Miss Annie

I have blogged about my 'lil nephew and now I must blog about my beautiful niece! When I married my hubs I was so delighted that a niece came with the package! I was never an Aunt to anyone so this was quite exciting for me. Annie was in grade school when I came on the scene. I was amazed at how I instantly loved her! Kids really do capture your heart! She was a shy little thing with braces and I would just look at her and think, "That's my niece!"

In the picture, Annie is on the left and her friend Danielle is on the right. I think of Danielle as our honorary niece!

Annie is 19 now and a sophomore in college. She is extremely bright and very witty. She has fire in her too which I think all young girls should have. One image of Miss Annie that sticks in my mind is when she was in junior high or so and we were at Pismo Beach riding our ATC's. The four wheel drive went out on our truck and we found ourselves, embarrassingly, stuck. A "vulture" came by to tow us out. We have dubbed them vultures because they prey on the weak and feeble who find themselves stuck in the sand...they will gladly pull you out if you gladly give them a wad of cash. Luckily, a kind fellow with a pick-up offered to pull us out for free but the vulture still lurked. Annie noticed him and looked him square on and said, "Why don't you just leave!?" and then she flipped her hair around and turned her back on him. It was the funniest thing to see this little fireball in action!

Our kids absolutely adore their cousin. Annie is amazing in that she loves to spend time with them. My sister-in-law and I talk about how lucky the kids are to be so close despite their age differences. Whenever Auntie Shib and Annie come to visit they can hear the kids screaming in excitement as they come up the front walk. The kids just about explode when they see them!

My niece Annie is an amazing young woman and I am so happy to be apart of her world. I love being her "Anti-Jen"! I look forward to watching her life move forward these next many years. Annie is a girl who has a lot to offer this world of ours!