Great Spring Break!

The months of March and April just seemed to slip past me without me posting anything. They were good months. And now the wedding is closer than ever! Finally all of these exciting events that are happening are finally happening!

March was a good month. The highlight was definitely having Dallin visit me for two weeks for his spring break. We had so much fun. We stayed at my Aunt Sandi and Uncle Monte's house. They are awesome and took very good care of us. Dallin was such a good sport and accompanied me to my classes at BYU.

We also participated in the Rex Lee Run. It was fun, but unfortunately I am still slow. Dallin had to cheer me on to keep going. Fortunately, he is good at that.

We went bowling.

I won of course.

Best of all, we went skiing. It was interesting ski day, however. First it started out fine, but then after two runs Dallin had to go to the resort store to see if he could buy a coat because he forgot his at Sandi's house. He only had a sweatshirt and he was freezing. So we took our skis off and went to go into the lodge. When I tried to get my skis off I slipped and hit my head on a concrete wall by the ski racks. I thought I was fine, but then I started feeling funny like I might have gotten a concussion. I tried skiing a few more runs but I was still feeling funny so Dallin got one of the first aid people to take me down the mountain in a sled. It was kind of embarrassing. I was already injured at the beginning of our ski day and not even from skiing. How pathetic. The first aid people checked me out and I rested a bit until I was feeling better. I eventually did feel better and Dallin and I decided to eat lunch and then go ski some more.

But our troubles didn't end there. The night before we had eaten at this really yummy, but kind of shady Mexican restaurant. The effects of that started to hit us around noon. Me and Dallin were both sick, but we didn't let that ruin our day. We continued skiing and we would race down the mountain in order to get to a bathroom in time. It was miserable at the time but now I look back and laugh at it. Luckily the sickness wore off after two or three hours and we were able to enjoy the end of our ski day. Over all it was really fun.

We spent a day in Salt Lake City.

And then we went to a Copeland concert that night.

We tried to have a picnic at Utah Lake one day. But it didn't really work out. Nobody told us what a dump that place is. We stayed there as long as we could stand it and then left.

My Aunt Kathe and Uncle Fred also invited us to a Jazz game. They played the Celtics and won. We also saw President Monson. His box was just two down from ours. It was lots of fun!

I love how Dallin and I always have so much fun together. He makes me laugh and he makes me so happy when I am with him. I can't wait until we can be together again!

Lesson Learned

Yesterday, although it was Sunday, I watched bits of the end of the Masters Golf Tournament. For those of you who didn't see it I'll give you a quick recap. Basically going into this tournament everyone had their eyes on Tiger Woods and his return to golf. He hasn't played since news broke last Thanksgiving about his marital problems, specifically that he had cheated on her with numerous women. All eyes were on how he performed in the first few rounds of the tournament last week. However, Phil Mikelson, another professional golfer, one of the greatest of all time, surged into contention Saturday and yesterday capped a near perfect round and won the tournament.
Now, as Tiger finished his 18th hole, he left the course by himself. His wife has not officially filed for divorce, and reports are that they are trying to work things out. No one is perfect, people can change, and I hope that they can make it work. However, it was very evident that Tiger was alone on the course Sunday, with only his fans to cheer him on.
Here is where it gets good. Phil Mikelson's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer last Summer. Upon receipt of the news Phil walked away from golf to support her, and help her through the difficult treatment. He was with her every step of the way. Yesterday, as Phil got to his last few holes, his wife emerged on the sidelines. She had spent the better part of the week in bed, recovering from her chemo. But as she began to realize that her husband was going to win one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world she had to be there to support him. As Phil sank his last hole, which by the way was a birdie, you could see the elation in his eyes. The same eyes who no doubt had spent countless sleepless nights with his wife, wondering about the uncertainty of the future, and whether or not she would be with him to raise their beautiful kids. As Phil exited the course, the first person he went to was her. They embraced for what seemed an eternity, and you could see the tears flowing from both of their eyes. They had seen so much in the past year, so much trial and so little hope. But yesterday Phil was victorious, and together they were victorious.

Watching golf yesterday taught me a lesson that I believe will stay with me for a while. Love is about being there for each other. Love is about supporting each other. Love is loyal. Love is true. I am thankful that I was able to watch this yesterday, I believe that this was a lesson the Lord wanted me to receive as I prepare to marry Allison, the love of my life, in just over one month from now. I loved the contrast of Tiger leaving the field alone and Phil with his wife, happy. Tiger had been selfish, self-centered, and disrespectful to the woman of his life, and he was left alone on the field. I love Allison, more than anything, I am going to be like Phil, I am going to be the greatest husband ever.


