Is this a round of Telestrations? Or the best doggone letter you've ever received?

Letter to Cami, dated 9/24/16:
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Dear Soeur G.,

Well, you'll be happy to know that despite the subject line of this email, this email has absolutely nothing to do with us playing Telestrations.

First off, I just wanted to give you a very sincere and dire warning not to attempt to pop any wheelies while on your mission. This guy was going 65mph on 495 like this....with a semi truck right behind him. We all agreed that he was being rather STUPID and needs to learn the gospel ASAP. I should have rolled down my window and gotten his contact information to send to the missionaries, but, alas, I'm pretty sure I saw his brain slip out the back of his helmet when we passed him.

Where were we going on 495, you ask? Don't guess. I'll just tell you. We were on our way to FedEx Field in Maryland to watch BYU play WVU in foosball.

Ellie and I just went to look cute, eat junk food, and dance wildly whenever music came on...


But dad and the boys were actually there to cheer the Cougars on, which is why they're wearing white and we're wearing gray....


Actually, you know us both pretty well, and I'm pretty sure you won't be surprised to hear that I yelled way louder than dad ever did. And I've got the hoarse voice to prove it if he tries to disagree.

Dad did get this random lucky butterfly to land on him though. It actually landed on Ellie first, then dad, which means they're both cooler than me, but we already knew that, so, you know, just keep reading.

Alas, it did not prove to be as lucky a butterfly as it bragged to be and we lost in another super close game (32-35).

We did have fun being there with half the LDS population of the DC area and it was a waaaaaaaaaaaay better than last year's fiasco in Michigan. And you'll be very happy to know that we had to drive down **** ***** Drive (names hidden to protect the innocent) to get to FedEx Field. I thought you'd have enjoyed being there with us and maybe taken it as a sign that you need to name your first child "Momo" or something.

So, what do you think?

I started this letter with warning you not to pop a wheelies, suggested that the guy needed a referral to the missionaries, went to the subject of football, dancing wildly, yelling louder than dad, lucky butterflies, and ended with a suggestion for your firstborn child.

Wouldn't that have made for a good round of Telestrations?

"NOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT YET," your mother exclaims loudly!

You, Cami Rose, need to know that YOUR MOM STILL HAS HER MOVES!!!! Check out (ignoring how disproportionally humongous my leg looks in this picture) how I can totally still kick Spence smack in the face....if I wanted to.

And with that uplifting bit of information (haha, I UPLIFTED my leg in a kick, making this picture UPLIFTING), this awesome letter must now come to an end, for I worry about overwhelming you with so much random amazingness in one sitting.

Tu es belle - à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur! Votre maman est tout à fait sérieux tout le temps et ne penserait jamais à écrire une lettre à vous tandis que dans l'une de ses humeurs stupides.

I LOVE YOU! JE T'AIME! Câlins et bisous!

Love,
Votre mère très grave

Stealing Flags

April 29: 

Meet Adam-- the newest (and cutest) flag stealing football player this side of the Mississippi.   

He had never played flag football (or even regular football) before this, but after the two practices/games he's played in so far, he is really, really enjoying the experience.  

The practices are a little further away than I would prefer, but I am such a fan of the practices and games being on the same night, I don't care much about the distance at all.  

He's a little bummed that his season will be cut short because of our trip, but I'm excited that he's excited, and I'm thinking we may have to try this again in the fall! 

Dark and Hairy

February 7:  It's a rare day that I spend more than 5 minutes on my hair care routine, I go to a salon once or twice a year at most, and I've kept my hair long most of my life.   

In other words,  I am extremely low maintenance in the hair department, which is why I've been dyeing my hair lighter and lighter over the last few years.    My hair is almost exclusively gray now (thank you, Spencer) and lighter hair means that my roots won't show as much.   

Today, I decided to dye my hair before church and came across a box of my old darker color dye.   I waffled for a bit, but in a fit of nostalgia for my old more youthful brunette complexion I decided to go for the change.   

And I'm rather loving the result!    

And in other hair news....Glen is growing a beard.    

He's got a small part in a play in March and was asked to grow a beard.   He feels a little out of his element growing it and gets a little defensive if anyone says anything even remotely resembling judgmental about it, but I'm coming around on it and rather like it.  

After church we rushed over to a friend's house and went to cheer on Glen's hometown Denver Broncos!    It was a great night with fun friends and delicious food (which I totally cheated and ate freely)!    

...and the Broncos won, so there's always that excitement too! 

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Top Five Reasons to Not Visit Michigan

(from our trip 9/25-9/26)

5.  Better stop at the bank (or get out your EZ pass) before driving to Michigan.   The shortest way, by far, to get from DC to Michigan has toll roads galore.

