CHANGE

H.O.L.Y. S.M.O.K.E.S.

So much has changed since last May. Jennifer moved out to Utah to start school at Utah State. I started my last year of school at IUPUI.

I stopped working with the basketball team. I missed it beyond belief, but after 7 years of being a student manager throughout high school and college, I felt like it was time for a change.

This semester has pretty much been a breeze for me. I only had one class a week and I did my internship at Pike High School. I worked as an intern in the athletic department and it was a wonderful experience. I only needed to put in 400 hours of work, but put in almost 461 hours total. I gained so much knowledge and experience.

I graduate from IUPUI in 11 whole days. ELEVEN! I will be the first grandkid to graduate from college on my mom's side of the family. I am beyond excited and can't believe that those 5 long years are finally about to end!

In other news...JENNIFER IS GETTING MARRIED!!! She met her fiance' at school. His name is Tyler and he is a pretty fantastic guy. She is super happy and I am super happy for her. Mom will be flying out while daddy and I drive out. They are getting married on June 14th in the Logan, Utah temple. I am so grateful to know that families can be sealed together forever and I am so excited to gain a new person into our family!

ysa

I've had the most AMAZING time these past few weeks. Jennifer and I started going to institute like, three weeks ago or so, and it was the single best decision I've made in the last few months. Since going to institute, we've started going to one of the guys' house to watch arrested development each week, been to FHE and a regional YSA activity and a few other activities. I don't know what's different from the last time I went that just makes me want to keep going and going and going, but I'm definitely happier than I've been in months. I've also seen a change in Jennifer too. She used to not be outgoing, and she's started talking a lot more and the people we've been hanging with have definitely accepted her and tried their best to include her!

I'm not completely sure if we are gonna transfer our records there or not, but that's totally an option right now. I don't know if I want to or not because that would mean that I would lose my wild and crazy sunbeams :( and it would mean that my mom would have to watch the three kids we're nannying all by herself on Sundays...so I guess we'll see!

I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me now that I'm going to all of these single events! I even have a new crush on one of the guys...so that might have something to do with my being excited to go now lol

Anywho, not much else going on outside of all of these YSA things. I've just started tutoring this really sweet and super cute 7 year old a couple of times a week in math and reading. I'm pretty excited to see how this works out, because it might ultimately determine if I get a second degree in elementary education. Cross your fingers for me!

peace out and have a fantastic week!

Don't forget to smile and remember that you determine your emotions...if you decide that today is gonna be a good day, it will be a good day! :)

~Allison

life

Life has been great since the beginning of 2013. I've been doing surprisingly well in my classes, and have been extremely busy with basketball. I love that I can help out with the teams and gain experience in the field I want to go into after I get my degree. It is definitely a blessing in disguise!

Honestly, however, I look forward to basketball all year long after the season finishes, but once it gets going, I can't wait for it to be over lol I look forward to it because it's something that I enjoy, but I can't wait for it to be done because there is so much other stuff going on that I have to miss out on because of basketball.

The girls are still doing great! They have already surpassed their win total from last year and are 16-9 overall and 9-3 in the Summit League. My lady jags are only the second team in the conference to sweep South Dakota State in a season since they joined the conference and they are playing so well as a team. I absolutely love having them in my life and they are an amazing second family. I don't know what I would do without them!

I feel the same way about the guys, but the guys aren't doing so well this season. It's disappointing, but there are always seasons like this one. I know that they will swing back from it either the next season, or the year after that. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress I know they will be making because it's something that I got to observe firsthand with the women's team.

While there are a lot of fantastic things going on in my life, I can't help but feel like I'm somehow stuck and haven't been able to get out of this rut that I feel that I'm in. I'm still living at home, I still go to as many of the high school athletic events as possible, I still don't have a license and therefore don't drive, I've never had a relationship that has lasted more than two months.

I love seeing all of my friends be happy, but sometimes I wish that I was in the same boat as them. I can't believe how many of my friends are getting married or having babies (yes, more than one). While I know that I am so beyond happy for all of these wonderful people, it's sad because I oftentimes feel so alone. Valentine's day is just another reminder for me that I'm alone, still. Luckily, I have an amazing sister (who's boyfriend is totally awesome) who was willing to be my valentine this year.

