I hope they call me on a mission

It all started on May 8th, 2016.

That was the day I officially started my mission papers, one of the best decisions I've ever made.

That day I met with my bishop and he told me I would have to get my mission papers done in 6 days. 6 DAYS PEOPLE. That is no time at all considering that I would have to get dentist and doctors appointments in that week, and trust me here in good old Utah county that's pretty hard because everyone here has approximately 15 kids per household so those places are always PACKED.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I ended up getting everything done within those 6 days and it was a huge miracle. The reason I had to get it done within such a small amount of time is because my stake president was getting released that following week so it was the last time he would be available for interviews. I met with him that next Sunday and I was able to submit my papers to the Church Office Building where they would eventually make my assignment on where I would be serving the Lord for 18 months.

The 2 week long wait after that was KILLER. All I wanted to know was where I was going to be called. That was all I thought about, dreamt about, and talked about. My family was probably seconds away from disowning me at some points. But guess what. It finally came on May 26th. I thought that would be the greatest day of my life because I would get to open my call, but guess what. I HAD TO WAIT ANOTHER DAY TO OPEN IT. My sister got called into work about an hour prior to when I got my call, so she wouldn't have been able to make it if I opened it that night. So I had to wait another night and it was pure torture, I even had to have my roommate Ashly get me out of the house because I was too afraid I'd open it.

Me and my awesome mailman



The excitement was so real.



Me, mom, dad

Grandpa Dave, Me, Grandma Sally

But the night passed and I knew when I woke up that I would open it that day. Let me tell you, it felt like Christmas morning that's for sure. That day was American Fork High School's Graduation and I had planned to go see it because a lot of my friends were graduating, so I knew after that I could open it. It was the only thing getting me through that graduation because it was super duper long. The Lord was definitely testing my patience that week.

After I got home from the graduation, I got word that my sister would be leaving Logan in about an hour. Right about then it started to hit me. This was really happening. As soon as people started showing up at my house the Spirit just kept getting stronger and stronger. The amount of love I felt for everyone that was there was unbelievable. Everyone that was there either in person or FaceTime all made a huge impact on my life and I know I wouldn't have been opening up a mission call if it wasn't for them.

The time came for me to finally open up my call and let me tell you, you can never prepare yourself for the overwhelming feeling of the love and gratitude while reading your call. I was a mess. But it's okay because I knew exactly in that moment that a mission was the right thing for me to be doing in my life right now. So this is what my call said:

Dear Sister Winter,

You are herby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language.

HOLY COW I'M GOING TO ALABAMA!

In that exact moment I felt the Spirit so strong testifying to me that there are people there who need what I have to offer. I'm beyond grateful that I have the opportunity to serve as a full time missionary for 18 months and be able to give those people of Alabama the happiness that I feel through the Gospel.

So for the next few months I'll be working on my southern accent and learning as much as I can about Alabama Roll Tide Football because its pretty much their religion down there.

THE CHURCH IS SO TRUE EVERYONE!

Love,

Soon to be Sister Winter



Me, Jake and Paris

Me and Abigail

Shelby and I

ALAMABA

SO EXCITED HOLY COW

me and bay in our signature pose

Bre, Bishop fam and me

Jake, Me and Wade

This one is for the Fierce Felicia's

My childhood hero Winnie the Pooh once said "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

Let me just tell you I hit the Jackpot in the friends category in college.

The Fierce Felicia's are the type of girls I would do anything with. We have had the greatest moments together and I wouldn't change a thing! From fight nights to temple trips, to crying in each other's beds at all hours of the night, to making box brownies on a weekly basis.

These girls are the definition of a good time.

So this one is for them.

 

ASHLY

 

Ashly and I became friends in the 5th grade when she moved into my ward in American Fork. To be honest I always thought she was the coolest. Our childhood together consisted of lots of girls camp trips, Youth Conferences, and GoGo Squeezes.

 

 

Girls camp. Holla Holla

It really wasn't until senior year in high school when me and Ash got really close. She knew I was going up to USU and so one day she asked if I would want to go on a campus tour with her. Obviously I said yes because I love Logan and they give you free food on the tours. I think it was on the tour where we just kind of decided to become roommates. haha and let me tell you, that was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Rooming with Ashly has been the best because she is the type of person that you can just be yourself around. She put up with me at my worst and best times. She was (and still is) my go to girl with deciding what to wear and just whenever I needed good advice on a situation. She is also one of the smartest people I know because she is a freakin business administration major and takes all these super hard classes and still gets really good grades.

