Alyssa... in a Million Words or Less

Alyssa's first assignment in her reading class this year was not assigned to her... it was an assignment for the parent. I had to write about my daughter in a million words or less and this is my finished paper.

Alyssa is my eleven year old daughter with brown hair, green eyes, and the friendliest smile. Alyssa was born in Salt Lake City’s LDS Hospital on a beautiful Monday morning in September. I remember commenting on the weather in the car on the way to the hospital. I was going to name her Carly Elizabeth, but didn’t get much response on the positive side. So it quickly became Elizabeth, because I wanted to call her “Libby”. Regrettably, Grandma didn’t like that one. (I am really influenced by others I guess.) So while in my hospital bed, I picked up the name book and didn’t get far … (A’s) when the name “Alyssa” popped out at me. I thought it was pretty, and the perfect name for my new, precious little baby girl. A little into Alyssa’s first year “Lissy” started to catch on. I don’t call her “Lissy” that often, but it does get pretty close to my “Libby” from my baby name list.
Alyssa was a cute and curious baby. She learned fast. She loved the show Barney and sang all sorts of songs by 14 months. At the age of two she was as smart as ever, and very creative. A little story I like to tell is when she was two years old, she had a spell of bad luck that Christmas season. Alyssa had a hand in knocking over, not one, but TWO Christmas trees that season. On one of the occurrences her grandma caught her next to the fallen tree, holding up the string of beaded garland to “Rocky”, her stuffed toy raccoon, and said “Now Rocky, just look what you’ve done!” What a smart and clever two year old just mesmerized by all the sparkles and glitter of the Christmas Holidays.
Alyssa has two brothers and three sisters. She lives with me and my husband in Las Vegas with her brother Christian and two sisters, Abby and baby Sydnee. And we can’t forget the family dog, Gracie, who Alyssa loves dearly. Alyssa’s Dad’s name is Bucky; he is married and has two kids, Ethan and Evelyn. They live in Bountiful, Utah. Alyssa visits them every other Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter on a rotating schedule, and fifty percent of her summer vacation as well.
Alyssa favorite place is her Grandma Barbara’s house in Farmington, Utah. She has an amazing bond with her grandmother and loves to explore her backyard with its beautiful flowers and lush fruit and vegetable gardens. Grandma Barbara grows Alyssa’s favorite food--- raspberries. Alyssa loves to visit in June and also in August when the berries are ripe for the picking.
Alyssa developed a love for reading and poetry from her Grandma Barbara and her Great-Grandma Helen. Grandma Helen is a talented poetess—thus Alyssa took after her and won 1st place in the city of Moscow, Idaho Pleiades Poetry Contest two years in a row in the lower elementary division. All this while only in the second and third grades. Her first winning poem titled “MeiLing and Me”, and the second titled “Rain”.

MeiLing and Me
MeiLing my Grandma’s dear old cat,loves it when I come to stay.
When I go into Grandma’s room, I brush her then we play.
But sometimes we just like to sit and watch TV a little bit.
I love MeiLing and she loves me, that’s how things were meant to be.

Alyssa is very creative and wants to be an interior designer when she grows up, this may be attributed to endless hours we spend together watching HGTV home improvement television, and the four years that her family lived in Moscow, Idaho while her Dad (Eric) pursued his dream of being an Architect at the University of Idaho. Alyssa loves music and theater. She was lucky enough to see “Mama Mia” in Salt Lake City with her dad this past summer. She has some experience acting in theatrical productions with specific experience in "Scrooge", when she was just four, and "Are we there yet?" this past summer.
Alyssa is turning twelve on the 25th of this month and is looking forward to her favorite meal and birthday cake. She loves mashed potatoes and gravy. Besides, Thanksgiving and a few other occasions throughout the year the Roberts’ household doesn’t serve it because of the preparations that are involved.
Alyssa loves animals; her favorite is the Kangaroo… maybe because she likes to share with others how the animal got its name.
--Some explorers were in Australia, and they saw the kangaroo jumping around, so they asked the aborigine people what they were. The response they got was “Kangaroo”. Well it turns out, that later someone studied the Aborigine tribe and learned the language and discovered that “Kangaroo” isn’t what they called the animals at all. Roughly translated, it means “I don’t understand what you are saying.” So there are a bunch of animals out there called “I don’t understand what you are saying”.

Alyssa is an ever-adoring sister; mom’s big helper. She is an exceptional student; she loves to learn, and always wants to exceed expectations. When Alyssa makes friends it is a friendship. She is loyal and fun to be around. She is the most enjoyable daughter a mother could ask for; and her presence makes our home a cheerful place. I am certain she will tackle this new challenge of middle school as she has tackled past challenges in her life: with a cheerful demeanor, a 'can-do' attitude and a desire to achieve excellence.