Family Friday: Featuring My Niece Ammanda

During the duration of "Family Friday" I have found my families blogs and facebook accounts to be great resources for lifting photos to use. This was the case as I went to my niece Ammanda's facebook account where she had well over 200 pictures to choose from. You would be surprised at how much thought goes into the pictures that I choose each week and I knew that I couldn't look at all of Ammanda's pictures, but as I skimmed over the tiny (facebook size) photos I caught glimpses of Ammanda and her family, Ammanda and her friends, Ammanda on vacation, at graduation, at college, goofing around...you get the idea. It was fun to see these brief glimpses of Ammanda's life and what she loves. She is a beautiful and happy young woman and I enjoy having her as my niece.

Ammanda was born on December 14, 1988 to my brother Archie and my sister-in-law Julee. She was the eighth grandchild and the third granddaughter. Ammanda is the eldest of three sisters; each of their names start with the letter A, they all have Ann as a middle name (like their Mom), and they all have double letters in their names. When Ammanda was a baby I occasionally had the opportunity to babysit her when her babysitter went on a vacation. That was fun for Ashleigh who was just about a year and a half older than Ammanda. For several years Mike, Caitlin, and I went to Questar Lagoon day with Ammanda's family. Ammanda and her sisters were always so cute with Caitlin, each one wanting to sit with her on the rides. Ammanda is an enthusiastic young lady, I remember Archie telling me once that he sometimes would call her "Lesley" when she was younger because she occasionally reminded him of me, probably because Ammanda and I both enjoy talking and we both have a zest for life.

Ammanda with her sisters Alyssa and Aubree

Ammanda has impressed me in many ways. She graduated with an Associates degree from Salt Lake Community College a month before she graduated from high school. She has attended SUU since high school graduation and she spent time doing a job where she helped hearing impaired people with telephone communication. For the past four and a half months Ammanda has been in China teaching children how to speak English (and learning a little bit of their language too). What an amazing experience for her to have. She has also been able to do some traveling while in China. I look forward to hearing about her experiences when she returns in two weeks.

Some things to know about Ammanda: She loves to wear hats, and she looks really cute in them. She plays the violin. She likes going to Disneyland. She has a beautiful smile. She loves her family. When she was a little girl, she and her sisters often dressed alike. She's tidy. She has a quick wit. She's a sharp dresser. She's fun to be around. She's smart. I have vacationed with Ammanda and her family in Yellowstone and in California. It was a priority to Ammanda to be home in time for the Christmas party (Yes!!). We are all so grateful that Ammanda is in our family and we love her (and we're looking forward to her being back in the USA).