flag football

Flag football

I am just reporting that there will be at least one athlete in the family after Saturday! Alison came and played flag football with the big boys and showed them all up! I will just go over her stats to show you why i am marrying here:

8 - catches

120+ - yards
2 - touchdowns

1- quarterback sack

1-pass deflection

2 - quarterback hurries

So she was on fire and it was so much fun watching the guys from Alabama yell "get the girl" and then one guy would go get her but she would run for 60 yards and a touchdown and the guys would rag on the guy that was covering her! it was good times! She also ran over Bama...he wont admit to it but we all saw it! ;) Call and ask Alison because she will tell you all about it!

Halloween

Halloween

So during the past month or two we started watching a show called "Rock of Love" and after one episode we were hooked! We at first thought we were the only ones who watched it but come to find out there is a bunch a other people who were hooked on the show! The show is Bret Michaels picking amongst all these girls (groupies) to be his girlfriend so we decided to be Bret and the winner (Jess) for the Halloween dance!

So here is one picture of Alison and me dressed up compared to the two we were suppose to look like! I even wore eye liner like he does in the show! Ah, Party Like a Rock Star!

Bret and his girlfriend Jess... I heard they already broke up so i guess that is the life of a rock star and being a rock star's girlfriend!

This is Bama and me posing! He was Mike Vick and was dragging around a little dog by a noose the whole time! It was so funny! Do i look good with long hair!

Party Like A Rock Star!!!!!!

UTAH

We just got back from Utah also and I thought this was a great picture of us! There is a million more pictures i will put up later when i have time! Thank you mom and dad for flying us out there and thank you Curt and Carmen for letting us stay and trash your house!

This was Alison's first time ever going to Utah so it was an enjoyable experience for all. She saw BYU and all the parents taking their kids to class with them, the mountains, and the prophet.

Us seeing the prophet really made the trip! While we were at the Joseph Smith building we were going the bathroom and when i came out of the bathroom i found myself standing next to the Prophet! In all the excitement for Alison to see him i ran into the women's restroom to grab her! It was worth it!

This is us at the conference center. Alison used here "Getting front row seats at Gator basketball games" tactics to get us these seats at conference! Grandpa...you would be proud! The trip was fun and we had a blast! Thanks again for making this trip possible!

Home Again!

The Golden Child Returns

Last weekend Alison and I went home to surprise my dad for his birthday! The look on his face was priceless when we walked through his office door. He did not know what to say but his smile said it all! I know..it's nice having a surprise visit from "the golden couple"!

We also had the chance to meet our new little brother "Riley" and he is just adorable! Watching him jump around using all 4 legs at once is hilarious! The best was seeing him chase "sprinkle" around and kept hitting his head on the coffee table in the living room! It was so funny! He is a good addition to the family! When you walk next to him he looks like a little bear since he so fluffy with all of his fur!

Alison and I went pumpkin hunting with my mom! We forgot how fun it was to mess with pumpkins so threw a pumpkin decorating party at my house for FHE!
This is my room mate "Bama" decorating his pumpkin! Isn't he special! We had 4 pumpkins for everyone to decorate! Alison did a good job planning the activity as FHE mom! So that has been our past week in a nutshell! Oh yeah, The Gators won and that always makes us happy along with Tim Tebow being 1st place in the Heisman Voting! YEAH BABY!

Cable TV

This is for Curt and Carmen...GET CABLE TV. I am going to die come Saturday and I can't watch my usual intake of College football! Come on Curt get with the times and out of the dark ages! I will stink your house with a smoke smell since I will be sitting in a bar watching games all day! Everyone at the priesthood session that night will think I have a "word of wisdom" issue!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh the Humanity!

Utah here we come

Headed to Utah

This week Alison and I prepare to go to Utah for conference. This will be her first time going to Utah and conference. With all the traveling her family has done she would have at least passed through Utah. We will meet up with new friends and fiances and catch up good times. Also I will take Alison to my missionary reunion. Introduce her to a few good friends and then leave. Alison is mostly just worried with all the snow she is about to see since she has no warm clothes. It will work out fine! She will also use this time to look at wedding dresses and other wedding stuff since there is a plethora of wedding supplies in Utah.

The other thing Alison and I have been up to is Apartment hunting. We won't be married for almost a year but we are starting to eye places to live. We are trying to get an idea of cost,size, location, etc.. for when it comes time to find a place to live. It is exciting but another challenge that I will wait to conquer around spring time.

