Boise State College Game Day

Last time I posted the summer and fall update, I completely forgot to post about our trip to Boise State when ESPN's College Game Day was there. I realized my mistake when I was clearing out space on my camera's memory card. So here ya go!

Boise State had just won their first game against Virginia Tech in Washington D.C. and was up against Oregon State at home in Boise. After years of promising to do it, ESPN finally brought their College Game Day show to Boise, and Mike and I were there for it. We had a lot of fun meeting with some of Mike's online friends for a tailgate. We also met a lot of Oregon State fans and plenty of fans from other schools who were in Boise to cheer on the Broncos. One guy--a Michigan fan--had specifically come because it was his birthday, and he asked his wife to take him to see the blue field in lieu of a birthday present. Here are the pictures and videos.

This was the basic set up from where we were sitting. The tier above us was full too. They told us that we had either tied or beaten the record attendance for College Game Day. Not bad for 7:00 am. And that was with half the city attending a marathon that same morning!

The tent had the cameras and desk where the commentators sit, and the screen next to it showed us what was happening on the camera since their backs were to us.

One of my favorite signs (and sign holder) down on the field.

Mark May is a commentator who is well known as being overly critical of Boise State, TCU, Utah, and all other non automatic qualifying teams. He is also well known for not being able to take any criticism. So much so, that they won't allow any anti Mark May signs in the Game Day crowd, no matter how harmless. Our friend Tyler swiped this confiscated sign as we left the stadium and posted it outside of our tailgate tent.

The kids getting ready for the game.

Kids pulling silly faces.

Emily dancing at the tailgate.

This was the color scheme at the game. We were in one of the orange sections. I'm always surprised at how well the color coordination works out.

The view from our seats during the game.

The morning after the game, we took the kids swimming at our hotel pool. It was the first time we were able to get them in the water without screaming. We had a harder time getting them out again when it was time to go home!

Spring!

Spring! Finally! The semester is almost over, and Mike and I couldn't be happier about it. In celebration, I'm posting lots of pictures and videos.

First, let's get the updates out of the way. School is going well for me. I was supposedly offered a choral scholarship, but I haven't seen any confirmation on it yet. I wasn't counting on a scholarship, so if I get one, it'll be a nice bonus. Either way, the director of music education says she thinks I'm doctoral material. That's encouraging! She recommends that I get my Bachelors ASAP, then take a few years off to get some teaching experience before getting my Masters and Doctorate in quick succession. She says she thinks I have the natural intuition to be a great educator. Realistically, it might be a long time before I get my Masters, but it's nice to have a clear goal and the support of a teacher I admire a great deal.

Mike is considering another change in his major, but he's unsure right now. He's considering everything from meteorology to business, but he might just stick it out as a nuke engineer. I worry that he's too concerned with getting done quickly and making money than with finding something he's good at and that he enjoys. I worry that if he picks a career based on salary, he'll be miserable at work, and all that time and money spent on his education will mean nothing. As it is, he's doing well as a nuclear engineer. Maybe all he needs is to remember what got him excited about it in the first place. It's easy to forget what you love when you're burnt out.

Hyrum continues to do very well in school. His teachers are impressed with his reading and say he finished the kindergarten curriculum a while ago. They're making up new lessons for him to check his reading comprehension. My mom gave him a 196 page Curious George chapter book for Easter which he can read all the way through with no help. He's also top in math. He loves to quiz us on addition at home. His teachers also say his penmanship is excellent. Looks a little funky to me, so I'll just take their word for it. Hyrum's speech is improving steadily since we started him at the speech and language clinic in Idaho Falls. It looks like he'll be in pretty good shape when he starts first grade this fall.

Emily is like bottled sunshine. She's such a cheerful little girl. It always comes as quite a shock when she her mood suddenly takes a drastic turn to throwing tantrums. I guess that's a typical 3 year old girl thing. For the most part, she loves to sing, dance, make up stories, pretend to be a cat, play dress-up, and all those other things that make her so much fun to be around. She's very smart. Hyrum must be teaching her because I don't know how she already knows all her letters and letter sounds. She can also read common words that she sees often like Emily, Hyrum, Mom, Dad, and cat. Mike and I want to look into the possibility of getting her into a preschool this year.

