The Utes Parade

So last week our city came together to celebrate the Utes & their incredible season. They had a parade followed by a ceremony at Washington Square where we heard a few of them speak. There were so many people there...it was awesome! It was just incredilbe energy in the air & a fun way to show our team our support & thanks for a great season!

Even Marilyn Monroe is a Utes Fan! :}

Let the parade begin!

Besides the team themselves, it also included a number of big fans. We always see these guys at the games & tailgate parties

I'm going to assume this may have been family or friends; but, it was fun to see him run over & get hugged by a big group!

Here comes those darn cute cheerleaders!

Especially this one! :} (no, I'm not biased at all!)

What a thrill it's been for Anj to be a part of this whole experience this year!

The marching band, who also represented us in the Inaugurial Parade on Tuesday

Bradon Godfrey (he's a favorite just for getting his pic with our Bradon earlier in the season :})

I thought it was cool that a lot of them were slowing down to give high fives/knuckles, signing autographs, etc...especially with the little kids. Good for them!

The men of the hour, well...the season: Kyle Whittingham, who was given the honor of Coach of the Year, and Brian Johnson, our fearless quarterback

Louie Sakoda, who saved us many times!

"King Louie...You Rock!"

The mass of people heading back to Washington Square

You know I couldn't resist this shot..if only he knew why I thought this was so funny! :}

Have we told you we love our Utes?!! :}

At what point do you think we are in trouble?..

As I download my latest pics, I come across these couple where Kaley has decided to do a little self posing with my camera. All I can say is, "Lord help me now...I think we're going to be in trouble when she gets to be a teenager!!"

Not sure where she picked this whole facial thing up; but, seriously...
Oh, she is a darn cutie though! :}

Proud to be an American!

INTRODUCING THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I feel proud to be an American today! Of course I always do; but, watching this moment of history today gave me faith in the system & for all that we believe in in this country. It's been a rough time for our country, a lot needs to be overcome. We realize there is no quick fix here. But, we will turn it around & we will continue to be the prosporous country that we are....that I do believe!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

Winter Fun

Despite hating the cold part of snow, you have to enjoy it, at least a little bit, if you're going to live in Utah! We've been getting slammed with it in recent days, which made for a truly beautiful White Christmas (we were snowed in that day...so it was good we actually weren't going anywhere for once!). We still plan to have a sledding day soon, maybe this weekend even. It would be nice to take up skiing again too, it's been a while. I just haven't gotten new skis again since the last time I went & managed to break my ski in half (so then I had to slide my butt down the hill until the snowmobile guys finally came to rescue me :}). I was thinking about taking up cross country skiing again, which is a fond memory of growing up with my Great Uncle Bob. Guess I should just do it instead of talking about it! Yea, I'll just fit that in my schedule, no problem! Anyway, for now I'll be content with our attempt at a snowman & a few snowball fights with the kids, or better yet, looking at the pretty snow from inside my home while cuddled in a nice warm blanky! :}OK, really...the snow was so powdery it wouldn't stick. This was the best we could do with a bucket & a water bottle to help it stick. Unfortunately, Mr. Snowman (or Marley, as Kaley named him) has now passed all ready. The hot flashes got the best of him! :}"So Dylan...why did you roll the window down again?" Could this have been an explanation of how I managed to get a good layer of frost on my windows INSIDE my car that weekend?! That was certainly an odd thing to find...ever had to scrape your windows inside your car?! An attempt to get our house with the lights during the snowfall (you think I would have then realized the other ones were off then :})

So, snow...great to have ya, it's been nice & made for a great Christmas! Kinda done with you now though...can you leave, please? I need to thaw out!!

Utes take charge in The Sugar Bowl!!

I know you've all ready heard my spiel, and know we are Utes Fanatics. If you don't...where have you been?!! :} We were very excited to get the chance to play in such a big game (since they don't seem to recognize the Mountain West as a very powerful conference). But, let's be honest, not too many people really thought we could pull off the win (the polls only had Utah at 10%...so not exactly high probabilities there!). I was just hoping for a good game & strong hopes that maybe, just maybe, we could actually win. Not that I'm not a believer of our team...it's just Alabama is known to be a really good team! So, it was nice to see us start off with a bang! Seriously, I think they don't know what hit them! We played our best game ever...just dominated the game from the beginning & shut them down with the final score of 31-17. I was so glad that Doug & Bradon, along with Dad & Mike, actually got to be there to witness it in person...how fun & exciting for them!! It's a memory I know they will never forget! But, for those of us stuck at home, we also made it a fun evening of watching it with some of our other fellow Ute Friends. We had a "New Orleans" themed buffet (lots of good spicy foods for some). I think the whole state (at least most of us) were cheering them on, even if they weren't Utes fans. I loved Kaley's classic comment to Doug when he got home explaining "The adults were TOO loud & they gave me a headache with all their screaming!" Ha...finally, parents get a little payback! :} The final polls came out today ranking the Utes at #2, which we'll certainly take! Granted I, and many others, think we should be #1 being that we were the ONLY college team with a perfect record; but, when all the BCS mumbo jumbo comes into play, doesn't quite work out that way. Regardless, our best season ever & glad that we got to watch our team do their thing this year!!

The boys catching a bit of the New Orleans scenery when they got there

The infamous Cafe Du Monde where they had to get their coffee & beignets

So nice that Mike could drive over from Florida & join them too!

"Whoo Hoo, we're actually here!"

The band rallying up the crowd before the game

Here we go...let history begin!

Doug catching the Utes fans from where he was at

Seeing Anj in action! (and how fun for her to actually be on that field for that game!!)

Our team!

That's right! The final score is...

Let the celebrations begin!

Meanwhile, back in Utah....

Dylan high fiving everyone after another great play!

"DUDE...THEY JUST SCORED AGAIN!" (I love that look he's giving me! :})

THANKS UTES FOR GIVING US A FANTABULOUS SEASON OF FOOTBALL!!!