So the Utah trip is the big thing and apartment hunting is another thing. School has been good! I have learned (FINALLY) that you need to read on your own outside of class to understand the material and not wait for the teacher to assign it to you. Yeah, after 12+ years of schooling I finally understand. Better late than never!

Labor Day

Alison has survived another weekend with family! We spent Labor Day swimming, boating, and jet skiing with everyone! It was very fun! We also have a wedding date sate as of now! June 13th which is a Friday! So leave your calenders open to see an amazing event...Jeff getting married! Our next big adventure will be taking Alison to Utah for conference! She has never been to Utah so this will be a fun experience for all! If she can handle that then she is ready to be a Hostetler!

In other news Alison has a job now to help pass time! she is working at the hotel at the breakfast shift and bar shift at my hotel now! she is doing great and it's enjoyable seeing her every morning!

The Gators are on a roll! Dad has been coming to gainesville to see the games and most importantly play flag football on Saturday! All of 4th ward love having him coming and playing! See you in 2 weeks when we play Auburn!

school is good but challenging! this week i have 2 tests so that will tell me how i am really doing and understanding everything being taught!

That's all for now so stay tuned for More details on our trips and game day experiences!

It's Official

It's Official

So now here comes the details for everyone since your all dying to know! I have had the ring now for about 2 weeks and wanted to give it to Alison the first day i got it but had to wait! So this week i realized it was time to get it done! I wanted to propose to her at sunrise at the beach but scratched that idea since the beach is about 2 hours away from gainseville! I am sure she would know something is up if i woke her up at 3am and said "hey let's go to the beach!" Well i wanted to do something with the beach still so i was fishing for ideas! i talked to my dad about it and he told me of how pretty the sunset was at Cedar key on the Gulf Coast. So this week i put the plan in motion! Propose to Alison at sunset at the beach off the gulf coast! All week i told her what we were doing and told her that my dad said it was a nice place to go and told her we needed a date night since we haven't been out in awhile! she agreed and said she needed it since she would be moving all morning into her new apartment! She didn't suspect a thing. So all day she was stressed out about the move and i didn't think it was a good time but she told me she was looking forward to it! So we went! it was a 45 mile drive from gainesville so we had time to talk! during the car ride i told her i had it down to 3 rings to choose from! so she was clueless once again about what was going to happen! So after getting there and seeing the sunset hidden behind clouds i was discouraged! Well we went to dinner at a nice place over looking the ocean! After dinner we walked around and then sat on a bench overlooking the Gulf! (side note: a thing we like to do for each other is set the other ones phones with an appointment saying something cute like "kiss Jeff at 7" or "give Alison a kiss at 3") So with this detail in mind i had my phone set to go off at the right time saying "ask Alison to marry you"! Smooth, i know!!! SO while sitting on the bench my phone went off and she asked what it was and i told her it was meant for her! she saw it and smiled still not thinking anything of it and kissed me! After that i told her i had something for her! Then i pulled out the ring and then the tears starting flowing! Then i got down on one knee and said "Alison Michelle Rakes..Will you make me the happiest man alive? Will you marry me?" amongst the tears she said "of course" and gave me a huge hug and kiss! It made my heart melt to see her cry and say of course!I then asked her if that meant yes? She smiled, laughed, cried (all at once) and said yes it does! So on July 27th i asked Alison to marry me and she accepted! As for dates set it probably wont be until the summer time! Thank you all for your Love and support! Alison looks forward to becoming a Hostetler...but i think that's only since she hasn't met Andrew yet!

sun screen

This post is in honor of Sunscreen! this has been my new favorite one to use! Alison bought it for me as a joke but i used it anyways since getting sun poison is not fun at all! I have not been burned since using it and am happy with my "not tan" body! The beach is to far away and the pool just isn't as fun as the beach! I remember sitting in the shower for hours on end once sun poisoning struck! After that experience i vowed to always use sunscreen! I also noticed how expensive Sunscreen is now having to buy it for myself and not have a million bottles to choose from in Mom's bathroom! Writing this blog makes me want to go to the beach now! maybe tomorrow after flag football!

pleasure island

This past weekend was spent celebrating Melissa's birthday in Orlando at Pleasure Island. I brought Alison along with me so she could meet some friends from high school and it went really well. They all loved her! So far so good for both of us meeting each other's friends and family! Just the other day Alison's little brother was asking when i was coming back to visit so we could play some games together! No real news except school is kicking my butt and i need to get some more work done! Work is going okay for me and i am going to talk to my boss about a raise or promotion since i will be going on one year! Speaking of Jobs Alison has decided to sit out a year from school to avoid a 30k out of state debt and just work! So we are job hunting for her so she can have a little something something on the side! not much more but so much more to say! keep you all posted!

