For the Birthday Girl!

Chelsea J'Linn,
As my oldest, dearest friend, you hold a very special place in my heart. On your birthday, I find myself remembering all of the fun times we have had. Here are some things that have popped into mind today:
1. Learning to ride our bikes together without training wheels on Wanda Drive
2. Setting up Kool-aid stands and being pissed that no one ever came down your street
3. Your mom sending us into Jack & Jill by ourselves when we were 4...and we always bought toys and coloring books. I remember thinking she had endless amounts of money because she gave us a check that, in our minds, could be written for any amount.
4. Salamander hunting in the water meters
5. Getting so excited when you would leave town, because I got to go feed Glo-Bars
6. Schnapps, the dog that, to me, is still alive
7. Seeing your Christmas tree still up in June
8. Seeing Zack right after he was born, and shortly thereafter being traumatized when Kyle thought it was okay for me to ride the Mousetrap.
9. Feeling so special, because your mom would take me to deliver the invitations for your surprise birthday parties
10. Kyle throwing me into the pool at one such party
11. Kyle chasing me around the house with that scary old man mask. No wonder I was scared of him until I was 12...
12. OUR "Gardetto Island" in the middle of Lake Meredith
13. Dressing up as "bitches" (although we really didn't have to dress up...) for Halloween in high school, and winning the costume part
14. Everything we did in high school...especially on the weekends
15. Watching you receive your gold medals at the state track meet, and having tears in my eyes because I was so darn proud of and happy for you
16. As grown women, crushing on vampires together
17. Laughing, crying, griping, and everything in between, together
And the list could go on...
Thanks for always being there, through thick and thin, and being the awesome person that you are. I love you and miss you all the time!
Cole

I just thought of one more: Realizing that ordering meatball cavatini after watching Braveheart in the movie theatre wasn't exactly a good idea.