Ab Double

Last night, I went to see True Grit with my family. It was pretty accurate to the old version, but it was not my favourite movie. Too gory. I did enjoy it, though! The best part wasn't the movie at all. Half way through the movie, my sister Megan leans over to my mom and says "Where's Gwyneth?". She thought that True Grit was the new movie about the country singer played by Gwyneth Paltrow! They both were crying from laughing so hard, and my dad walked out for a few minutes out of embarrassment. They're great.

A few weird things happened at the theater too... First, I saw one of my friends from Legacy that goes to AF now. I smiled and nodded my head in a way that said "good to see you" because my arms were full. He just looked. It's not even like he didn't remember me, because I talked to him recently. I am just hoping he didn't actually mean to ignore the nod, but I have heard that he thinks he is too cool for everyone else.

The girl at the treat counter knew me, which was the other weird thing. She knew my name and I didn't know hers. She said "now I can finally say that I've met you!"... Does this mean that she's just heard a lot about me? I was so very confused. I am still confused.

I plan to go make a giant snowball now. Aye-dios!

-Al(ly)i M

P.S.- Matt Damon had an "ab double" in True Grit. Really? You don't even see his abs! I think it's kind of cheating to have a double of any sort. Do your own stunts.

the stories

Alright... Where to begin?

First of all, I passed my road test today! Schoonover didn't right anything down or keep track of points, which makes me doubt the legibility of all of his passings, but everyone did so well! Lindy is a ridiculously good driver. Rachel blew my mind. It was good.

During road yesterday I saw a runner running down a steep hill in front of us while we were stopped at a stop sign. She slipped on some ice and started jerking frantically to regain her balance, but ended up running straight into a tree. It was so hilarious and I saw the whole thing!

Later on that night (this is Monday night) we drove up to Gateway to exchange a few Santa items. We were in the parking garage waiting to get our ticket when the car next to us opened its doors and a mother and her 20ish year old son came out to get on the elevator while their father parked. They were ridiculous and walked right under the arm that comes down to tell you to stop. The arm came down upon her right as they walked underneath and it made the loudest thud. She wasn't injured, which made this another hilarious event that I just happened to see at the right time.

Also at Gateway, we stopped into a little cookie store for some cocoa because Rocky Mountain was out. It smelled delicious in that little, warm cookie business and we ended up buying a dark chocolate chip cookie. It was the best thing ever. I wish you could try it. I now have a new favorite cookie.

After Gateway, we went to Nordstrom Rack to buy things with Valeria's card because it expires at the new year. We found some good things and I picked out a few things that will be wrapped for my birthday. In the parking lot going back to our car, I decided that it was the perfect time to embarrass Megan. Obviously I am good at that. I chased her around yelling "SISSY!" and running with my knees bent strangely. It was hilarious and she punched me. So worth it.

Other things that happened yesterday included finding a heart-shaped cloud and visiting our good friend Zoe from Tucson. The cloud is self explanatory, but I will try to give you an idea of how cool Zoe is. We talked for about 2-3 hours with her in her hotel room about everything! She moved from Iran when she was 18 and she told us all about that and about her family. My parents have been friends with Zoe since my dad was in medical school. I was born by them and had some good (and some super weird) times with their son Matthew. We're about the same age. We go to Lake Powell all the time with them and our families are very close. I loved hearing about her and her story.

(I would put a picture of the heat cloud, but I am not good with technology, so I don't know how to get it off of my camera...)

If you know me, you may know that our foreign exchange student Dani is not always on my good side. We've recently bonded a bit, but you know the gist of it. My mom planted the idea of a sleepover in her subconscious as would be done in Inception and we had a little family girl time yesterday and today. It was good.


TONIGHT
I went sledding with 39 other awesome people! A lot of my cousins were there, a lot of people that you don't know were there, and people that you do know (like the Ollertons) were there. It was dark outside, which was amazing. On the ride up, I would just lay back and gaze at the stars and at the horizon. It was brilliant. It seriously was one of the best connections I've had with nature in a while. The sledding part was also great! I took out 3 people (10 tubers were connected, and we couldn't stop in time), but the actual tubing part was incredible! I love going that fast down the snow. I actually had some good bonding with Easton Ollerton and was incredibly annoyed by my cousins. My cousins are boys and though they are about my age, they can act like 5 year olds when they get worked up. They were worked up tonight and were fighting with their tubes. It was still the best activity of my break!



