The Ballerina Princess

If I could wish for one talent in this whole wide world, it would be to be able to dance!! But I've always said that I'd have to be guaranteed the dancer's body to go with it!! For without that, one just looks like Tracy Turnblatt. And while I find that story inspiring, it's not exactly realistic...is it?




And so, I pay tribute to my good friend Bryn. She is a dancer, with a dancer's body...and I want to hate her. (Do you notice that I WANT to hate most of my friends? It's because I'm a crazy jealous person! Bad trait!) But, alas...I cannot. Because she is the coolest gal ever! And totally good at dancing. Especially when it involves the artistic expression of the belly button. Seriously, as soon as the ward talent show came up...my buddy Bryn was all in for whatever I wanted to do. I loved that she had no shame and would do whatever, without being embarrassed. Of course, after discussing it with others...she made what was supposed to be funny, look good. So she doesn't get points for embarrassing herself after all.


I've been absolutely amazed at her family's ability to integrate church into their lives. I love discussing church stuff with Bryn. Mostly because she's my "left wing" church friend. And she'll make off color jokes with me in the hall. But also because I think they are such a good example of being able to support one another in something that is important. I love that they support each other in church, work, school, karate, dancing...and whatever else they seem to be able to jam into their busy lives. They are almost too busy to fit us in there. We're so glad that they do!!


Bryn puts up with a lot of teasing. My husband LOVES to tease people relentlessly. In fact, sometimes it pisses me off. And sometimes he's been known to cross the teasing "line." (Right, Liz??) But he really likes people that will take his teasing in stride. And Bryn's really good at that. Plus...she's totally easy on the eyes, she always has lots of sex, she's mad Patrick doesn't dream about her, and she's okay that her husband is Millie's biological father. (Obviously a list of a few of our inside jokes...)



She's an amazing mom. And she has darling kids. Jackson is Will's idol. And he's so kind to play with Will, even though there's a 3 year age difference. That's a sign of great parenting, having such a nice kid. Will loves to play with Maddie at school. And Drew needs to be in a gap ad. That child is GEORGOUS. Not to mention that his talent stole the entire show!!

I loved having her on the Disneyland trip. She didn't always have the same crazy love for what was going on...but she was always willing to go along, with a happy attitude. I loved our impromptu trip to Training Table this week. It made my whole week!! I love laughing with her about the kindergarten teacher's last name. (Which totally sounds like a slang word for a fart) I love that she picks her daughter up from school looking like a million bucks. (Wait...I don't like that. It makes me look like a slob!!) I love her yellow shoes, and the outfits she comes up with to wear with them. In fact, she truly is easy on the eyes. She has a great laugh, and a great husband. She is super hardworking, and a really good example to me. I love being her friend!

If You Believe in Reincarnation...

If you believe in reincarnation...then Jackie O was reincarnated and came out as my friend Liz. She looks like her, she smiles like her, she has flawless taste like her...and she has her real live sunglasses. So, I'm convinced it's her.





Liz is one of those gals who I want to hate so badly. She's darling, and skinny, and seems to have things way more together than me. And I totally WOULD hate her...but she's just so gosh darn nice. Whatddya do? It makes things rather difficult, because I do have the "code of the skinn-ees" which very clearly states that I cannot like anyone who is less than a size 6. But unfortunately, a few gals have slipped through the cracks. And I've had to write in exception clauses for them.

We all want her to be less than perfect so badly...that in Disneyland, one of the games established was "who can take an unflattering picture of Liz." Now, I will admit that there were a couple a little less flattering than this one. This one is still really cute. But it's not about flashing them around...it's just to see if it's possible. Turns out, it's next to impossible.


It would be one thing if she was just all about the looks. But it's a lot more than that. We've pretty much established that one of the BIGGEST reasons that her husband is bishop (not that he's not amazing on his own, he really is but...) is that his wife is the only one who will deal with the constant absence of her husband. She doesn't just deal with it, she does it with grace. She just goes about her life, and is really supportive. That's some selfless living. There's no way that I could do it.

Speaking of her husband, and we were, one of my favorite things about Liz is her relationship with him. They pretty much make the cutest couple of ever! But not just in pictures, their ACTUAL relationship is really inspiring. I've seen them disagree, and it's usually really short lived, and respectful. You know, I don't care what people do in their home...but in public, it's totally uncomfortable to watch a couple argue. They don't argue, in fact, disagreements I've seen are usually really funny. Patrick and I have always struggled with "bickering" in public, and we really watch others to see how to be better. I can tell Liz thinks John is the handsomest, awesomest, man on the planet. She's not shy about telling you. And one of my favorite Liz statements ever was after one of their cruises together, and I asked her how it was, and she said, "It was really great...I remembered why I love John so much." That's an awesome marriage.


She's so great at fulfilling her church responsibilities. She was the camp director this year, and I'm pretty sure it darn near did her in. I can't imagine the pressure. But she did it. She also has been an amazingly successful activities chairman. Who volunteers for that job? It's usually next to nursery leader as the hardest calling to fill. But she does such a great job. And the activities have been so worth attending. It's refreshing, and totally because of her. All I know is that if I was the bishop's wife, with 2 kids, I'd give a polite "pass" to ANY church callings for 5 years...thank you very much. And she'd be totally validated in doing that. But she doesn't. Because she's Jackie O, and she does everything with perfection.













Our sons are almost exactly the same age. I was so glad when they moved in. There had been a lot of fun new families move in. But all with girls, and all younger than Will. And even though their personalities are almost COMPLETELY opposite, they've found really fun ways to get along. Will always tells us that Josh is his best buddy. And Will really wants to adopt Josh's Grandma Wheatly as his new Grandma. He loves Josh's Grandma. (who could blame him? She's adorable...you can see where Liz gets it!!) Josh and Will did bond recently over dancing. So even if they can't do anything else together...they can dance together. And didn't Ren teach us, as he was addressing the town council, "there IS a time to dance?" Thank you Ren. How true that is. Gosh, Footloose can teach us so much about life.

I can't even count how many times Liz has brought dinners into my home. And they're always delish! In fact just this week, my son let me know that I needed to promptly learn how to make Liz's chicken roll-ups. They are the best dinner he's ever eaten. And he wishes I could cook like that. (So I guess I need that recipe??) A lot of people won't sign up when a dinner list goes around the Relief Society room. Really great sisters will sign up. Liz signed up more than once. More than twice. And she watched my kids several times as well. Just a really charitable person. She has taught me a great lesson about service.

She and I have also had several long phone conversations and visits, that I have so majorly enjoyed. It's just the greatest feeling when you discover that you have a new friend, who you can talk to at length and not just have a surface relationship in public. I really love that. I have to really like someone to talk on the phone for an hour. It's rare.

I love her. I want to hate her. She is all the things I want to be when I get to be a grown-up. I want to be able to stop eating carbs for a swimsuit outing. I want to be able to wear heels to every event. I want to look good in really big sunglasses. And I will publicly admit to purchasing both sunglasses and heels only because I want to be as cool as Liz. Obviously, the carbs thing....not gonna happen. Hey, she's gotta have something that I can never attain...or how can I continue to idolize her? I think you're amazing Jackie O. And I won't tell the rest of the world that you're back. I will be happy to protect your identity and your privacy.