It's just so hard sometimes feeling like there's nobody out there for you, but I know that I will meet the most amazing guy when the time is right for me. I relish in the fact that Heavenly Father is saving the right guy for me, I just have to be patient. And, while I'm waiting, I know that I have to focus on loving myself, because I am amazing (not just saying that because I can lol). I know that I am a child of God and that someday, I will meet the man of my dreams. Until that day comes, I will love me for me...maybe that's what Heavenly Father is waiting for...maybe I have to learn to love myself and my Savior more than anything so that I can love with everything I am.

I love that I have such a strong testimony of the concept of temple marriages. I have seen it bless so many families, including my own. These blessings that I've seen from the covenants that are made in the temple give me something to look forward to. I simply cannot wait!

Hope all is well with everyone. I send all of my love!

~Allison

2013

These past couple of weeks have been an absolute great way to start off a new year. Nothing bad has happened, basketball is going well (for one team, anyways lol), school has started, and my class schedule isn't completely awful either.

I'm still serving in the nursery at church, going on three years strong now, and I couldn't imagine having a better calling! I absolutely love these kiddos with all my heart. The only sad part about a new year rolling around is that we lose all the older kids to primary. I miss having a huge brood of boys around me, singing, coloring, tackling me, and tickling me all the time :( but we still have an amazing group of children!

Basketball has officially been in full-swing since October and I don't think anyone quite expected the season to be going this way. The boys are really struggling. They have had three guys have broken feet, with two of them needing surgery. Another is out with an AC joint problem, they've redshirted two of them (they might pull one off), another guy is a transfer, and our best player is academically ineligible because he's a grad student and needed to have 3.0 and he ended up with a 2.7...that leaves them with about 7-8 guys that are eligible and not injured to play. They are struggling immensely right now, and unfortunately, I don't foresee it getting any better :/

The girls, on the other hand, are doing fabulous! They are 9-7 (but should really be more like, 12-4). They are 3-1 in the Summit League, which has them sitting in second place! I am so proud of these girls and all of the hard work that they have been putting in this season. I can't wait to see how well they continue to do the rest of the year!

I am taking 12 credit hours, which translates to 4 classes. I have one class on Monday, one evening class on Tuesday, two classes (the other half of my m/w class, and another evening class), an evening class on Wednesday, and an afternoon class on Friday. My classes aren't spectacularly exciting, but it's only the beginning of the semester, so I guess I should give them a chance hahaha

Ooooohh, also...my birthday is just 3 days away! So long 21! good riddance lol can't wait to see what 22 has in store for me :)

Anywho, I just wanted to share some of the pictures from the end of 2012 through this past week!


This is Romeo. His mom just joined the church and he is just the sweetest little guy ever!

Romeo and Isaac :)

Me and Romeo again! He loves taking pictures lol

Emery! He is the most high-energy one in the bunch. He is super handsome and extra hilarious!

Saved the best for last...me and my sister out cosmic bowling! It was a blast!

whew.

I've had a difficult week.

I had three tests and a quiz this week, all while traveling with the basketball team.
The tests, however, were definitely not the hardest part of the week.

While on this road trip, I somehow managed to lose my phone :(

I started really flipping out when it was time for us to leave the hotel and I still had noooo idea where it was. I told the head coach that I was going to go look for it one last time before we left. He gave me a time limit to be back, or they were going to leave and send the bus back. I came back before the time he gave me, I walked outside, and they LEFT ME. I was definitely frustrated smh

Then, when I finally get to the gym, I noticed that the other girl helping me out somehow conveniently forgot to grab the bags from the bus -___-

Once I got there, one of the coaches handed me my phone. Evidently, I had left it at the gym after shoot around that morning. So, getting my phone back was a plus, but then I got demoted from being a manager to a flippin water girl. In my entire four years here, I have never ever ever been assigned to pass out water. I was extremely unhappy lol

Then, to top it off, the girls lost and I didn't get home until 1:00 a.m. It was definitely an awful trip haha

But, it's all good now, I guess. I get to go to a Pacers game tonight with a pretty awesome guy tonight! I'm def excited :)

Hope all is well!!

just an update!