You have a lot of patience if you just read this whole thing.

stop... and jiggle it!

stop... and wiggle it!

- A very tired Ally

(too tired to be all cutesy and put pictures up. Sorry for the boring post!)

I have stories

So many funny things happened today...

• Runner and tree encounter
• Lady's head vs. parking garage arm
• Dark chocolate cookies
• Zoe
• "SISSY!"
• Road
• Heart cloud
• Dani's sleepover idea

It'll be good. I can't really explain tonight, though. I have road again tomorrow (testing day!).


Wish me luck.
-Ally

sore arms and a craving for coffee...

I woke up at 6 today to go to AF high for my first session of road. Bleh. We drove around for 3 hours going through Provo, Orem, Springville, and a bunch of places that I have never seen. It would have been so so boring, but it wasn't! Rachel and Lindy were in my car! I do love them. Also, Mr. Schoonover's coffee smelled so so good! He had me stop by a gas station so that he could fill it up again. I love the smell (and taste) of coffee! Well, not that I've ever really had it, but I like things flavored that way.

I probably wouldn't even be awake right now if not for road, but it kind of feels good to be up and at 'em before the sun comes up. It's nice to be outside, though (not in a stuffy school). Now I get to do it again tomorrow!

Rachel and Lindy are very good drivers, so it's good to be a passenger- but only a passenger. Oh well, I've got to get over driving someday... might as well get it over with.


Go away! Leave me be! (not really... It's an SNL thing. I don't want you to really go away)

-Ally-cat

Christmas Weekend

Christmas weekend has been a good one. Overall, I have had a very good break! Sure, there has been much lounging, but that's what should be happening, right? I like lounging. This week I will have to get back on track, though. Lots of working and homework (but I plan to squeeze in much playtime as well).

For Christmas, I received all things adventure. An adventure bag (made of plantlike hairy stuff), a leather-bound notebook, an adventure book, a helicopter, a marble mat, all of the Harry Potter books, clothes, and other such things.

On Christmas afternoon (after presents and a good breakfast), we went to the church to play basketball and dodge ball with the Bodilys. When we were done, the cousins came over to our house where my dad made a delectable prime rib and we held a talent show. I was low and on Midol, which means that I was being super funny without trying to be. Being low is an interesting thing. The effects are different almost every time, but each time, I am... not myself. It's not the greatest feeling, but it's a nice laugh for everyone around me!


I plan to go to Soldier Hollow on Tuesday from 6-8! That's super exciting, because I really would love to go tubing at night.


Promise not to promise anymore.
-Ally


P.S.- Schoonover just called to tell me that I have road from 7:30-10:30 tomorrow and Tuesday. That's in the morning. I don't know how this will turn out... Probably not very well.

Christmas is coming

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

It seems so strange that Christmas is already here. We should have some decent snow (after all, we do live in Utah) and some carolers, but that hasn't really happened. It is super sad to look outside on this lovely eve of the eve of Christmas to see patches of grass emerging from the bits of snow. Oh, well. I will give it 24 hours to snow. If there is not a white Christmas eve, it really won't feel like Christmas.

Tomorrow my family will once again complete the tradition of eating Chinese takeout on Christmas Eve. I love that tradition. My parents started it before I existed, which makes it even better! We have a relaxed dinner with the fold-able boxes of yumminess then we open our pajamas. This year we will have two pretend sisters with us as well. Last year, my Chinese sister Valeria stayed with us as she will this year too, but Dani will also have her first American Christmas with us. It gon be good!

I've finished buying all of my presents, but I spend about an hour wrapping each one. I wrapped Megan's present like a Hogwarts letter (complete with twine and a wax seal), which took ages. I should probably not be such a perfectionist with wrapping paper. I am not a perfectionist in many areas, but I do love crisp edges and neat folds on my wrappings!


Have a good one. Remember Christmas, prepare your presents, and wear your p.j.'s proudly. Run up the stairs like you would when you were 6. It's good for you.

-Mortimer the elf.


P.S.- Ali came over on Tuesday night after I was done working and told me her parent's stories which I loved! Thank you, Ali. We also shared some special baby pictures and... dance moves. She's basically a Melendez now. Once you've danced by Megan, you're in.