Ashly has taught me so much while I have lived with her. She taught me that it's okay to not go to class sometimes (lol at FCHD 1010). She taught me the importance of family. She has taught me that things may not come easy to you but you can always grow and be strengthened through trials.

She taught me its okay to cry. and trust me there was a lot of that happening in our room. haha! But overall I wouldn't have wanted to room with anyone else my freshman year.

 

 

love you lover

 

I even made her do a parade with me

 

Matchy Matchy with our hats

 

Bear Lake Trip

 

Don't have too much fun without me these next 2 years.

LOVE YOU SO MUCH AMILLZ

 

 

CAITIE

 

Oh goodness, where to even start. Me and Caitie awkwardly met over facetime and let me tell you my life will never be the same after meeting and rooming with her. The first time I met Caitie in person she intimidated me so much (tbh she still kind of does). She just has something about her that makes her so confident and I love that about her.

Me and Caitie have had some of the best memories together. This past semester we had a goal to do 200 names in the temple by the end of the school year. We went almost everyday and it was seriously the coolest experience. She is the greatest at sharing her testimony through her actions and I'm so grateful for all those early morning and late night temple trips with her.

 She is the queen of all things peanut butter and she even carries around a huge jar to class with her. She took me to math almost everyday in the first semester and I will be forever grateful for that. She was always my jam session buddy and we rocked out to Hannah Montana on the daily. But overall Caitie has just been there for me through it all and I could never thank her enough for it.

 

Throughout my time knowing her she has also taught me so many other lessons. She has taught me how to be granola (ish). She has taught me to be more tough as a result of our weekly fight nights. She has taught me so much about the gospel and loving others. She taught me that I can do hard things because she is one of the strongest people I know.

We have had the greatest times together and I can't wait to have more memories with her and the other fierce felicia's this summer and when we come back to USU in 2018!

 

Also Caitie recently got called to serve as a missionary to the Anchorage Alaska mission and she is going to be the best darn missionary those eskimo's have ever seen. I have no doubt that she will change those peoples lives forever with her sweet spirit.

best footie pajama pal

 

 

 

one of many temple trips

 

Go kill it in Alaska

LOVE YOU SO MUCH GRANOLA!!!

 

 

ABBEY

 

Last but not least we have Abigail Spencer. Me and Abbey awkwardly met when I picked her up at her house in Sandy one day after texting her like one other time. Ever since that day I knew we would be great friends. Abbey is the type of person that brings out your inner kid. She gets along with EVERYONE and always has a smile on her face. She is constantly trying to build others up and she never says anything bad about anyone.

Abbey has lots of special talents. She drinks more milk than anyone I know, like I'm talking 2-3 gallons a week by herself. She is like professional at riding horses and she is going to be a vet when she grows up. She pulls off wearing a cow onsie to campus. She is a Taylor Swift fanatic and knows every word to every one of her songs. She can also eat 2 café rio burritos in one sitting so that is way impressive. She is the greatest friend and the greatest advice giver.

 

Abbey taught me it's okay to be crazy. She taught me a lot about trials and how to overcome them. She taught me how to be a good missionary because she is one of the most spiritual people I've ever met. She taught me how to hit the quan. She taught me to love Little Caesars pizza. But overall she taught me true friendship. She will always be one of my greatest friends!

 

Abbey got called to serve as a missionary in the California Anaheim Mission (aka the Happiest Mission on Earth) and she is going to do great things there! So all you Disneyland people look out for Hermana Spencer while you are there because she will change your life forever.

 

 

Scootered to the temple

 

Post Wisdom Teeth Surgery selfie

 

my devotional buddy

 

Cutest missionary out there

 

gonna miss her so stinkin much

 

 

LOVE YOU SO MUCH ABIGAIL!

 

 

****************************

 

In my grandmas living room there is this quote that I have always loved and it says

"We're not sisters by birth, we knew from the start, God put us together to be sisters by heart."

 

These girls have definitely become my family and I can't wait for all the crazy memories that life will bring us.

 

Long live the fierce felicia's

 

Love, Allie





This one is for Utah State

Leaving high school was one of the hardest things I had to do, well at least at the time I thought so. That was until I had to leave college.

 

Utah State has taught me a million and one things in the short 9 months I have been there. I learned more about myself than I ever thought I would. I learned that it is okay not to be perfect. I learned that it's okay to not be like everyone else. I learned the importance of good friends. I learned that everyone can do hard things. I learned that people are important. I learned that everything happens for a reason, even if you do not like the consequences. I learned to love the gospel more. I learned to deal with people who I don't get along with. I learned that Utah State is the best school in the whole world. I learned how to master cooking top ramen. I learned that you should not go sledding at 1 am down old main. I learned that you should always go on random road trips. I learned to enjoy the little things in life. I learned that life is SO good if you look for the positives.

