20 Years of Cougar Memories

Rise and Shout! The Cougars are out!!! I love this time of year! I love the fall weather; I love the leaves changing color; and I love Cougar football! This love of BYU football was ingrained in me at an early age. Even growing up in California, we watched every game! I swear my mom paid off the PFR in our stake to hook up the satellite and a TV every Saturday so that we could all troop over to the church with popcorn and drinks to cheer them on. And, I have vague memories of a family home evening when I was quite young where we learned the ENTIRE BYU fight song!

So, it occurred to me this weekend as I was watching another great victory over the Wyoming Cowboys at LaVell Edwards Stadium that I have been cheering the BYU Cougars on to victory IN PERSON now for 20 years!!! 18 of those years I have been going with my awesome hubby and true blue Cougar fan, Paul.

Now, after you pick your jaws up off the floor because I know you are all thinking we couldn't possibly be that old, let's take a look back in time. Turn back the clocks to Fall 1989--I was a happy, carefree BYU freshman coed (yes, I know this is dating me. Be sure to help me up the stairs next time you see me! It's been a long time since I climbed the "duck pond" stairs south of campus multiple times a day!!) Anyway...I thought it would be fun to look back in time to one of my first BYU home games. And yes, I was one of those annoying students who stood for the ENTIRE 4 hours of play!! (What's that all about? I can't even remember! I just know that's what we did, and they still do it! Again, I ask, why? I really must be getting old!) Anyway...here I am with my sis--everything looks pretty much the same, right?

Okay, so only the mountains and the number of fans look the same! Obviously this was my younger, thinner, bigger hair version--long before gray hair, wrinkles, and having 4 babies! Even Cougar blue has gone through a revision in shade, and Cougar Stadium has undergone a name change. However, the one thing that hasn't changed in 20 years is the fun of the game! There is nothing better than watching and cheering for the Cougars of BYU!

Now the game is always great fun, but just as much fun is enjoying it with good friends!

Another great highlight is seeing who can turn their tongue the appropriate Cougar blue color by ingesting a monster grape icee!!

Lastly, one of the things I love about BYU football games is running into old friends! This was one of my cute laurels when I was Young Women's president. She actually saw me sitting across the stadium and came to find me!

Thanks to BYU for all of the awesome years, and here's looking forward to at least another 20 years at LaVell Edwards Stadium! Hope to see you all there some day!

Golf is a 4 letter word!

This is exactly how Loralie and I usually feel about our golf games, but we NEVER say any actual 4 letter words while playing (except maybe "Fore!" a lot of times) because that would be bad and totally inappropriate! We try and try every season, and we seriously can't figure out why we aren't getting any better! Oh well. It is a goal we continue to chase around.

This, however, was how I felt about several of my shots tonight!

I did shoot a 60 at Glenmore, so watch out Tiger (so what if it was only 9 holes?!). It was pretty good for me on that course. My goal is to shoot in the 40's consistently, but until then, we just go out and try to have some fun without losing too many balls! Luckily Paul is the most patient golf pro and husband ever, and Jonathan and Loralie laugh at themselves almost as much as they laugh at me!

3 Year Old Logic

Sometimes Eric amazing us with his intellect. For example, yesterday he single handedly showed and told "Grandma Kemple" how to find his favorite cartoon in her "On Demand" menu on cable. Then there are other times he makes us say, "Huh, he really is a 3 year old."

(Earlier tonight....)

Paul: Eric, why aren't you in bed yet?

Eric: 'Cuz I aren't.

Tagged!

For all of you sick of looking at the same picture and post for the last 10 days, I apologize. On the other hand, maybe no one has looked or cared! I feel some pressure to post something witty, amusing, and interesting, but alas, either nothing has happened, or one of my friends has beaten me to it, pictures and all, and I am not about to try to compete with their blogging! So, alas, by default, I actually have to respond to the two tags I received quite a while ago. Lisa and Dawne, I apologize for taking so long to get around to it. I assure you I got the tag in a timely fashion, and I have given it some thought, here and there. I will now force myself to really dig deep and put thought to paper...again, the pressure.

3 joys: 1. My 5 handsome, delightful, and sometimes difficult boys (though Paul is rarely difficult!) 2. All of my amazing and fun extended family--on both sides. 3. Many fabulous friends that bring fun and laughter into my life--thanks!! (Can I add chocolate? It's always in the mix, and on some days ranks at #1)

3 fears: 1. My house catching on fire while we all sleep!! (This fear of fire steams from a young age when my normally responsible and competent parents allowed me to watch "The Raging Inferno" or something like that. Scared the crap out of me. I've been terrified of the possibility of being in a burning building ever since. Now that I have kids, the fear has magnified--what if I can't get to them? Scary....) 2. Dislocating my knee--either one--again! This is a constant worry for me. It started in third grade doing cartwheels at recess, and it has happened multiple times on both knees throughout my lifetime--the last one in a very public place when I was 8 months pregnant which ended in an ambulance ride and a doctor having to pop it back in (that was a first, and it was awful!) 3. Lastly, heights! Yes, I am afraid of heights! It makes hanging over the railing of a cruise ship a little difficult, but I tend to do better at that than Paul!

3 obsessions: 1. Current top of my list is "Twilight" and anything related to it. (Guess that means reading is an obsession also--just ask my husband!) 2. Always at the top of my list is chocolate--the good kind, no cheap imitation brand. (Yes, I am a chocolate snob.) 3. Always wishing I could lose a few pounds, but never willing to give up #2 on the list long enough to actually see big results!!

3 surprising facts: 1. I played the accordion when I was in elementary school, and I looked and sounded mighty fine, if I do say so myself! (How, and more importantly, why--you may be asking? My dad played one, and I pretty much worshipped him and thought he was the coolest.) 2. I love ballroom dance! I danced in many classes and on a back up team at BYU. Wish Paul liked to do it too so I would have a partner to keep at it! 3. I grew up in a small town in Northern California where the local high school colors were an ugly brown and gold (before either one became a popular color), and the mascot was "the honkers!" How cool is that...NOT! However, I am still a California girl at heart! I hate Utah winters. I hate the snow, the ice, the cold, and the ugly, muddy slush! I am not ready for winter to come again. Didn't it just end?

Well there you have it. Everything you ever wanted to know about me and then some! I tag Deanna, Kris, and Alisha. May you procrastinate a little bit less than I did!

The yearly matching shirt picture!

The story begins long ago--I mean a really long time ago as we are getting seriously older! Anyway...it all started with my husband's family. There are 8 children in the family. Paul is the oldest, so he has experienced this the longest! His mom always used to make them matching outfits and dress them alike! Now, I guess this wasn't always a daily occurance, but definitely when they were going places so that she could always keep track of them--a good idea when you have 8 kids, I think. One especially funny memory my husband has is of a Disneyland trip when they all wore matching whale shirts (or so he says! I've seen the pictures, but I can't truly remember if it was all of them, or just the girls in the whales and boys in coordinating colors.) 30 some odd years later, it is still a yearly occurance for each family to take a photo with everyone in the family wearing matching shirts so Paul's mom can use it for her yearly scrapbook page. Some of the kids express some of their teenage rebellion each year about doing it, so it will be interesting to see how many more years before the tradition is given up. For now, her yearly scrapbook page is always fun to see! So, Alisha and Kris--are yours done yet?! Can't wait to see them!:)