I have so many great memories with Leah. Leah, Jennie and Amber used to call me "Dylan" because they thought I looked like a mini version of Dylan from 90210. I think Leah called me Dylan until I was 14 or 15.
I remember one time when we were at the beach (I think it was Del Mar), when Leah, her friend Katie, Amy, Ally, Brad and I all "slept" in the front room listening to Leah crack jokes all night while our sides were splitting. She kept quoting a line from the movie Patch Adams: "Who, Who, Who Fawted?? Beanie!!" Leah finally fell asleep, and we thought it was pretty funny that she slept with her eyes half-open. Ally and I waved and made funny faces at her to see if she could see us. That was one of the funnest and most memorable nights of my life.
Leah lived with us in Utah over a few different summers. I honestly don't think that she was ever not smiling or trying to make us boys laugh. She would always take me and Brad to get frosty's or McDonalds. I remember once, nobody was home except for Leah and I. I'm not sure where everyone else was, but Leah planned an entire "date night" with me that night. We went to Hollywood Video to get a couple movies and got a Little Caesars Pizza on the way back. The first movie was a made-for-TV Disney about an old man trying to drive across the country on a tractor. It was Leah's choice - she always had a special innocent side to her, and wanted a movie that would make her feel "warm and fuzzy." I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes at the video store when she picked it, but it was actually pretty good. I picked "The Sixth-Sense" (My parents wouldn't have let me get it, but I knew Leah would!). After the Disney movie, she put in The Sixth-Sense, and even though she was 4 years older than me, she made sure I knew that, once the movie started, I would have to be the brave one and not get scared. She held onto my arm under a blanket most of the time. Honestly, I was the scared one, but Leah made sure I felt special on our "date night." It was all about me. She didn't care that she was spending a Saturday night with her little cousin and not with friends. I can't tell you just how cool I felt. That's just how Leah was, always trying to make sure that everyone else was happy.
One time at Church, Leah was sitting next to me, and during sacrament she whispered in my ear that she thought one of the boys in the priests quorum, passing the sacrament, was really cute. And something about the one next to him being really ugly. Whatever she said, it made me bust up laughing. I tried to suppress it, but it didn't really work. My dad flicked me on the shoulder and gave me a good stare-down, and Leah felt so bad. After sacrament meeting she gave me a hug in the foyer and profusely apologized, and promised to buy me a frosty the next day. Right then, the "ugly" priest walked passed us both and smiled at Leah. Of course, Leah smiled and waved and said "hi," but as soon as he looked away, we almost fell on the floor laughing again. We had to go outside and laugh it off. After church, she told me that by the time we came back in and she went into her classroom, the only chair available was next to the "ugly" guy. During class, she said that he burped or something, so she had to excuse herself and hid in the bathroom for the rest of Sunday School. I swear, I couldn't stop laughing any time I was around Leah.
Her smile and her happy demeanor were so infectious, I couldn't help but be happy whenever she was around. We will sorely miss Leah, but I am grateful for the knowledge that I can and will see her again. I'm sure she'll have me laughing within minutes. I love her dearly.
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