4.  Where in the hand are you?    Want to impress a Michigander?   Ask where in the hand they are from.    I personally don't have a grasp of Michigan geography and though I randomly knew about the hand trick, thanks to my friend Kelly,  the one time I was asked where in the hand (by a non-Michigander clearly) where Ann Arbor was, I could only give a blank stare and plead ignorance.  

3.   They call the University of Michigan stadium,  "The Big House," but in my personal opinion, they should change the name  to  "The Averagely Large Stadium with the Most Uncomfortable Seating in America".    Seriously!   The bench seating is clearly designed for people who weigh approximately 75-lbs and have freakishly short legs.    On the bright side, though, the stadium did make for a great family snapshot!

2. Sure the campus is absolutely beautiful, but a little campus trash clean-up would go a long way in improving its appearance to outsiders.        I've been on a lot of college campuses in my life, but I have never, ever seen so much trash strewn everywhere as there on the University of Michigan campus.   Wadded under bushes, along the curb....off and on campus....it was unsightly and clearly more than just a game day phenomena.

1.  University of Michigan  totally shut down our football team.      There's nothing like sitting there completely decked out in your enemy gear, being surrounded by the home crowd, and having absolutely nothing to cheer about for an entire game!

Michigan-31  /  BYU-0

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Things NOT to complain about:

The weather---it was absolutely perfect the whole time we were there!

The company---The Michigan fans were gracious and kind to us (most of them anyway) and we had plenty of company in our misery.

Not only did we run into the M, H, P, and N families from our ward/stake, but my brother Peter and nephew Davin came with us in our car, AND my dad and brother, Nate, flew in for the occasion!   

Though it didn't exactly turn out to be the grand weekend we'd planned...

It was great to spend time together as a family.   

And since it was Ellie and Davin's first time to Michigan (and meeting a BYU football player), we will still call it  a success!   

Go Cougars!   

We Are Ready!

We've got our "healthy" snack….

and our festive snack…. 

Glen is wearing his favorite old shirt, paint splatters and all….

Now we are ready to party and cheer on Glen's hometown!   

Go Broncos!!!!

Game Day

Twenty some odd years ago, as a brand new freshman at BYU,  I camped outside of the Marriott Center to buy season tickets to the football games.  Although not near as big as a sport's fan as most of the male members in my family, my dad had raised me to believe that attending BYU games in person was an important part of the college experience and I was excited.    I was a faithful fan and often went home hoarse at the end of games.

In the ensuing couple of decades since my college days,  I've learned that, other than my own kids' sporting events,  BYU football is practically the only sport I care about in the slightest.   And even then, watching it on tv is not near as much fun as watching it live, but unfortunately their schedule doesn't bring them out east all that often.  So when Glen announced a couple of months ago that BYU was coming to play UVA, I eagerly gave my approval about having the whole family attend.

This past Saturday morning we awoke bright and early and bedecked ourselves (and our car) in Cougar attire and enjoyed the opportunity to drive around "enemy territory".  First we went apple and peach picking (post coming later) and then met friends for a tailgating party.

After a fun afternoon of  food, fun,  and friends, we drove to the game and ended up parking about 1-1/2 miles from stadium.  We sat with friends in the nosebleed section where Emma took the term a little too literally and randomly developed a nosebleed within seconds of arriving.

It was a very hot and humid day and a couple of the kids (Ellie in particular) spent the first quarter grumpy and complaining.  No one had scored yet, we were far away from the action, and we all had a layer of sweat dripping down our faces.

It was looking to be a long and miserably hot game until right right at the end of the first quarter, we were greeted with this message....

At the time we hadn't heard a single clap of thunder, but still we were not eager to walk the 1-1/2 miles back to our car with an impending storm approaching.  

So we holed up in the first air conditioned place we could find...a laundromat, which actually didn't turn out to be such a bad place weather the storm.  There were tables and chairs to sit at, vending machines, and not very many other people who had discovered it.  We spent about an hour there before venturing out to explore campus a bit.

While wandering we met up with my brother and his son, Lincoln....a development which made Ellie very happy!

About two hours after closing the stadium, the game restarted and we took over the seats my other brother (Peter) and his family had abandoned because they did not want to wait out the storm.  Instead of worrying about nosebleeds now, we were in the 7th row---a fa  it was a lot easier to get into the game from up close.

