Homecoming Weekend

I'm so lucky to be home in Arizona so that I could go to all of the Toro Homecoming festivities, one of my favorite times of the year!  It was kinda sad not being involved in it on the Student Council side of things, but at the same time, so relieving to just enjoy what was going on instead of stressing about what could/has gone wrong.  

To kick off the homecoming traditions, Mom and I went to the Homecoming Assembly on Friday morning to support Carie who was in charge of it.  Since I was in charge of it 2 years ago (and by "in charge" I mean organizing pom/cheer/band/drumline/National Anthem performances, royalty games and interviews, and actually conducting the assembly in front of the entire school), I know how big of an accomplishment it is to successfully pull off an assembly at MVT.  Carie did such an awesome job!  Everything was timed perfectly and she didn't even seem nervous!  I remember when I was in charge, I was so terrified before the assembly, but once it got going it was so much fun!

Haley, Grandma Clark, and I after I conducted the HC Assembly 2 years ago

Me with the gorgeous Carie, who of course did a fabulous job!

I loved seeing Bennett and Clark at school!  Bennett actually sat by me at the assembly, but we could barely get Clark to stand by me long enough to get a picture!  After being back at this assembly, I concluded that I am so glad I am done with high school.  Don't get me wrong, it was fun while it lasted, but I'm glad it's over.

Later Friday night was the big Homecoming Football Game.  This was especially fun because not only does Clark get a lot of playing time, but he scored 2 touchdowns for the Toros, ultimately ending the game with a 57-7 victory over Westwood.  I love kicking some warrior trash.  After the game, the whole Clark Brown fan club met on the field to take some traditional pictures (although of not very good quality).

I love my #31!

It took more convincing than it should have to get this picture, but it was worth it!

The next day was the actual day of the dance and it was really weird that I could sleep in and not have to go to the MVT gym and decorate for several hours.  Actually, I didn't get to sleep in because I went to Celeste's and got my hair colored ombre (more blonde on the ends), but it was still weird not setting up!  My favorite part of all of the Homecoming festivities was going around to all the Clark cousins and seeing them before they left.  Sam, Hailey, and Carie all looked gorgeous!  I miss being able to get all dressed up for the dances, but it was nice being able to enjoy homecoming without all that stress of finding a modest dress, what jewelery/shoes to wear, etc.  

Clark and Caleb sending me off to my first Homecoming dance....

....and me and Haley sending Clark off to his first Homecoming dance!

Clark looked sharp in the shirt and tie Mom and I picked out for him and he had a great time at the dance!  Even though I didn't go to the actual dance, I still had a super fun homecoming weekend!

The Big 18!

Here you go, Alyson... your birthday post!  Even though Alyson is a year younger than me, she's one of my dearest friends.  She's so cute, fun to be with, and probably the funniest person you'll ever meet.  

I'm so glad that we got to be in StuCo together last year and become such great friends!

So happy 18th birthday , Ally! Love you! 

P.S. Don't go too crazy with all the spray paint you'll be buying for StuCo this year! ;)

He's here!

I've been baby hungry for a while now, and since it isn't in my near future to have a baby, I was so excited when Tia got pregnant!  After what seems like forever, baby Landon Brett Allred is finally here!  I'm actually an aunt... weird.  But, I already love him and am so excited I get to watch him as he grows up.  

Tia wasn't sure if she wanted anyone in her room while she delivered, but the night of she decided that we could be in the room with her.  Haley was dead set on going and I last minute decided to go with her.  At about midnight last night we got a text saying that she was beginning to push.  Haley and I rushed to Banner Desert (and got there in record time, by the way).  We got there literally right after he was born.  We missed it! What are the chances?  Most people push for hours, but not Tia!  15 minutes was enough for her and Landon was born at 12:14 am on September 13th.  I'm not going to lie, I'm a little relieved that I missed it, because I don't think I could have handled it like I thought I'd be able to!  I saw enough for the part that I was there and felt kinda sick the whole time, but luckily never passed out or got nauseous.  It was cool to see them measure and weigh Landon, though, and I was the first one to get to hold him after the nurses and Brett & Tia!  

Here are just a few pictures from my phone.  Haley got about a million on her own camera, and one of Haley's good friends Kenzie Gosling is a professional photographer and took lots of pictures too.

