today is the childhood our kids will remember

I just barely read this quote on pinterest and thought how badly I want my kids to have special memories of their childhood, and to have a childhood as wonderful as mine.  Some people might be surprised by that since our family had its share of problems growing up but really and truly, my childhood was like every child's should be. Awesome.  I felt like I should write down some of my favorite childhood memories for my sake.

This was taken way before any of these memories took place but it kind of showcases our beautiful property in SR.  Its Todd and me.

My favorite childhood memories (in no particular order)

1.  Going to Pleasanton.  My cousins Rachel & Laura lived in Pleasanton while I lived in SR, only like an hour and a half away.  Some weekends I would get to go stay with them and it was nothing short of a dream come true for me.  I came from a house full of boys so you can imagine what great fun it was to go be with girls. We would do hair, go to the movies, mostly play dolls though.  They had a hot tub and swimming pool.  We would go roller skating.  They had a garage that they'd transformed into living quarters and we'd sleep in there and stay up all night giving each other back rubs and talking.   I should make sure my aunt Kim knows how much I appreciated her putting up with us.  One time Todd and his girlfriend Carrie Stites picked me up in a convertible and we rode all the way home with the top down.  I don't know whose convertible it was.  I know it wasn't ours. lol  Probably his girlfriends.

2.  Christmas was magical.  My parents didn't do anything out of the ordinary really but I love the sights and sounds that bring back memories of Christmas as a kid.  We always got a real tree, so whenever I smell Christmas trees I get nostalgic.  We had those big "old school" lights and I can remember holding them and looking at them when we were decorating.  I remember our stockings.  Mine was a stocking in a shape of a girl and I think it had yarn for hair hanging down.  Me and my brothers would gather all the presents that had our name and put them in piles and compare. I remember going into the living room Christmas morning and seeing everything and that feeling of pure joy.  I always loved what I got and loved playing with my treasures all day.

3.  We had a huge blackberry bush in the back right behind dad's shop and we'd go pick blackberries and they were oh so good.  We lived on a pretty good sized chunk of land almost in the country (don't know aces or anything) and it was really beautiful.  Lots of room to run, play games, be imaginative. Dad ran his business in a shop in the back.  One of my favorite movies ever is the new Pride and Prejudice.  The very beginning is some footage of the sun rising in a big open field with some beautiful trees and the cinematography is so outstanding for some reason it takes me to my backyard and I can almost smell the early morning air and want to go back so bad I could cry.

4.  Mayette swim center.  This was a city pool in SR that our family spent lots of time at.  My favorite thing was laying on the hot cement to dry off in nothing but my swimsuit without a care in the world and listening to the sounds of the other kids playing.

5.  Bball games at Montomery HS.  My brothers were all superstar bball players and I remember sitting with dad at the bball games being really bored for the most part but loving it when the HS dancers/cheerleaders would come out.  I thought they were the coolest and all I wanted to do was be just like them.

6.  Staying at the mansion at the vineyard.  I forgot their names, but my sister in-law Rachel was a nanny for this rich family in northern ca that lived on a vineyard in a huge house.  Rachel would pack lunches and take us all to this really nice swim club that the family had a membership to.

7.  Playing with my bff Jamie Funk.  We were best friends.  We did all the fun things that best friends do together.  For her birthday one year we got to go to a salon and get those little brad/hair extensions with beads and I remember going back to her house afterwards and admiring our little braids and I could hardly believe how cool I was.

8.  Forts in the living room.  Me, Morgan and Joel would build these forts made out of blankets, pillows and chairs. Sleeping in them always seemed like a great idea but it was always uncomfortable and we'd always end up in our beds.

9.  Library in the laundry room.  Me and my brothers (probably just Joel) would transform our huge lauundry room into a library get a bunch of books and make cards and have people come check them out.

10. Haunted houses.  When Rachel & Laura came to our house we would almost always create haunted houses in the downstairs bedroom.  We would have like "stations" that each of us were assigned to and you had a specific job to do there (be a zombie or something).  We'd dress in black and do crazy scary makeup, rat our hair. etc.  I remember making dad go through the haunted house when he'd come in for his lunch break.  What a trooper.

11. Sleepovers on the tramp.  This was always fun.  We'd get all our sleeping bags spread out on the tramp and without fail, when we woke up in the morning we were all scrunched together, sagging in the middle with our sleeping bags.

12.  I went to 3 different elementary schools in SR: Yulupa, Bennett Valley and Strawberry.  At Strawberry I was in 6th grade and me and these 5 other girls became best buds.  We had so much fun together.  Me, Megan Mordecai, Kasey Pope, Rochelle Gallenson, Jenna Swaney, Amy Richardson, Tiffany Lawson, so actually there were 7.  I think I forgot one.  We would have sleepovers and one friend had a huge pool and for my going away party we went skinny dipping and had a blast.  It was the year we moved and I remember it being one the best years of my life (as good as life can be as a 12 year old).  These girls made me feel like a superstar.  For my birthday they had a bunch of balloons sent to me at school and I remember walking to a friend's after school that day feeling like the most popular girl in the world.  For a school talent show I lip synched 'Everybody dance now' while that same group of girls did a dance in the background they'd choreographed.  I never could have anticipated how much my life would change after that.  It was a good boost I suppose before moving to WY and having my world turned upside down.