Two Coats.

          With working two jobs, I have had many encounters with many different kinds of people. A lot of those people have the biggest hearts and a good sense of humor.
          While folding little girls t-shirts with pictures of puppies and glitter on the front, I heard a woman's voice behind me, "Excuse me, I'm looking for a coat." I turned around and saw a grandmother in raggedy clothes. I thought she was talking about getting a coat for herself, but she went on to tell me that her two granddaughters were in need of a warm coat for the winter and she needed to buy one for both of them. After helping her find two little coats, I asked her if she wanted me to get her anything else. Without hesitation, this sweet grandmother looked at me, smiled, and kindly said, "No thank you. You have a wonderful Christmas." I watched her walk away to buy the two coats in her hand.
          I stood there awestruck at what had just happened. Here was someone who was in need of so many things, and yet she was very adamant at getting something someone else needed.
          I reminded me of the Savior. How He sacrificed everything for us. He died for us. And He gave us everything. So now it's the time of year when we get to celebrate His birth. Let's not forget the reason for the season. Give to someone in need.
          I hope that we can all remember what the Savior has done for us. Have a merry Christmas!

The Homestead.

Growing old is a bittersweet thing. Your hair turns gray, you forget things, but the memories that do stay with you are cherished things.

Today I went to The Homestead. A cozy little old folks home. The first stop was June's room. It was the first time I have ever seen her, but I could tell that as soon as I walked in with two of my roommates that her day just got brighter. She saw the guitar and ukulele we brought, and immediately asked us to sing for her. When we were done, she would ask us to sing one more time again and again. When the singing was done, we asked her about the old picture above her chair. In the picture was a beautiful young woman with a huge smile on her face, standing next to two horses. As June explained the picture of her horse Chauno, she seemed to recreate this memory in her mind with such clarity when she had lost so many others. Every now and then, while talking about her horses, she would drift off. Then, realize that she had to finish her story and would reluctantly come back to the present time. "The time I had with him wasn't nearly enough", she said as she thought about her cherished friend. She daydreamed out loud about giving him a big hug when she takes her journey to heaven. Before we left, she made sure that we sang one last song. We each gave her a tender embrace and left with a smile on our faces.

The next stop was Zeruah. She shared the story of a particular day she remembered from high school. They all gathered in the gym, and brought in a radio for everyone to hear President Roosevelt declare war. She talked about paying 25 cents at the movie theater to watch the newsreel. That was the only way they could get caught up on the war. She talked about living in the Great Depression, and waking up from nightmares about not being able to get food stamps. That was the only way to get food, and she was scared. No wonder that was one of her few memories. She too, made us sing and sing. With a big smile on her face, she reached out for a hug before we left.

Now, sitting in front of an open door feeling the cold night breeze against my skin, I think about my own memories. About the memories that I will make, and the memories I will try my hardest to remember when I grow old, like Zeruah and June.

The Walk.

I walk home with a warm feeling in my heart. Comfort. Peace. I'm walking with a spring in my step. The cement beneath my feet is hard and cracked. I walk with the words of Sara Bareilles flowing through my mind. I look over my shoulder at the sun that has turned into a hazy shade of bronze. And yet the sky around it looks overcast from the wildfires in the far off distance. What should be the smell of fresh air has now turned into the smell of campfire. I feel the breeze brush softly across my face and through my hair.

I walk and look at the cars passing by on Main Street. Wishing that they would all slow down, get out of their car, and take the same slow walk that I am taking now. Put all their troubles aside, and just walk. I daydream the impossible as I walk past the hair salons, ice cream shops and craft stores. Everything is just the way it should be. 

I walk into my apartment and look at the smiling faces of my beautiful roommates. Either doing homework or playing the guitar or laughing at something funny they found on Pinterest. I smile and think of how lucky I am to be surrounded by wonderful daughters of God. 

