HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEST FRIEND!

Today is August 5th, which my mind has been programed for the last 17 years, as Kati's Birthday. 

Kati is currently serving an LDS Mission in the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission and comes home in a year and four days!!!!

Kati and Me at her Missionary Farewell... you can't even tell I bawled my eyes out!

In honor of my best friends day of birth I want to tell a tale of two girls, the first is Aubrey and the Second is Kati.

Our Weekend Getaway To Yellowstone... Very Romantic As You Can Tell From This Pic

Kati and Aubrey first met when they were five, but there weren't exactly friends until Kati defended Aubrey's honor in the first grade and punched a boy who was making fun of Aubrey in the stomach, and then got suspended for it. Aubrey and Kati were inseparable from that day on. They spent their childhood playing with puppies, bouncing on the tramp, playing hide-in-go seek, playing school in Kati's loft, swimming for endless hours, talking about their future husbands, playing soccer, playing softball, riding razor scooters, enjoyed girls camps and boating trips, and having many many sleep overs where they did everything but sleep. Aubrey and Kati were the best of friends. They use to tell their parents that they'd be best friends forever, and their parents would smile and say, "forever is along time, and people drift apart." Aubrey and Kati didn't care what they said.

Then when Aubrey was 13 her family moved to Utah and Kati and Aubrey parted. They didn't keep the best in touch, but when people would ask Aubrey who her best friend was she'd still say Kati Van Dusen. Then when Aubrey was 16 her family moved back to California and Kati treated Aubrey as if  she had never even left! They picked up right where they left off. In their teenage years they enjoyed driving to T-street, had sleep overs, but Kati could never stay up past 12:30, made quesadillas at Kati's house during lunch, had TOO many good times with their two other Best Friends, Meredith and Kari, went to several dances, talked about their boyfriends, played lacrosse, worked at Coldstone, had fun trips up to June Lake, talked about their futures and became the best of friends, again. 

Sara, Kati, Me and Brooke Cuddling At Squaw Peak

Then when high school ends most best friendships end as they go off to different colleges, but not Aubrey and Kati's. They both went up to BYU Idaho, made many other good friends but still found time to kick the soccer ball around, play glow-stick tag in caves, and come to each others aid when boys, school and life got too much to bear.

Kati's 21st Birthday... My Best Friend Is A Babe!

When Aubrey transferred to BYU in the middle of their sophomore year, Aubrey and Kati talked on the phone three times a week, then four times a week, then everyday for many hours. They never missed a beat in each others lives and made time to visit each other while they went to different schools. They always looked forward to the holidays when they'd come home so that they could see their families but also each other.

First Week Of College

Then Kati and Aubrey got older and Kati was turning 21 and it became time for Kati to serve a LDS mission, as Kati had always planned. Kati got her call on October 11th, 2010 and Aubrey was on the phone when she heard Kati say she'd be spending the next 18 months of her life in Paraguay. Aubrey was very excited for her but knew that she'd have to face life alone for 18 months. Aubrey and Kati's other best friend flew home to hear Kati give her farewell talk in church and Aubrey cried from the opening hymn to the closing hymn as she realized Kati was leaving and this would be the longest amount of time in the 17 years that she had known Kati that she would not be able to talk to her or see her. Kati left for her mission on Wednesday February 9th and Aubrey hugged her and watched her walk to the MTC.

The MOST Bittersweet Day Of My 21 Years Of Life... Kati's Walk To The MTC

Yellowstone

Aubrey cried everyday for a two weeks straight as she felt empty without Kati, but Aubrey knew that Kati was doing the right thing and that Kati was going to make SO many people happy in Paraguay. Then two weeks after Kati reported to the MTC, Aubrey was walking to the TRC at the MTC and saw a very beautiful and familiar face walk out into the courtyard, and it was KATI! Aubrey and Kati ran towards each other and hugged and cried. Kati told Aubrey that she was loving the MTC and loved being a missionary. Aubrey told Kati she loved her and was so proud of her. After this Aubrey stopped crying as she knew Kati was alright.

