Family Friday: Featuring My Niece Emily

This week on Family Friday I'm featuring my niece Emily who is one of the younger of my nieces and nephews. When Emily was born her family lived across the street from us, she was such a beautiful baby and it was so fun to have her nearby. Emily's family bought a home a couple of years later, but it was still in our neighborhood which has been a lot of fun for our two families.

Shortly after Emily's fourth birthday she was able to go to the Bountiful Temple with her family and be sealed for time and all eternity. She was such a little girl and I wondered if she would understand what was happening. She was perfect. It was such a happy day for all of our family.

Emily and her younger sister Rebecca are the only "little" nieces that I have. Last year I decided that we were going to have a "Princess Party"; of course we included Caitlin and Chelsea and we all had a wonderful time. Emily dressed up as the Princess Aurora. We ate Princess pizza, did Princess crafts, and had a Princess treasure hunt.

I have loved being in the same neighborhood and ward as Emily. Recently I happened to walk by my family room window just as Emily and her friend were riding their bikes past my house, the window was open and I could hear Emily say to her friend, "that's my aunts house." I love it when I see Emily at church, when she sees me her face breaks out in a big smile and she comes over to give me a hug.

Emily occasionally drops by for a visit bringing Becca or Derek, or sometimes both with her; one day she even brought her friend Liesl. Earlier in the summer on one such visit she settled herself on the sofa and began to talk.
I loved just sitting there and listening to her. She talked about the book she was reading, about her experiences at school, she told me about her friends, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

This summer it was so much fun being at the beach house and at Disneyland with Emily. When it was just about midnight and it was time to leave Disneyland, Mike, Caitlin, and I went on one last ride on "The Pirates of the Caribbean" with Emily's family. We still had a little "yo ho, yo ho" left in us.

Emily looking out for her little sister Becca at t'ocean

Some things to know about Emily: I call her Mini Em Bem. Her family calls her Beast. She is very good at cleaning. I thinks she's a mini Apollonian. She's a good student. She has several pets including a dog named Bruce Wayne. When she was a toddler she swallowed a tiny battery. She loves her family. She has a blog! She is a Girl Scout. She loves to do crafts. She is just about to start the 5th grade. She has a beautiful smile. We are all so grateful and blessed to have Emily in our family, and we all love her.

The Princess Party

Today we had four Princesses in our castle!! HRH's the Princesses Caitlin Rose, Chelsea Elizabeth, Emily Christine and Rebecca Jane. Princess Emily and Princess Rebecca masqueraded as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella respectively. And just like in the fairy tale, Princess Rebecca lost a glass slipper as she ascended our grand staircase. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours together eating a lovely lunch (pizza, pink cupcakes and raspberry lemonade), after which we retired to the drawing room where we engaged in a "present" game where everyone was a winner and received a lovely gift to take home. We then embarked in creating a needlework craft suitable for royalty. Finally the Princesses followed clues which led them to a valuable treasure. Princesses Emily and Rebecca "ooohed" and "aaahed" when they made the discovery in the royal milkbox situated on the veranda. An enjoyable time was had by all in attendance and we decided that it must be an annual event.