I walk into my room. I open my laptop. Turn on the song that was the names sake of this blog, and start typing. Hoping that the right words come out. And think about the walk home.

The Blue Dolphins.

This weekend, I went to Utah with my cousin and best friend. While there, I stayed at my aunt-in-law's house. (Yeah, try and figure that one out.) She and her husband have three children. Two little redhead twin girls Payton and Teegan, and an energetic five-year-old boy named Macrae. The second day we were there, Macrae had a soccer game with his team, The Blue Dolphins. I was really interested to see how this was gonna pan out...two teams of five-year-old kids playing soccer?

We drove out to a big field where tons of little boys and little girls wearing neon colored jerseys were playing soccer. Let me just tell you, it was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen. These kids would run/waddle together in one big huddle, all trying to get the ball, and all trying to understand what their parents and coach were telling them to do. And no matter what direction it was, they would kick the ball straight in front of them. The parents and coaches were a little more enthusiastic than the kids. While Macrae's team played, one of the dad's was yelling, "Sienna! Get! The ball!" The grandmother next to us would yell, "Nice job number 16!" or "Yeah that's right Megan!" Seriously. They were like football fans. Then when someone would score, it was like they were celebrating New Year's for 30 seconds. These parents didn't mess around. The coach of the Blue Dolphins was a nice man who just wanted his little soccer team to win. One girl on the team had gotten her hair clip knocked off. She ran to the coach, waving the big blue flower in her hand and asked him to put it back in her hair. The coach quickly put her hair clip back in, and the little girl ran back into the game along with the coaches dignity.

Let's just say that I tried to hold my laughter in the entire time. You would too.

It's The Little Things.

I'm always amazed at how much of an affect the little things can make.

Turning up the radio on a hot day and rolling the windows down.

Looking at old yearbooks.

Laying in the sunshine.

Taking the train.

Putting on friendship bracelets you made when you were a kid.

Taking the dog out for a walk.

Listening to the sound of rain.

Going to the park.

Talking and laughing with Mom.

Reading a book.

Going to church.

Racing to the front door with your sister.

Walking around downtown.

Going to a Sounders game with Dad.

Seeing old friends.

Long talks.

Laughter.

Flashbacks.

I had a conversation with my sister the other day. We talked about maturity. About how in the moment, we always think we're being mature. Then years later, we want to punch ourselves in the face, and we realize how silly we actually were. This made me think on all my past years as a silly girl. 

Before kindergarten, I remember looking out the window at my older brother and sister as they walked to the bus stop. Longing to do the same. Yearning to do whatever they were doing. If I did what they did then that meant I was cool. I remember my sister getting frustrated as I always wanted to take part in her birthday parties. She would give a dissapointed look to my mom as I sat with her and her friends, copying everything they did. But every night without fail, after Mom tucked us in and told us to go right to bed, Kinsey and I would talk ourselves to sleep. She got the top bunk, it was cooler. 

I remember Junior High. We had a schedule. And each subject had a different teacher and a different classroom. I remember going to Orientation and seeing the friends I hadn't seen for 3 months during the summer. All the boys seemed to be a little cuter than I had remembered. Embarrassed by the metal crap pulling on my gapped buck teeth and overbite, I was an awkward little twig of a teenager. 4th period was gym class. I dreaded that class like none other. The first time we had to run the mile, I found a sweet girl named Krista who possessed the same amount of hatred I had for running. We soon became best friends. 

It was time for High School. I was 16, always wishing that one of the handsome senior jocks would somehow notice the timid sophomore girl waiting to find romance. It seemed like the halls were lined with couples. I soon realized the heartbreak that can come to a dramatic teenage girl after my own involvement in the dating scene. I was convinced I would never date again, and that I would end up with 17 cats. After graduation, I couldn't wait to start my new life as an adult. Livin' the high life.

What was once juvenile thoughts of cute, popular jocks and 17 cats, has now turned into dreams of a horse camp for special needs kids, learning how to play the guitar, and getting through college. But who knows? Something might change along the way. 

