Back from Utah

Johnny and I spent a few days in Utah this past weekend! It was the perfect trip. We got to see family that we haven't seen in over a year, which was our main motivation for making the trip since we won't be flying anywhere for the holidays this year.

We didn't realize how much we needed to get away from life for a bit, and we came back feeling quite refreshed. Our first day in town we headed down to BYU campus and Y Mountain, and we visited Johnny's sister and her kids in Daybreak.

It was the week of the Holy War, so of course all the statues at BYU had the obligatory saran wrap. It was fun to walk through campus, but neither of us misses student life much :)

It was so fun to visit with Johnny's sister Sarah and our nieces Penelope, Violet, and Bella---the cutest girls in the whole world. Sarah gave me all her baby girl clothes that Penelope has grown out of, which I am so excited and thankful for!

I'll be posting more pictures from our trip soon!

Winter

Last Friday we had a few inches of snow, which promptly melted, but my view out the window did look like the above picture for a few hours. We are supposed to be getting a rather hefty load of snow tonight. I'm excited---anything to mix up the dullness that is January. Although, so far we have managed to keep things somewhat interesting around here.

• We got a Costco card from Johnny's Grandparents for Christmas, and, feeling extremely ambitious, we decided to take a duffel bag and backpack and make the trek to Costco via bus last week. The thought of the walk and bus ride home left our minds as soon as we entered that magnificent store, and we bought whatever we felt like. Somehow we stuffed almost everything into the backpack and duffel bag, both of which weighed like 50 pounds (not exaggerating), and Johnny carried both. I carried canned cat food, chips, and bread (which was harder than it sounds, people!). We walked the 4 blocks to the bus stop. Waited half an hour for the bus. Rode the bus. Walked the 4 blocks home. It was mind over matter, and Johnny's whisperings of, "Okay, 3 more blocks . . . 2 more blocks . . ." were all that kept me going. I'm sure we were a sight to see. I have never been so happy to arrive home.
• I managed to catch one of our kitchen towels on fire, and Johnny walked into the kitchen to find me precariously transporting a towel all aflame to the sink.
• I'm rereading the Harry Potter books. When I am too engrossed, Johnny gets my attention by reading aloud over my shoulder in a British accent.
• We've been religiously watching/listening to all the BYU basketball games. This is the best I've ever seen our team (ranked 10 in Coach's Poll right now!), and Jimmer is so fun to watch. It gives us something fun to look forward to a couple nights a week.

That's about it. As I write this, I can hear my landlord talking loudly in his office, which shares a wall with our apartment. A couple days ago, I heard him saying, "fuhgeddaboudit, fuhgeddaboudit" and all I could think was, "Huh, people really do say it like that."

Lastly, I will leave you with a picture of Persie, the balancing cat.

Independence

I think I would be doing a great dishonor to Johnny if I did not post about BYU football going independent. When the news finally came out this week, Johnny was beyond excited. He kept saying, "Jo, I don't think you realize what a big deal this is!" Yesterday,  as we ate our breakfast, Johnny felt the need to play the following clip from Independence Day:



So while we are both excited for BYU football's independence, you could say Johnny's a tad more excited than I am. Just a tad. Needless to say, we can't wait for this week's game!

Here's a story...

Johnny, Rick, Will, and I got in the car and started to drive one Thursday morning.

Johnny drove us.

We arrived in Las Vegas and checked into our hotel. We all changed into our BYU gear.

Our room overlooked the golf course, and the boys were thoroughly entertained.

We got to the game.

We were excited!

The game was about to start!

We won the first game!

The next day was the second game!

We lost. It was sad.

But we still had fun!

We went and played pool.

Rick and Will played against Johnny and me.

They lost!

We played other games, too!

We went to the pawn shop on Pawn Stars.

It was actually warm outside!

On our way home, we hit a huge snowstorm. It was scary!

Our car was covered in ice!

Finally, on Saturday night we made it home safe!

The End!

MWC Tournament here we come!

Just one more day of work until Vegas!

Basketball is Back!!!

The basketball season has officially begun. I LOVE watching basketball. It is much more easy to stay interested in, I think anyway. These were taken at the first basketball game of the season. So far we haven't missed even one home game. And the 'stache Johnny is sportin in these pictures? Yeah, that thing has since been shaved right off, THANK GOODNESS. Rick and Will are not only our football buddies, but they are also our basketball buddies.

the two of us!

I love Dave Rose...I think he's the best coach ever.

These two little boys were right in front of us during the game. Aren't they cute? The one on the left would mimic everything Johnny did. When Johnny would "boo," he would look back and then start "booing" as well. It was really funny!

BYU vs The U

Saturday was the Holy War. It is not only the most anticipated game of the year, but it was also our last game as students. Rick and Will, who we have season passes with, walked to the game with us.

Johnny and me at our last game!

the opposing team...booooo

some lovely Ute fans who were on our sideline before the game

our boys in their royal blue 1984 jerseys...they looked so good!!

the Ute fans

injured #47 . . . a lot of the players had his number on their arm

some of the players trying to get the crowd to cheer loud!

BYU football...don't you LOVE the jerseys??!

Will and Johnny watching intensely

Mr. Rick

Logan and Eason both had "God 1st" on their arms...I thought it was cute

the players standing on the benches to watch the games...the players were so excited throughout the whole game...it was great to see!

We WON!!! (and rushed the field!!!)

Johnny was SO excited! He kept hugging me over and over on the field. I was really excited to win as well, but I was SUPER cold, so I was also just excited that it was over. It was such a crazy game!! We loved it. What a great way to end the season!!!

College Game Day and the TCU Game

College Game Day...


It was super early in the morning. Johnny and Rick slept over in tents, but I slept at home and joined them at about 5:30am.


What a huge crowd...






Johnny with the BYU flag around his shoulders


The ESPN Game Day crew


The game...

It was wet and cold, but we were super excited!


My sister Sarah came!








Yikes, we were losing pretty bad...


The game had a sad ending, but it was a really fun, although loonnng, day.