Favorite Things: Cousin Sarah

I am wrapping up my Favorite Things About Bountiful series. It's been fun creating and deciding why each entry made the list. Again, I'm sure that you could create a similar list about the wonderful cities and towns in which you live.

I couldn't finish the series without posting about my cousin Sarah. She e-mailed me yesterday with the subject "alive?" - just dropping me a line to see how things were going in every aspect of the move. So thoughtful. So Sarah. I'll miss her.

Sarah and Meg

Sarah is a few years younger than I am. I always ran around with her older sisters Ann and Rachel when the cousins would get together while growing up. Then she joined me at Utah State. She was a Freshman, and I was wrapping up my classes and prepping to do my student teaching. We ended up in the same Physics class and I was hopelessly lost and she helped me through with a B-. Thanks, Sarah. We became good friends, and have been close ever since. She invited me to her temple sealing, and I bought a round-trip ticket right away. That ticket would turn out to be a turning point in my life, as I got my first teaching job in Utah and needed to be out there to start teaching school the very next week! Now we are both married with kids, and our oldest girls are just weeks apart. It's been fun to live in the same town as one another -- to visit and talk about our kids, our callings, our challenges and our triumphs.

Her two, and my two
(I don't know why the colors are funny in this picture)

There are so many things about Sarah that I love. Her quiet calmness, her dry wit, her funny stories, her generosity, and the amazing way she teaches and disciplines her kids. Sarah taught Kindergarten for several years and has an arsenal of projects, crafts and activities. I've learned a lot from watching her and have swiped many of her phrases in raising my own kids.

Sarah loans me books to read. She watches my kids while I go to the doctor. Her blog posts make me smile. Our moms are sisters and we are alike in so many ways. Sarah "gets" me. We can go for weeks or even months without seeing eachother and just pick up right where we left off! Her faith puts me in awe.

Sarah's house is warm and cozy, and her backyard is lovely. We've had countless "venting sessions" back there while the kids played on the playground or in the sandbox and we sat in lawnchairs. I know the kids will miss their dog Carl, who is the greatest dog ever! He'll fetch a ball until he drops and is so sweet and obedient.

"Carlo"

After I wiped off the kitchen counter in our house for the last time before moving, I hopped in the car and drove over to my cousin Sarah's house for one last visit. It was imperative. It was wonderful, and I'll pack that happy memory away in my pocket for a lonely day. She's due in a couple weeks with their first BOY. Boy oh boy am I sad to miss it, but thank goodness for blogs and e-mail!