Oh How I Love Thee... Even When You Abuse My Face

Then a month later, on March 27th Aubrey decided that she was suppose to go on a mission and on April 18th, Aubrey got her mission call and found that she was called to serve in the Chile, Concepcion Mission, which is only  1,593 miles away from Asuncion, Paraguay. Aubrey was SO excited that she was going to serve in South America at the same time Kati was serving in South America. Aubrey and Kati are very anxious for March of 2013, when they will see each other for the first time in 26 months, but both know that 26 months is nothing when you get to be best friends forever. So the tale of Aubrey and Kati is a never ending one.

22 Reasons I Love Kati

1). She can read my mind. There have been SO many times when she knows what I am thinking and finishes my sentences.

2). We both decided in the third grade that we'd name our first born daughters middle names after each other. So my first born daughter is going to be Kennedy Kati... 

3).  She calls me out when I am being a brat or when I am just flat out wrong and she is the only person that can do that without me getting mad. 

4). She NEVER puts me down and always pull me up. I know I can trust her with my life.

5). It can tell her anything! When something big happens in my life, It doesn't feel official until I tell her. 

6). My sisters consider her their sister and my mom considers her, her daughter. She is apart of my family and I would do anything for anyone in her family. 

7). When my heart has been broken in the past or I am just having a bad day, Kati ALWAYS knows what to say. 

8). She is the BEST aunt in the world! 

9). I know that she love everything about me, which is hard! I don't have to hide anything from her or hold anything back because I know she will accept me no matter what.

10). She is comfortable with who she is and loves who she is.

11). She inspires me everyday!

OH YEAH... Did I Mention She Changes Lives EVERYDAY!?

12). She is beautiful inside and out! She has a great smile. Great hair. Great eyebrows. Great back side. She is loving and loyal.

13). Kati is ALWAYS 100% honest. I always take her word for it, because her words is truth.

14). She is NOT a quitter!

15). She is the glue of my life. Everything makes more sense when she is around. She always provides a much needed reality check and presepective
16). Have you ever heard of those Pavlvo dogs who would react when they heard a bell ring, well I am kind of the same, because when I hear the name "Kati", "Paraguay", or "Sister Missionary" I start to cry... yes she has made me an emotional reck!
17). She's not a push over! She sticks up for herself and those she cares about! Loyality is her middle name!

18). I like her handwriting... strange but it hasn't changed from the first grade.
19). I love her laugh. It reminds me of a little kid at the ice cream counter
20). I love her ghetto dance moves... classic!
21). I love her commitment to the gospel, her inspiring testimony and her never ending desire to share the gospel. I love that she is a missionary and she's one of the biggest reasons I decided to serve a mission!
22). She's my best friend and no amount of time or distance will ever change that!

The Besties Last Hurrah For 26 Months! 

Most people go their whole lives without finding a friend who loves them and accepts them for all that they are, who they can run to for anything and who would never disrespect, gossip about or turn their back one. I found that person and I found her at five years old. Kati and I call each other "Our Person" because we love Grey's Anatomy, but the real reason Kati is my person is because she is more then a best friend and a little less then a sister. She is literally my angel on earth who helps me each and every day to be a better person and to grow closer to my Father in Heaven. Whither its through her words, her example, her random funny text messages, her letters in the mail, her smile, her good pass to me with a lacrosse stick, or her snoring when we have sleepovers, she makes me better.

 I am Aubrey Ann Brennan because of my faith in Jesus Christ and the Gospel. I am Aubrey Ann Brennan because I was born to Sterling and Annette Brennan and have 4 wonderful siblings and a sister-in-law. I am Aubrey Ann Brennan because of the trials I have overcome and experiences I have had. I am Aubrey Ann Brennan because when I was five I met Kati Kristeen Van Dusen.

So Happy 22nd Birthday To My Best Friend. My Person. My Better Half. My Paraguayan Missionary.