Fun with the Family

Last weekend my parents came to visit Christina and I here in the Bay Area. They arrived late Wednesday night. I wasn't able to get Thursday or Friday off work, but we still managed to have fun. Thursday evening we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then came back to our place for some games. 

According to the forecast it was supposed to be raining all weekend! Fortunately, it rained a little bit Friday morning then cleared up the rest of the time. It was still a bit chilly, but at least the sun was out. On Friday my parents went by themselves to San Francisco. The main attraction while they were there was a ferry ride to Alcatraz. 

Here's my mom with Alcatraz in the background. They both really enjoyed that tour. Christina and I will have to check it out sometime.

I got home early that day, around 4pm, so my mom and I went to play some tennis! We then brought some dinner over to my cousin Becky and her husband Fred, who just had a son, Micah. It was fun to visit with them.

Saturday morning was a big day. More tennis, this time me against Christina and my mom. Then Christina and my mom took off for San Francisco to get a makeover at Saks 5th Avenue, while my dad and I stayed back to watch the BYU @ San Diego State game. 

I'm really glad we did. That was an amazing game! We all know what's happened since then and there will be a blog post forthcoming about that.

After the game ended we drove up to the Millbrae BART (bay area rapid transit--a subway) to ride into the city and meet up with Christina and my mom. They were finishing up with some cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, which we helped them out with. Then we walked on over to Chinatown.

We walked around the streets for a little bit looking at the different shops.

We even stopped by the Fortune Cookie Factory. A little disappointing because it's pretty much the smallest factory ever--with three workers. But it was cool to see them being made. Definitely one of the most boring jobs ever.

Basically the guy takes one of those flat, round cookies that are still hot and folds the paper inside it using that small metal stick.

Both of my parents were on the trip with us, here's proof.

The last stop was dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. Saturday was a very fun day. It was great to have my parents in town for a few days.

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).

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.

Jeff in Town / Another Mandate

Jeff came to visit this last weekend from Houston. It was a very happy reunion. We planned a little get together with the old roommates while he was here. Last Saturday we went to the BYU vs Air Force basketball game in the Marriott Center. I thought several times about bringing my camera. But when I was leaving, I completely forgot. So this picture is the only one we have, courtesy of Jeff Ward.

At this mandate (guy's night out) was Kevin, Bwood, Nathan, Jeff, me, and Michael T. Barney. BYU beat up on Air Force, 91-48. It was fun. Afterwards, we went back to my place (Christina was out with her cousin) and had some pizza from Papa Murphy's. It was great to get all the old roommates back together. Jeff hadn't seen Nathan or Kevin since the beginning of last summer when he left. We hope he comes out again sometime, real soon.