We have the best friends. EVER.

I really do have the best friends. Ever. Period. End of story. I wouldn't trade my friends for any others. As I've grown up and moved on, I've gathered new friends along the way, but have kept my old friends and held them in my heart. "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold" is a song I learned in Girl Scouts long ago (yes, I used to be a Brownie Scout, which BTW, I sold more thin mints and samoas than any girl in my troop the year I participated), and I like it, only I think all of my friends are golden. It started with the friends of my childhood - friends I had in elementary school like Harmony Vanzeeben, Patricia Hammerland, Amanda Richardson, Aimee Hood, Rachel Sheffield, Megan Peterson, Chelsea Rudelich, Katrina Conradi, and more. I loved these friends, and learned a lot about life and learning from them; though we were young, careless, and yes, very stupid at times. I wish I didn't have all of my scrapbooks packed in boxes, or I'd scan in some pictures of these friends. I do though, have some pictures of my friends from high school that I scanned in a while ago.

My friends from high school were all great! I hung out with different groups, and I really found my niche in high school. I love my Woods Cross friends, though most were in the same ward and had known each other their whole lives, treated me like I was just another of them. Especially Camille, she is just so crazy fun and crazy good and crazy cute, I love that girl! She is stellar! Then there is Kaylin, Emily, Melinda, and the rest of the crew. Then my friends I kept that I knew from junior high and we became even closer in high school. Amanda, my twin! She and I are two peas in a pod. She is super smart and talented and creative! Then there's Kristen, who came to my junior high Hollywood party dressed as Pamela Anderson, with waterballoons stuffed in her bra. Yep, that's Kristen. She is so kind and can always put a smile on your face, and is brilliant. Stacie is just so funny and tells the best stories. She is so enthusiastic. Emily has so much quiet inner strength, and is such a great example to me. Mike, I love us! Mike is fun to be around. Matt is just funny. Katrina is such a great girl. She is a great friend and she does so much! I could go on and on about all of these people! I'm grateful for the example of my friends. A lot of times, we turn out like the people we spend time with. I'm happy that my friends are such high-quality people. They have helped shape my life in ways they probably never even realized.

Here I am with some friends on a band trip at the San Diego Zoo.

At a stomp dance with many of my great buddies from high school.

This picture was taken just a few weeks ago, as Emily (far right) is visiting from Germany, where her husband is stationed for the military. Me, Stacie, Amanda, Emily.

This is Kat with her son Owen.

Our little group still gets together quite a bit. About once a year now, which is fun.

Me, Stacie, and Amanda at an ice-cream/catch-up event. Amanda is living in Colorado Springs now and Stacie is here in Utah working as a Pharmacist.

Then my friends from my college days. I had so much fun, and my friends provided such a great support system for me. I was involved in marching band, and so before school even started, I had instant friends. My flute friends were (and are) so incredible - Amber, Nicole, Hillary, Tiffany, Katie, and the rest! Friends like Katie, Marti, and Katie. Here we are at a Halloween dance, dressed up as Teen Girl Squad from homestarrunner.com.

With Hillary, Waldo the Wildcat, Katie and Nate at a basketball game. Nate introduced me to Dave...thank you, Nate!

Brandon and Katie, and of course my Dave, my best friend! This foursome had, and has such a fun time together! in fact, we're going to see them tonight- yea! Katie is just so much fun! She is very talented in many ways, and is great to talk to and listen. She was always there for me when I needed a girl to talk to in college.

And then there is Jasmine. Jazzy got off her mission and started school again during my last year in band, but she was so nice from the get-go. There's no one sweeter and more thoughtful than Jasmine. And Katie, of course, buckets of fun! Here we are doing pudding finger paints! We love our Anne of Green Gable marathons, beverage tasting parties, girls brunch and White Christmas parties, and going out to lunch for birthdays.

At Katie's wedding. What a great day!

Then there are my neighborhood and ward friends. What an incredible support system we have where we lived. I'm gonna miss all of these ladies so much!

Here's Nanette. Nanette is so crafty and clever and cute, and so good with her 3 boys!

Then there's Lori Daliva, always so sweet to do things for others and think of others. She is a convert and learning the ways of the Gospel. She's great!

And then Kasey, who was my visiting teaching companion. She is so diligent and hard working in everything. She always is fun to talk to!

Ashley is a super friend. She was the one to drop off cookies with their phone number on an index card when we moved in. She organized our neighborhood preschool. She is a spiritual giant. We were also in Scouts together, which was fun!

Then there are the Yangs, I love this family! They lived three doors down from us. Hlee is so sweet! She's the neighbor I'd run to if I needed anything, and I knew I could count on Hlee. She is a convert and has such a powerful testimony! She puts me at ease and helps me to feel comfortable. She makes her home a welcoming place to be.

Hlee just has a heart of gold! She'd do anything for anyone and is constantly giving, giving, giving!

And who could forget my good, good friend Calena? She is awesome! We met in our University young marrieds ward when we were both pregnant with our firsts. We started trading our kids one night a week so we could go to Institute or on date nights. I really could trust Calena with my life, she is that reliable. I feel so comfortable taking my kids over to her house, knowing they'll be in the best hands. And we get our families together to hang out and get the kids together for playdates. Calena is such a good wife and mother. She has gone through so much in her life, but remains strong and true. She is a friend you call when you just need to talk. She helps me out so much! We compare stories of kids and life. We cry and laugh with each other. Dennis and Dave are great friends as well, they like to try to beat Rock Band, go shooting, and shoot the breeze together.

Here we are with some friends from our married's ward. I have some of the greatest friends from those two married's wards we were in...Amanda, Krisann, Keri, and too many more to name! <3

Calena and I hardly have any pictures of us. They're all of the kids! So the past few months, we've had Dennis take some of just us. Here's one of us at Rio Tinto Kennecott mine. I'm so grateful to have a friend like Calena!

And, I had to post these pictures! Dennis took these a while ago of the kids together. Dennis is a great photographer! If anyone needs pictures done, I can hook you up! Not only are we the best of friends, our kids are as well. We wanted to capture this! Emma and Tavin are a couple of months apart, the middle boys are about 5 months apart, and the babies are 5 days apart. These kids have grown up together and they all have a blast together!

The Miller and Ryerse kids!

Push, pull! Kids on parade.

The cute babies, Kaleb and Lucy! I died when Calena told me they were pregnant, but I couldn't tell her we were too, because we had to tell our families first. Well, she ended up finding out first, because she babysat while Dave and I went to the first O.B. appointment. The babies were due five days apart, and were both born exactly a week early at five days apart.

So precious!

The middle boys, Alec and Cal. They either play really nice together or clash sometimes because of their age and because they are boys.

Both of the boys were super tired when we were taking these pictures!

So I've posted about Tavin and Emma before, watch out! These two are so cute together and are just so sweet! I think (and others have said) these look like engagement photos! We didn't plan for that, but we basically told them to play, or stand by the tree, and they did the rest!

Now they do have their free-agency, but we joke we could arrange this marriage so we could be related! Ha ha!

Tavin just cracks me up with the things he says. He also makes Emma giggle a lot! These two get along so well. We've never had any problems with them fighting. Ever! That's pretty hard to do.

And the crowning jewel, this pic is my favorite!

I love all of my friends so much and will miss you all when we move! But though we might not live close by anymore, but "the road to a friends house is never long." Remember that. I'm never too far and we'll keep in touch!