If everybody else jumped off a bridge, would you?

Apparently I would. Yesterday, for a friends birthday, a group of us went up to Monkey Bridge. Once we got there, we jumped off. This later resulted in a gihuganatmous bumpy bruise, my eardrum almost bursting, and a nasty sunburn. But talk about an adrenaline rush.

When we first got there, the boys of the group jumped off one by one. I knew that if I didn't jump off the bridge soon, I never would. So when another girl from the party stood at the edge of the bridge and asked me to go with her, I did. We counted down from 3...and jumped. 

I thought I was gonna hit the water a lot faster than that...Which was the worst part. I shut my eyes and plugged my nose. I probably shouldn't have done that so soon....cause I was gasping for air when I came up.  I'm happy to say that I did it, but I need to change a few things next time. 

1. Make sure that when you jump off, your body is completely straight. Do not land any other way. You'll get a bruise.

2. Don't hold your breath until right before you go into the water. It comes later than you think. 

3. Make sure you bring sunscreen. That helps. A lot. 

Team Gryffindor.

In high school, I was on the bowling team for 3 years. It. Rocked. And during my senior year, we even got 2nd in State. Nbd.

So you can imagine my excitement when one of my roommates told me that she needed people to be on her bowling team for one of her classes. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my glow in the dark hot pink bowling shoes or my bowling ball, Big Bertha.

Nonetheless, I'm on the team, which is Team Gryffindor. The players are Harry Potter (Lindsey), Neville Longbottom (Brianne), Sirius Black (Jessica), Ron Weasley (Parker), Professor Dumbledore (Adam), and Professor McGonagall (me). We all have matching T-shirts with our Harry Potter names, numbers, and quotes on the back and the Gryffindor crest on the front. We're legit. We're too legit to quit. We had our first game on Thursday and we totally won. 5 points for Gryffindor!

We Are Young. And Fun.

I love Rexburg, Idaho. It's a great place. Small, but great. My roommates are also great. In case you were wondering, everything is great.

Last weekend was one of the best weekends I have ever had. It was completed filled with fun and happiness. By the way, if you haven't seen the movie Jon Carter, don't waste your time. That was the only bad part.On Saturday was my roommate Lindsey's birthday! We all drove up to Idaho Falls. The first part of our adventure was iJump. That place makes you feel like you're 5 years old again. It's just a gihugantamous room full of trampolines. You can't help but try new tricks and laugh your head off as you try not to act as clumsy as you actually are. I failed at that. After that, we went to a restaurant called Snake Bite. Even the name of that restaurant makes me drool. I have never had a better burger and fries in my entire life. So. Good. If you ever take a trip to Idaho Falls, eat a burger at Snake Bite. The next part of our adventure was walking around the Idaho Falls Temple. It is simply beautiful. The flowers were blooming, people walked around with peacefulness and with smiles on their faces. I love the temple.

Well it was just a great weekend. And I think this weekend will be another good one. I hope you all have great weekends too!!

 

I Moved to Chicago.

I think everybody has tricked me into thinking I moved to Rexbug, Idaho when in reality I moved to Chicago, The Windy City. Yesterday was the first day of classes and I'm sure every other girl will agree with me when I say that I made sure my hair looked perfect, and when I went outside it turned out to just be a huge waste of time. In any other normal city the wind usually just blows in one general direction...this is not the case in Rexburg, Idaho. The wind blows every way possible. By the time I got to my first class, it was a rats nest. But other than the crazy wind, Rexburg is so great!

Being able to see my siblings and my niece is wonderful. I've gone out for ice cream with my sister and her roommates, had dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house, and had an epic failed attempt at a sewing project. I love watching my cute little niece learn new things and look around at everything and try to figure out what the crap is going on. It is so easy to make her laugh, and her smile is extremely contagious.

