Elated to be Related

I can put yet another notch in my "You Are Married to Your Spouse Thanks to ME" belt, otherwise known as the "You Guys Owe Me Big Time" belt. It is encrusted in diamonds, just like the city of Provo (where it originated) in case you were wondering.

Here's why:

Did you ever have a bestest besty friend growing up, one whom obsessed over the Beatles with you, consumed massive amounts of frozen yogurt with you, watched every single Hitchcock film ever made with you, memorized the Newsies soundtrack with you, cried with you every time Meg died and Jo denied Laurie, wore Birkenstocks with you, got annoyed with the same pesky boys with you, drove to seminary in the dark early hours of the morning with you, rode bikes with you, looked for stolen bikes with you, baby sat with you, worked at Chick's Sporting Goods and Hogi Yogi with you, jogged with you, jogged while eating Hershey bars with you, was on swim team with you, TP'd people's houses with you, Girls Camped with you, Youth Conference with you, skiied with you, Palm Springed with you, EFY'd with you, ate pepperoncinis with you, had Sunday night game night with you, had the same curfew as you, had the same futile crushes on various boys with you--though thankfully never at the same time as you, had endless amounts of inside jokes with you, and since you both were attached to the others' hip, applied to the same college with you, then roomed at college with you, was like a sister to you and together you vowed you would someday be related?

No? Man, you missed out.

I was lucky enough to have had (and still have) a friend like the aforementioned. Elizabeth Eaton Jex and I? We did it: at the end of July, we will be related.

Though it may look like it, we did not take each other to the prom.

We both had dates.
I swear.

[E: you may find this hard to believe, but this was one of the FEW pictures that did not have
a) at least one of us in our swim suits
b) someone else in the picture I would have felt obligated to Photoshop out
c) both of us covered in an assortment of condiments]

Elizabeth's little sister, Sarah Eaton, whom I would love and adore regardless of her last name, is marrying my brother-in-law: Go's little brother Harry this summer. She will make a stellar addition to the family.

Elizabeth and I. Related. Who would have thunk?