A little late, but

Better late than never, right?  (I feel like I say this too often, but I'll probably be saying it the rest of my life.)

Happy seventeenth birthday to my beautiful sister, Hope!
When I was a little girl, I always wanted a younger sibling.  I had to wait a little longer than planned, but Hopey finally decided to show up when I was four (and a half!) years old.  She was the sweetest little girl--until she turned two and the infamous "cookie incident" occured.

This is hands down the greatest picture ever.

Hope has all the admirable qualities I lack--she's studious, self-disciplined, an athelete, a hard worker.  And she's blossomed into quite the blond-bombshell in the past few years.

Growing up, nobody would believe us when we said we were sisters--we looked so different.  Now that we're both a bit more grown up, people see the similarities.  If only in our goofy facial expressions.

Classy, right?

So Happy Birthday to my-one-and-only-best-any-one-could-ask-for-seester.  I love you Hopey-soapy (on-a-ropey).