Christine

Once upon a time, life was pretty good at Wyview Park. Everyone was making friends with everyone else. We felt so comfortable and content.

And then, we heard that a new girl was moving in. We wondered about her. We facebook-stalked her. We caught glimpses of her. And one day, just before Halloween, we met her.

One of my friends txtd me: "The new girl is here!" I grabbed my bowl of food and ran to her apartment.

"Oh hey, guys!" I said. Very casually. "How's everyone's day going?" Obviously no one would suspect that I was just there to meet the new girl and form an opinion of her. Especially not when she came out into the living room and I practically barked, "HI! Are you the new roommate? I'm Heather."

She kindly pretended like I was normal and said hi back and introduced herself. Her name was Christine.

She looked like this:

We loved her immediately. 

Freshman year was only made better by Christine moving into Wyview. One time, she organized an activity where we made caramel apples. And I'm not sure how, but somehow, this picture came out of it. And I'm so happy it did. For obvious reasons.

Christine is a super-fun friend to have because she is always up for a fun activity! The fall semester activity our freshman year was themed something princessy or knighty or royal in some way, so a bunch of us dressed up as princesses. Amazingly, Christine made her Sleeping Beauty costume. She is so talented and stuff!

Another time, we went to whiteout night at Studio 600 in Salt Lake. It was so much fun! Oh, even though half of us didn't get in because all we had for ID's were out student ID's. It was still fun dressing up for it!

Christine and I weren't roommates when we were freshmen, even though we might as well have been. (I think I slept in my own bed.....maybe 3 nights a week. The rest of my nights were spent on either Winnie's couch or Christine's.) But we repented of that and lived together our sophomore year! I remember flying back to Utah, walking into my room, and finding little post-it notes all over. They said things like, "All of this shelf space is yours" and "You can switch sides if you want, I don't mind either way :)" and "I missed you! Welcome home!"

Another point I feel like I should make: Christine is stylish and photogenic. Sometimes when she was my roommate she would have me pick her outfit for Sunday and it was always kind of like a grand privilege because she has such cute and classy dresses!

Christine is awesome because she is spontaneous. We did a ton of random fun things together, from dancing in the rain to Leggers on the couch to hitting up the Lehi Rodeo. And they were all so. fun. 

I am so happy that Christine went with me to Florida to work at Disney. We had an amazing time together! We danced with some Moroccans, went to Universal Studios, laid out at the pool to listen to general conference, struggled with the crappy internet, and got wonderfully tan. Christine was a lifeguard, so obviously she got the most tan. And the boys loved her. One beautiful Australian boy even took her to Universal Studios!

We were in Florida for Valentines Day, and when I got back to my apartment after work, I found a pink heart-shaped lollipop and a handwritten card on my bed from Christine. It was such a sweet card and you better believe I still have it! 

When we were in Florida, we weren't going to school. I love Christine as a student, too, but when she doesn't have school to worry about, she is only just fun. All the time.

I love these pictures because, look! Christine is always willing to make a face or do a silly pose for a picture with me. She doesn't act embarrassed or always offer to take the picture so she doesn't have to be in it. Which is valuable!

Tan tan, can you do the tan tan?

 Christine is wonderful because all of my other friends like her too! When Caitlin, Christine and I went to the Lehi Roundup, we all had so much fun together. When Nicole came out to visit a few weeks ago and Christine practiced how she could approach a random hot stranger on the beach, Nicole couldn't stop talking about how hilarious Christine was. When Christine met two of my guy friends, they thought she was hot. Obviously. 

Christine is inclusive and diplomatic. I love how she plans things and invites me to them! I also love how she is thoughtful of other people's feelings. One time, my friends were teasing me about how bad I am at directions. Just to put it out there, I am terrible at directions, and I didn't really mind the teasing. But then Christine piped up and said, "Actually! Heather really impressed me in Florida, she was good at driving there." It was just a simple thing to say, and even though I wasn't on the verge of tears or anything, it made me feel so good to get that little bit of credit!

Christine is always there for important events. She is super-busy with work and school, but she has come every year to Tucano's for my birthday. When we plan something, she is there. I love that I can count on her :)

Christine is cool because she is lots of different things. She is fun to go dancing with! She is easy to have deep conversations with. We have great conversations and boys and kissing! Then we sit next to each in church and be reverent. She is a great mom at amusement parks! She also takes the best pictures on the teacups. She looks great with blonde hair! She looks fabulous with dark hair! She can't be stopped!

Christine is an example to me in so many ways. One way is her selflessness! Check out this recent blog post of hers for proof of that. And then follow her blog, because it is greatly entertaining. 

 New girls don't always become lifelong friends, but with Christine, I would say we all got incredibly lucky. Next year, we will both be graduating, and I can't wait to take a million more fun pictures together in our caps and gowns! Especially because I'm sure they won't be the last pictures we take :) Happy birthday Christine! You are awesome!