On my first day of second grade the teacher asked if any of us had a nickname that we preferred to go by. I immediately raised my hand and asked if she would call me Amanda. Unfortunately, she discovered that my name was not Amanda and therefore refused my request.
My mom had often told me about how when I was born she wanted to name me Amanda. My sisters, however, would not hear of it. I was born just five days before Halloween and they said Amanda sounded like a witch (because of a television show that was on at that time). Consequently, I became Mandee **. In elementary school I always wished my name was Amanda and would always choose that name when playing house or other games. Yet by the time I was in junior high, I loved that my name was not Amanda like all other Mandy’s, and I have loved my name ever since. I especially love the spelling. Mandee with two e’s just sounds so much better than Mandy with a y!
I was born on October **, ** in **** in the *** Hospital to my parents V and V, or A as she was known to everyone. I was the youngest of five children; born six years after the last child and a bit of a surprise.
As the youngest of five siblings I think I was pretty spoiled. We were pretty spread apart in age and so in some ways I often felt as though I was an only child. When I was born, my oldest brother K was eighteen, C was sixteen, J was twelve and G was six. By the time I was four, K and C were both married. A year later, J graduated from high school and moved out. After that it was only G and me at home until he left on his mission, when I was twelve. However, even before that, he was gone a lot with friends and involved in school activities. Although I would often daydream about finding a long lost twin sister (and would even imagine what her name was, things we would do together, how our room would be decorated), there were positive aspects of having much older siblings. Not only did I have four older siblings, but I have always viewed their spouses as older brothers and sisters as well.
I became an aunt at the age of five and loved visiting my siblings and playing with my nieces and nephews, who I adored. My parents always made a point to visit them as often as possible, no matter how far away they lived. When I was a little older, I would often get to go by myself and stay with C for a week during the summer. I was even able to stay with K a few times before they moved to Florida.
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| I would be the tall dorky one in front. Followed by my nephew Evan, and nieces Brittney and Maryn. |
My relationship with K has always been a little distant. The night before K left on his mission I walked across the living room for the first time. I was eight months old. When he came home I was two and half years old and had no idea who this strange guy was. It wasn't too much later that he married D and they moved to Alaska. When I was about eight they moved back to Provo for a while and I was able to spend more time with them. However, it was not too many years before they moved to Florida and I was only able to visit a few times. The difference in our ages and the physical distance has made it difficult to develop much of a relationship. In the years since I have been married and they have lived in Arizona, I have been able to get to know my brother and his wife a little better. Through visits and following D’s blog I have really come to admire them both so much. They have such strong testimonies and have dedicated their lives to doing what is right and serving God. I also look up to them as parents and the bond that they have been able to develop with their children. I wish we could see each other more often because I love being around them.
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| Kelly and me at the airport as he returns home from his mission. 1980 |
C married P when I was four and I was an aunt at age five. She lived in Utah a few years, then moved to Washington state and then to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I didn't see her often but I loved going to stay with her during the summer. I liked to think that I was going to help her and to babysit my niece and nephews, but I don’t know if I was really much help. As I got older these visits helped me to have a stronger “sister” relationship with C. The summer before my sophomore year she decided it was about time that I started wearing makeup. She bought me everything I would need and taught me how to wear it. After I graduated from high school, they moved to Boise, Idaho. That was when we really became friends. My mom had just sold our house and was living in Island Park for part of the year and different places the rest of the year. C’s house became my second home. That is where we would spend holidays and I would often take off for a weekend and go stay with her. After I was done at Ricks College she convinced me to move to Boise and I lived with her for a month until I found an apartment and roommates. C became my stability and my home. Even now, years later and even though they have moved to another state, I still feel like I am going home when I walk into her house. We talk on the phone often and she is usually the one I want to call when I have exciting news to share or have need of advice.
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| Cindy and Me 1980 |
J always like to tell me how she is the reason I was born because she prayed me here. At some point she decided she wanted a little sister and would pester my parents continually about it. They would just shake their heads and tell her they were done having children. Nevertheless, she was determined and prayed constantly for a little sister and she even had a dream about her little sister. Eventually my mom discovered she was pregnant. When I was born J said I looked just like the baby in her dream. When I was five J graduated from high school and moved to Washington D.C. to be a nanny. I remember her living in Salt Lake City, Utah for a while and then in Denver, Colorado. I remember her always doting on me when we would see her but it wasn’t until she moved backed to R when I was fifteen, after my dad died, that I got to know her better. She was married to F and my niece S was just a baby.
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| Dad, Me, Mom, Jolene, Frank October 1990 |
G and I should have been a little closer, considering we were so much younger than the others, but there was just enough of a difference in our age that I never really got to know him while we were at home. I remember him building forts for me when I was little or letting me drive him like a car (while he was laying on his back I would sit on his stomach and put my feet on his hands like gas petals). However, as he got older and more involved with activities outside the home, he was not around much. I idolized him and thought he was just amazingly cool, but I was shy and terrified to talk to him. I would often avoid being in the same room with him because I didn’t know what to say or how to act. He married B when I was sixteen and she did a lot to help us become closer. They lived in R and even lived with us for a few months. B and I became good friends; in fact she has always felt just like a sister. I still feel a little intimidated around G, but our relationship has grown and I love to spend time with him and his family.
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| Me and Gheen 1979 |
I grew up in the same house through my childhood and high school. It was a white house with red trim on *** T Drive in R, ***. My parents loved to garden and we had a beautiful yard. In the backyard we had two cherry trees that were covered in pink blossoms in the spring. There were two apple trees, a plum tree and lots of quaking aspen. There was a vegetable garden in each corner with raspberry bushes in the back of one. There were beautiful flowers everywhere and I remember the smell of the honeysuckle and lilacs. I also remember eating gooseberries right off the bush and dipping fresh rhubarb in sugar. My dad built a fire pit that we spent many summer evenings around, roasting marshmallows and singing camp songs as a family.
One of my favorite memories in our backyard was the ice skating rink that my parents made during the winter. They would shovel the snow away and then spend weeks running sprinklers and moving them around until there was a thick layer of ice. Then they would spend more days running more water until the ice was smooth enough (at least somewhat) to skate on. We would have neighborhood or church groups over for skating parties. My dad would have a fire going in the fire pit and make hot chocolate over it. I would spend hours out there pretending to be an Olympic figure skater. In the spring when the ice would melt it would flood the basement. After a few years of this my parents gave up on the idea but I still remember those winters as some of my favorite.
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Ice skating in the backyard with friends. 1988
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| My Family 1980 |
