Summa Time

Probably the most common line you will read in any given blog or journal usually goes like this: "Wow, I haven't written in forever!"  I refuse to write that.  But seriously....  Look at when my last post was.  As such, this could be a pretty long post.  Buckle up!

Here are some of my most recent happenings and thoughts:

Weddings and Engagements:  The perpetual cycle of all my best friends getting married and engaged continues.  I could write an entire post on each one of the weddings and all the special things that happened in them.  But I'll keep it short.

Justin and Brittany: Married at the end of April.  Married in the Bountiful Temple.  Was a really special wedding for me since Justin and I were not only roommates, but grew to be really close friends and remain so.  Brittany and I are also really close.  These two care about me so much and I was really lucky to be a part of this wedding.  Justin and Brittany both have an amazing talent of being able to relate to people and be there friend.  Whenever you're with Justin or Brittany, you feel like they are your best friends.  Brittany looked beautiful as per usual and Justin looked handsome and skinny.  Pics on my facebook!

Kevin and Meridith:  Soon after, I found myself on a plane to San Jose where I was picked up by the Baugh Brothers: Kevin and Brian.  I had a great time staying at Kevin's house and enjoying the hospitality and food provided by Melinda (who also gave me the greatest gift of all the gifts that mankind can offer: Chipotle giftcards.)  I was able to sleep in Kevin's room with him the night before, drive with him to the temple, and go to the reception.  I can't say enough about Kevin and Meridith and how much they mean to me.  Meridith especially makes a noticeable effort to always ask me how I'm doing which does not go unappreciated.  As I drove with Kevin to the temple I will never forget the overwhelming feeling that I had: that this was all happening because Kevin worked his butt off on a hard mission.  That's why he got to deserve a girl like Meridith.  I'm so proud of Kevin and Meridith.

Mike and Karianna:  How could watching one of my oldest friends get married not be a super emotional experience?  Mike knew shortly after he met Karianna that he was going to marry her and he just went for it.  Karianna quickly realized how awesome Mike was and fell in love.  Watching Mike come out of the temple with Karianna was really special for me to see.  Mike has always been a great friend to literally everyone and especially to me.  He would do anything for me if I asked him.  He also sets an amazing example to me.  He's lucky to be with a girl like Karianna, as she is always super sweet and caring to everyone.

Brandon and Devynne (engaged):  Well, what can I even say about this?  Brandon and I used to give Mike SO MUCH CRAP for how fast he got engaged to Karianna!  And now Brandon got engaged in half the time that it took Mike- 2 months!  Brandon is awesome and the one time I have met Devynne, she was super sweet.  They plan to get married in October.  More on them once they tie the knot!

Brett and Leah Move to Texas:  If it wasn't bad enough that all my friends got married, the one couple whose house I literally lived at for most of the time left and moved to Texas.  Brett had job offers from all over the United States in places like.... Boise.... Boise... and Idaho.  So who can blame them when they decided instead to try their luck in the Lonestar state?  It wasn't long at all before Brett got a job out there and he has been working there ever since doing recruiting.  Leah works for her dad part-time.  Needless to say, I miss them like crazy.  Assuming that everything goes according to plans (which it will), I will see them when BYU plays Texas in September.

BYU:  This spring I officially made my long awaited return to the greatest university on the earth: BYU!  I started taking classes in April, but it was soon apparent to me that the English major was not for me.  I saw an advisor and decided to change my major to Latin American Studies.  There are a couple benefits for doing this:

-I will enjoy it.  A lot of the major is learning and refining Spanish.  The rest of it is learning about the politics and geography of Latin America.  I can really get into that stuff, so it's a good major for me.

-Law schools don't care what your major is.  They just want a good GPA.  Before my mission, my GPA was terrible.  Post mission, I'm sporting a 3.7.  We'll see if I can keep that up.

-I can graduate early.  Since many of my Spanish classes got waived off, I'm able to graduate this April if I stay on track!

So basically, this was a good change for me.  I'm taking 7 credits right now in the summer: Spanish Literature, Living Prophets, and Doctrine and Covenants.  I love being back on campus.  Oh, I also took my first midterm today and got a 92%.  What's up?

