National Sisters Day (3min Cry Limit)

Family History story of the week: Once my lovely grandmother decided to stimulate family unity by creating The Cousinhood of the Traveling Skirt (think: sisterhood of the traveling pants). The only problem was I was 17 and several years older (and bigger) than all the other cousins. However, the skirt got lost along the way and I never got the chance to wear it. Bummer for us all.
Health. Highlight of the week goes to my dentist visit: Cheers to plaque-free teeth. I also went to the optometrist's, convinced them not to dilate my sensitive seeing-balls, and got treated to McDonald's for my trouble. Ask me how many chicken nuggets. Or don't.
Home. Derek plans to open a talk with: I grew up in a single-parent household. My mom was at home with the kids, while my dad was away for work/church callings. And so it was this week. "Mr. The Crimson Chin" left for La Jolla, leaving us with "Weeny K" for the week. (We're trying out grandparent names. It's going well.)
Friends. I got to hang with my long lost friend, Rachel Borg. We had a lovely dinner at the mall and even found me a super classy blazer. How glad I am to have found this chick at girls camp and EFY so many years ago. Props to her for running a marathon soon.
Work. My poster session is this Tuesday. Is it a competition? No. But if it was, I would win. Overachiever that I am, I've got 2 posters, a few quality props, and plenty of snacks ready to go, all in Pfizer blue. (Now I've just got to prepare similarly for my Shark Tank sesh with the higher-ups so I don't have to rely on Greg's lucrative money-making schemes during the school year for cash.)
Service. We decided the Soup Kitchen can also be called the Poop Kitchen, because while we're cooking up soup in the back, everyone else is cooking up poop in the front. And that only scratches the surface of the revelry that occurs in the Hutch hood.
Church. Shoutout to Greg. He the real MVP for keeping the creeps at bay. What a blessing. Thanks to Elder Holland for providing this insight: Like the apostles, missionaries are called from their normal "fishing" activities. They give a couple years of all their hearts, might, minds, and souls. Then it ends. The apostles went back to fishing, before the resurrected Lord found and reprimanded them. I don't want to go back to fishing. I'm not about that life.

And here's the moment you've all been waiting for. Joyeux National Sister's Day to all.

My birth sisters:

To my real life sister, Hannah: You've grown on me in more
ways than one. And you're actually pretty cool. And creamy. #MoonsForLife

Moriah. I don't know how many more games of Uno I can take,

or where you learned your rapping skills, but I love you all the same. 

To Isabelle: I wish your hair still looked
like this you crazy cave-alien.

To Lavinia: Drool runs in
the family, my bootylicious
beauty. 

My mission sisters: (Only the lucky ones that had to put up with me as a companion, or else the list would literally go on for miles. But thanks to all the rest of you as well!)

Soeur Swenson: Sorry it wasn't a joke that I was your companion. You're seriously the best and the sweetest and I'm so excited to live with you! Here's to peeing in urinals and pushing trash cans and NOT flirting with Elders and learning French. One day I'll learn how to dance and you'll be real impressed. But that day is not this day. Thanks for starting things out right. 

Soeur Layton: Speaking of starting things out right, thanks for teaching me to be obedient and have fun. I don't think I'll ever forget that. I also won't forget that time I ruined the tiramisu, cried in an alleyway surrounded by drunk Muslims, or got a ride home from a band of gypsies. Elaine S. Dalton would love you (and your style - btw, thanks for that, too). Inner tube champs till the end.

Soeur Sovaleni: Iaorana! Thanks for calming me down. I needed that. Remember that one time I made us shovel a pile of gravel for 6 hours in the scorching Annecy sun? You seriously rocked it. I still don't think we've stopped sweating. I'm sad our time was cut short, but we had a blast while we could, eh? Thank you also for the love you have for your family. It made me realize some things about my own. 

Soeur Packard: I didn't even realize we were almost the same age when we were comps! I thought you were an older missionary. Here's to you fooling everyone with your excellent French, white handbook knowledge, and solid testimony. Also to us making toilet seat picture frames, getting chased by drunk men, and cleaning out the pantry. 

Soeur DeOliveira: All I wanted to do was make you happy and I did a really bad job. Sorry. Haha. I mean, who wouldn't want to take apart and piece back together some IKEA bunkbeds on their first day out of the womb? Or hear really corny contacting lines in French? Or run sprints on the Soane in a fog so cold it hurt your bones? Thanks for speaking better French than me and having a Dougy-filled transfer. Let us never forget. 

