My Namesake

When I was 15-years-old I got a call from my aunt Heidi (my dad's baby sister). She was about to have her 6th child. And, she said she'd always loved the name Ali and wanted to know if it would be cool for her to also call her soon-to-be-born daughter Ali. (Although, little Ali's real name is Alexa and mine is Allison, both of us have always gone by Ali.) And, so she was born - my namesake.

Well, I didn't see much of my namesake, because we never lived close enough, until I went to college at the Y, and Ali's family lived in Orem at the time. When I went to college, Ali was still really young. And, at the end of my college years I drove a JEEP Wrangler (One of my best friends, Wendy, had one, and I loved it. So, that was the first car I ever bought.) Ali and her big sister Katie LOVED the wrangler (and their wicked awesome older cousin Ali). I used to pick them up and take them driving and we'd drag the town in my car with the top down. And, apparently I took them to Red Robin and gave them my spare change?!?! Or so they tell me. (Which was somehow awesome, though I am sure I could have come up with something more impressive right?!?)

Now my namesake is in college herself, running track for UVU and studying to be a nurse. She is amazing and fun. She is adorable and happy. And, she is so animated. And, best of all, she is so comfortable in her own skin. I've always loved to be around her. She is the perfect namesake! She outshines me for sure!

Anyway, a few months back I got a text from my little Ali. She said she was coming to California and she wanted to stay with me. How fun and exciting. She was meeting up with some friends of hers from Lodi, where she graduated from High School. And, they were coming out to see the Ellen Show. And, so when Ali got here she showed us her song, she'd written it for Ellen and sent it in to the show. I knew immediately she'd get to meet Ellen in person. And, I was super stoked for my little cousin.

It is a catchy little song - or plea actually. Wes couldn't stop teasing her at dinner. He'd say/sing "this is my plea for you to pass the salsa"... And, my roommate and Jackie couldn't stop singing the plea around the house and in the office.




She did get on the show. And, when we talked that night, she told me how fun it was. And, then she got on plane and went back to Utah.

Next thing I know, it's a week later and I get a message from my friend Amy saying that Ali was on Ellen again. She had been called by the Ellen show and given a ticket to come back last Friday. When she got onto the show, Ellen told her that since she obviously loved music and the camera loved her, she wanted to send her to the American Music Awards to be a Red Carpet correspondent for the Ellen Show on Sunday.

Ali got to go into Ellen's wardrobe room and pick out a shiny new outfit. And, she got to bring one guest. She picked her big sister, best friend and best cheerleader, Katie, who lives in San Diego. Katie needed an outfit. So, I gave her a cute little Marc Jacobs number from my closet and we went shopping for shoes (because her crazy small feet are a 5 1/2 and I was no help to her). We had a blast trying on clothes and shoes. And, then we went to dinner.

At dinner, Katie and Ali and I were joking around about all kind of stuff. One of which was the fact that Ali had never kissed anyone. Katie said she'd probably marry the first guy she kissed (but somehow that would be two years in the making). And, I told Ali that there was no need to marry the first guy she kissed. If she wanted to make it memorable she should beg for her first kiss standing on the Red Carpet.

And so...



My sweet baby cousin had her first kiss last night... by USHER, and the dude from Lady Antebellum, and Mike Posner.

Well played cousin. You went big! And, you'll never forget it. My little namesake, I couldn't be more proud of you!