Adversity:  Many of you know me well enough to know that the last couple of weeks/months I made some important decisions about relationships and other things.  Throughout all of this, the words from the hymn kept coming to mind: "Do what is right, let the consequence follow."  So I've been doing that.  Sometimes I've had to make decisions where I didn't really know what was going to happen.  But luckily, it has all worked out... or I have been given the comfort to know that things will work out in the future.

Everyone goes through hard times and has to make important decisions.  We can do things in this life in 2 ways: God's way, or some other way.  I've tried both, and I can stand as a witness that the only way to really be happy is by doing it God's way.  Think about: the most powerful, all knowing being the universe loves us.  He has the big picture.  He has out best interest in mind, every time.  Why wouldn't we listen to Him?

Well, although that might sound like a rhetorical question, I have an answer:  Because we're morons.  And because we are all morons, we tend to start doing well and get complacent with where we're at.  That's a hard lesson that I got to learn/ am still learning.

I heard an example at church once about this.  The speaker said: "Life is like a river.  To get to our destination, we have to get on a canoe and go against the current.  If we don't keep paddling forward, we will inevitably be moved backward by the current."  That's a hard thing.  We have to be constantly diligent in moving forward and making progress.  If we do stop paddling or turn our canoe the other way, it's ok, but let's get back going in the right direction as fast as we can so we don't lose any more ground.

In my living prophets class, my teacher told an interesting story.  Elder Eyring was to go on an assignment by himself, without the companionship of his wife.  Elder Ballard, his senior apostle at the time, called him and said "Elder Eyring, you are traveling without your wife and Satan is constantly trying to tempt all of God's servants.  Be careful."  It's so interesting to me that even apostles have to avoid complacency and be constantly watchful and diligent.

So basically, choose to do things God's way and don't get complacent.  That's the only way to be happy.  And because I have been doing that recently, I have been so happy and confident.  It feels good to know that you're doing the right thing.

New Friends:  I have to give a shout out to some of new really good friends, namely Alisa, Jalynn, and Davi.  I met them this summer in my apartment complex and we have had so much fun together.  I don't know how I get so lucky with the friends I'm able to find, but all three of them have really been a blessing in my life.  Most recent example:  My work screwed up my check and didn't pay me half of what I supposed to receive.  Since I follow a tight budget, I didn't have anything to eat.  But before I knew it, I heard a knock on the door and to my surprise there was Alisa and Davi with cinnamon toast and Jell-o pudding and fruit snacks!  Oh, and don't think Jalynn (or J-Bones as I sometimes call her) hasn't been nice to me either.  She gave me a bean burrito the other night and even microwaved it for me!  I'm so lucky to have them.

Catch:  I have decided that one pastime I will never get sick of is playing catch.  I seriously could throw a football or baseball or frisbee all day long and never get sick of it.  I also have a bad habit of dropping whatever I'm doing to go play catch.  I just love it ok?

The Fever:  Probably to the surprise of many, this summer I have caught the fever.  Bieber fever.  After my friend Brandon forced me to watch Never Say Never, I was hooked.  The kid has amazing talent, unlike some of his colleagues who basically came through the Nickelodeon or Disney machine.   He did it on his own through pure, straight talent.  Don't believe me?  Just watch this and you'll be convinced:  http://www.youtube.com/user/kidrauhl?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/57/gSA1Gytz-Os  

Or this: http://www.youtube.com/user/kidrauhl?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/48/eQOFRZ1wNLw

Yeah, he's amazing.

Softball:  I know you were waiting for this....Softball update!  We are in coed softball season and we are looking really good.  The regular season ended tonight and playoffs start next week.  I'm excited to see how we do- I'm pretty sure we have a championship team this year.  Last year we got to the championship, but lost.  Hopefully we can take it all the way this year.

Minnesota:  I am making my return to Minnesota next month!  The trip will include activities like visiting Grandma Dorothy, seeing old high school friends, and going to a Twins-Yankees game.  I'm pumped to say the least.  I just love Minnesota!  See my old post as to why Minnesota is the greatest place on earth.  