OUCH!

OUCH!I hurt my finger playing flag football on Saturday and this is what it looks like... kind of! You never know how much you need or use a little finger until it decides to get hurt and take a vacation from the rest of the hand! I hope it gets better soon or i will need to go to a doctor and have them break it or something!

So this past weekend Alison and I were able to attend her friend's wedding! it was in a cute chapel next to lake Alice and they had a nice reception at a nearby hotel! This our third wedding together! Of course all this is giving her ideas and just fueling the marriage fire!

This pictures is of the bride and groom...just kidding...i like Lego's and decided to put this as the picture!

During the wedding i met alot of Alison's friends who are extremely jealous of her right now! The reason being is that they all have boyfriends of 3-5 years who still haven't popped "the question" and here i come about to ask after only 3 months! They are happy for her but wish their boyfriends would get their butt in gear!

I have also noticed that there is wedding stores, wedding commercials, jewelry stores for wedding rings, etc... EVERYWHERE! i have never noticed them before but now its every where! i am just going to take that as a sign! ;)

Stay tuned because the 3-month anniversary is coming up! I am also done with my first week of classes at UF! Let's just say i am not a fan of using online material and video things right now! NOT COOL and of the DEVIL is all i have to say about that! Other than that problem everything is good! i am getting enough sleep between class,work, and Alison!

First Day of school

Today was my first day of classes at UF! I did it! I made it!

It's alot different having your first day of school without your mom to take pictures and pack your lunch. Actually it stinks! Gosh what i would give for a meal from my mom! I am taking 2 classes this summer and both seem to have really good teachers! Only down side about my classes are that they are Gen. Ed. Courses meaning it's alot of freshmen! (The only thing they probably care about is that I am old enough to buy them beer!) I will keep you all posted on how everything turns out!

It happens

GOOD TIMES

So the trip to Texas was an over all success. I was able to have a greater appreciation for Texas (not much), make some new friends, and most importantly talk to Alison's Dad. You're wondering what her dad and I talked about? well I will let you take a guess!

He said I was a fine young man who was raised well and made his daughter happy! So stay tuned for more details from "the Holy Land" and "Golden Child"

BBQ

The kitchen. Pretty nice.

The Serving area! As you can see the Gourmet Chef takes pride in his work!

The great Dining Hall! So luxurious...it was a 4 hour wait! ;)

Alison's dad told us this was "Top 50 Texas BBQ" places to eat! To be in the Texas Top 50 for BBQ is an honor since BBQ places to eat are as abundant as baptist churches in the south. The Rakes Family took care of me while i was visiting so no worries mom!

High School Football

MORE FROM TEXAS

High school Football and BBQ that's what Texas is about! Maybe you can see me maybe you can't! This is the local high school football field! Nice artificial turf with play clocks in both end zones of the field! To the right you can see the red chairs in the stands which is special booster seating. Notice the two story press box! one level for coaches and coordinators the other for Alumni and big time boosters! You can't see it but on the other side of the field they have bleachers about the same size with a coaches box for the away team and fans! Also very nice! Think you would see this in Florida...Heck no! So this is just the playing field...don't even get me started on how nice the practice field and player facilities are!

This is the entrance to the field for the players and everyone else i guess! I just took this since Alison died her hair red and the sign says it all! To the right is one of the buildings only used for football players along with 2 practice fields that are pretty nice with all the works!

This is the sign to the locker room! The school has two separate buildings for the football team! one is special locker room and the other looked like coaches offices! So i asked Alison's dad about this team thinking they must be really good to have all this! Come to find out they were 0-10 this year! So this school is really sorry and they have awesome things and ALOT of support and money going into them! I can't even imagine what a winning high school football team's field and facilities like! The whole trip i was obsessed with seeing a high school in Texas to see if they really are spoiled and treated like "Gods"! This impression just comes from watching the TV show "Friday Night Lights" ( i recommend it)! Good times!

Texas trip

THE TEXAS TRIP

After much driving and talking we finally made it to her home at around 1am! We would have been there sooner but so many gas and bathroom breaks later! Once in Texas Alison took me to see the Texas A&M stadium! She must really love me to drive almost two hours just to see a football stadium!

