Kayli, Kayli, Kayli

I told Kayli (because she said that I should write another post now), that I was going to write about her. She seems to think that is a lousy idea...

So, in the process of moving and going through all of my stuff I found a bunch of pictures; most of them don't have dates on them, but they range from Kindergarten to College. Though I know we all seem to think that we will remember everything with perfect clarity, that simply is not the case. I can't look at all of those pictures and tell you when each was taken. I can't look at all those pictures and remember the names of everyone in them, or even identify cousins that are much bigger now. I can't look at the pictures and identify the occasion or even remember stories that go along with them all. The only thing that I know for sure when I look at those pictures is this: I have a SUPER awesome family. Even not knowing what exactly is going on in the pictures and when, I still look at the pictures and see happiness. I see that all of us look happy to be together. We look like we are enjoying wherever we are and whatever we are doing. Even if I don't remember exactly what was going on for a specific picture, it does trigger happy memories, or thoughts of gratitude for my family.

For example, there were several pictures of me holding my new ornament (Christmas time tradition). I don't remember every ornament I got, or even every trip to choose one. I do remember singing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift on the way to get ornaments. I remember driving around and seeing the Christmas lights all over town. I remember choosing between ornaments. I remember being excited to see what everyone else chose.

I saw a picture of a picnic table at Payson Lakes, and a few aunts and uncles. I don't know if that was a family reunion. I don't know how old I was. I don't know who I hung out with. I do remember paddle boat rides on the lake. I remember sitting and reading Harry Potter with aunt Tonya. I remember feeding chipmunks chips. I remember that the scar I have on my leg was because I tripped over some bikes there once. I remember swimming. I remember sitting on the retaining wall and just letting my feet get wet.

I saw a picture of myself and my siblings throwing rocks. I don't remember what cabin trip this was. I do know that we made it a family tradition to go on a walk and we would stop and throw rocks at a certain pine tree (we gotta test our aim and distance). I remember other cabin trips where we worked on our fort at the side of the cabin (seriously, we had benches, we decorated with pretty rocks, there was a trail in, and a branch that served as the "door"). I remember four wheeler rides (some on the back, some where I got to drive). I remember camping in a tent where the basketball court was going to be someday. I remember playing games. I remember that I always chose the same mattress every time we went to the cabin. I remember placing that mattress under the skylight and looking out to what I could see.

I could go on and on about what memories the pictures surfaced, and many of them are probably not at all related to "that one time that picture was taken." I do know that almost all of them involve family and happiness. I could even tell that in a couple of them that Connor was pretending to be Gus from Psych, though I have no idea what quote had just been quoted.

The moral of the story is: Even though it can be super frustrating to not remember everything, it is nice to see evidence of years and years with a happy family, and it is nice to remember time spent with them (even if it isn't the "right" memory).

Part B of the moral of this story is: Keep up on your scrapbooking and you will probably not have to have those frustrating moments where you wonder what and where something was happening...

The second moral of the story is, that even though this post isn't all about Kayli, she is still in a lot of those pictures and memories, and that is great! She is great, and we will carry on in greatness (or lameness, depending on the day).