Dallin

Under 2 months

I would just like to announce/remind everyone that Allison and I have been engaged since May 21st, 2009 and we only have two months left!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring is here, and you know what this Spring brings!

It has been nearly 2 months since my last update. My bad. Spring Break was fantastic. Allison and I had a great time just being together. Highlights of the trip were probably spending time with the Bates family (Allison's Dad's sister and family), hanging out with the Rosdahls (Utah), the Torgerson's (sp.) and just each other. We went skiing at Brighton, saw a sweet concert by Copeland, went to a Jazz game, ran a 5k, and went to class. It was great to be together for such an extended period of time. But now are eyes are set on a few pivotal events which are rapidly approaching in the future.
1. Allison is graduating from BYU! Well, technically she won't until this fall when she completes her independent study classes that she will take when we are in South Carolina, but BYU is letting her walk. I am so proud of her though for graduating college and finishing that part of her education. I always wanted to marry a bright woman, and Allison is brilliant!
2. I graduate from the United States Military Academy!!!! Oh man. I can still remember when my Dad and Mom took me out to New York to drop me off way back on June 26, 2004! These past 6 years have been the hardest, greatest, longest, shortest, and most life changing to date. I cannot believe that in 54 short days my time at West Point will be complete. I am elated to say the least.
3. The same day as graduation I will be commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, the greatest army to ever exist in the history of humanity. That is exciting. I am excited to serve my country and do my part to protect the citizens of this country.
But....the most important thing to happen this Spring is of course....
4. ALLISON AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!! As Allison so aptly reminded me with her recent facebook album title, our engagement has seemed to be neverending! We went on our first date on July 29th, 2008. First kiss was on July 31, and we were engaged May 21st 2009. I cannot put into words the gratitude and love that I have for her and all that she does for me in my life. She has been the most incredible friend and support these past few years and I am so excited to begin our life together as Mr. and Mrs. Rosdahl.

With all of this going on it is difficult for me to keep my bearings on life and take things one day at a time. The last major life stage movement came on June 26th 2004. And this next one will begin through the passing at graduation to the altar of the Oakland Temple with Allison at 10:00 am on Saturday June 5th, 2010 when Allison and I are married and sealed for eternity together. I cannot believe how much the Lord loves me and has blessed me these past 6 years.

Westpoint is for lovers

Well, I really should be doing some homework right now. But, I don't want to. So I am going to give a little update.

Yes, we are going to Italy next year!!! And yes, I am so excited. People have been asking me if I am scared. I am not really scared, mostly excited, and I am ready for an adventure. Living in

Italy will be an experience unlike any other, I am sure. I am already determined to learn the language and of course learn to cook authentic Italian food. I am especially excited about that (I love to cook already, and Italian is my favorite type of food). But most of all, I am excited to have so many amazing adventures with my sweetheart. I hope we will be able to travel lots throughout Europe. I have been so excited, I have been watching all the Italian episodes of the Rick Steve's travel show, scouting out all of the places I want to visit.

I know its not always going to be fun and games. I am sure there are going to be a lot of things I am going to miss about America. But it's not like I am never coming back! We will probably only be in Italy for two to three years. I have heard from many that living in a foreign country as a couple brings you so close together and I have also heard that if we have the chance to do this, then we should take it. So we are taking it!

In other news, I flew out to New York to visit Dallin over Valentine's Day weekend. It was lovely. I flew out on Thursday and Dallin picked me up from the Newark airport. We drove to Highland Falls and had some Mexican food and then Dallin took me to Sister Johnson's house. I slept at her house over the weekend. We hung out around Westpoint for most of the weekend. We have gone into the city so many times we don't really have anything else to do there and we decided to save money.

On Friday I went to Dallin's game theory class and his international economics class. Game theory went totally over my head. I now understand why Dallin hates that class so much. International economics was fun though, because I took that class last semester and I could actually follow along with it. And his professor kept putting me on the spot. It was embarrassing, but funny. After class, I went to lunch with Dallin in the dining hall. That place will never cease to remind me of the Hogwarts dining hall. After lunch, Dallin went to his skiing class and then we went into a little town-- I can't remember the name of it-- and we got pizza for dinner. It was delicious! Then we saw the movie Valentine's Day. I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't that funny, kind of just an excuse for Hollywood to collect some money from people who wanted a Valentine's date.

On Saturday Dallin and I went to Men's Wearhouse to pick out his tux for the wedding and the tuxes for the groomsmen as well. So exciting! I can't believe how soon the wedding is. It really is creeping up on me. I have just been so used to it being so far away. But we are finally on the verge of spring and soon June will be here!

