The Family

The Family = The most amazing group of friends you'll ever have. 

They're not blood but they sure feel like it. 

Our relationships are so close that we are family to one another, that is all.

Kate Kezbers

Kate and I have been friends since we were 5 years old. She likes to tell the story of how we met to everyone. My sister's best friend was friends with Kate's older sister. She told me to find Kate Kezbers on the first day of kindergarten and be best friends. So on the first day of kindergarten I asked every single classmate, including the boys, if they were her. About 40 children in, I got a yes and we've been best friends since. We've been through a lot and we've changed drastically over our 16 year friendship but we always seem to find our way back to one another. Kate is someone that you have to know to understand. She's full of life and quirky attitudes. :) She can make you laugh without even trying. 'The family' started 2 years ago because our lives had gotten so busy that we never saw each other anymore. We devised a plan to set up one night a week to be our night no matter what and just catch up and pour into each others lives. So every Thursday night Kate would come over and we'd catch up and watch Grey's Anatomy. Over time, people were added to the weekly meetings one by one...

Jeremiah "Jer" Parris (meerkat)

Jer and Ryan have been friends since they met at their old church when they were teenagers. When Ryan and I started dating it was routine to hang out with Jer after church every Sunday - which then grew to all weekend. When we got married, Jer became the other body in our house. We spent every night and weekend hanging out and he became a brother to the both of us. I will always regret not having Jer as a part of our wedding. I honestly don't know what we were thinking. (I'm sorry Jer!) It was probably his love for video games that brought us all so close. We spent hours upon hours playing video games together until eventually I'd get up to go to the bathroom and never come back. Ryan would go and check on me and I'd be passed out on top of the covers with all of my clothes on. This happened all of the time according to Jer.

Jeremy Cooper (sasquatch)

Jeremy and Ryan have had a similar relationship to Kate and I. Their parents were all best friends before they were even conceived. They grew up together and my sources have told me that Jeremy threw Ryan off the top bunk when he was 3 and knocked out Ryan's front teeth. They were the normal teen boys who played in punk bands and said "Damn the man!" together. They grew in and out of being close and I'm not quite sure why they started becoming close again but I'm thankful they did. Jeremy has grown to be one of my very best friends. I don't think we see eye to eye on anything other than the fact that we would do anything for one another. That's what makes it so great. We have different opinions on everything but for some reason, it just doesn't matter. It's beautiful.

David "Dave" Stevens (ocolot)

I have no idea how we even began to hang out with Dave. He's the guy that you see everywhere you go and never know who he is or where he came from. Restaurants, the mall, concerts, parties, etc. He was always there and always there with someone different. To me, he was a 37 year old guy that wore cowboy boots, drank PBR, and knew everyone. Turns out he's only 24, doesn't wear cowboy boots that much, drinks PBR way more than I imagined and still knows everyone. One day Ryan just asked him to come hang out on New Years Eve and he did and he's been at my house ever since. He has an amazing little brother, Ethan "The Jams", which is mainly why I like Dave. ;) Dave moved in with us the end of May because he has super cheap rent and we have extra money to fix our broken house... so it all works out. I made it a goal to become his best friend when he moved in but I'm actually pretty sure that now I'm even more confused on who he is. I've finally just had to come to terms with the fact that Dave is always changing and I'll never know what he's thinking.

Mallory Manuel (horsey)

Mallory is my big sister! Sadly and oddly enough, she was one of the last to join the family. I don't have a good reason really. We lived on opposite sides of town and she was involved with local theater every second of her free time so we just didn't see each other that often. She's now a very important member of the family. She will always be my best friend. I know that Ryan and I could count on her for anything and I hope she knows the same stands true for us. After all, who else would let her come over late at night to steal their toilet paper? Mallory's someone that you want to know. She has a beautiful heart and I'm so happy that she's in love with that man up there, Jeremiah. It's nice to see that she finally found her happiness. :)

Natalie Keller

Where to begin with Natalie? I feel like I have so much history with her that it's hard to put our relationship into words. As Mallory would say, "You don't know Natalie until you know Natalie with braces." We met when we were 13 and in youth and both completely screwed up, hating life, our parents and all of those other things teenagers hate for no real reason. We instantly bonded even though she was 'mute'. :) It's also nice to know that I'm no longer the baby in the group. You're lucky to have Natalie as a friend. She'll be loyal to you until her last breath.