P.P.S.- I went over to Eliza's last night where we wrote two special letters while watching Elf. We didn't plan on it, but we ended up watching the whole movie without talking. We just shared occasional laughs while writing these special things. When we were done, we crinkled, burned, and sealed them. We were distracted with thoughts of our first play date during the burning part and the envelope just about went up in flames. Then, the letter was dropped in a giant puddle, so it might not even be legible anymore. Adam took us to deliver one and was being an absolute lunatic while driving! Eliza and I jumped into a moving car (SO FUN!) and Eliza hopped out of a moving car. Talk about an eventful night full of adventures!


The End. Sorry that I went off on a tangent. I find myself doing that often.

The Fray

I have been in a mood for The Fray for about a week... all I've done is listen to their songs on repeat. I'm really loving it.

I wish sometimes that I received random visits more often! I think that it was Ali's Christmas visit that made me decide that I really really like surprise talks! Also, I have a really good and creative idea for someone (that I stole from my sister...) and I would really like to make it with someone.

I am going to bed. I know, some break, right? You'd think that I would be staying up until 8 a.m., but I actually like sleep. It's a newly acquired liking. It makes me feel old, but I am seriously out of it right now... and it's only 10:13! Wid..

I made a birthday paper for Blake today! Did you know it's his birthday? If you didn't, visit him when he gets home. He is going to Kauai tomorrow! Lucky! (said in Napoleon voice)

And I finished my Christmas shopping! Just thought I'd throw that out there. I am really excited for everyone to open their presents! I wrapped one of them like a Hogwarts letter! Complete with a wax seal and tied with twine! It's pretty sweet, if I do say so myself!


Don't eat fermented pomegranate arils.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore

P.S.- Rachel! Are you done with the first book? You'd better be! Let's watch the movie

Inspiration

Did you know that those delicious Dove chocolates have inspirational sayings on the inside? I think that it's so that you can feel good about yourself as you pig out on chocolate... At least that's what happened with me...

Here's what they have told me this week (or maybe just today...) :

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."

"Share our similarities, celebrate our differences."

"Remind yourself that it's okay not to be perfect."

And my favourite:

"You're gorgeous."

Go inspire someone.

I was bored...

Is it normal that I have a gazillion unposted posts on this blog? I sometimes sit down and write... or write about how I can't write, and I just save them. Some are not finished, some I feel that you don't want/need to know about, and some... I am just too embarrassed to post...

This is one that I didn't mean to not post, I just never got around to finish it. I figure that it's harmless enough that I can actually finish it tonight, seeing as how my family activities went too long and I don't have a ride to Emily's house. (I am so so sorry, Emily. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that I can't be there. I hope that it was fun! I like you a lot a lot!)


I wrote down a few things while I was in Birrell's class to make up a period of Drivers Ed that I missed while in Disneyland. They took a test, so I had some time to write down my thoughts. Here's what I came up with:

• It's really sad when jeans that are made for short people are too long for you
• We will never meet most people that we see, but they all have stories
• People like people (for the most part)
• Listening is one of my favourite things to do
• Where would we be without Ibuprofen/Midol?
• Not everyone has good intentions
• There are some people that just make your day when you see them
• Halo is much better than homework
• Sometimes you find hints of the future and you get super excited
• The unhealthy things always taste better
• People are generally the coolest when they have an awesome name. (like Ally)
• A lot of people lie to themselves aobut who they really are.
• There are times when what you meant to do is not what was really done. This can be wondrous or catastrophic.
• I love scratch and sniff things
• Awkward things tend to happen when someone catches your eye
• It means a lot when you recieve a meaningful gift.
• Left-handed people are the best (though I wouldn't like it)
• Sitting in drivers ed while everyone else takes a test is so boring
• There is nothing better than a quality ugly sweater
• I love to write in my journal
• Pepsi vs. Coke is apparantly a big topic of debate
• I would really like some double-sided tape right about now
• Nice people are hard to find sometimes
• There are some people that have exact replicas of themselves in younger bodies, different families, and different names
• BIRRELL'S CLASS PUTS THEIR OWN PAPERS THROUGH THE SCANTRON! WHY AM I NOT IN THIS CLASS?
• A nice cup of cocoa is the best
• I can't stand in the back row of anyhting without being lost
• Water. It's a very wonderful thing. Water *boom boom boom boom* Water. It makes me just want to sing! Water.
• Sometimes I wish that I hadn't quit ballet
• day dreaming is a necessary and regular event of my day
• I love Mrs. Johnson. She was my preschool teacher and I ran into her the other day at Costco. She still pinches your cheeks.
• precisely
• I heard someone sitting behind me say this:
• We are just girls. We pretend that high heels don't hurt and that your opinions don't affect us.
• Hands are nice, good looking, and really handy
• My thoughts are constantly going.
• What if my name was Allyson Wonderland? That would be grand. Also, my initials would be so sweet! (AMMW)
• I watched the National Geographic show about turtles and other various sea creatures (again)(It's my favourite one!)
• "I said what I meant and I meant what I said. And elephant's faithful one-hundred percent!"
• Good pens are so fun to write with

That's it!