Well I'm sure this all you can handle reading right now so I'll leave it at that.  I'm going to try to write in here more often!  With such a huge following how couldn't I?  Peace out! (for now)

Good Month and Other News

Wow, I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last wrote on here!  That's pathetic.  I'll definitely get back into gear.  Since it's been a while, this may be a longer post!  I'll try to make it as interesting as possible.  Here's what's been going on with me as of late:

-January was probably the best month of my life.  The reasons are too personal to post here, but those close to me know what I'm talking about.  Thank you so much to everyone who has been there for me, especially my family and friends.  January 23rd will be a day I will always remember.

-In unrelated news, I'm going back to BYU this spring!  I have already signed up for my classes and I'm pumped!  It's going to be SO nice to be back.  I am grateful to be a Cougar and I will never take that for granted ever again!

-Last Sunday, I got to drive up to Boise with Brett and Leah.  It was super fun, even if was only for 2 days.  Brett actually had an interview up there (we're still waiting to hear if he got the job) so we stayed with my parents.  The food was incredible and we had a lot of fun looking around Boise and playing with my siblings.  On the way home we ran out of iPod battery.  Instead of listening to music, Leah and I started singing Disney songs.  When that got old, we started to make Jimmer Fredette jokes.  I think that pretty much got us the rest of the way home!  By the way... Jimmer Fredette makes onions cry.  Also, he could strangle you with a cordless phone

-Kevin and I recently had an In-n-Out experience that's worth noting.  As we ordered our #1's with grilled onions, we saw a dog at the drive thru window just waiting for his food!  It was hilarious.  Here's the pic:

-Another funny story.... At Simply Mac we had a CRAZY guy come in who was muttering to himself.  He then plugged in his computer and started doing updates on his computer.  Apparently it was taking a long time because this was the scene we soon found ourselves watching:

Something of note is the fact that he is wearing khaki pants underneath his blue pants.  Also, despite there being many other customers and the fact that the store is very small, he retained this position for about an hour.  It was awkward.

-We are in the middle of intramural basketball season.  So far our record is 2-0-1.... yes that's right, we tied our last game.  There were some ridiculous calls that made it so, but we are keeping our heads up.  Many of you know that I am horrible at basketball and are wondering why I'm on the team.  I simply want to be on the roster so that if someone gets injured I can go in and so that if we win the championship I'll get a shirt.  At the games I'll usually play 2-4 minutes and I also take stats, which I enjoy.

-BYU basketball is currently ranked #8 in the nation!  It will probably move up tomorrow.  The nation can't get enough of Jimmer Fredette and neither can I.  I can't wait until March Madness begins and we'll see how good this team really is!

-BYU beat UNLV at home yesterday. One enjoyable sub-plot was UNLV's guard Tre'von Willis telling media that "Jimmer Fredette don't want to pass the ball.  He don't want to get no assists."  Apparently going to college isn't helping his grammar or math.  Jimmer Fredette is BYU's assist leader.  In the two games BYU has played, Tre'von Willis has 5 assists compared to Jimmer's 12.  Yesterday's victory shut him up at least for now.

That's all for now!  I will do better with posting and keeping everyone updated on my incredibly interesting life.  Adios!

2011 A.D.

It's a new year, and with that comes the optimism of a fresh start.  I can't be sure, but I have a feeling that this year is going to be a good one for me.  I'm looking forward to continuing with my education, enjoying the college life, and improving myself little by little.


So we all know about the big scam that happens in January that is the New Year's Resolution: "Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. A separate study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 78% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, and those who succeed have 5 traits in common. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying 'lose weight'), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends."


That being said, here are some things I want to focus on/accomplish this new year:


-Start working out again
-Get straight A's my last semester at UVU, then get B's or better at BYU (BYU is hard)
-Keep my commitments, no matter what
-Read scriptures and pray every day
-Be honest about my mistakes
-Go to Minnesota
-Do my best in all that I do
-Go to at least 2 BYU away games (maybe a bowl game?)
-Drink more water
-Be a better friend
-Talk less, listen more
-Bring my friends to my house in Boise
-Give more than I take
-Save my money better
-Eat out less
-Win an intramural championship
-Continue to blog
-Watch BYU go to the Sweet 16 in Basketball and the BCS in football
-Witness Kevin purchase a Mac


If I could do those things, life would be awesome.


