Happy 17th Birthday

Who can imagine that Whitney is 17? It seems like it wasn't long ago that I was begging Tracy to go home (to Orem from Roosevelt) on Christmas day in 1991. I had a Dr. appointment the next day and I wanted to shave my legs and make sure that I didn't miss it. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with our first child and I wanted to make sure that I had everything ready.
Tracy promised me that we would leave early in the morning to come home, but as luck would have it, my water broke when I woke up in the morning and there would be no delivering in Orem for me.
In a way, it was nice. We had all of our family there from both sides. The Dr. didn't think it would be long because my progress in the beginning seemed to be going pretty quick, so everyone stuck around (my dad kept coming back and forth from work). But that too was not meant to be. 15 hours later, Whitney made her appearance into the world. 5 pounds 14 ounce bundle of joy.
Whitney had a little bit of a rough start. We found out when she was six months old that her back was out of place and was causing her pain. After a few adjustments by a chiropractor, she was on her way. She has been a ball of fire ever since.
She was the first grandchild on both sides of the family and she was adored by everyone. She was the center of attention and she loved it. She loved to spend time with her grandparents and go on all kinds of adventures. She was a chubby monkey and she kept us laughing.
As she has grown, we have really enjoyed her fun and upbeat personality--as evidenced by some of the photos on the slide-show. She and Landon have been especially close and they love to do crazy things. Even this past Summer, they donned funny kid helmets, crazy glasses, wings and Landon even had pink floaties. They went outside for everyone to see and they had a sort of scooter olympics. They decided not to stop there and they rode their scooters like that down to the grocery store and went in and shopped for a treat--I am sure they got all kinds of looks for that, but they had so much fun.
Whitney has been like a close friend to me. We have so much fun when we are out together. One time we went to Cabellas and bought pop guns. We came home, hid in the bushes and called the house and told them to come out with their hands up. When the family came to the door, we came out and started shooting--they all thought we were crazy, but we had a great time.
Whitney is all grown up now. Attending Cosmetology concurrent with high school--she is set to graduate a year from now. She is so talented. She is a wonderful dancer, a fabulous singer, a great photographer, a talented writer, a fun-loving sister and a caring daughter. I don't imagine that I will be able to keep her living under my roof for too much longer. In a way, I welcome those changes because I want to see what she grows up to do, but the time is coming way to fast for me. I cherish Whitney and I can't imagine where I would be without her. She is a beautiful girl and we love her dearly. Happy 17th birthday Whitney.