I got all my sisters with me.....

This weekend was a whirl of fun!  Friday night Amber was in town so we went shopping (go figure!) and then had dinner with Bill and Karen.  Yummy - Chuy's - I swear they have THE best salsa... it's chunky almost like pico de gallo but oh so yummy - I could seriously eat an entire vat of it.

Saturday morning, Amber, Bill, Karen, Meg, Cayla and me went to Ft. Worth for the brain tumor walk in honor of Jess.  What a great event.  Each year the event grows (which is kind of sad b/c that means more people are being affected by this horrendous disease) but with each year and each new person, just that much more money is being raised to find a cure for brain cancer.

I was able to see and catch up with Jess' parents, siblings and other family members as well as friends that I haven't seen in ages.  It was so wonderful - but so emotional in the same breath.  I don't think loosing someone so close to you ever gets easier. 

Saturday Cayla, Karen and I headed to College Station for the o.u. game.  The Aggies went to beat the #8 ranked Sooners in a great game!  What a win for us!!! Hello Top 25 - nice to see you again :) in the BCS poll this week we are ranked 25!  WHOOP!

Sunday we headed home (but first made a stop in West - I'll blog about THAT later.....) and I went to my niece Kaylee's cheer competition where she took 1st place.  Actually her team has four divisions and they took a sweep placing 1st in all divisions.  GO TITANS!  After that - Bill met me and the fam for dinner.  What a great weekend filled with family and friends! Which leads to today's 30 day challenge subject: My siblings.

But first - thank you RUST BELT RUNNER for my Dry Max socks! I can't wait to run in them - perfect for my 8 miler this weekend!

I am the baby of three girls.  (all of us are blonde) :)  Paige, Anna and Allison....

We all share the same dad but Paige has a different mom.  We are technically half sisters - but our relationship is anything but half..... Anna and I grew up with Paige at family events etc but she was raised by her maternal grandparents .  They adopted her when my Dad and her mom divorced. 

As we got older the separation grew and eventually the relationship was non-existent.  I remember the first time I saw her after being an adult, at our Aunt's wedding a few years before our dad died.  It was awkward but I longed to get to know her.  The last time I remember seeing her before that was at her wedding when I was in the 8th grade.  She is 10 years older than me.

Of course when our dad died we were thrown together like strangers in a locked room.  What do you talk about...what do you say?  We had two totally different (yet totally similar) relationships with our deceased father...talk about a loss for words. and I rarely have those....like EVER!

I remember walking up to the front door holding hands with Bill to our "family" meeting regarding services for my dad and I looked at Bill and said "Oh by the way I have another sister" - we had been dating 12 months and I never told him about my sister!  He was so freaked out.... Is there a need that early in a relationship to air all of your families laundry? 

From that moment my relationship with Paige has never been the same.  We are so close.  I was in the delivery room with her and my brother in love when my precious baby girl Shelby was born.  A little over a year prior we hadn't spoken and now I was helping her deliver a baby!!!! It was THE most surreal and amazing moment of my life thus far.  Paige and I have become more than sisters...we are friends and I'm super proud to call her both.  I love her and her family so much and am thankful everyday that with such a hard situation of loosing a parent brought me a sister.  She is my silver lining.......

Anna and I are more "typical" - we are separated by 3 years and 10 months.  We had the typical sibling rivalry growing up. She hated me for a period of about 6 years when I wanted to do everything she did.  I was always a round bugging her and annoying her and she hated loved every minute of it.  She is outspoken, opinionated and fiercely loyal.  She is 6'0 - strong and every ounce of dedicated.  When she puts her mind to it she can WILL accomplish ANYTHING!  She has two great kids, Kaylee and Cooper that I am so proud of. 

When we were kids she was so mischievous.... I on the other hand was by the book (more times than not).  She was 16 (maybe 17) and had her own phone line...that puts me around 12/13....

I had an old school radio (that played REAL actual vinyl records) - it was plugged into the same wall that her phone line was on.  If you tuned the radio to the right station you could tune in her conversation...I'm totally serious - not exaggerating AT ALL.  I would listen - get some good juicy gossip and then use it against her when she would try and call me out on something I had done wrong.  It took her FOREVER to figure out what was going on - It was golden for me :) Until my parents found out - then I got in trouble.

Anna loved to see me get in trouble... I think it was satisfaction for her in some form.... She is my biggest cheerleader and the best advice giver.  You can ask her anything and she will have good advice for you.  I thought about entering her into the GMA - Advice Guru contestant but stupid Elizabeth Hasselback won - like THAT wasn't staged.....

My sisters are my best friends... each of them are independent, loving, and special to me in their own ways.  Without either of them I would be lost on a daily basis (and not be an aunt -which would s.u.c.k.).  I love them more than chocolate cake - and that's a whole freakin' lot.

To my sisters - I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW!

Thank you for giving me these three babies:

Tomorrow a picture of something that makes me happy - well crap a ton of things make me happy.......