Then a little while later it started raining again....really, really hard.    There wasn't any thunder, so the game went on, but it dumped rain for 1/2 hour or so and it only took a couple of minutes before we were pretty much as wet as if we had jumped into a lake with our clothes on.   Funny thing though....the rain seemed to perk everyone up.  Instead of lying across our laps complaining about how boring it was, Ellie was energized by the rain and could be found the remainder of the game dancing on the benches with her cousin Lincoln and yelling, "This is Awesome!" 

After the rain stopped, I pulled my camera back out, we laughed at our wrinkly fingers...

wrung out our clothes, and spent the rest of the game on our feet cheering  for our Cougs.

Sadly, the game did not end the way we'd hoped, but alas it did not matter.  It was a day we won't soon forget and I am already looking forward to the next game that brings the Cougars out this way!

A New Era Has Begun

Firsts. Life is full of them.

In those early years of childhood it seems like the kids are passing exciting new milestones all the time. First it's those sweet toothless little smiles, then the giggles, then before long they're walking and bickering with their siblings. It's all rather fun, bloggable, and cute.

Then they grow older. Not only do the milestones seem to be fewer and farther between, but they're not nearly as exciting either. I mean who wants a blog post about when you get your first zit? Or put on eyeliner for the first time? Or your HS football team goes 0/4. Certainly not my kids who get embarrassed at the littlest things (like me bragging incessantly about them and lecturing random strangers at the park).

So, for as much as I like progress and accomplishments in my kids, I tend to have an aversion to the latest and greatest technological gadgets. For instance, the internet. We went without it for several years, before finally consenting to getting dial-up which we had up until 2007. Yes me! I got a taste of life in the super fast DSL lane a mere two years ago and I've never looked back. Same with cell phones, ipods, and satellite tv. We waited a long time to get our first, then got completely hooked on the convenience and ease.

So when Spencer started begging us for his first cell phone back in 7th grade, we put him off big time. No way, no how was any son of ours going to be traipsing around middle school with a cell phone. What in the world did he need one for anyway? Playing tetris?!

Then he started high school football this year and he has a coach that randomly ends practice anytime between 5:00-7:00 each night. There's no rhyme or reason whatsoever to it. It's inconvenient enough for me not being able to plan my evenings at all, but it also meant that he needed a cell phone and I couldn't deny it.

So we got him one and he likes it...way too much!!! In his first 2 days with it he had texted his friends 47 times and we realized that we were going to be in trouble soon if we didn't upgrade our plan to include texting. So now in addition to his buffed arms from football, Spencer's also got buffed thumbs from texting.
And dang it all, my thumbs are getting buffed now too.

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Day 274--New Era

Every Thursday all the JV and freshman football players wear their uniforms to school. Most of the kids just wear their jerseys with jeans or whatever, but Spencer goes the third mile wearing his shorts and knee-high socks as well (you can see a glimpse of obnoxious socks on his right leg).
Notice what Spencer is doing in this picture...TEXTING on his brand new cell phone!

Mission Impossible

The goal: Feed 65 hungry high school football players a pre-game dinner completely by myself (since I procrastinated too long to ask someone to help me) with a budget of $130.

The menu (as per Spencer's request): Spaghetti, meatballs, fruit salad, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and cookies

Gathering supplies: One giant trip to Costco for 12 lbs. meatballs, 12 lbs. fruit, 24 jars sauce, and paper products.

Two trips to Safeway--one to buy 16 lbs. noodles and order 14 loaves of garlic bread and the other to pick up the garlic bread and buy the makings for 8 Caesar salads. (Totaled well over $200, but paper supplies will last through several more meals)

The method: Me laboring for hours over a hot stove, while AnnaLisa baked cookies by the dozens.

The results: Sauce splattered floors and walls....

a completely trashed kitchen...

a full table...

and famished football players who were scolded by their coaches to only eat "a little" so they wouldn't get sick during the game...
which meant 10 lbs. of leftover spaghetti for me to take home.

What would you do with 10 lbs. of spaghetti and meatballs if you didn't have room in your fridge or freezer to store it?

Me? I thought about reenacting "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" for my kids, but didn't think I could afford the professional clean-up services I was going to need after dropping meatballs from my ceiling.

Sooooo, instead we ate as much of it as we could stomach...

and offered the rest out as a "free spaghetti dinner" to our church email group.

Two hours and 11 families later I'm still dreadfully over budget, but have now earned the bragging rights to say that I've singlehandedly fed over 100 people in one day. I'm pretty sure that's got to at least start to make up for the sad fact that my kids have eaten just as much cookie dough today as spaghetti.

PS Going light on dinner didn't seem to help Spence's football team too much who ended up being totally whomped by Thomas Jefferson HS (the one where you have to have an IQ of like 430 or so to go there)

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