Here are some other tidbits about what's been going on with me:


-Russell and Claire got married!  The wedding was awesome, and the setup was stressful!  It was still a lot of fun to see Russell's family and meet Claire's family.  There was a Thai ceremony that was also interesting....  I got to bless Claire and Russell during the ceremony with some water in a shell.  When I got up there I didn't know what to say, so I just told Claire "Be patient" and then told Russell "Te amo."  Nice.  I also caught the garter, played the piano as Claire walked in the room with her dad, and got to help DJ the reception.  My plane got delayed 3 hours on the way home however and I got stuck in Seattle.  Overall a great trip, and I'm so happy for Russell and Claire!


-Trent and Star got married!  I wasn't able to go to this one since Russell's was on the same day... but congrats to them!  I saw them yesterday and I know they are enjoying the married life.


-Christmas break was awesome, but short.  I went home on Christmas Eve and then had to leave only 3 days later!  Luckily, I still got to see all my family, including Uncle Mark who I haven't seen in 3-5 years.  Mark and I were partners in a Pinochle challenge against a family in the ward.  We walked away with a victory in our first game, then played Grandpa and Sara.  We clobbered them, only needing 10 more points to secure the win.  Grandpa then miraculously shot the moon, ending our campaign for the championship. I continued my Wii dominance against Josh, played dodgeball with my brothers, and got to eat some good food.  I flew home and worked the rest of the week.  Gift highlights were a printer and laundry services for the whole semester!


-I purchased myself a Gamecube.  Current games that I own are Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario Party 4.  Needless to say, I will waste many hours playing with friends, but well worth it.


-Kevin and I invented a new game.  While we were sitting in the hot tub one cold night, I decided to run around the pool in only my swimsuit in the snow.  Kevin made a game out of it by one-upping me.  He not only ran around the pool twice, but also did penguin-like belly slides on the snow.  After running in the snow for a while, your feet feel like they been smashed with a sledge-hammer.  But that didn't stop us.  I one-upped Kevin by doing summersaults and belly dives AND running around the entire apartment building.  After that, however, I got outdone by Kevin who did summersaults, belly dives, and ran up and down three flights of stairs.  I tried to match him, but failed.


-Brittany and Justin got engaged!  It happened New Year's day at midnight.  I put on a brief pyrotechnic display shortly after in celebration.  I am now a felon.


-I won Presidents Club (employee of the year) again at Simply Mac.  I am a Mac Daddy. And still a felon.


-School starts tomorrow.  Right now I'm taking 15 credits and working 18 hours a week.  Should be busy, but good.  Classes I'm taking are:
-World History 1-1500 AD
-Word History 1500-present
-Business Spanish
-Personal Finance
-Technical Writing


-Work schedule is as follows:
Mon: 6-8pm
Tues: Off
Wed: 6-8pm
Thurs: 10-2pm
Fri: 3-5pm
Sat: 10-6pm
Less hours means harder to reach my sales goal, but I should hopefully still be ok.


-There is a car outside with an alarm that is going off every hour all night long!  It will go off for about 5 minutes every hour or so, then turn off.  I have literally lost hours of sleep because of this thing!  Worst part is that it's parked right outside my window.  I will have to take drastic measures if it doesn't end soon...


-New music on the blog!  There are a couple more songs I'm working on uploading as well...


-My bowl predictions have all been correct with the exception of Washington vs Nebraska. I should have known that the former BYU quarterback would coach the Huskies to a victory.  My bad.  Also, Alabama vs MSU turned out to be a joke of a game.  I also predicted the Arkansas game wrong.  I now owe Brett $3.


-Brandon Doman gets the hire as offensive coordinator for BYU.  Here's a great article on the story: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=498&sid=13884259  Meanwhile, Robert Anae got hired at Arizona.  Good luck and good riddance.  Now what can be done about JJ DiLuigi....


Well, that's pretty much it for now.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy new year!  As always, keep checking back for more posts.

Christmas Time

Maybe this post is a day late, but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to write about it.

Christmas has been a busy time for me... work, finals, and more work.  I finally made it "home" to Boise on Christmas Eve.  I got home, played some Nintendo, and then went to bed.  Christmas day we opened our presents and had the annual "Christmas Crap Out," which is when we get to eat whatever we want.  It's been fun being with the family, but unfortunately will end this Tuesday when I'll fly back home to work some more.  That's the disadvantage of working in retail I guess.