The list goes on and on, but those are just a few things I learned. Utah State will always hold a place in my heart.

I'll be back in 2 for another great time but until then keep my fellow aggies safe and warm.

 

 

 

Love, Allie

 



A tribute to Heritage Tours

This blog post is dedicated to the best 3 weeks of my whole life.

This past summer I had the chance to go on a trip of a lifetime called Heritage Tours. It was mostly a church history trip for the LDS church but we also got to tour all of the cool sights on the East Coast.

I say its the best 3 weeks of my life because I met some of my greatest friends, got to tour America for 3 weeks and gained a stronger testimony of the church.

The trip was all around 7,500 miles on a bus and we traveled through about 18 states.

You are probably thinking that's the craziest thing ever. Like who would want to stay on a bus full of 55 teenagers for 3 weeks straight? well the answer is me. I absolutely LOVE road trips and so this was the perfect road trip for me.

Here are some of the places we visited:

 

 

The largest truck stop in the world in Walcott Iowa

They legit had a mall, semi truck, dentist office, hotel and food court in it.

 

Newel K. Whitney store in Kirtland, Ohio

 

Niagara Falls, New York

 

Sacred Grove in Palmyra New York

 

Boston Massachusetts Temple

 

Time Square New York

 

Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania

 

Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

 

Museum of Natural History

(Just had to throw that in there because I felt like I was in the Night at the Museum movie)

 

Washington D.C. Temple

 

Nauvoo Temple

haha we weren't ready for the picture.

 

Family Picture in Nauvoo

 

Kansas City Royals Game

 

Those are just a few of the places we went on the trip, haha I could go on for days about it because it was just so good. (just ask my roommates, they will say I talk about it at least 10 times a day)

 Although all of the non-church sights were amazing, nothing compared to the spirit I felt while at the sites of the restoration of the church. I got to be where the prophet Joseph Smith was born, raised, tortured, and then eventually killed and being able to learn more about him and feel of the spirit in those places is something I will never forget.

 

So thank you Heritage Tours for giving me the experience of a lifetime and for making me who I am today.

Love, Allie

 

 



I love every one of these humans with all my heart

Easter Weekend

So this past weekend was Easter Weekend and it was definitely packed with non stop fun. First, after class last Friday me and Abbey packed everything up and drove down to Sandy where she lives and we spent the night there and went to go and see the new Divergent movie, Allegiant, and wow it was so good. After that we went back to her house and I got to look at all of her cute baby pictures. haha I absolutely love looking at peoples baby pictures!

 

The next morning we woke up bright and early and we went to a high school track meet because Abbey ran track in high school. It was so weird to be around that many high schooler's at once, it made me feel way old haha but its okay I guess.

After the track meet we met up with Caitie and Ashly and we headed to the Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork and lets just say we hugged lots of random people and got chalk on literally every inch of our bodies. It was SO worth it though and I sure hope that becomes and annual thing after all of our missions are over.

Here are some sweet pictures to show you what a good time we had.

 

SO MUCH CHALK

 

Party in Norman (AKA the best car on the planet)

 

The Fierce Felicias

 

The before picture

 

one more just because

 

After the festival we all hurried and showered and rushed over to my Grandma Sally's for her annual Easter egg hunt and dinner where we got lots of food that my stomach was not prepared for. Haha college really does shrink your stomach.

It was so fun to have my family meet my roommates. They all probably thought we were crazy sauce but that's okay because we really are.

After dinner me, Ash and Caitie looked at these MASSIVE houses in alpine and then we all decided to just go home and crash. So we legit went to bed at like 9:30 (probably the earliest I've gone to bed since I was in elementary) and it was the best decision I've made.

Sleep deprivation is a real thing guys.

 

The next day was Easter Sunday and my dad made his world famous French toast. it really is world famous guys. If I could eat it every meal for the rest of my life I probably would! After that we went to my home ward where we got to hear from 2 of my best friends who just got back from their missions! The spirit of missionary work was so strong there and they both did an amazing job!

 

Caitie, Grandma Sally, Ash and me at church

 

Ashlyn and I after her homecoming talk

 

Overall Easter Weekend was one for the books and there is only 4 more weekends until the summer so that's cool and sad at the same time.

 

Also if you want to hear more about the LDS church click here for a very inspirational video about Easter.

 

Peace and Blessings

Love, Allie