Soeur Koyle: You are a literal champion. Sorry I abandoned you to Chalon in your earliest days. Thanks for loving the people and exercising and calling me out when I'm dumb and enduring it all. I knew I could trust you with that crazy crazy ville, and fix all the things I'd messed up. Thanks for being the sweetest and kindest person and teaching me so much more than I could ever teach you. See you at UT State, kiddo. (It's a better meeting place than Frere Picard's drug lab of a home, n'est-ce pas?)

Soeur Carter: Words cannot express. (I mean, you're the English teacher, right?)  Six weeks of insanity from all angles. Adventuring of the incredible and dangerous variety. Innovative ideas inspired by Dan Jones, himself. And who could forget the crying crying crying? You are a wonderful, thoughtful, loving, happy individual. Not only did you understand, but you fueled the fire. Thanks for your integrity and always helping others to become more. You are truly legendary. Also, if you're free, we need to teach Promise.... Love.

Soeur Bentley: What formidable patience you have. (I mean, you pooped out an octopus!) We may have been polar opposites (I mean, look at the size difference...), but we made a great team! We may have gotten locked inside the Institute building once or twice, but that's besides the point. Thanks for persevering and staying on a mission and bearing your testimony with such force. (PS. Remember this guy?? We were freaking out so bad, it took me half an hour to get my voice down to an understandable pitch.)  

Soeur Hulme: I knew this was going to come in handy. I have the whole video if you ever want to see it again. Thanks for re-evaluating "that Chalon weirdo" when we became companions. And pillow talking the night away. Thank you for your steady constance, taking me to fun places, and flipping Soeur Petit's picture over in the member book. Also not freaking out when I kept tripping on that cobblestone. And for the opportunity to memorize the Testaments. (You know when...)

Soeur Luthi: Here's to great comp inventories, kicking it up a notch, and copying everything Soeur Carter does. I love your integrity and obedience and the fact that you actually brushed did your hair every day (still confounded by that...). Thanks for having story competitions and missionary vlogs and 30 day arm workouts. Thanks for being a great companion on a 13-hour bus ride and meeting all your challenges with plenty of grace. You are an example. #compunity

Soeur Schreiber: I thought I had it figured out by the time we met. I didn't. Thanks for stimulating conversations (I can't wait for deep doctrine study group with you!), intriguing style, and more pasta than I could imagine. Thanks for adapting to mission life and putting your incredibly intelligent thoughts into actions. Thank you for accomplishing miracles and changing lives. Thanks for helping me work through my frustration and knowing when and what to say. Thank you for sharing your love for others and acute observational skills. And walking fast. I love love love you. 

Soeur Staples: Last, but certainly not least. Thank you for your humility and working so so hard. Thank your for helping me go out with a bang (and beat Elder Peterson, hehe). Thanks for traveling the country and being diligent the whole time. Thanks for taking the mantle when I left. Thank your for having such capable hands that I could trust the sector to you. It means so much. Thanks for trying new things and singing in the rain (and by that I mean flood), and never reminding me that I was going home (wait...hehe). I love you and pray for you. Keep cracking! 

Soeur Jones: Because we were basically companions. #Sissistants2015 Thanks for keeping me grounded and matching my energy and insanity and offsetting my height. Thanks for being dang funny and for always jumping into my arms (even if it messed up your foot). Thanks for not dying and for going on exchanges every single transfer. And deciding not to hate me after you moved to Chalon. There are too many things I could say, but you know them all. (Don't worry, I'm saving them for National Brothers Day. I mean, we're pretty much boys, anyways!) 

And to this kid that I wish was my sister:

Lauren: You are the best and the funniest and the coolest of them all. You know everything I ever needed to know about church history or genealogy. Thanks for feeling the heat and dancing on the tables and testing out my mom's hair lightening schemes. (Bad ideas, one and all.) Thanks for being candid and letting me live with you. Some day we'll live with no other Laurens and lots of cats. If you ever come back from Italy. I miss you already. And I love you so so much. Thanks for coming across the country with me and writing me on my whole mission and not marrying Derek while I was gone. I am so glad that Asian guy wore a Hawaiian shirt and went country dancing that one fateful day. And then we were suddenly washing our hands in our own blood. You're the best in all the land.