Regular visitors to the Pahrump Senior Center like the fellowship, lively conversations, healthy laughs and familiar faces.

In fact, it's such a friendly and happy place that sometimes guests break into song.

At least that's what "the girls" say when they visit after school.

For the past year, Tiffany Reed, 12, and her sister Cheyenne, 11, have stopped by the center regularly, and now their best friend, Emily Mertz, 12, is visiting also.

"Everybody just calls us 'the girls,'" said Tiffany. "We say hello to everybody and everybody knows us there. It's fun."

"We get lots of hugs," added Cheyenne.

According to the girls' mother, Kelly Thompson, her daughters aren't shy about going up to people and starting conversations. "They are not afraid to talk.

"We like to encourage the girls to volunteer their time. Since they like to sing, last year we went around to small businesses to sing Christmas carols. We like to support our friends who own small businesses. From there, we just went around town and sang."

Thompson said the family had driven by the senior center many times but had never stopped. "We thought, why not go in? The girls just hit it off. My girls are able to talk to anybody. They like to hug. They are huggy girls and they found a whole bunch of grandparents."

Cheyenne said it was originally her mom's idea to stop at the center. "We kept going back because they are so fun to visit with. We talk about clothes or anything. We just start a conversation. We listen and they tell us things that they did in their childhood. We all laugh a lot."

"We talk about what we do and what we like to do," explained Tiffany, "and what they liked to do when they were children. They have quite a few interesting stories. There was one man I talked to who lived in Alaska. He home-schooled himself, doing all his own school books at once. The books were dropped off by helicopter.

"His story was interesting to us because we are both home-schooled and we are taking virtual academy. We have a computer and printer and books. We really enjoy it."

Tiffany and Cheyenne have some advice about visiting older people. "Don't be afraid to talk to them like you would talk to everybody else," said Tiffany.

"Don't be shy," said Cheyenne. "Just express yourself. They really enjoy children. They love it when we come and visit. Go up to people and start talking."

Many times the girls sing a cappella when they visit. Old country songs like 'Rocky Top' are the most requested but their musical repertoire also includes patriotic songs, bluegrass and Christian rock.

"They love going to the senior center," said Thompson. "It's definitely from their hearts."