Such Great Heights

To my beautiful sister, Stephanie! She turned 26 on April 11!

I already apologized to Steph for posting this late, but I'll explain to everyone else... last week I got really sick (more on that later) then went out of town (also, more later) while still sick (you guessed it, details to come). I was planning on doing her post early, but getting sick got in the way. Anyhow! Back to Steph!

I will not attempt to do 26 things about Stephanie. That would take forever! So I'll do 13... because 13 is half of 26.

1. Stephanie is an amazing dancer. Seriously. Her only dance training was dance team in high school and then dance courses at BYU and still her dance professors at BYU told her she could dance on Broadway if she really wanted to work hard and do it.

2. Stephanie has recently, thanks to Grant, taken up photography. She takes really cool stuff and her camera isn't fancy-shmancy and she's not addicted to photoshop, so she's got talent in that area.

3. She has a blog now! On it, she posts her photography! Check it out!

4. Stephanie and I used to fight like cats and dogs. It was pretty bad. Sometimes we'd both grab hold of each other's hair and pull until we were spinning around in a death-locked-hair-pulling-circle. My scalp is not very sensitive anymore, as I'm sure you can imagine.

5. Then my parents made us share a room, and after a year or so of fighting more intensely, we became best friends. At first when we were sharing a room, if my parents came into our room an hour after bedtime, it was because we were fighting noisily. After that first year or so, though, when they came to our bedroom, it was because we were laughing hysterically.

6. Despite the fact that Ryan and I (and Dan LaRoche) teased Stephanie about not having a sense of humor, she really is a very funny person and she's quick to laugh. But still, whenever she makes a funny joke, we say, "Stephanie, you made a joke!" as if it's a big accomplishment. I think it's out of tradition now, though.

7. I think Stephanie's got some measure of talent in just about every art there is. Her strongest talents are in dance and singing, but she's also practiced/done well in piano playing, photography, visual arts, acting/theater, and writing.

8. Despite the fact that she's a creative soul, she's also very smart and quite analytical. She minored in statistics (with a major in psychology) and seriously considered majoring in it. She can do calculus in her head (or could when she took it, lol).

9. Stephanie is one of the most generous people I know. Nearly every Christmas she's bought everyone in the family a gift... and with 10 other family members, that adds up. She's always willing to help you if you need it and she'll never hesitate to listen. That's why she should be a guidance counselor.

10. Stephanie really wants to open up a home for troubled kids one day. I think that's cool.

11. She's had at least 6 men tell her they love her. (There could be more... )

12. While taking psychology of gender at BYU, Stephanie learned that her personality is more masculine than feminine. Meaning: she's very ambitious, driven, and determined. She's good at sales and business.

13. Despite that, she's one of the most feminine dressers I know. She wears heels almost 100% of the time... even on girls night out to the movies when she's wearing a sweatshirt and jeans! And she always look amazing.

14. (I know I said 13, but this one is pretty good). Stephanie is indeed my full-blood sister. Not half, not adopted. Our ancestors come from: Sweden, Norway, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Denmark, Cornwall, Wales, Germany, Belgium, ancient America (Cherokee indian), and possibly Israel. However, she's been mistaken for Brazilian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, and half African American.

I could keep going on with fun stuff about my sister, but I think 14 is a good number to stop on. So Happy belated Birthday Brazilian Stephanie aka the Devil! I love you so much (not to mention freaking miss you like crazy!!!!)