On Turning 14: A Blog Dedicated to M. Elizabeth Richards

On January 16, 1997 a little girl named Maddie came into the world, immediately making it a better place for at least 6 people residing in it. Almost 3 weeks ago (I know, this tribute post, like virtually every other thing I do, is late), this same little girl turned an entire 14 years old. In order to fully appreciate the recently-turned-14-year-old brain, I found a journal entry from right after my 14th birthday waaay back in 2002:

"Well, let's start from the beginning. 1-28-02. I turned 14. I got a cd, 2 pairs of pants, a shirt, a razor, a scarf, and money! On January 18, we went to Utah. It was a lot of fun! On February 9, I went to my 1st dance! For my first slow song I dance w/ Brett Smith. [Interjection: I'm going to spare you the pain of me listing off every single boy I danced with and what my little self thought of each of them...] At school, they are doing swing dancing classes. I wanna do it, I think it would be a lot of fun. I also am going out for track this year. I've got to get into shape though. I'm also gonna learn how to speak French. That would be fun! Anyways, see ya!"

Um, yeah. You could say I was deep. I remember discovering how much fun boys could be and how awesome it was to have great girlfriends. I also remember feeling like I could do anything that I wanted to do. Like learn to swing dance? Learn French? (Both of which I have yet to accomplish...) Why not? I think that 14 is when you realize that there is a lot to discover and learn from world.
So, without further ado, I would love to list my top 14 favorite things about my baby sister:

1. her blonde hair. She's the lone blonde in the family and I have always been jealous. Always.

2. The fact that she knows how to dress fashionably. Under the guidance of her older sisters, of course. Me and Jill never had an older sister to show us how to dress cute, so we ended up looking like dweebs for most of our adolescence, unlike her. Good times.

3. Teasing her about her crush: _ O _ _ E _ _ _ I _ _. Ha.

4. Her love for Taylor Swift (which i share).

5. Her sweet cheerleader moves. They're pretty impressive.

6. The fact that she is now and always will be shorter than me. Yes.

7. Her bedroom with two beds. Which=slumber parties every time I go home.

8. She can wear makeup! Hence, I can put whatever I want on her face.

9. She wears the same size shoes as me. So I get to steal and steal and steal every time I go home.

10. Her kindness. Seriously, this little girl understands the idea of forgiving and forgetting. And I for one could not be more grateful.

11. Her infectious laugh (not to be confused with an infectious disease).

12. I know that all teenagers think that they are too cool for school, but she is one of the only ones (along with me back in the day) that really is.

13. How loving she is. I think that of all of the members of our family, she has the most natural ability to love and care for others.

14. Her dance to Justin Bieber's "Eenie Meenie." It's magical.

Happy Birthday Maddles! Live it up at the stake dances :)