Running just as fast as we can...

Day 18, Saturday: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt.

I'm a true child of the '80s, born and raised. So of course "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany was one of my all-time favorite songs. Go ahead, sing along, you know you know the words...

I loved it so much, in fact, that I would organize with my sister and my cousin to dress up and perform coordinated, costumed, lip synced dance routines for our family. Yeah.


Above, you can check us out mid-performance. It's summer time and we're in the backyard at the house I grew up in. I can practically smell the freshly cut grass that my dad probably mowed that morning. We used to steal pick the neighbor's raspberries through that fence behind us. The tree on the right was my absolute favorite to climb, but I actually fell out of it on my dad's 30th birthday, splitting my chin wide open. Happy birthday, Dad.

We were probably having a family backyard barbecue with my aunt and uncle, cousins, and grandparents, and they're probably all sitting on that hideous mustard-colored blanket, trying not to giggle at our pathetic attempt at rock stardom. That's either my little brother or cousin on the right (I love the bow-legged, still in diapers walk/run/stagger).

See the coats behind us? We wore them at the beginning of the performance and then threw them off a few notes in, revealing bikini tops underneath... I have no idea why this wasn't somewhat concerning to our parents.

Mom and Dad had just returned from a Hawaiian vacation, which is why we're wearing souvenir grass skirts, flowered bikini tops, and shell necklaces. I have no clue why we're wearing neon pink and blue surf socks, but aren't they awesome? I remember feeling so fantastic and sure of myself at this moment... what the heck happened to that pure, unabashed self confidence?

Let's move this party inside, shall we?

Um, heck yeah we were willing to do an encore!

At this point we had traded the shell necklaces for plastic leis and lost the grass skirts (for a more casual, risque look). Again, what the heck was my dad thinking?! We're obviously dancing and belting out the words without shame. Again, there's my bro in the bottom right corner, looking adorable and oblivious in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt.

I love the decor in our house. The chair at the left is where my mom rocked all her babies to sleep. The photo in the pink frame is my dad as a child, and to the right of that is a framed cross-stitch that my grandma made with my parent's wedding date. The hallway is lined with family photos and you can see more albums in the cabinet on the right. In the kitchen beyond you can see homemade wall hangings that my mom made by hand. Every detail in this photo reminds me that our house was a home.

And seriously, let's take a moment to take a look at the entertainment center behind us and remind ourselves just how far technology has come.

We never made it as a pop stars (or strippers... you're welcome, Dad), but we sure did have a lot of fun back then. I really miss those innocent childhood days sometimes.

I'm not sure I really interpreted today's prompt exactly as Jenni intended, but when I was looking for photos for today's post I found these and just couldn't resist sharing them. They showcase some of my very favorite moments from my life. And don't lie, you know you clicked on the link above and sang every word... Which is totally radical.