Childhood Pics & Memories...

I grew up in San Jose, CA and my childhood best friend was Stephanie Edwards.  We lived down the street from each other, our sisters were also best friends, and our parents were best friends.  We have Birthdays 4 days apart and did pretty much everything together!  Sadly, she moved to Folsom, CA (2 hrs away) when we were only in 4th grade but we still visited every now and then and kept in touch.

When my family moved to Pennsylvania when I was 16, we drove to the Edwards' home on our way to the east coast and had one last good visit.  That was the last time our family has been all together with their family... back in 1996.  Stephanie gave me a stuffed pillow guy (Izzy, the blue mascot from the '96 Olympics) and I have slept with it nearly every night since.  That was 15 years ago and "Mr. Blue" still adorns my bed and stays with me under the covers every night.  I even took him on my mission and all my companions thought he was gross.  But he is a part of me!  And so is Stephanie.  Even now that we are in our 30's, both still single, and both busy with work and other aspects of our lives... I think our hearts are still intertwined as best friends and if we were to hang out tomorrow it would be like nothing ever changed.  

A few months ago, Stephanie started sending me random pics from our childhood days . Pics she was able to scan and save electronically.  Yay!  So I'm sharing snippets of my childhood with you now.  And just be warned... I was a huge dork and still am.

Yep.  There we are, in the flesh.  And I'm wearing an E.T. shirt... haha...

Gotta love those little tank tops.  And Heather's pigtail ribbons! Haha...

I look totally confused in this one.  I loved those sailing adventures in San Fransisco!

Feathered bangs, anyone?  And I loved Stephanie's crimped hair.  

Yes, we used to do the whole drama thing... I think this one was "Three Little Pigs."

Seriously.  What's with my squinty eyes?!  Was I even awake in this picture??

 I'm looking pretty bossy in my "Birthday Queen" hat.  Or was I the "King?"  Who knows.

Stonewashed denim jumper dress with random koala bear button-up shirt.  Good one, Bree.

 I was having a good "feather bang" day apparently.  Our best friend baptism day!

I remember this moment.  Post-baptism treats.  Matching huge-collar dresses.  Perfect.

Haircut!  That's me, the bony girl in the pink.  Stephanie cut her hair short so I wanted to also.

Only she looked really cute and I never should have cut my hair short when I was that age.

I don't even know what we're doing in this pic, what with all the visors and what not, maybe

playing poker or something.  But I love that Mindy is wearing the random crown as well.

Seriously!  I might as well be a little boy.  I went through a major phase where lots of people

thought I was a boy.  Even when I wore my usual florescent pink spandex and cute shirts,

they still felt the need to direct me to the boys' bathroom.  This pic explains it all.  Yikes!

P.S.  I realize I have short hair again, now that I'm 31.  But it looks much better this time around, right?  Like I'm allowed to use the girls' bathroom??  I'll keep telling myself that.

Oh good.  The short hair grew out.  Into a mullet!!  And wow, that dress is fabulous.

This is wear I entered my "Peppermint Patty" phase...

Yep!  I looked just like her. :)

Suddenly I became a teenager.  Stephanie and I went to EFY at Utah State and we were 

both obsessed with the 1996 USA Gymnastics team.  So we decorated our room with all the newspaper clippings I had saved, and random magazine articles and what not.

A Note About My Outfit:

Until the end of my senior year in high school (age 17 or 18) I only felt comfortable wearing sleeves that came down to my elbow because I was super self-conscious about my arms. (Freckles, moles, blah blah blah).  So I mostly wore X-Large T-shirts and big clothes... which is just gross to think about now!  I'm still as self-conscious as ever but at least I wear clothes that are a little more reasonable. 

 Okay, regardless of whether or not I have crap shoved up my nose, this pic is disgusting.

This is historical proof that I did, indeed, wear my dad's polo shirts... for reasons already mentioned.

I think this was probably our last family outing with the Edwards.  Disneyland!

Wow.  We all look simply AMAZING.  Sarcasm.... heavy sarcasm... :)

I just wanted to end on a positive note.  

SHORT HAIR.

SHORT SLEEVES.

NOT A BOY.

So there. :)