Alyssa's Graduation

It's a strange feeling having your oldest graduate from high school. Alyssa has been looking forward to this day, but also feeling a little sad that she won't be seeing a lot of her friends ever again. 

The festivities started with Seminary Graduation. She almost didn't pass one semester because of how many tardies she had to class. The teacher contacted Danny and told him that if she had one more tardy that term that he would have to give her an incomplete. She shaped up though and made it to class on time for the rest of the term and graduated.

Grandpa Wheeler was able to attend.

I think Lehi had one of the very last graduation time slots in the area. 3:30 pm on Friday of that last week of school. Alyssa received a letter a few weeks before graduation informing her that she had made the top 20 for academics, ACT score, extra curriculars, etc. They were inviting her to audition to speak at graduation. She laughed it off and said "yeah, I'm not doing that." Then Danny wrote her a speech and she liked it and he told her she would regret it if she didn't audition. So she did, thinking "there is no way they will choose me." They chose 2 from the top 20 to speak and she was chosen as 1 of the 2. She claims that she was probably #20 on the list. She also said that she would tell them "thanks, but no thanks" if they chose her. However, when they called her in to tell her she was chosen, they said the programs were already printed and her name was on it so they hoped she was still willing to speak. And that is how she ended up on the stage for graduation.

She did great with her speech. She didn't even sound nervous even though there were 8,000+ in attendance. She was so glad to have it over. After the graduation, we found her and then took some pictures of her with her friends.

Leisel, Alyssa, and Kate

Alyssa will be rooming with Kate at BYU in the Fall. They are so excited for the next step in their lives.

This is her group of friends that she spent the most time with. From left to right is Jacob, Noah, Aiden, Leisel, Kate, and Alyssa. Kate and Noah are twins and the guys all played on the boys tennis team.

After the graduation, we went to dinner at Alyssa's choice of restaurant. It was not the best option for someone with a gluten intolerance, but she really wanted a couple of things at this Chinese buffet. She paid for it about an hour after we got home with the worst stomach cramps she has ever felt. She barely was well enough to enjoy grad night at FatCats. She went anyways and said it was okay, but it would have been better if Kate had gone.

We are so proud of Alyssa for all of her hard work in school. She kept her grades up while participating in 2 different sports, working, and being part of the National Honors Society. She also had numerous church callings through high school, including her class president. She is going to do great things in the future and we can't wait to see where life takes her.