Alright! Picture time!

Instead of Easter baskets, the kids got trays and bowls of candy. Emily got hair accessories and Strawberry Shortcake dress-up doll. Hyrum got slime and a Frisbee.

Last weekend, we took the kids to Spring Scrimmage at BSU. Before the game, they let the kids play on the field and meet the coach and players. Sadly, we took the scenic route through Arco and Craters of the Moon, so we got there as they were ushering everyone off the field. The kids still got to run out onto the field and play for a short time before a security officer tapped me on the shoulder and told us we had to go. I did manage to get a video and a few pictures. :)

Go Orange! Go Big Blue! Fight! Fight! BSU!

Some of Mike's friends from OBNUG.com (a BSU fan site) saved us seats to watch the game. The kids weren't as interested as they usually are in a real game, but they had fun posing for the camera anyhow.

We decided to take the long way back to Shelley again so we could drive through Craters of the Moon and hopefully hike the lava tunnels and the ice caves. We told the kids that it was created by several volcanoes thousands of years ago. Emily was really excited to see a volcano, and made up a cute story during the long car ride. Sorry, for some reason, the sound quality is low on this video. I plan to edit this video and upload it again. Until then, you may have to turn up your speakers.

When we got there, we learned that the lava tunnels and ice caves don't open for the year until May. We decided to take the kids on a short hike (if you can call it that) to the top of a spatter cone. Emily, who had been so excited, suddenly got scared and made Mike carry her to the top. I'm including lots of pictures for Dave's sake. You'd better be reading this, Dave! Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about any of these rocks too.

This is the vent in a spatter cone. Spatter cones are like mini volcanoes and are formed after the magma becomes cooler and spatters out of vents in larger chunks. The cones are more jagged than smoother cinder cones.

This is the view of the lava flow from the top of the spatter cone. It's just black lava rock for as far as you can see.

The family (minus me) at the top of the cone. Emily still wouldn't let Mike put her down.

This is a cinder cone. These are formed from the cinders which are expelled when the magma is still very hot. The rocks are fine--about the size of gravel. Cinder cones are formed before spatter cones. There are several of both types at Craters of the Moon. This one looks much more impressive in person than in the picture.

Just a typical view of the lava beds and cinder cones.

And another one.

Lava beds are pretty common in East Idaho. In fact, we drive through one nearly every day on the way to school in Pocatello, so it's a little hard to get excited about seeing more lava rock desert. Still, when you step outside the everyday and realize the amazing forces at work on our planet, it'll take your breath away.

Well, that's all for now. Back to studying for finals!

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year! Sadly, I don't have any pictures of Christmas Eve or Christmas day. But, not to worry! I still have plenty of pictures courtesy of my Mom and Sherwin. I even have a video to post!

My brother Jacob came to visit from Arizona. He has been seeing a girl, Erica, from Idaho. In fact, they went to grade school together in Lincoln (a township in Idaho Falls) and her parents are my Grandma Sears's neighbors. She lives in Boise now, but she and Jacob have made a few trips to visit each other. She came to visit her family here in East Idaho for Christmas, so we finally got to meet her.

On Christmas Eve, we went to my Grandma Sears's house for dinner and presents with the extended family. The kids loved seeing my brother James's kids again. Piper and Hyrum have always been close friends, and lately, she has taken quite a liking to Emily. She insists that they're sisters, not cousins.

Grandma Sears got us some much needed towels, toys and clothes for the kids, and new silverware. It is so great to have good silverware. Ya know, the kind that match? The kind where the spoons don't bend when you dish up ice cream? Yeah, that's the stuff... Thanks Grandma Sears!

Some of the cousins at Grandma's house. Top Row: Piper, Monkey, Emily. Bottom Row: Isaac, Hyrum, Savannah, Mason. If you're confused about the monkey, read this entry for more info.

I helped mom make matching Christmas dresses for her granddaughters this year. You'll have to check out my brother's blog if you want to see his girls in theirs. His blog is linked on the side bar. Here are some of the Christmas pictures of Hyrum and Emily. If you want more Christmas pictures, you can find them on Facebook.

I wish I had pictures of opening presents on Christmas day, but my camera wasn't charged. I can assure you though, it was wonderful! The kids got talking Woody and Jessie dolls from us. They were a huge hit!

