HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, ARIEL!

January 22, 2009
Ariel Malone Evans

Happy Birthday, Ariel!
We love you so much! You are our special angel...our first granddaughter. We have enjoyed watching you grow over the years. You have added so much to our family. We have always had a very special bond with you. You are so talented, loving, beautiful, but more than that. You have a special spirit about you, and we know what a special person you are, and what a good example you are for all of us. We appreciate all you have done to increase the happiness and love in our lives. We cherish you and your life, and we are so thankful for you. We admire you very much, and wish we could see you more often. It is an honor to have you as our granddaughter!
Love....G-Ma Ree and Bob

This special story about our birthday girl was written by your mother, Monica:
Ariel was born on Thursday, January 22, 1998. It was exciting because it was the family’s first girl granddaughter…and also because the Packers played in the Superbowl that Sunday.

The first thing the nurse said when she saw Ariel was, “wow, she has huge eyes.” In the past 11 years, I’ve heard that same thing dozens of times. She was so beautiful and had the prettiest big blue eyes, both of which have never changed. Her dad didn’t know much about babies, so when we figured out that she liked to be held like a football, he was happy to hold her that way all the time. It must have been because she got her very first taste of watching football at only 3 days old.

Ariel and Ian were only 4 months apart, so they always loved to play together at Grandma’s house when they were little. They would stand on the fireplace and dance to “Shake Your Booty.” When we used to take them out, everyone would call them twins.

Growing up, Arie has always been so smart. She is now halfway through the fifth grade and she has been on the Honor Roll with every report card since kindergarten. At every parent-teacher conference the teachers tell me “this is easy” and they always have great things to say about her.

She is also very creative and talented as an artist. As a toddler, she always loved to draw and play the art games on the computer. She is still an excellent artist and we have her art hung up all over the house. In fourth grade, she entered her picture in the contest for the school’s yearbook cover. She told me, “mom, I’m going to win this year,” and she did….this is out of a school of 700 students.

Ariel loves her dogs, Katy and Tahoe. She loves to draw and ride her bike. She has always been a daredevil and she went on all the roller coasters at Six Flags last summer.

Everyone always loves Ariel…she is the type of kid that is polite to all adults, she’s funny, and all the kids get along with her no matter what group in school they are in. She is sensitive to people’s feelings and always wanting to help.