Anyways, after picking out the tuxes, we went to a car dealership and checked out some cars we are thinking about buying. We are looking at BMWs and VWs because the army has a sweet deal with those companies and we can get quite a discount on one of those cars. After looking at cars Dallin and I went to Bear Mountain State Park. It was so cold!!! But still a lot of fun. We walked around the park. It was very peaceful with the white snow on the ground and not very many people around. Dallin of course tried to push me in the snow. But I prevailed. We went to the zoo there. We saw so much fauna: bears, coyotes, porcupines, bobcats, frogs, and fish. After exploring Bear Mountain, we came back to Westpoint and changed and then went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Sunday we went to church at Dallin's ward and then we went to Sister Johnson's house for dinner and hung out there. She had a bunch of people in the ward over for dinner.

Monday was our last day together. We went to Hoboken, New Jersey in search of Carlo's Bakery from the show, Cake Boss. We got in the huge line to go into the store, but it was hardly moving. We decided we would rather spend our last few hours together doing something else, so we just peeked through the window and took a picture outside.

I really enjoyed Hoboken. It is a cute little town that is just across the Hudson from New York City. We took a walk and saw some great views of the New York City skyline. The town has the feel of residential New York City, with a lot of quaint, brownstone apartments, lots of cute shops and restaurants, and not much traffic. It was fun to spend some time there. Dallin bought me some beautiful Italian leather boots for Valentine's Day and we ate lunch at an Asian restaurant.

Then, unfortunately, we had to start driving to the airport. Every goodbye just seems to get harder and harder. Dallin and I are so glad that these goodbyes are almost over.

Dallin is coming to visit me in eighteen days! I am already counting down. But then again, I am counting down for a lot of things. Fifty-seven days until I am done with school and then 102 days until the wedding. Before I know it, this abnormally long engagement will be over, and I will be sealed to my sweetheart for eternity. Can't wait!

Italy!

It is official! Allison and I will be heading to the 173rd Airborne Division at Vicenza, Italy. Excited is an understatement of my current emotions. Never as a lowly plebe did I think that I would get the opportunity to live in Italy! Man, I am still in a sort of state of shock since hearing the news. I can't believe that this is happening to us. All of the countless hours of studying finally paid off! I will be doing my human resources job there and we should get there hopefully around mid-November. I have to report to AGOBC (my basic officer course) on 22 July, and I will be done with that by 20 October and then we will head down to Ft. Benning, Georgia for airborne school (parachute school) for 3 weeks. My hope now is that we can be in Italy before Thanksgiving, but we will see.

In addition we are currently working on planning our honeymoon. We found a sweet condo on Mahuka Beach in Oahu, and I think we are going to stay there for 2 weeks. Life is great. All of these changes and all of these decisions have made focusing on school difficult, but that is going well too.

We, (and I in particular), have been very blessed this semester. The Lord has blessed us with these awesome opportunities later this year and more importantly with the opportunity to be worthy to be sealed together in the Lord's temple in June. Everything in my life has led up to this point, and I can't believe that it is so soon. I am so grateful for a loving and forgiving Heavenly Father who has blessed me so much throughout my life despite my many flaws. I am grateful for the blessing that Allison is in my life, and being worthy of that blessing. I know the future will bring many challenges, and I think they will only get tougher. But I am confident that Allison and I will be able to overcome them because of our trust in Him and our dedication to following His commandments.

Ciao,
Dallin

Bad at Blogging and 2010.

I am not good at blogging. I can't ever think of what to write, and I don't want to just bore people with the same old blabber about what is going on with my life. That is why I normally focus on Allison, and the amazing person that she is and the amazing relationship that we have together! 

Christmas break was fantastic of course. Skiing in Tahoe with Allison and my family was a blast despite my grouchy attitude at times. Gift card Monday was fun, and the "epic" ride in San Fran with the Nealies was pretty fun as well. We are now back at school, Allison and I both traveled yesterday to our separate institutions for the last time! Just one more semester to go until graduation! I am so excited, 2010 is going to be awesome.

Quick to-do list (in chronological order) for 2010:

- choose first duty station

- plan honeymoon/potential European or Asian vacation

- help Allison and Mary plan the wedding

- graduate from West Point

- get married to Allison!!!

- go on honeymoon

- go to Europe or Asia

- move to Columbia, South Carolina for Adjutant General Officer Basic Course

- move to first duty station

This is going to be a busy year of more changes than I have ever had at once in my life. I am going to go from single student to married Army officer! I can't wait. I am trying to enjoy the end of this chapter of my life, but I can't help but just being excited to begin my life with Allison as my wife. Cheers.

Dallin