The kids also bought small presents for each other. Mike and I decided not to give each other presents this year so we could afford the dolls, but he cheated and got me a vegetable steamer anyhow. Mike's sister Jen and her family had our names for Christmas. I'm very excited to spend my Jo-Ann's Fabrics gift card! I'm just having a hard time deciding which project I want to make. Mike's Best Buy card is as good as spent, and it's going to take Hyrum and Emily years to finish all the activity books they got. Thank you, Golding family! Dan and Cristtin also sent us a package, although it wasn't for Christmas. We saved it for Christmas anyhow. I cannot tell you how much I love hand-me-downs! Thanks guys! A Secret Santa provided our kids with new coats, snow boots, snow pants, school clothes, and plenty of toys. In fact, there were 3 large boxes of presents and food. I guess he must have known how tough it is to be out of work for 5 months. Thank you, Santa!

After opening presents at our house, we headed over to my mom's house for breakfast and more presents. It was a full house with the four of us, Mom and Sherwin, Sherwin's son Dale and daughter Suzanne, and Jacob. Mom and Sherwin got me new pots and pans. Does it mean I'm getting old if I'm excited about that? The kids got more books and more toys. Hyrum was excited to get The Sound of Music from my mom. That is by far his favorite movie, but we've never owned it. Emily got an Aristocats DVD. Singing and dancing cats? Doesn't get much better than that! Even Jacob spoiled them with an enormous Lego set for Hyrum and a Playdough activity table for Emily. Jacob spoiled us too with a Nintendo DS game each. It was hard to resist the urge to hold The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks over my head and sing "Du-nu-nu-nu!" (If you haven't played any Zelda games, you won't understand. It's ok, we forgive you.) We spent the rest of Christmas playing with the kids' toys. Dang, Lego is still fun when you're 30!

The day after Christmas, we went with Jacob and Erica to visit my Grandma Page and Aunt Pat. It was nice to see them again. I really need to visit my grandma more often. It was good to hear how my cousins on my Dad's side are doing. That evening, we had dinner and game night at my mom's house. We taught Erica how to play Pinochle and had a great game of Balderdash.

Now, I promised you a video. If you're still reading after that long post, here's your reward. Last week, the kids got a belated Christmas present from Mike's friend Kit. We'll forgive the lateness since it was on backorder and shipped from Japan. Besides, it's just too dang cute!

Let's Review Part 3: Jessica's Birthday etc.

My birthday was December 31st. We had my mom and Sherwin over for dinner. I made salmon, and Mom made a cherry chocolate cake. Mom and Sherwin gave me towel racks for the bathrooms and a step-stool so I can reach the cabinets in the kitchen. We watched an old movie called The Court Jester and played pinochle.

Mike gave me my "present" the next day. I knew he was up to something because he kept secretly taking calls. Sometime between 5:00 and 5:30, my friends Lezhai and Melissa came with their families. Shortly after, Dan and Carissa and their girls came. Finally, Sandi came with her husband Nathan and daughter Annalee. In all, we had 9 adults and 11 kids. The kids went off to destroy our play room while the adults ate and chatted. Lezhai and Darnell had to leave early because their daughter wasn't feeling well, and they had to pick up their two boys from the movies. The rest of us played a great game of Cranium. Mike and I used to entertain a lot, but we haven't had friends who were into parties and games since we moved to Boise. It was a lot of fun to do that again! The only down side is that we left our vacuum in Nampa by accident and can't clean the chips out of the carpet.

Mike's niece Caryssa will be attending BYU-I this coming semester. We went to Rexburg on Saturday to help her move in. I can't believe how much that city and campus have changed. We'll be glad to have her nearby, and plan to have her over for dinner sometime.

Saturday the 3rd, my brother and his wife had a baby girl. Congratulations, James and Tessie! She's beautiful!

On Sunday, I found my Aunt Zelma (She's really my grandma's cousin, not my aunt) is in my ward. She was so excited to see me there since she hasn't seen me since I was very young. Still, she knew who I was immediately. I guess my grandma tipped her off that we were moving out near her. She seems to be a very positive, bubbly person. I've been told she is a very talented person. It was nice to meet her.