This Christmas season I hope everyone got to take a break from the stress and materialism that Christmas bring and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas: Christ.  Leah gave a great FHE lesson on this a couple of weeks ago that inspired me to write something about Christmas.  There's a song I've had playing on my blog by BYU's Vocal Point that's called "He is Born."  I want to post the lyrics to this song, because they really help me appreciate the birth of the Savior and how it was the beginning of a life that would eventually save me and everyone else:

Joy to the world, the Lord has come
To every boy and girl, He'll be the Holy One
He'll be a King, He'll be a Lord
He's just a baby, but He'll save the world

And I'll sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
He is my Savior, today He's born
He is born

Rejoice, Rejoice, the Savior's come
We'll lift every voice, to the Healing One
The sinner's saved, the price was paid
He's just a baby, and He's born today

And I'll sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

He is my Savior and my King, with all my heart to Him I'll sing

My Lord and King will I adore, with my praise forevermore

He is my Shepherd and I know, with all my love to Him I'll show

With all my life to Him I'll give, today He's born

He's Born

And I'll sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

He is my Savior, today He's born

He is Born

I love this song and the lyrics.  I especially appreciate and relate to the part where is says that the sinner is saved, the price was paid...  That is truly a reason to celebrate, rejoice, give gifts, and spend time with family.  We're all sinners trying to do our best, and we rely on Jesus Christ every single day.  May we all remember the sacrifice that Christ made for us.  To end off this blog post, I'll put on one of my favorite scriptures of all time:

"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

-Rev. 5:1-5

Toilet Bowls and Worthwhile Bowls

Here is a quick overview of the 2010-2011 college football bowls coming up this month and next month.

TOP 5 TOILET BOWLS
These are the bowls that are the worst of the worst, with the least intriguing match ups, most lopsided match ups, or the biggest disappointments for that team.

5. New Mexico Bowl- BYU (6-6) vs UTEP (6-6) (Dec. 18th, 5:30pm)

These teams could not have ended off the season any different.  While BYU salvaged their season by ending off 5-1 (with a disappointing and controversial loss to Utah), UTEP ended off their season only 1-5.  Both teams are 6-6, which might suggest that this could be a decent matchup.  But with UTEP struggling so bad with a quarterback constantly getting picked off and losses to subpar teams, it should be a BYU blowout.  Another fun fact, only 6 teams have gone to more bowl games than BYU in the last 33 years.

4. Las Vegas Bowl- Utah (10-2) vs Boise State (11-1) (Dec. 22nd, 8pm)

Despite ALMOST losing to San Diego State and BYU and blowout losses to TCU at home and away at a mediocre Notre Dame team, Utah will travel down south to take on the Boise State Broncos.  Boise State was a field goal away from going to the Rose Bowl and possibly the national championship.  Unfortunately, the bullies of the WAC finally had someone stand up to them and beat them in overtime.  As a result, Boise State winds up in Las Vegas Bowl while a 4 loss Connecticut team gets to go to the BCS and a 2 loss Virginia Tech team (who Boise State beat along with a AA team) also gets to go.  This is undoubtedly a huge disappointment for the Broncos who returned all but 1 starter from last year's team.  Boise State will blow Utah out of the water.

3. Holiday Bowl- Nebraska (10-3) vs Washington (6-6) (Dec. 30th, 10pm)

Nebraska was once again a field goal away from going to the BCS.  Last year it was against Texas, this year it was against Oklahoma.  Nebraska boasts a 9-3 record (with losses @ Texas, @Texas A&M, and vs Oklahoma) while Washington has a meager 6-6 record.  Washington's quarterback Jake Locker has been plagued by injuries this season and hasn't had the supporting cast a star like him deserves.  Nebraska will go into this game disappointed, but will dominate Washington.