Texas A&M stadium is not as "Holy" to me as THE SWAMP so i had no problem jumping on the field and taking a quick picture! Alison still doesn't have that Hostetler blood in her for sneaking into sports complexes or on fields but it will come to her!

Alison forgot to turn off on our side exit! So we ended up in Waco,Texas! Home of the Baylor Bears! It was really nice but still nothing like the swamp! So we spent this day soaking in some college football in Texas! I did a whole nice long blog but deleted it since it didn't turn out right! I will do more about my Texas trip on the things that matter most there....High school Football and BBQ!!

THE CIRCLE

Andrew, Bama (jesse), Jeff (me)

With our powers combined we give you

"THE CIRCLE"

2-months

So 2 months is in the books for Alison and me. Every month we celebrate our anniversary or whatever you call it! So it was her turn and it was a huge surprise! She took me to "Fun Works"! Before the date even started she was off to a hot start because she "stole" mom's recipe from her blog for chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and made me a batch! Best way to win me over is threw my stomach! Then for dinner we went to a cute Italian restaurant which was nice and had an enjoyable meal! Thinking the evening was over she surprised me and we had some fun at "Fun Works"! We first did batting cages which was fun! Then the competition set in and we did the Go-Karts. she got a head start and i couldn't pass her no matter how hard i tried! the worker that was there saw the competition that was going on and intervened when asked and with a remote slowed her car down enough for me to come bump her and try to pass! She then yelled at him when she found out what was going on and sped away. I tried not to end the night on a bad note so we did putt putt golf but that didn't go so well for me! Lets just say my mind was focusing on other things at the time! She got a hole in one and i got an 8 on a hole and that was the end of me! I pray she lost the score card! So overall it was a great anniversary celebration! I love her and she makes me happy! I always said any girl i date for more than 2 months would be the one i marry and we are past 2 months so stay tuned! ;)

Shane Matthews

Exercising is so rewarding! I finally convinced Alison to come run stadiums with me at Florida Field and it was worth it today! As we arrived to the stadium there was about 200 kids on the field. They were doing drills and just playing around (it looked like alot of fun)! Alison didn't want to run since so many people were watching but we did and to help break the ice i tripped on a step and it helped ease her nerves. Alison and me ran the student section and she made it! On our way out i told her we should go into the locker room so she could see the Gator head and the national championship trophies! She was scared of getting yelled at and kicked out but i convinced her it was in the HOSTETLER blood to get into sport's places we weren't suppose to be at. We got in through the weight room and i showed her around then got into the HALL OF FAME HALLWAY! It was awesome! After we looked around it was time to go home! On our way out i noticed a guy standing next to us that looked familiar! He kind of reminded me of a former UF QB. I didn't think it was him until someone said "hey Shane come here for a sec.." Alison told me not to go bother him but it was my duty being a HOSTETLER and GATOR FAN to meet him! So i went over and made small talk which seemed like forever but was really 20 seconds! He loved it when i said "yeah, you use to sling the ball all over for 500 yards a game"...he smiled and said "yeah that was me!"....not exact words but that's how i am remembering it! So I have met another Gator Great! 3 QB's a WR, a basketball player and i just need to run threw a few coaches and I'm done! So it was a Gator Day! the GOLDEN CHILD once again solidifies his place at #1

here is Shane's status as UF's QB....Spurrier's first "student"

Matthews set 50 school and 19 SEC records while playing three seasons under Steve Spurrier. He compiled a 28-8 career record as a starting quarterback, including a 19-4 mark in SEC games. He guided the Gators to their first official SEC championship in 1991. After an excellent 1991 season, he finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Cleats

It was finally time to retire my old cleats and get a new pair! this is the new pair i have invested in to start running all over Bama and Andrew. I ran for 3 Touchdowns, 3 Interceptions (2 returned for TD's, and threw about 8 TD's! We have high scoring games! Hopefully this blog will please the natives! As for spelling...BLAH! The cleats are white so i will have to use a toothbrush on them to keep them clean! When i was in seminary i had my mom buy cleats for me for memorizing the WHOLE joseph smith story! those cleats last from 1999 all the way to 2007....best cleats ever! Everything else is life is good and i think i got the idea of how to blog...we will find out if this works....EVERYONE I AM GOLDEN! By the way....Cleats were kind of exspensive...so i bought some Under Armor....Alison has a picture....I look ripped!

started

i had to bear curt in putting up the golden child blog....look for many other posts to be put up here and please no corrections on gramar or spelling!