Thank heaven for sisters!

I have five older sisters. Yes, I know. Be jealous. You should be. Growing up, I never had to want for fashion advice, dating tips, or motherly love. (While most people have one mother, in all practicality, I have six.) As time would have it, my sisters and I have grown up, married, started families, and drifted apart. It's been a while since we've all been in the same place at the same time...and a very, very long time since we've done it without being accompanied by spouses and children. So, that's why this past week was so special. I took a cruise with my mom & my sisters...and nobody else.

My sisters are awesome. No really, they are. I could not have hand picked a more dynamic group of ladies to hang with. (My mom is great too, and for the past week, she has become one of my sisters as well. So, for the purpose of this blog post, when I talk about sisters, you'll know I'm talking about Mom as well.) I want to tell you a little bit about the kind of family I have, and why I am so grateful to have my sisters.


My sisters are the kind of women who will spend months pre-preparing meals, organizing rides and babysitters, and apologizing to teachers for homework their children might not get done for a week while they drop everything to escape for a siesta of sisterhood. Thank you, sisters, for sacrificing time away from your families.

My sisters are the kind of women who will blush when an awkward dinner waiter tries to do a sexy dance for them, and walk out of a "Vegas style" show when the costumes on stage end up revealing more than they cover. Thank you, sisters, for setting an example.

My sisters will invite a perfect stranger to join us for dinner...every night...just because she's dining alone. Thank you, sisters, for being a friend to the friendless.

My sisters will spend virtually minutes in the hallway choreographing mad, groovy, back-up-singer dance moves to perform on the karaoke stage behind their squeaky-voiced little sister. When the show is over, they'll get stopped by a stranger who'll ask, "Are you by any chance LDS? Because that just looked like a road show up there". Thank you, sisters, for hamming it up.

My sisters are the kind of women who go parasailing, glass-bottom boating, and tandem bike riding all in one day on Catalina Island. (Before the day is through, they will go back to Del Sol at least half a dozen times and pick up another "free color changing gift".) Thank you, sisters, for being adventurous.

My sisters never order black forest cake for dessert if they know that it has liquor in it. Thanks a lot for asking, sisters.

My sisters can't get enough of the free pina colada samples in Ensenada, Mexico. Thank you, sisters, for making me feel vindicated about the liquor cake. (Yes, I know he said there was no alcohol in the samples...)


My sisters will choose a shore excursion based solely on the fact that it has a funny name. Thank you, sisters, for being touristy.

My sisters aren't afraid to order sushi, escargot, alligator meat, or spinach & artichoke dip with their dinner. They especially like spinach & artichoke dip. Thank you, Belinda, for ordering two bowls full of it every night.

My sisters can line up in order from oldest to youngest to take a picture faster than you can say "Ensanada". Thank you, sisters, for being efficient.

My sisters will go down an icy cold waterslide on an overcast and windy day, just because it's the last day of the cruise and they won't get another chance to say that they did it. Thank you, sisters, for being completely nonsensical.

My sisters will play ping pong and go jogging on the upper deck during an absolutely brutal wind storm...and will actually have the time of their lives doing it. Thank you, sisters, for defying the laws of physics.

My sisters will do yoga in an empty bar while wearing matching pink pajama pants and listening to grotesque medical t.v. shows that happen to be playing in the same room at the same time. Thank you, sisters, for...doing...that.

My sisters love to shop....and shop...and shop...and shop. Thank you, sisters, for helping the Mexican economy.

My sisters will stay up late every night painting nails, eating chocolate, and philosophizing about difficult subjects because they matter. Thank you, sisters, for caring enough to try and figure things out.

My sisters love me, and I really love them. Thank you, sisters, for an absolutely unforgettable week!