My goodness...it's been quite awhile since my last post (oops!)

Nothing much has been going on here. We're more than halfway done with this semester and basketball season has officially started!

My classes are going well, for the most part...minus accounting smh so, if anyone out there is good with accounting, I could definitely use your help lol My other semi-nightmarish classes are business law, stats, and macroeconomics. The shocking part, however, is that I actually enjoy those ones.

Some exciting news that I got this semester is that I only have 9 more classes and my internship to do before I can graduate! That's only 3 more semesters!!!

I'm beyond excited that the season is now in full swing!! The only thing I don't like about basketball is that it pretty much erases the majority of my free time :P

The girls are looking pretty good as a team. They work hard and are dedicated to getting better each day. I love their passion and desire to do whatever it takes to be successful this season.

I haven't had much time to watch the guys practice, but hopefully they do really well this year!

I've been spending a lot of time out at the local high school each Friday night to support the football team since my dad helps out (and I get in for free, so why not? lol) They're in the postseason now and have made it to the sectional finals this Friday night! In the first round of the sectional, they beat the number 2 team in the state and then they had a miraculous comeback victory last Friday! They play Avon this Friday and they have knocked us out of the state tournament each of the last three years, by three points each time. The guys are playing really well right now, so hopefully, they can get through Avon this time!

Not much else is happening at the moment...life is good and I'm doing great! Hope everyone else is having a spectacular fall like I am!

Utah!!!

I have been beyond busy for the last month out here in Utah. I came out here with my friend Kristine and her family to help out with the kids.

It was so great that she presented me with this opportunity because I had been wanting to come out here, but had no money to do so. I am so blessed to come out here and get to know her family better!

We've done so much that I can't even remember it all! In the last four weeks, we've been all over the state.

We started out with a trip to their family cabin in Alta and followed it with a trip to Midway for the 4th of July. While there, we went to a rodeo and it was AH.MAZE.ING. I had a total blast :D

The kids took swimming and diving lessons for the first 2 weeks we were out here. We also had a trip to Lisa Falls, which is located in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

One day, we went swimming, bowling, and to the zoo...in triple digit heat lol That was probably the most exhausting day of my life bahahaha

The next weekend, we went down to St George with Kristine's in-laws and most of Dave's family. While there, we got to go see the temple and Brigham Young's winter home. It was blazing hot, but definitely gorgeous. We also went to the sand dunes (totally awesome btw!) On our way back from St George, Kristine decided we should take a detour and we headed out to Bryce Canyon. I cannot believe how beautiful it was! Mats and I took Livy all the way down to the bottom of the most famous part of the canyon. It was tiring, but definitely worth it!

Last weekend, we went out to Bear Lake and had a nice weekend. I got to see my first thunderstorm out here (thank goodness, because I've been missing them lol). Our weekend was filled with Mexican food, many ATV rides, and a super long bike ride...one where I got caught in one of those thunderstorms haha

This past week, Lynette (Dave's mom), gave me a signed picture from the High School Musical cast! She works at the school where the movie was filmed, Salt Lake East High. On Wednesday, she took me, Kristine, Maddie, Tyler, and Livy on a tour of the school! I was low key super hype about that lol I took tons and tons of pictures!

This weekend, we're at a lodge/condo at Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's super nice and the weather is insanely gorgeous!

And somewhere in the midst of all that chaos and fun-having, we made it down to Temple Square. Unfortunately, the temple's closed for renovations and cleaning, but I was still super excited to be able to see it :)

Dave got here on Friday morning and they take off next Friday/Saturday because he has to work again on the following Monday. Afer that, I only have about 2 weeks left here in good ol' Utah. I've had such an amazing time but I can't wait to get back home!

Me and Mats at Lisa Falls

TyTy!

Rodeo!!

Kristine and 3/4 of the kids at Bryce Canyon :)

Maddie and T-man

SLC Temple

Me and Mats at East High!

Sharpay's locker :)

The gym at East High, aka, the place where my favorite part of the movie was taped lol

Tyler at the bounce house at the Foothill sidewalk sale :D

Me on the chair lift (which I definitely disliked...) at Solitude

Kristine and Livy