Celebrating Ali

My youngest niece Ali turns 16 today. I can’t believe it, and yet it is fitting because she’s always seemed a little older than she is. Maybe because she’s the youngest of her siblings, but she has often surprised us with how much she could do at a young age. Ali has always been cheerful, hard working, and easy going. We just love having her closer to us, but we know it’s been hard for her to be away from her awesome friends in North Carolina.

Here’s a few memory lane photos…

My mom and I went to NC to watch the Cole kids for a week in 2002.
She’s always been this cute.

Ali was the first one to ride in the back of Grandpa and Grandma’s new diesel truck that fall.
Look at that face!


Ali has always been great with our kids. (So are Preston and Madi, but let’s focus.) The first summer she came to Banks Lake, I didn’t change a diaper or touch a jar of baby food for a whole week!