Internet, meet my friend Nicole. She is one of the few people out there who can actually attest to the fact that I haven’t always been a heathen. She is here as a guest blogger and also to expose me for the ex-Mormon that I am. Nicole is an absolute doll and has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met, and I’m not just saying that because she has a crap load of dirt on me.

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With the exception of blood relatives, I would venture to guess that few Blogfully Yours readers have known Summer as long as I have. I have known Summer for 17 years…over half of my life.

My family moved from Oregon to Utah when I was 13. Summer was the only other girl my age in the neighborhood, which put us through two hours of church together for 5 years. I remember the first time I met Summer. She was sitting with her older sister in a gorgeous sundress in the Young Womens room. We were doing an activity where our names were written in large print on a red construction paper heart. Each person in the room wrote a compliment on the heart, and passed it on to the next person. Summer and I hadn’t yet spoken at this point, but she wrote, “I don’t know you yet, but I know we’ll be friends.”

We sang in choirs together, “roughed it” at Young Womens camp, giggled through chastity discussions, took rides in the Family RV, unsuccessfully attempted waterskiing, partied in high school dance groups together, and shared many hopes, dreams, fears, crushes and musical interests. We both complained about short boys and finding tall jeans. We’d take walks and climb our favorite tree near the Jordan River to talk. Her mom was my Young Womens President, and her dad was my Sunday school president, and I knew her sisters well. Summer and I weren’t ever best friends, but we knew each other quite intimately.

Once we were out of high school, we lost touch for the most part. We both married young, and her wedding reception in Millcreek Canyon was the last time I saw her for several years. Our parents went to church together for several years, so I’d occasionally get an updated on pertinent Fred Family news. We both divorced our way out of toxic marriages. After many years of not seeing each other, we ran into each other at our 10 Year high school reunion. Summer was as gorgeous as I’d ever seen her, in a white satin ruffle blouse and hair darker than I remembered. We participated in a somewhat awkward conversation with other divorced alumni. I was happy to see her, but didn’t have too much to say.

We’ve been friends on Facebook for a few years, and last June I randomly clicked on her page. There was a link for her blog post about getting her cherry blossom tattoo. I was so excited to read the post for a variety of reasons 1) I love cherry blossoms, 2) I love Summer’s dad, 3) I love the Jordan River Parkway. Although I’m not a fan of tattoos personally, I was happy that she found such a beautiful design that had a deep personal significance. I was very impressed with her writing, and went all the way back to her first blog post, and have been keeping up with her posts ever since.

As for me, I’ve been blogging since 2002. It’s my therapy, my creative outlet, my way to connect with new friends around the world. I’m the mother to an amazing 9 year-old daughter named Rosie, and wife to a regional airline pilot named Taylor. I too make a habit of moving, having lived in 5 states in the last 10 years (with countless other smaller moves). I’m a foodie, a tech geek, a concert whore, and an aviation family advocate. Summer and I hope to collaborate on some posts in the future, but in the meantime, feel free to check out my blog at www.cuteculturechick.com

Summer Guest Blogger