Next Monday, I start work, and Mike and Hyrum start school. I'm a little apprehensive about how all our schedules will work out... or not work out. Wish us luck!

Let's Review Part 2: Christmas

Christmas Eve we took a break from our unpacking to spend the evening with my extended family opening presents to and from my Grandma Sears and eating pizza and junk food. We had a really great time. On our way home that night, we needed to stop at my mom's house to pick up some of the stocking stuffers we had left there. We could see that the roads were already starting to drift over a bit, and the thought crossed my mind that maybe we should spend the night at my mom's house. I brushed aside that notion, and we went home.

I must say, I love Christmas. I love it even more after this year when the, "You'd better go to sleep or Santa won't be able to come," threat worked so perfectly. There was not even one peep from the kids that night. In the morning, the kids looked in their stockings and played with the toys from Santa while we waited for word from Mom and Sherwin about if we could get through the roads to their house for breakfast and presents. The news wasn't good. All the roads to my mom's house were completely closed, and there was little hope that the snow plow drivers would want to take time away from their own families on Christmas morning to clear the roads. Eventually, one of their neighbors shoveled out a corner, and Sherwin was able to get through in his truck to pick us up. We packed an overnight bag for our family, anticipating the possibility that we would have to stay the night.

Christmas breakfast was great, and soon we were opening presents. The kids had a great time. Hyrum is just the right age to really enjoy it. Among their mountain of presents were dishes (which go perfectly with the kitchen Emily got for her birthday), Legos, a race track, walkie-talkies, and a fridge toy to help Emily learn letter sounds and help Hyrum spell 3 letter words. Hyrum is now a spelling pro, and Emily knows nearly all her letters. Mike got me a NintendoDS Lite, and I got Mike a computerized telescope. The snow continued to come, so we spent the day playing with the kids' new toys. After they went to bed, we adults played board games.

The morning brought visitors in the form of stranded drivers on their way to work. Someone who was obviously mentally unbalanced had told them that the best way to town was through those country roads. The driver called a cab, which of course, couldn't get through the snow. However, they were able to get out with a truck, and soon the plows came through to clear the roads. Mom was able to get to work, and Mike and I were able to return home to our lonely cat.

I was able to play with my DS right away, but Mike has had some trouble with his telescope. It has been too cold, windy, and cloudy to use it much since Christmas even though he has taken it out nearly every night. He hasn't been able to train the drive or set it to the alignment stars yet. The telescope has an on board computer that will search out stars, planets, and galaxies for you once it is aligned correctly. It has just been entirely too cold to stand to be outside for that long, and the lenses freeze and fog if we're out too long. However, we did get one video (there's also a camera that fits into the lens drop in) of the moon a couple nights ago when we had a clear night. It's not super great. The best part to view through the lens without the camera is the line between the dark and light side where the shadows define the craters well. However, the camera went out of focus and began shaking at this point in the video. Mike tried to adjust the focus as we filmed, but that only made it worse. There was also junk on the lens. Probably fuzz that fell off our gloves as we switched to different magnification lenses and the camera. It looks so much better through the telescope than through the camera. Mike added music to cover our geeky sounding voices the camera had picked up while we filmed. By the way, the camera/telescope isn't panning. That's just how quickly the moon moves in magnification. When the on board computer is turned on, it'll track objects across the sky gradually so that they won't move out of the viewer.

Ta da! Ok, not the best video... We'll take better pictures and videos when it gets warmer. Maybe we'll post a picture or video of one of the planets. The telescope can supposedly see Jupiter at about the size of a dime.

Just for fun

Well, I have nothing new to report other than to say how cute the kids are. But I say that all the time. So I got this idea from my sister-in-law's blog and thought it would be fun. Here's how to play.

1. Leave a comment on my blog that is a memory that you and I have together. It doesn't have to be anything big just as long as you post something. I know there are a few people who read my blog (but don't usually comment) who have never actually met me. Well, you should still have a memory of me anyhow, so post!

2. After you're done, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It should be pretty cool and funny to see what people remember about you. If you leave a comment on my blog, and you decide to play this game on yours, I'll repay by leave a memory on your blog.

Feel free to post about either me or Mike or even one for each. Have fun!