I hope that your break is off to a great start! I would really enjoy a play date with you!

-Mermaid

Hospitals

Today I went to Primary Childrens for an appointment. It went well and my numbers were good. A resident was doing my check up which consists of squishing my belly, hitting my knees, feeling my pulse in my ankles, listening to my heart, and touching my neck. They touch my neck to feel my thyroids, but this time was the worst. I ended up crying and not being able to swallow because I was so scared all while her hands were on my vulnerable neck. I was bawling... though crying at the same time. I got Play-Doh and stickers for being good.

After this, I went to the real hospital to visit Porter. It took a while for us to find his room, but we got there. When we got there, he was in speech therapy (but I cheated and snuck a peek at him.) He looked really good. He still has his hair, he was sitting up, talking, and moving! His mom said that they wouldn't let friends come in to talk to him, so I just left him a note. He is seriously looking well, though and they are soon moving him from the NCCU to the NAC. (that's good).

On our way home, I fell asleep in the car because we had been gone so long. I fell asleep against the window and woke up to my mom saying "Do you know any of those kids?". I opened my eyes to find a lovely group of American Studies carolers looking at my drooling face. Nice.

It's almost Christmas!

-Mum

P.s.- We also dropped off the Smiths at the airport. They are going to CHILE for Christmas! They won't be back until the 31st, and I will be super missing my twin.

Have a nice night and study for Spanish!

Gentle(wo)man

I love to sit by Capri in English. She makes everything better. Especially when we are talking about an advertisement that the teacher has handed out with Tyler Florence's face on it. He is an attractive man (not really... he was just meant to be in the ad).

Today in English, our friend Jake took our papers to the front to turn in for us. What a gentleman! Mrs. Felix saw this and then she kept winking and pointing at him while making a face that said "he's a good one!". It was probably the best thing that has ever happened in English this year. Just thought you should know.

Be a gentle(wo)man.

-the short one in the front row

Today... I was shot.

This afternoon, I changed my pump site (as always). It was unusually painful, but I just gritted my teeth and moved on. That was, until Skeetch stepped on it. That was when I realized that it hurt very badly. I knew that it would bleed, so I told my mom to watch me take it out to see how bad it would be. I lifted up the edge and pulled it out like a bandaid. It immediately started gushing blood. Really gushing. My pants were soaked and my mom ran to get the camera instead of keeping me conscious from the extreme blood loss. It was super funny, but I like the story that I was shot better.


Also, my friend Porter had a stroke on Friday. He is currently in the ICU at Primary Children's Hospital. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I will be going up there on Wednesday and I am going to see if they will let me see him or at least drop off a little package. We love you, Porter! Get well soon!

good dreams always come on Friday nights.

Last night I dreamt about you.

It was a very happy dream.

I stayed in bed for an extra hour with my eyes closed- but not asleep- just so that I could stay with you in that dream.

It worked.

I would very much like to return to that dream again.

Bananas. A whole lot of bananas.

You'll understand this title if you were at the basketball game...

This many bananas to be exact.

That's a ridiculous amount.

If you want to know how my weekend was... You'll have to ask me in person. Some things are too complicated/creepy/funny/unbelievable

to write on a blog. But I will tell you this: I'm pretty sure that Eliza peed her pants.

I've just discovered that quite a few people have viewed my blog because it came up when they googled "Garret Pliler". That is super creepy, Lone Peak girls.

Someday...

I want to do this:

_______________

I would like to frolic here:

 _______________

I want to live here:

 _______________

I hate this:

_______________

I love him:

 _______________

I love this:

_______________

The world would be a better place without these:

(I found this in an article where it called the flabby skin that comes with age a "turkey wattle". I hate that they called something on your neck a wattle.)

_______________

I would like to shop regularly at the farmer's market in San Francisco

_______________

I would like people in Utah to have voices like his:

(Jude Law has the best voice.)

