i love you to the moon and back.

meet la la.

or spanky.

or mama hoojie.

or bippy.

or lauren.

(the girl with more nicknames than she knows what to do with)

this is my cousin.

she was born when i was 11.

just a few short months after her parents moved just houses away from me.

you can basically say, she grew up with me.

in many ways, she is the little sister i never had.

i was there for everything.

her first teeth, first words, first steps.

now first day of high school, first friendship fights, first boy crushes.

it amazes me that she is 14 years old!

she doesn't make me feel old.

she makes me proud to have been witness to such a beautiful person growing up.

lauren is not your average 14 year old girl.

ok, yes, she is loud and goofy and likes nothing more than to play manhunt every weekend.

but this 14 year old has a heart bigger than any i have ever seen.

she cares for things she shouldn't be worrying about for another 10 years. atleast.

example, since she was 6 or 7, she decided not to collect candy on Halloween.

she went trick or treating every year with a box for unicef.

she collected money for people less privaledged than us instead of racking up pillow cases full of candy.

and this year, we are scheduling a bagillion volunteer activities to do in our community.

(by her request)

she is always ready to do for others.

this girl, in its most literal sense, has a heart of gold!

today, on my day fulll of love she just added to all the reasons to love the world.

via facebook (which like many teenage girls she is an addict)

she was asked, "if you were only able to say one thing to katie for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

and to this she responded. i love you to the moon and back again.

(a little phrase my mom said to us time and time again. actually brings tears to my eyes. but im a baby)

and in my very next notification i was tagged in a poster.

it had all fun little titles on it, in which you tag all your friends.

(someone who likes good music, best smile, met when you were little, makes you laugh, the funny friend, prettiest person you know, etc. etc. etc.)

unfrotunately on my iphone i was unable to see which title she had chosen for me.

so myself, rockstar husband, and bestie played the guessing game.

and to my surprise i got.......

*someone you just can't live without*

{and if i could sum up me and la..... she's someone i just can't live without!}

just simple words spoken. that will touch my heart forever.