2. Orange Bowl- Virginia Tech (11-2) vs Stanford (11-1) (Jan. 3, 8:30pm)

This match up may look intriguing on paper, but I consider it to be an outrage.  Virginia Tech started off the season losing to Boise State, a non-BCS school that according to the Ohio State president is "unworthy" to play for a championship.  Right after the loss, V-Tech loses to a Division I-AA school, James Madison.  These guys are a HORRIBLE team that are not even division one!  Apparently, however, those losses were forgivable and irrelevant as the ACC gets an automatic bid and sends their best school to face Stanford, who has only lost to Oregon, the team playing for a national championship. Stanford should kill Virginia Tech

1. Fiesta Bowl- Connecticut (8-4) vs Oklahoma (11-2) (Jan 1st, 8:30pm)

This is the biggest joke.  Since the Big East also gets an automatic bid, they get to send the champion of their conference.  It's not ranked West Virginia or the preseason favorite Pitt, it's UConn.  A 4 loss team that got shut out by a mediocre Louisville team.  Look who DIDN'T get to go to the BCS:
Boise State- 12-1
Michigan State- 11-1
Nevada- 12-1
LSU- 10-2
Alabama- 9-3

To me, this game just shows the insanity of the BCS and how they rob teams of a fair chance to play for the championship.  Landry Jones will light up UConn.  And I bet it won't even be that satisfying of a win, knowing that you beat a team that Louisville beat 23-0.

TOP 5 BOWLS TO WATCH
These are the 5 bowl games that you won't want to miss this year.

1. Poinsettia Bowl- SDSU (8-4) vs Navy (8-3) (Dec. 23rd, 8pm)

San Diego State has had a GREAT year.  In all reality, they were a field goal away from beating a Mizzou team that would upset the #1 team in the nation.  They barely lost to BYU on a controversial call, gave TCU a run for it's money and lost to Utah on a desperation team.  Basically, this team is one play away from being undefeated.  Brady Hoke has really turned this program around.  Navy is also having a great year.  They still have a game against army this Saturday, but Navy is always a well disciplined team that shows up to their bowl games.  At the end of the day, however, I bet SDSU walks away with the win.

2. Capital One Bowl- Alabama (9-3) vs Michigan St (11-1) (Jan 1st, 1pm)

Alabama is the reigning national champion from last year, but wound up having a disappointing season with three losses.  They still, however, have a decent quarterback with great receivers and running backs.  Michigan State has only lost against Ohio state.  This should overall be a great game, but I think Alabama will come out with the W.

3. Sugar Bowl- Arkansas (10-2) vs Ohio State (11-1) (Jan. 4th, 8:30pm)

I really like this Arkansas team with Ryan Mallett leading the way.  They have an awesome passing attack.  Ohio State, on the other hand, relies on their running game.  This should be an awesome game, but I predict Arkansas will get the win.

2. Rose Bowl- Wisconsin (11-1) vs TCU (12-0) (Jan. 1st, 5pm)

TCU remains undefeated as they walk into this game.  Had Auburn or Oregon lost, TCU would be headed to a national championship.  Wisconsin also looks good going into this game with their only blemish being a loss to a good Michigan State team.  I bet this game will be really close, but Gary Patterson's coaching will allow TCU to remain undefeated this season.

1. National Championship- Auburn (13-0) vs Oregon (12-0) (Jan 10th, 8:30pm)

The question has come up many teams this season, who can stop Oregon's lightening fast, hurry-up offense?  Other people have asked, who can stop Cam Newton?  So far, no one has had an answer.  And I doubt this game will provide us with an answer.  With both teams only having mediocre defenses, but unbelievable offenses, this game is sure to be a shootout.  In the end, I predict Auburn will come out on top.


Well, that's my overview of this year's bowl games.  We'll see what happens!

Thanksgiving Break

Hello everyone!  I just got back to Provo.  I was in Boise for the weekend visiting my family and enjoying all of the comforts that home brings with it.  As Kevin put it: "Paul, how happy are you to be back in Provo on a scale of 1-10?  Because I'm at a negative 4." Well said.  Here were some highlights of the weekend:

-Seeing Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Peter.  I haven't seen Grandma and Grandpa since I got off my mission, so it was good to see them again!  Along with telling me some funny stories about the latest things going on in her life, I was also able to enjoy some incredible, authentic Italian stuffed mushrooms that Grandma made.  Amazing.  It was great to see them.  As a side note, Grandma is the most loyal follower of this blog.  Love you Grandma!

-Free laundry.  This may sound petty, but having good quality, free laundry facilities is a luxury for a poor college student.  Imagine the look on my face when I woke up one morning to find all of my laundry washed and folded in my suitcase.  Thanks mommy!

