Summer Adventures!

Christina and I are excited for this summer. I'll be studying for and taking the CPA Exam and working. Christina is looking for work for the four months we will be here so that she's not completely bored. But that's not the fun part. We want to do a lot of things this summer! We already have some ideas and definite plans, but I want some ideas if people have recommendations of things we HAVE to do before leaving Utah. Here's our ideas and plans . . .

Ideas while in Utah

-Hike the Narrows at Zion National Park from top to bottom

-Go to Moab.

-Climb Mt. Timpanogos.

-Visit more temples.

Plans

-We're going back to Washington for a few weeks in August.

-We're going to Brazil as I mentioned in my previous post.

We've already hiked the Y (and Christina's hiked Y Mountain and I've hiked the one next to it, Maple Mountain) and hiked Angel's Landing. Let us know if you have any other suggestions . . . 

We're going to Brazil!!!

It's official. 

We got our plane tickets on Saturday. On August 24th we will be flying from Seattle to Los Angeles to San Antonio to Washington, D.C. to Rio de Janeiro, phew! That's a lot of flight changes. We will stay a few days in Rio then head up to my mission, Natal and João Pessoa. We'll go back to Salt Lake City on September 14. Then we will move our stuff out to California and I start working on September 29.

I'm really excited!

The Adventures of Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley came to visit us from Georgia this past week. He wanted to see what life is like in Provo, Utah.

The first thing he did was try to help Christina cook dinner.

He soon got bored of that and decided to play hide-and-seek.

Then we took him sightseeing in Provo.

One of his favorite sights was the BYU Creamery. We didn't have time to stop for ice cream, so we told him we would another day.

He also wanted to hike the Y. 

Next, we stopped by one of the entrances to campus.

By the time we got home, Stanley was exhausted and ready for bed.

After brushing his teeth, he hopped into bed.

We hope that Flat Stanley's adventures in other places will be just as fun as his Provo visit.

March Madness!

I love NCAA basketball. I get really excited when this time of year comes around and I get to watch so many games. It's definitely one of the best times of the year. It's a lot of fun to fill out brackets and compare with family and friends.

Today was the start of the tournament. The BYU game was a thriller! They finally broke their first round losing streak. Year after year BYU fans have been disappointed in the tournament—and at the end of regulation and overtime it looked like it might continue. But BYU kept it alive and ran to the lead in the second overtime. I think we have a chance against Kansas St, although we're definitely the underdogs. No matter what happens, I'm so glad we broke the 7-game tournament losing streak. Any more wins will be bonus.

My guesses of who is going to win is Kansas or Kentucky—Kansas if I have  to choose one, but it could be either. Let's see how far BYU gets.

Update: BYU lost to Kansas St. by 12 points. Kansas also lost in an incredible game to Northern Iowa. Of course, anyone following the tournament knew all of that. I guess I'll stick with my other choice, Kentucky, to win it all. But that would be really cool if Northern Iowa, Cornell, Butler, or UW continue to make a deep run and end up in the championship game (I don't really like St. Mary's, I don't know why).

A Snow Adventure

On Saturday Christina and I went snowshoeing. It was Christina's first time.

We went up past Aspen Grove for our adventure. The name of the area has Mt. Timpanogos in it, but I can't remember it exactly.

Our favorite part was coming back down from our hike we found a hill to go sliding down. Christina had the first go at it.

Then I took a go at it. Of course I still had the camera while at the top of the hill, so you get to see what it was like.

And then Christina got a shot of me from the bottom as we went again. I tried to get Christina's snowshoe that she had lost while I was coming down.

Our next activity was free-style snowshoeing. I biffed it trying to do a trick and Christina wanted to document it.

It was a fun day! We're glad we got some fresh snow to be able to play in.

We Not Only Survived, We Triumphed

I was a little nervous (and excited!) about attending the BYU game in Salt Lake City vs. Utah after many comments from friends about bad experiences they have had. It turns out Utah fans aren't as rude to you when they're losing by over 20 points for much of the game. We got there a few minutes late, because unlike Provo, we don't know the area well.

There were actually quite a few BYU fans around us, and in the arena. I'm sure the Utah fans didn't like us cheering as loudly as we were, but we didn't care. 

We started out doing really well. We weren't shooting the best, but we were doing our job on defense. For a period of over 10 minutes, from the end of the first half till well into the second, Utah didn't score a field goal (see ESPN). Our starters didn't score that much, but it's great to know we have a deep bench. Brandon Davies scored 21 points and Loyd stepped it up again, this time in the first half, with 18 points and 4 steals.

By the end of the game, there were just as just as much blue as red in the stands. The entire game you could definitely hear the BYU fans cheering for BYU and against Utah. A lot of the Utah fans left early. Christina and I didn't get spit on or even harassed (at least not that I heard). It was a really fun time. Great game Cougs! 

(photos courtesy of Michael T. Barney)

BYU Basketball

Last week Christina and I went to two BYU basketball games! The first game was against San Diego State on Wednesday. They are a good team, so we knew it should be a good game.

Brad and Jessica Morgan invited us and the Sharps to go with them using some ticket vouchers they got. 

Christina and I

Our view, pre-game.

Nathan and Courtney cheering.

It was a close game until partly through the second half and then we pulled away and won 82-68.

The next game was the much anticipated game against New Mexico to determine the likely conference champion. The place was packed (sold out). We got there an hour before the game began. 

The game was a lot of fun. Christina could tell you I was yelling and jumping around. Everyone was. We went from down by 8 at the half to up by 5. Michael Loyd, Jr. stepped up his play when he had to take Jimmer Fredette's spot for the second half (Jimmer was having stomach problems). He was 8-9 shooting. Both teams played really well. Unfortunately, we all felt the referees didn't call several things that they could have in our favor (while New Mexico went to the line several times). And when you lose 83-81, that can be a big deal. I can't wait till the Conference tournament! And then, MARCH MADNESS!

Next up: at Utah on Wednesday. We'll be there! A little scared for my life, but it should be fun.