Personal History

I was born January 7^th 1992 in the Tri City Hospital in Oceanside, California to Paul Martin Packard and Sherrie Ann Webb Packard. My parents were living at 1805 Oak Avenue, the same place I lived my entire life, though at that time the house was a small two bedroom house. I was the 6^th child. My siblings, from oldest to youngest are Paul Martin (PJ) born December 14^th 1981, Nathan Owen (Nate) August 24^th 1983, Sean Emery March 4 1985, Alisha February 12^th 1988, Emily May 22^nd 1989, myself, Sarah June 11^th 1993, and Adam Richard October 13^th 2000.

I lived in on the same property my whole life. The house my parents lived in when I was born was from the 1940’s so in 1995 we tore down our house and rebuilt. The best part of that was that we tore down the house ourselves. My dad gave us all hammers, even my sister and I, and we took down all the dry wall and then my older cousins and uncles helped my brothers take down all the framing. My uncle Garth built our house, which my parents drew the plans for, and from the time we moved out to when we moved into our new house was 90 days. We went from a two bedroom with an adapted garage to a two story with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a huge kitchen and living. I don’t remember much about moving, but I remember feeling like the house was huge and we had a ton of room! I always felt so blessed to have never had to move. It was just another reason why I felt so stable growing up.

Another big reason why I felt so stable growing up was because of all the family I had grown up around. My Grandpa Packard and two of his brothers, Floyd and Ron, moved to Carlsbad when they were all young and starting their families and Packards haven’t left the city since. This meant that my father with all of his siblings and cousins (totally 33), along with a lot of my cousins and siblings, all went to the same elementary, middle, and high school! Needless to say, the education system veterans knew who we were. Though when it came to my age group it was only my sister Sarah and I in Carlsbad, it was a huge blessing to grow up with so many older examples of people who were good and righteous people, who worked hard in school, and were good citizens of the community and church. Having so many relatives, and relatives who were outstanding people, live in one area meant that the name Packard meant something. It didn’t mean you were perfect, but it meant you expected to always be trying and to give your all in everything, no matter the circumstances.

For most of my childhood my dad worked at Packard Dental, a family practice started by my Grandfather Von Packard and two of his brother, Floyd and Ron, and now my dad’s brother Mark and his cousin Floyd were the dentist and his cousin Forrest was an orthodontist . My dad was the Office Manager. Because it was a family practice, the dental office was a comfortable setting. I never was afraid or nervous about going to the dental office because I knew everyone there and it meant being able to visit Dad at the office. I even remember wanting to go when my mom was taking another sibling so I could wait in my Dad’s office or talk to the assistants.

When I was a pre-teen my Dad changed careers and started his own financing company and use car dealership. I don’t remember much about the transition, but I remember the first time hearing about the change was while being at my Aunt Shelia’s house in Arizona on vacation and my parents talking with my aunt and uncle about the change in the other room. It wasn’t until later that my parents told my sibling and me.

I had a different experience growing up than most girls. Not only did I have 3 older brothers, but older boy cousins were always around the house. My sisters and girl cousin were no cheerleaders either. In my family we competed to see who had the biggest bruises come Sunday after everyone had their sports games on Fridays and Saturdays. No joke. An injury was never allowed to be a crutch because there was always someone else who toughed it up and played through an even worse injury, and to be a whimp just wasn’t an option. It wasn’t like there were unrealistic expectations with a ton of pressure to live up to them. But it did mean something to be a Packard, and not just when it came to bruises.

Not only was I raised not to be a whimp, but my mom and dad always taught us to be logical people. I can’t even count how many times my mom said to my sisters and I  “don’t be like that” or “don’t be a silly girl” when we were talking about anything from boys to drama at school. She always explained how it didn’t make sense for us to waste our time or energy on worrying about the silly things that most girls worried about. There was no point in her eyes to worry about if Johnny thought our outfit looked good, or to spend mindless energy on playing the “dating games”. All and all she taught us to be realist, real, and logical.

Sarah and I always did everything together outside of school. As long as we were in the same age group we were on the same soccer or basketball team, took tennis lessons together, or took the same summer classes at the community center. We were always running around the cold-a-sack together too. We had different friends at school which meant other friends coming over to play, but we always had each other to hang out with if we needed. We always shared a room too. Though she doesn’t know every detail about my life, other than my husband, she knows me and my personality better than anyone. She always could read me, help me, and even push my buttons more than anyone else I ever have known.

I have always loved growing up in a big family. Despite the obvious disadvantage of less attention from my parents, everything else was a bonus in my eyes. There was always someone who was on my side, someone to play with, someone to cheer me up, someone to support me, someone to laugh with, or someone to talk to. We had enough people to play any sport or game we wanted. All the time at school when people found out how many siblings I had they would say sorry or suggest how unfortunate it was, and though it may have been hard on my parents, I have always seen it all as a positive thing! I loved being in a big family growing up and it is even more fun as we all get older!

When I was really young my mom and some other sisters in our ward organized a play group. I do not remember how often we met but I remember it switching houses and having a ton of fun with all my friends. The other children I remember being involved were Clay and Dillon Larson, DJ and Josh Herr, Siera Willes, and Chelsea Ferrell. We are still friends with all of those families and almost all of them stayed in Carlsbad until they graduated. I remember being excited for kindergarten but feeling so sad that it meant I couldn’t go to play group anymore!

Sports have always been a part of my life. My dad never asked to have a game on because my mom always already had them on. My brothers played sports, my sisters played sports, and my dad even refereed sports, basketball even up to the junior college level. Saturdays during a sport season were always the best because that meant we were allowed to have the games on while we did our weekly chores. Once I was old enough I started out playing in the community soccer league. Apparently I was competitive and a little bit rough (must have come from growing up with brothers) because I’ll never forget one of my first coaches saying I was really playing football. Once I was 8 I begged my mom to let me play basketball and from there my love for the game only grew and grew. I was never extremely talented, but you bet I would work harder than anyone. Soon I was in middle school and though our team was not big or reliable, Coach Vincent could always count on me to be there and working hard. High School came around and it only got worse. Dedication must have been a family trait, because it simply ran through my veins. I gave everything to my team, with no hesitations.