Sometimes I think I am so funny.

Even though our household bleeds "UTAH RED" most of the year, this Saturday is the one time I have to go against the "party line" and cheer for the BYU Cougs. This is much to my husband's chagrin, but I'm pretty sure it is in the fine print of my degree from BYU. Incidentally it is also a clause in the Honor Code-right next to the paragraph about how long your shorts can be.

Last year I got invited to the BYU- Utah tailgate party and it caused quite a fashion dilemma for me. The game was at the U of U and we were smack dab in the middle of campus. I didn't want to wear red because I wasn't cheering for the Utes. But I didn't want to wear blue either because let's face it -Ute fans can be mean. I didn't want the "3rd quarter crazy lady" to get me. For those who aren't familiar with Ute football cheering practices... there is a 50 something "crazy lady" who gets up at the end of the 3rd quarter and shakes her thang in time with the band. The "Muss"- the student section of the Utes stadium- goes wild when she does this. Although fun and a bit gimmicky, I have found that a lady who is willing to do this would have no problem kicking my trash if she saw me wearing BYU blue while tapping my toes to "I am a Utah man, sir, and I live across the green" during the pre-game pep rally. So I wimped out and just wore green with a denim jacket over it. I felt like a traitor to my alma mater and felt I had to do something. So being a bit gimmicky myself this is what I came up with to wear while I am sitting in the Utes section of the Lavell Edwards Stadium at the BYU-UTAH game on Saturday afternoon.

FRONT:

BACK:

I think it shows an appropriate amount of support for both UTAH and BYU. I have a fine line to walk, you know. I do have to remember where my bread is buttered... from a HUGE Ute fan's bank account!

I Love Saturdays When....

...the TV never goes on! I wish we had more Saturdays like this!

Also I know several of my current friends know I also post recipes on a recipe blog, but many of my older friends from high school and college many not know that when I do I always name them after guys I've dated. (Thanks to my cousin, Keith who shared the idea with me. He has no idea the beast he unleashed with this idea!) I also include a little story about why I name the recipe after a certain guy. So I thought many of my old friends, seeing as they knew many of these guys, would get a kick out of recipes such as:

Mike I Dare You to eat these Turkey Burgers or

Juan wasn't white but he was Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake or

"Robert Hales was Such a Turkey" Meatloaf
So you can click on these links and read these previous posted ones, but I am also going to add a little gadget to sidebar with my latest recipe and dish-naming victim. The blog is called Tried and True and they really are good recipes from several friends that are as the name suggests tried and true. It is a great recipe site if you are interested!

Some pretty spooky pictures

We have some pretty spooky pictures to share from Halloween. This year all of our costumes we homemade and I'm not really sure if making the costumes costs any less than if you buy them all ready to go, unless of course you just use stuff you already have but that would be too easy.
Finn is a nerd, complete with taped glasses and a pocket protector. Suzie is a fairy skunk or a fairy princess or Cinderella- depending on what day you asked her. She is more or less what I could round up from around the house because by the time I got to her I was tired of putting together costumes. Annie is an old lady with a baby on her back- her being the baby. This was definitely the most original costume she has ever requested. She saw it in a Halloween book and it was surprisingly easy to put together after I rounded up all the parts which wasn't easy at all. And finally, Katie is a bumble bee. We had the sparkly, striped leotard giving to us as a hand-me -down and I was able to make a tutu skirt and antennae. Unfortunately I forgot the wings until it was too late, but Katie didn't seem to notice.

The night of Halloween Finn went trick or treating with his cousin, Michael, who was a cereal killer. Now there's a smart, low cost costume. I guess that is what happens when you, like my sister Michelle, have 6 boys. You learn to streamline.

And Annie, Katie, Suzie and I all went trick or treating with Annie's friends Gwen and Lauren and Gwen's mom, Lori. The best was when we went to the older girls' piano teacher who promises a big candy bar for all her students if they come trick or treating to her house. Their teacher thought Suzie was so cute so she just kept sticking candy bars in her bag and Suzie kept taking them from me and Lori. All told, Suzie ended up with 5 big Snickers bars in her bag! She wasn't born yesterday you know.
Now the next pictures weren't taken on Halloween but they are incredibly spooky. I felt bad that I didn't really do a whole post on my Texas trip and if you are really all that interested Julie's blog has a good summary. And I can't record my memories in a normal way, so I chose to show you what 6 mothers with a combined total of 30 children do when they are away from said 30 children. They play the "Shaky-Face"game. So let me introduce you to some of my favorite people via the "Shaky-Face" game.

Julie

# of children: 5 of her own and 2 she has "adopted"

Color-code: Yellow

Bringer of the "Shaky-Face"game and any other crazy thing we do. This girl knows how to have a good time and you can't help but have a good time too when she is around. She is one of the most genuine, inclusive, big-hearted people I know. I am amazed at how she gets people to come of out their shell. My life and many others would be very different without her.

Katrina

#of children: 6

Color Code: White

Despite looking a bit stoned in this picture, Katrina is one of the happiest, upbeat people you'll ever meet. She is always looking out for others and can talk to just about anyone. You just can't be in a bad mood around her. We are also working on making it to the Varsity soccer team together. So you know we got each other's back.

Kjirsten

#of children: 5

Color Code: White

Kjirsten is honestly so strikingly beautiful- inside and out . I mean look, she can't even take a bad shaky-face picture. She looks like she is doing a Pantene commercial instead of looking like she is drunk like you are suppose to look in this game. I would hate her if I didn't adore her so much! I have know her for 17 years, but I haven't seen her in 8. But we picked up right where we left off and friends like that are rare.

Mandy

# of children: 4

Color Code: Blue

Before this trip I would say Mandy was an acquaintance. We knew a lot of the same people, but never really hung out. But I can now officially say she is friend and a great one at that. We are very similar so if I say how awesome she is am I really just complimenting myself?!? Seriously she is a lot of fun and seems like she can handle just about anything that is thrown at her. Plus she can put Julie in her place and I respect that!

Kelly

# of children:6

Color code: yellow

I so love this girl. She has a fantastic laugh and can make anything you do fun. Before I really knew her I thought she was one way- read: sweet and innocent. But man does this girl have depth. She can be very mischievious and she isn't afraid to be who she is. Plus she makes you feel like you the most incredible person she has ever met and who wouldn't want to be around a person like that!

Yours truly

# of children: 4

Color Code: Blue

I have posted plenty of embarassing pictures of myself on my blog so this shouldn't come as a big surprise. I just hope my Texas buddies will forgive me for posting theirs. I think they are all beautiful and I'm proud to call them my friends.