-Food.  My mom's home-cooked food is absolutely incredible.  I know everyone says that about their mom's food, and sometimes it's true.  I have a lifetime trying other people's home-cooked food and sometimes it's pretty good.  But never as good as what Amy's Kitchen consistently provides day in and day out.  No one else can deliver like that.  It goes without being said, but Thanksgiving dinner was incredible.  The leftovers were also amazing.  And the downstairs fridge had unlimited cream soda and caffeine free Dr. Pepper.  I probably gained 10-15 lbs.

-Family.  Seeing my family is so much fun.  My mom is always caring and dad is always funny to talk to.  Upon my arrival, I immediately taught my brother Josh how to play Super Smash Bros.  Later, Travis, Tristan, Micah, Josh, Mark, and I all played indoor tackle football in our padded room called the "Riley Room" (named after my cousin Riley who has been known to be destructive to non-padded rooms.)  The football left everyone injured and crying.  Even I jammed my finger while I had 3 boys try to tackle me.  They almost succeeded. Almost.

-The baptisms of Travis, Rachel, and Tristan.  On Saturday, I got to see my little brother Travis and my little cousins Rachel and Tristan get baptized.  It was awesome to see them go in the water.  The highlight, however, was their confirmations.  You could tell that my dad was close to the Spirit as he confirmed them members of our church and gave them special blessings.

-BYU Basketball. Noah Hartsock made a clutch jump shot in a double overtime win over South Florida and the team later won the South Padre Island Invitational Championship when Jimmer made a last second 3 point shot close out the game against St. Mary's.  Good weekend for the basketball team.

Overall, it was a great weekend.  I'm glad I got to see my family and enjoy the weekend.  Here are a couple more tidbits to end off the post:

-Today is Andrew's birthday.  Andrew is currently serving a mission in the Ivory Coast and will celebrate his birthday in a hut made of straw that lets continuous rain pour in while he shivers in the cold with malaria and no food to eat..... just kidding.  He actually looks to be very spoiled out there despite the humble circumstances.  Happy birthday big guy.  See you in 7 months.

-3 more weeks before I head out to Oakland for Russell's wedding!  Russell was my mission companion and is now my roommate and one of my best friends.  He met the girl of his dreams, Claire, who is one of the sweetest and funniest girls on the planet.  They are both lucky and I can't wait to be one of the groomsmen in the wedding.  After the wedding, I'll fly back to Boise to enjoy the rest of Christmas break under my mother's care.

-One of my other best friends, Trent, will also get married on the same day as Russell!  I wish I could be at two places at once!  Congratulations to Trent and Star, whose wedding theme song should be "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift.  Told you so Trent.

-I FINALLY got my online class done!  Physical Science 100 online was a beast, but it has been slain.  I just need to take the final and the class will be out of my life forever.  Thank heavens!

-A quick note on the BYU game... I don't want to dwell on it for too long, but I can't think of a bigger tragedy than losing a game against someone you clearly outplayed for 4 quarters because of a bad call.  When the entire world, including Utah fans, saw Brandon Bradley's knee touch the ground before he had the ball stripped from him, everyone thought the game would pretty much be over.  But when the called fumbled stood, Utah scored and BYU lost the lead it had held 56 out of 60 minutes.  Granted, BYU just had some terrible luck in that game, including a punt hitting an unaware player, a tipped ball being intercepted by Utah, dropped balls that were perfectly thrown, etc. But the call the ref made was inexcusable.  Utah made a great block at the end of the game, but the events beforehand should never have led up to a block winning them the game.  As you can imagine, I'm devastated over the loss.  It truly was a heartbreaker.  BYU now awaits a New Mexico Bowl bid and it will probably be against Fresno State or a rematch against Nevada.

-New music for the blog is Christmas music!

That's all for now!  Check back for more posts later.

Some Things I'm Grateful For

In lieu of the Thanksgiving season, here are just a few of the things that I'm grateful for:

-A family that loves me no matter what

-The best friends anyone could ever ask for who will always love and support me

-Good health... most of the time (don't say anything mom)

-The gospel, its teachings, the Savior, and the hope His Atonement brings to everyone

-That I live in the United States of America

-My job

-An optimistic attitude that it will all work out in the end, and that Heavenly Father has a plan for me