BY-YI-YOU

Elijah was concerned about a bug on his shoe...

after most of my family left to go back home, we spent most of our time just hanging around Provo and checking out our old {and improved!} stomping grounds. 

Adam kept saying he was reliving his glory days. 

when i asked why it wasn't my glory days too he said it was because he always loved BYU and i didn't. which is mostly true. 

Adam is a die-hard, bleed blue, true BYU fan through and through. 

and he won't hear anyone speak negatively about it either!

i was very a little slow to warm up at first but grew to love it all the same. 

so we both have some very fond memories of the place including us meeting, being engaged, married, and starting our little family there which means Provo will always have a little tender spot in our hearts. 

Elijah loved going around town and walking around campus seeing all the "BY-YI-You" Y's and "tigers" all over. Adam was bursting with true blue pride to be raising the next generation cougar. 

so much sap.

but really i am happy with our time at BYU and am so grateful for all that i learned there. 

we have our jokes about it,

{EFY kids singing hymns around campus?? i mean, what is that?!?}

but we love it all the same. 

[plus campus is gorgeous this time of year which made it even more worthwhile.]

as Eli says,

"Go Cougars! Rawr!!"

Rex Lee Run

this is for all you Utah readers!

 

President Rex E. Lee was a law clerk for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White, the United States Solicitor General, and the 10th president of Brigham Young University from 1989-1995.
on March 11, 1996, he died at the age of 61 after battling with lymphoma.

each year, the BYU Cancer Research Center holds the Rex Lee Run in President Lee’s honor with all donations going towards cancer research.

there will be a 5k for $15
and a 10k for $20
[$5 additional for registering the day of the race]

you can register either at the booth in the BYU Wilkinson Student Center from
March 12-16 from 10am-3pm
or you can register online at
REXLEERUN.BYU.EDU

i’m trying to convince Adam to have us all walk run as a family
[and get the okay from doctor because of the accident]
so if you are going to go, let me know and maybe we’ll see each other!

for more information you can go to the Rex Lee Run website

Eli’s first basketball game [that he sat through]

   

as you can tell by the variety in Elijah’s facial expressions, it was a very exciting game!

and contrary to his last face, BYU actually lost.
but Eli still had fun!
{even if daddy wasn’t happy with the outcome}

we sat up by some other families and Elijah loved seeing all the other kids!
there was this boy that was sitting behind us who was about 8-10 years old and Eli was mildly obsessed with him.
every time the kid cheered or yelled or clapped, Eli would copy him.
the pictures where Elijah has his hands over his mouth is because the other kid would cup his hands to yell something and Elijah was trying to imitate him.
and then he thought it was hilarious so he’d start laughing hysterically.

the other boy was a really good sport and was really nice to this random baby that would get up in his face.
{he was the oldest of 4}
afterwards, i thanked him and his parents for being so nice to Elijah.

i was actually really impressed with it all.
here’s this kid who is at that age where he’s starting to get too cool for being around little kids [especially having other little siblings] and yet he is playing with Elijah and being really nice even if he is mildly annoyed. 

i hope that i can raise Elijah well enough that he will be kind to other children no matter how cool he thinks he is.
and that i can teach him to love others no matter how young they are or what they look like or what they act like.
and if i can teach him that, i would think that i did a pretty good job fulfilling my role as a mother

[but right now we have quite a bit to work on… like not pulling little babies’ hair]

cougars don’t cut corners

4 years ago {yesterday} my Family Home Evening (FHE) group in my young single adult ward made this hilarious video for our ward talent show.

a little background about our group:
in case you didn’t click that link, Family Home Evening (FHE) is something that families hold once a week (usually on Mondays) where they can draw closer together as a family and strengthen their testimonies. since we were in a singles ward and didn’t have a real, traditional family to have FHE each week, they would combine apartments and ask a girl and a boy to be our “mom” and “dad.”

and since we were an awesome FHE group, we decided to make a spoof of The Office
{complete with a wallet stuck in a vending machine}
called The FHE!

there’s a lot of Provo/BYU/Mormon jokes thrown in there {especially about dating & marriage}
but i think it is still really funny even if you don’t live in Provo

so i wanted to share this amazing video with all of you!
and you can see what i was like 4 years ago
:)

a few notes:
1. i’m supposed to be the Kelly Kapoor character that’s why i’m kind of ridiculous
2. i do in fact know the whole High School Musical dance. and i’m not ashamed. i will dance it for you if you ever want to see it in real life :)
3. yes my hair is super short. and i really miss it.
4. at the end when i say, “i think we’re ready to perform in public,” we all rushed the stage at the talent show and performed the dance in front of our whole ward. cause again,
we are awesome like that!

ENJOY!
{i hope it’s as funny to you as i think it is…}

 

favorite quotes:

Ellen: “Provo is more than just a marriage ground. It’s also about education… and faith… and ethnic restaurants. People forget that. You never see married couples in ethnic restaurants these days.”

Frans: “They have to know who their father is. The purpose of FHE is to prepare us for real families—families in which there is a daddy, a mommy, about 24 kids, in an apartment made for 6. It sets the standard.”

Andrew: “Two Truths and a Lie is the best FHE game EVER! The prototype, if you will. Get this: 1. you learn which girls have done crazy things, and 2. you learn which girls are the best liars—two things I look for in a girl. This may sound strange, but I’ve found that the best liars are also the ones who say they’ve enjoyed my dates the most.”

Megan: “Look! Cougars don’t cut corners. Unless they are chasing deer. Cause deer are fast… but even then, the do it right!”

the silver lining

[i know you have already seen these pictures in this post, but i decided that to show them again for:  a. really liked them so wanted to show them again and b. wanted to document how i still had fun under crappy football playing circumstances]

the holy war was a huge disappointment 
all of Provo is mourning

but i still thought it was a {semi} successful family outing

tips for a {semi} successful family outing include:
-free tickets to the biggest game of the year
-free $30 food coupons from my old concessions boss
which you better believe i used all of it!
costa vida + mint brownies + kettle corn + cougar tail + soda = A GOOD TIME!]
-having a very nice BYU fan spot me 50 cents when I forgot my wallet
-the E man learning to cheer for the right team [BYU]
-really nice people around us that were patient with Elijah’s energy…
-also have really nice people share popcorn with your chubby, energetic boy cause he kept whining to them for it…
-meeting Miss United Nations and Eli “petting” her hair & crown
{they thought he was adorable, which of course he is}
-perfect weather
-and spending great, valuable family time together!

of course the {semi} part is obvious:
-BYU playing a horrendously terrible game….
[do you follow me on twitter?? you would’ve seen my commentary]
-having to disown my family during rivalry week since apparently they are avid Ute fans (for reasons unknown…) and having to read all their messages on facebook… ugh!

BUT i still had fun!!

Adam might tell a different story….. but that’s why i write the blog 
:)

pictures of the week

      

this week was a lot of things…
tiring, fun, long, exciting, disappointing, eventful, busy, awesome

Elijah was crazy & sweet at the same time

he really does make my week
:)

 

 

linking up here.

we bleed blue

GO BYU!

beat those Utes!

 
[E terrified of Cosmo Cougar]