_______________

I want to be a cute old couple someday

_______________

I would like to be in movie love someday

(It's the unrealistic great stories that make you cry and wish to be there)

_______________

Have a nice night!

xOoxX,

me

Go out and look for something new in something old.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I apologize for my lack of posts lately. Disneyland threw me off track, but now that it's a Saturday and I can relax a bit, I'm back with my regular pattern.

This week has gone by so fast and been so fun. It started out with four hours of range on Monday after school, but that ended up being pretty good! I had fun people in my car both times, so time flew and I did good!

Tuesday morning at 5:15 a.m., I left for the airport to go to California. I was so exhausted that morning, but the adrenaline from being so so excited woke me up quickly (also, the babies crying on the plane got my mind off of sleep). The Smiths and Bodilys were on the plane with us. The Bodilys didn't even know where they were going until they got on the bus that takes you from parking to the airport! That's a nice surprise for a Tuesday!

Here is how my Disneyland experience went:

 Favorite picture of the entire trip:

Adam is the cutest.

 My cousins hate me:

 I literally screamed when I saw Chip and Dale because I was so excited to take a picture with them!

Tuesday-

• Arrive in California at approximately eight o'clock in the morning
• Spy a sniper at the airport, but later discover that it was only a foil balloon
• Drive around in our awesome vans with a colorful ceiling to our hotel where we park and leave our luggage
• WALK TO THE PARKS
• Break tradition by going into California Adventure first instead of Disneyland
• First group into California Adventure! I can mark that off of my bucket list...
• Wait by a rope while the dads buy tickets for the water show
• RUN through the park as soon as they take the rope down (and get yelled at by a few workers for running)
• first ones on Toy Story
• Peeta

• Awesome day in California Adventure and Disneyland
• Corn dogs

• Hurty feet
• Balloon sword

• James Franco

• Everything fun that you could possibly imagine!
• Water show
  (I need to talk about this water show for just a moment)
  It was the most incredible water show to ever be viewed by my eyes! There was water shooting up as high as the Ferris Wheel with colored lights projected onto the streams. There was wonderful music and spurts of water would randomly spout up in the foliage surrounding us (it's like surround action instead of surround sound!). A sheet of water would shoot up and they would show clips of classic Disney films on the water! The Little Mermaid was a big part of it, which obviously means that I loved it. I laughed, smiled, gasped, and even cried during the show. I cried when the song "So Close" started to play while Simba's dad died.
  It was incredible and I wish that I could watch it every night!


• Fell asleep quickly. Especially because Dani and I had our own hotel room, which meant that we had our own beds.

Wednesday-

• Breakfast surrounded by only teenage boys in uniforms with incredible accents (Seriously. It was just us and a foreign school group in the cafeteria)
• Enter DISNEYLAND first
• Indiana Jones hadn't opened yet, so our first ride was Jungle Tours

• Reindeer

• Cowboy named Farley

• Stalked a cute couple with cute shoes
• Stalked BY a cute couple with cute shoes

(notice how she is turned around in this one)

Here is the story behind the stalking... There was the cutest couple behind us in line for the Ferris Wheel, so obviously we had to document it. I snapped a few pictures under the direction of my fellow cousins, then realized soon after that they knew that I was taking pictures of them. She turned around any time I held up my camera...

We got onto the Ferris Wheel and started practically crying of embarrassment. There was much screaming going on between Nacho and Marissa, until we discovered that they were a mere two carts behind us and could hear everything that was going on. We spied them kissing in their cart (and blocked them from view) until they spied us too. They proceeded to pretend to take pictures of themselves while really taking pictures of us. Talk about creepy/embarrassing/OH MY GOODNESS.

You'd think that it was over by now, but no. We ran into them a few more times... each time they avoided us as much as possible.

• Screaming
• Thinking about Physics on every ride
• The return of my shin splints
• Captain EO (If you don't know who he is, look it up)

• Attractive banners of Simba

• Multiple runs through the tortilla factory

• Manly pictures

 Look at us twins! So many by that ginormous gear! And look at that piece of leather!

• iCarly quotes
• Baja Fresh
• Amazing swing ride that goes over the water (last ride of the trip)

I had an incredible time. These lists cannot even begin to describe my adventure!

Go stalk a cute couple. Preferably a couple with shoes like this:

You're beautiful and I love you.

A-Dawg

(I'm gangsta like that)


I think that I win in a contest of blog posts with the most pictures.