He weighs 6 pounds 5 ounces and is 19.5 inches long

Blessed

Coming to ASU from BYU has been a bigger adjustment than I ever had imagined.  I didn't think that it would be that difficult, but the past few weeks have been particularly hard for me, especially after everybody went back up to Utah.  I kept dwelling on what I didn't have, what I couldn't do, and who wasn't in Arizona with me.  I've finally been able to look beyond that and begin to see the blessings of what I actually do have and focus on those things.  I've always known I have been blessed with such an amazing family, but I've been especially grateful for them the past couple of months.  Living away from them helped me realize how much they impact my day to day life, so now that I live back with them, I can truly appreciate it.  

My mom has been so completely understanding of my transition.  She's always there to just listen to me complain and offer advice when needed.  Also, a permanent chick flick buddy.  Love it.  I'm also so grateful for my dad who is so hard working and an amazing example to me.  This past weekend we went on a little daddy-daughter date to a baptism for a convert Dad knows.  The whole service was in Spanish, and I surprisingly understood most of it which was really cool!  We then went to Costa Vida and hit up Walmart for some Saturday night grocery shopping.

  

A blurry pic from our date

My favorite picture of me and Dad

Haley has been my best friend, my partner in crime, my entire life.  She is the best example of being passionate about something and doing whatever it takes to get what she wants.  She doesn't easily give up on anything, a trait that I really admire.  One of my favorite things to do is stay up all night and just talk with her about anything and everything.  Just the other day we were both trying to do homework and ended up talking for about 4 hours... We got nothing done.  Just the other day Haley came home from school and told me she had a present for me.  It's a plaque that has the quote "Sisters by chance, Friends by choice."  I love this quote, however, I don't think it is by chance that Haley and I are sisters.  I know that we are sisters because I needed her to be my sister and I'm so grateful for that.

Love my family dear!

Little Devil

I really hate change.  I like to have a set routine and for everything to stay the same.  That's the one thing I miss about high school-- the same schedule every year, the monotony of day to day-- so it's a surprise to even me that once I got into the routine of things at BYU, I gave it up to go to a completely new and different  school.  But, I like to think of it as my newest adventure.  Although it's nothing at all like what I'm used to, it's exciting (and extremely intimidating) to me to see what else is out there... so here we go!

I think it's a little funny that I'm going from the "Lord's university" to the Devil's university... I also think I'm the only one who thinks it's funny.  Anywho, I was major stressin' on the first day of school.  I was worried that I would get stuck in traffic, then I would get lost on the way to the institute building, then not be able to find a park, miss the light rail, get off on the wrong stop, get lost on the way to class, and be incredibly late.  I was a nervous wreck.  Luckily, my first commute went smoothly and was only about an hour and ten minutes! And I thought my 5 minute walk to BYU's campus during the summer was bad.  It was also helpful to receive lots of encouraging texts from my mom ("You'll be fine, keep breathing!"), Tia, and my friends.  My mom said she was so worried about me because of how stressed out I was.  I'm pathetic, I know.

My first day as a Sun Devil

Raven and I met on the day of orientation back in March.  We were so lucky to meet because we're both in the nursing program and have a lot of the same classes.  I was so glad to have a friend the first day!

Me and Raven

 Check out these cute "I Heart Nursing" shirts we found in the bookstore!

Last Thursday I went to  my very first college football game!  I went with Raven and her boyfriend Russell, and we sat in the student section.  The energy was incredible, the game was an easy win, and there was sooo much maroon and gold, but my favorite part was the fireworks.  I'm such a girl.

Here's to many more adventures to come!

My Home Girl

For the next 15 minutes it is my home girl Ally Taylor's 19th birthday!  She has been one of my very best friends this past year and I don't know what I would have done without her.  She is so understanding, listens to my stories over and over again, and agrees with me on pretty much everything.. a good friend indeed!  I'm so grateful that we I met her in Student Council my junior year.  We became best friends at a time when we were both having a rough time, and it ended up working perfectly!  We have the best memories together.  

Bug saviors. 

 MVT football field.  

IHOP at midnight.  

Losing bets.  

And regretting it.  

Cheese crisps. 

 StuCo camp.  

Music videos.  

Harmonizing.  

Dance parties on cars, in the back of cars, etc. 

And there are way too many inside jokes to list on here (most are probably not appropriate enough to be put on a public website anyways!)  Now, she's leaving me and is off to make her own memories up in Idaho.  I'm going to miss seeing her everyday, but I'm excited for her! 

 Love you, Allysun Christine Taylor, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!