So far, my second semester is turning out to be great.

Use The Force, Tyler.

While I have been home between semesters, I have been unable to get a job. So I have been babysitting as much as I possibly can. A lot of the time I get tired and have the kids play with their toys and with each other because I run out of the energy to play with them. Yesterday was different. Yesterday was epic.

I babysat three kids yesterday. They. Were. Awesome. The oldest, her name is Alyssa...so that just makes her awesome right there cause she has a cool name.

The youngest, Austen, he's three years old. I played with him while the two older kids were playing upstairs. He and I stayed downstairs because he was chasing the fly that was buzzing around the room. He would point to it while running around in circles after the little bug that was just out of reach. After a little while of this, I called him over to me and told him I was going to take a picture of him. So I held up my phone and he gives me a huge cheesy smile. I didn't even take a picture at first because I was laughing too hard at how stinkin cute he was. Then I finally took the picture and showed it to him. He pointed to it and said, "Cute!"

The middle kid, Tyler, well he's just great. At first he was a little quiet, but then when he got used to me he just wanted to play all day. He played by himself for a little while and then he came up to me and said, "You wanna play lightsabers?" How can you resist a cute little five year old boy who wants to play lightsabers?? So of course I said yes. Before we started, I thought this would probably only last about five minutes before he would want to play with something else...that was not the case. Our battle probably lasted a good half hour. I had the red lightsaber so I was the bad guy, and he had the blue lightsaber so he was the good guy. Let's just say it was an epic battle. We battled around the entire downstairs floor. He'd pretend to cut off one of my legs and then I'd pretend to cut off one of his arms. Throughout the battle, Tyler would thrust his hand to the air in front of me like they do in the Star Wars movies and say, "Force!" The first time he did this I didn't really know what to do...but I quickly caught on. When he did this a second time I mirrored his image and we would stood in front of each other, lightsabers in one hand, and using The Force with the other hand. After a minute or two, both of us would fall down because The Force was just too great for both of us. We did this many more times, and I wished someone had filmed it and sent it to George Lucas. He would've been proud.

A Great Opportunity.

This weekend was a great one. I was able to listen to modern-day Prophet's and Apostles. I was able to hear their direction and guidance for us. I felt so overwhelmed with their love for people and their concern for us. I was taught so many things that pertained to me. Every General Conference, I am always amazed at how it pertains to me and others around the world in their own personal way. I love that our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has a wonderful sense of humor and always manages to make the congregation laugh at every Conference. I know that so many lives were touched this weekend and I'm glad I had the great opportunity to listen to these amazing leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So many things stood out to me this Conference and I loved every minute of it. 

These are some quotes that stood out to me:

"It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith." -Henry B. Eyering

"Allow Christ's Atonement to change your heart." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Lives are better and much happier when we turn our hearts to Christ." -M. Russel Ballard

"Remove any of your fear with faith, and let God guide you." -M. Russel Ballard

"Never delay a prompting." -David F. Evans

Sounders Game.

Tonight my wonderful parents and I went to a Sounders game! I have never been before, so I was pretty excited. My mom had made us all scarves of the bright green and blue colors of our soccer team, Dad had his Sounders shirt, and I had a blue and green beanie. On our way there, my parents told me that the Sounders fans were a little different than Mariners baseball fans. I thought to myself, "How different could it be?" But when we walked into the stadium, all you could see in the stands was blue or green, and it seemed like everyone was yelling. Let me just say that the game hadn't even started yet.

It was almost time for the game to start. The announcer was saying each players name of the opposing team, and after each name, a loud "Boooooo!" came from the crowd. Then it was time for the announcer to say the names of each player for the Sounders. Before he did this, every single person who had been sitting down, now stood up. I think if anyone hadn't stood up...they would've gotten shot...These people were intense! Front and center of the stadium was a huge group of people that kind of resembled a pep band to me...only there were no instruments. For the ENTIRE game they were singing, yelling, clapping, jumping, and led the entire stadium in cheers for the Sounders. 

