I checked, that was the #1 job of newspaper interns.

Just kidding Rach. :-P You're pretty cool inspite of your insane ego.

Oh yeah, welcome to my blog girls. Now you can cyber-stalk me.

I was bad. But you were________.

"Anna was bad."  A direct quote by Dana.

Its true.  I was bad.
I didn't share.
I scratched people with my fingernails.  But honestly, they shouldn't have tickle tortured me...
I had a foul mouth. (I can distinctly remember what soap tastes like)  Where does a 3 yr. old learn these words?  It certainly wasn't from my parents.
I wasted a lot of sugar sprinkling it out so I could watch the ants.  I'd always sweep the sidewalk very thoroughly before Mom got home.
Dana's dad delighted in setting my temper off when we were young.  He purposely made me spitting mad once when I was 4, and then he sat all of us cousins down and read Oscar the Grouch to us, pointedly in my direction.  I was made an example.  Me and Oscar, we were tight.


I thought of myself as Dana's protector sometimes (pff, a lot of good that would have done in an emergency). To be a protector there's a certain amount of 'bad' you need to exude.

And for the record, Dana, you were smug.  I can still picture you tipping your chin up with that saucy smirk forming at the corners of your mouth.


~~~ childhood.

The girl who could drink without getting a koolaid moustache...

She was my childhood best friend, and cousin, Dana.  We were four, and Calvin was two, Grandma was sitting with us at the table having lunch.  Calvin and I couldn't drink without getting the red moustache, but DANA could.  Sweet little Grandma held her up as a shining example... "Anna, watch how Dana does it."  All I could see was how smug Dana looked that she could do something I couldn't.  If I wouldn't have gotten paddled, I probably would have slapped her.  And that is how Dana and I's childhood went.  Most of the orneriness was on my part, she really was a good little girl.

We went through several sets of Best Friends jewelry... you know, the broken heart pendants, one half says Friends, the other says Forever.  You can match the pieces up.  When she moved, we wrote a lot.  I still have some of her letters as bookmarks in my Bible.  We experienced a lot of life together.  Through her graduation, wedding and birth of her first baby, I got to be there.  What a gift.  I love watching her finally experience the sweet joy of motherhood with her four little ones.  Dana's mama went on to Heaven ahead of us when we were little girls, but she obviously was quite special because my cousin comes by this Mommy stuff pretty naturally.  The years, miles and the journey of life has distanced us a little, but when you're family the distance is never too great.  You can always pick up right where you left off.

 

Can I touch her hair?  Dana & Anna, it started in 85.

Cousins, maybe 87.

 

Gathering at our house, maybe 87. 

The cousins, Aunt Julie & Aunt Charlotte at a branding

 Anna, Dana, Clayton, Calvin, Jordan, Kristy

 

Thanksgiving in Canada

Dana, Anna & Calvin

 Milking Cows with Grandpa in Canada

Family reunion, I think it was in 1999. We were 13 or 14.

Grandma had her VERY first plane ride that day.  All of us cousins laid on the ground and spelled out "HI" for her when she flew overhead.  That was one of the best memories.

This one's out of order, but Dana spent a lot of time with us on the ranch.  3 little rednecks.

Grandpa, Zach, Calvin, Anna, Dana, Grandma.  2003 maybe, I think we all just randomly ended up at Grandma and Grandpa's at the same time.  My very favorite thing about this picture is Calvin's scar in his hair.  What a memory. It's probably not that fun for him to remember, but at a family reunion all of us cousins were playing with a bucking barrel and Calvin got bucked off and cut his head open.  Poor kid.  But that reunion was a blast, all those cousins camping and playing for a whole week during the hot summer days.

2003, I went over for Dana's HS graduation.  

Yes, we are the future.  Be afraid, be very afraid.

2005, one of those milestones.  Dana's now a Mrs.!

Cousins Anna, Dana, Dani, & Kristy

 

Guess who caught the bouquet? Me of course.  Kristy says I cheated. She actually caught it first, and was holding the flowers carefully at the top, but I grasped the stems and quickly pulled them from her grasp.  I think that voided my chances of getting married rather than helping them.  Oops.

 

2007.  Abby, Dana & I after a prosperous day of huckleberry pickin'.  I need to come see you this summer Dana, or something!

And that is it.  The journey of our friendship in a few pictures.  Dana, God blessed me richly by putting you in my family and allowing me to be a part of your life.  You are an inspiration to me often, even though I haven't seen you in years and we rarely talk.  Keep enjoying your little family, its fun to watch. I hope you enjoy the pics, the scanner was NOT being nice, so the quality isn't great.            Love ya!  Anna Banana

And still no koolaid moustache!