It all started with Caitlin Jane Bardsley
Cait and I were born to be friends! Our moms were practically sisters growing up and they were so excited when they each had girls because they'd always had visions of us being together! We've had countless sleepover, imagined up the craziest schemes, and loved each other forever! I remember going to her house to either play or watch Peter Pan...we had an obsession. Graham crackers will always remind me of our sleep overs. We pretended we were the Google fairy... (that's right people, Cait and I INVENTED GOOGLE!!!) when we were little (about 6 or 7) we decided we were going to be the Google fairy at our sleep overs and preform random acts of kindness for our family members- like the time we made Swedish pancakes for my mom and instead of sugar we put in salt! When we were born our moms laid us next to each other and we started to giggle! WE WERE ONLY SIX WEEKS OLD!!! Oh wait...that was someone else. When we were teenagers we would set goals for ourselves and report back weekly to each other on our progress. She's always made me a better person. In 2005 she accepted an invitation from me to go to Russia and teach English together! I'm so grateful that she did, because we have five months of crazy Russian memories! Two months after we got back she served me well as my Maid of Honor for my wedding. I am so grateful for a life long friend and sister!
Megan Elizabeth Winegar- The classic Best Friend
The classic friendship...I moved across the street from Megan when I was just four years old. One of my first memories is someone (I think it was her brother Clark but I'm not sure) came over to our house and told me that I had a new friend to play with. I thought that was pretty cool. I don't actually remember meeting Megan, but I remember endless summers over at her house or mine. I remember jumping on her trampoline, watching ever Disney movie known to man 30 times then recreating the roles. I was always Aladdin and The Beast....We ripped up her moms yard in order to make Alligator traps or food, I can't recall at the moment. We invented the worlds best mosquito repellent which turned out to be the worlds biggest mosquito attracted (water and sugar). She liked my younger brother and sister for some reason so she had fun at my house too. I moved away in 4th grade. It was so traumatic for me because I knew I'd never find another Megan. We haven't kept in touch perfectly but I know how to get a hold of her and vice verse. My grandma and aunts still ask about Megan Wigeger ( a name my brother gave her). She is a great person and wonderful memories are attached to my childhood because of her.Meghan Lee Allen- An answer to prayers
After I moved from Bountiful I had a hard time making friends. After a year and a half of sadness and praying, I finally found my new Megan...literally! Only this one spelled her name Meghan and we hit it off. She was in my ward, and taught me all about what it meant to start growing up. She taught me the kind of music I needed to listen to, clothes to wear, how to do my hair and make up. Luckily for both of us she had a big sister :) We had so much fun talking about boys, sharing a locker, going through all the joys of puberty. One time both of us were extremely depressed over what else: boys. We were on a camp out for our ward and we disappeared into the woods, knelt down in the woods and prayed individually that something would happen I guess. I can't remember if we prayed for peace or that the boys would like us back, probably the latter. Meghan was beautiful and talented and I was devastated when after three years her family moved away. We have definitely been bad at staying in contact, but I still love her to death. Meghan now has a beautiful little family and is chasing her dreams.Jessica Anna Worden- You'd wish you were us.
Of all my three previous mentioned girlfriends, Jessica was the one I was never jealous of. I never put her on a pedestal or anything like that. I felt like we were pretty much the same. Jessica and I met in seventh grade Spanish class. Each year we became closer and closer until the end of our 9th grade year when we became pretty close. Jessica and I could talk for hours, laugh for hours, be dumb for hours. We'd pick up Chinese food and sour patch kids and could watch anything dumb and laugh about it. I really needed Jessica for a long time and we were lucky to have each other. Unfortunately, our lives have taken different paths. We are very different people and it becomes difficult to maintain a friendship at emotional distances. I often think of her and wonder about her. I hope she is doing well. I miss her a lot and I will always love that girl! One night we went to Burger King and after stuffing our faces we taped our garbage to various spots on the car and would see if people would honk at us to remove it! She is awesome and I wish her the very best in life.
Rosalie Carmella Mastaler: We are married to each other
I met Rosalie briefly before boarding a plane in New York bound for Russia. When we got to Prague and I spotted a ring on her left finger I got excited! She was engaged too!!! We'd both gotten engaged shortly before going to Russia and our sweethearts Adam and Michael were committed to wait the long cold five months. Rosalie and I hit it off pretty quick. We were always laughing and acquired inside jokes pretty quick (Rosal, CONNECTICUT, Deep Impact, Blue, ETC) because we were stuck in a foreign country. Of course with two girls who are engaged there are bound to be problems. It was a little difficult to both be engaged together because that is supposed to be an individual time. We laughed like friends and fought like sisters. By the time I came home, we didn't talk for about a month. We weren't angry or anything ( I think :) but our lives had taken over and we had weddings to plan on August 5th and 12th. A couple weeks after we got married we started to call each other. It became more and more frequent until finally we talk about 3-5 times a week, complaining about our husbands, laughing at ourselves and life, and just helping each other figure out this whole growing up thing. I LOVE Rosal and have so much fun with her. I am so grateful she is in my life and that we can be 'married together.'Mindy Cannon- The other answer to prayer
When I moved to Las Vegas with my new husband he was all that I had. I was alone and desperate and in need of someone to talk to. I saw a few young couples in church, but never really talked or got to know them. There was the occasional 'we should hang out' conversation which never materialized until one day in October 2006 I got a phone call. Mindy Cannon and Kelly Stapleton were going out to the Olive Garden for lunch and wanted to know if I wanted to come. I threw on my clothes as quickly as possible and waited for Mindy to pick me up. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Mindy is the other half of my brain. The fun half. I truly admire her. She puts up with a lot, and doesn't complain to people (ps I am not people so she's allowed to vent to me). Last August she told me she wanted to come over and talk "Oh my gosh are you pregnant," I said...sure thing, she was. She now has the most beautiful boy in the world (who is betrothed to my unborn daughter) and is a wonderful mother. We were truly born to be friends. We have the most intense conversations about important things such as: what we will do if our husbands die while sleeping next to us in bed (in case you are curious I will freak out and Mindy won't really notice but snuggle up to his cold body because Vegas summer nights are brutal). I have never laughed so much as when I am with her because she says the most hilarious things. I LOVE Mindy and she is probably the reason I will stay in Las Vegas forever. Danielle Graciolette-The Rebel
I met Danielle in Institute Fall 2007. She was also in my music class. For some reason, every time we are together we end up falling out of our chairs or crying from laughing a little two hard. Danielle and I will graduate together in Fall 09 from the teaching program. We are always in our own little world scheming to get her to marry Addison so we are related or making fun of our teachers, or making fun of each other, but mostly her. My favorite Danielle moment was when I was working at Wells Fargo and a car pulls up and send a deposit through the drive up. The car beeped me and an unfamiliar voice asked me to hurry up and deposit it because they had to go to the bathroom. I looked at the deposit slip and it said Kristin Smith...so I rolled my eyes at Kristin Smith and processed her transaction, then went onto the next one and sure enough on the deposit slip it said "Danielle Graciolette" I almost died from laughter! Kristin is Danielles mom and they decided to come visit me, boy they sure had me going! Danielle is awesome though and I'm really glad she's hanging in there with me.Of course there are others. My life has been constantly blessed by the lives of other women. Some of them include Bree Johnson who stuck with me through high school and played with me in college, Stephanie Burt who also didn't disappear from my life after high school. Alicia Fritter, who talked and laughed me through some tough times. Logan Benhard who taught me I had a wild side, and so many others...Thank you for your friendship!