Whenever we made a goal, the crowd went wild. Seriously. Everyone cheered and high fived each other even if you didn't know who the person was that you were high fiving. And when the ref made a call against our team, I was a little afraid for him. People. Got. Mad. To say that Sounders fans are emotional about games would be the understatement of the century. 

Within ten minutes of the game, I would say about 90% of the people around us were already wasted. It was interesting to see grown men acting like they were six years old. The guy sitting in front of us was one of those men. He kept turning around and talking to us like we were best friends. He high-fived us, drank lots of beer, talked to us about how he needed a haircut, and cheered for the Sounders. Actually, he yelled for the Sounders. 

I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I have absolutely no clue what the rules are for soccer. I used to like to play it in the backyard with friends until I had a bad experience that ended up with a smashed eye and a bloody nose that I thought would never stop. Let's just say that playing soccer isn't exactly a pleasant thing for me, what with my complete lack of hand-eye coordination. So I didn't really know what was happening the entire game until someone scored a goal. But hey, we won! 

The Importance of Family.

          My family is fantsmagorical. We help each other out. We've got each others backs. We talk with a lisp when it's just us together. We're awesome.

          We have birthday enchiladas, Wii tournaments, and skype dates.

          

          We fight over who gets to sit in the recliner, have wrestling matches, and eat popcorn every time we watch a movie.

          We tell each other everything, give advice, and support each other with every decision.

          We give each other compliments, tell each other about cool new things we've found, and laugh at the same things.

          We have placemats from everywhere we've been, take pictures at every important moment, and have been to some of the most beautiful places.

        

          We can have conversations entirely out of movie quotes, love to surprise each other, and joke around.

          We have laughing attacks, use sarcasm a lot, and plan vacations in a minute by minute schedule.

          We know exactly how to make each other laugh, say "I love you" at the end of every phone conversation, and have a silly picture for every serious one. 

         

          We take a trip to Leavenworth every year, have "fend for yourself" nights when there's too many leftovers in the fridge, and have family prayer every night. 

          We help set the table for dinner, play with the dog, and call Mom and Dad when we need help.

          We cry when we're overwhelmed with happiness for each other, we cry when we say goodbye for a while, and we smile when we say hello again. 

          We get to see our family growing, we cherish every moment, and we keep adding to the list of things we do.

          This list of things wouldn't exist without my family. 

Enriche.

          For my first post on a blog ever, I decided to take you through my day yesterday. My sister has told me that if my life were a TV show, it would be hilarious. Well, this one would definitely be a funny episode. Most of the time, when I have days like yesterday, I think it's because of my stupidity. But then I realize I'm not stupid, I just think I have bad luck when thinking. Such as yesterday.
          After a wonderful day at church I walked out to my car, Enriche. I unlocked the door, sat down, closed the door, put the key in the ignition....and nothing. I had tried starting the car about 15 times when I had lost hope. Enriche needed help. So I walked back into church and asked around for someone who had jumper cables, which someone did. He drove his car around next to mine, and I opened my door and pulled the latch to open the hood. I set my keys down on the seat and closed the door. After we had successfully connected the jumper cables to both cars, I tried to open my door and realized that it was locked. I looked through my car window and saw my keys that I had set on the driver's seat. Out of habit, I had locked the doors while stepping out of the car. I had had bad luck with thinking...I had no other way of getting the spare key which was at my house either, because the parentals weren't home and I didn't have a key to unlock the front door since it was in my locked car. So my two poor friends had to wait for half an hour until I could call my dad to see what to do. One of those poor friends ended up having to take me to my house which is a 20 minute drive. I got the spare key and we drove another 20 minutes back to the church building where I was finally able to unlock my car and start it.
          Enriche and I were finally able to drive home together after a very eventful episode in the life of Alyssa.