This Saturday me and Richard spent most of the day watching sports...BYU of course. First we watched the basketball game against Arizona State, it was in Arizona. This was a big game for BYU because we (meaning BYU for most of this post) are one spot out of the top 25 and ASU was ranked 17 (or 20, depending on which poll you look at, but either way...) so this could be our big chance to break into the national rankings! Woohoo. Only one problem...we lost...76-75. Talk about a heart breaker! And even worse is that we actually won the game, we should have beat them by quite a bit (we would have beat them easily in Provo). I have a few complaints about the game...most of which are blamed on the refs (I know that I am biased...but seriously...anybody who watched the game would agree with me regardless of which team you support, except ASU of course).
1. We got completely homered the entire game. Our players literally got thrown to the ground (no exaggeration...jersey grabbed and thrown to the ground) on several occasions and yet we are the ones that got called for the foul...I'm pretty sure that is backwards.
2. ASU was in DOUBLE bonus with 10 minutes left in the game (HOMERED!).
3. Harden (ASU's "best" player) had more free throws than the entire BYU team.
4. Only 8 of Harden's points came from something other than free throws (I don't think that makes him a great player, it makes him a player that gets bailed out by the refs every time he drives to the basket).
5. We didn't drive enough, if we had driven to the basket more we might have had a chance to get ASU in more foul trouble.
6. Jackson Emery fouled out with 5 minutes left in the game (the last foul was one in which he was knocked to the ground by ASU).
7. We did actually win the game, but the refs changed their minds after the buzzer. We were down by two with 3 seconds left and we had the ball under our own basket (our inbounds play was not good, but we still won). Tavernari took a shot that was completely tipped and not even close however he was able to recover it and throw a quick pass to Abouo who tipped it in (backwards) as the red lights went off and the clock hit zero. One of the refs called it good, giving BYU the win, however after reviewing the play they changed their minds, deciding that the shot came after the buzzer. This is awful because they called it good first and there was no way the video evidence was good enough to overturn their original call. It was literally a matter of fingertips, the human eye cannot see the difference made by a tenth of a second.
Here is the video of about the last minute. Note that in the beginning of the clip Lee Cummard (BYU) is literally hip checked and nothing is called. Also, at the end, no human can tell if the shot was off in time, but the ref called it good FIRST, that is the most important thing.
8. And lastly, we were 10-0 going into that game, we should be 11-0 now but the refs messed up our record on that one. We were the better team (cocky I know, but true).
Those are my complaints about the basketball game, and I will not be over that one for a while. Wake Forest (6th in the nation) comes to the Marriott Center in Provo on January 3rd, hopefully we win that (that will make me feel much better).
After the frustration of the basketball game we went to my house to watch BYU football play Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl. I am not too upset about this because it was just UGLY! We did not play well at all. :( So I don't really have a list of complaints for this like I do for the basketball game. But all in all it was not a good day to be a BYU fan. :(
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Christmas Tree!
Today we picked up our Christmas tree from Richard's grandma's house. It was a wedding gift from her and Richard's Aunt Diana. So we were very excited about that and it is pre lit! Woohoo! Here are some pictures from the event.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Forgotten Carols
Last night we had a very fun evening with my family. First, we went to Los Hermanos for dinner! YUMMY! MY FAVORITE!!!
Then we went and watched Michael McClean's Forgotten Carols at the David O. McKay Events Center at Utah Valley University. It was a great night! (sorry the pictures are a little blurry)
Then we went and watched Michael McClean's Forgotten Carols at the David O. McKay Events Center at Utah Valley University. It was a great night! (sorry the pictures are a little blurry)
Thanksgiving in Arizona
We spent our Thanksgiving Break in Scottsdale Arizona with Richard's sister Carolyn, it was a lot of fun. We left at about 11am on Tuesday when I got off of work and we got there by about 8:30pm. It was great to get there that early, we were thinking we would get there around ten. Google maps was not very reliable, it said it would take 10 1/2 hours but we made it in 9 1/2 . :) This is us taking a break at the scenic view...we think that is part of the Grand Canyon in the background...anybody know for sure???
The weather was beautiful! Carolyn and Chad kept saying what a bummer it was that we came on this week because it had started cooling down for that week and then was gonna be nice again the next week, but being from Utah we were more than happy with the 65 degree weather! It felt great compared to the 50 degrees we had been used to. We even went swimming on Friday! Woohoo! Swimming during Thanksgiving Break now that is the good life!
Wednesday we went shopping to get everything that we needed for Thanksgiving dinner, since there was only four of us we decided against a turkey and went with a rotisserie chicken instead. The main thing that we focused on was PIE (as long as there was potatoes and stuffing I was happy and all Carolyn cared about was her pie). We made six...yes SIX for four people! Haha! Needless to say we spent the entire weekend eating pie. We had to chocolate, one banana cream, one pumpkin, one cherry, and huge Apple Crisp (which we are counting as a pie).
We played many games of Outburst and it was very fun, we enjoyed it and I enjoyed getting to know Carolyn because I haven't really been able to spend much time with her before. And we also got to know her boyfriend, Chad, which was a lot of fun.
Thursday we just spent the day eating, watching movies, and playing games, it was GREAT!
Friday we did the same. :)
Saturday Chad didn't have to work so we spent the whole day doing lots of fun things. First, we went hiking (which I don't love, but Richard's family loves hiking as does Chad so I tried to be a good sport...I failed a little...). We did a hike called Camelback and there was a lot of people hiking it. We only made it about 2/3 of the way because I was dying and so everybody was very nice and willing to turn around there. This is how much I enjoy hiking...
Here is me and Richard with Carolyn's dog Shredder. This is as far as we got on the hike.
All four of us...
After hiking and eating lunch we went and saw the new James Bond Movie "Quantum of Solace" it was fun. Especially because Scottsdale has a 5 dollar theater! And it has brand new movies!!! Provo needs one of those!!!!
After relaxing for a while we went to a big huge shopping complex in Scottsdale (expensive stores) to look at the lights. It was fun to feel the Christmas spirit! :)
Me and Richard
Richard and Carolyn
The Thanksgiving Break was great, but unfortunately it had to end. We headed back to Utah at 10am. We took a stop at the Glen Canyon Dam (the dam that makes Lake Powell) because Richard being the Civil Engineer that he is wanted to look at it (especially because they had just been talking about it in one of his classes). While in the visitor's center we found out that they give tours where you can go inside of the dam. I had no desire to do this but Richard did, so he went and I decided it would be more fun to sit outside and talk on the phone (don't worry, it was warm outside). So our five minute stop turned into 1 1/2 hours (we got there at 2:30 but the tour didn't start til 3 and then it was 45 minutes long). But we still got home by 9:15 so we considered the trip a success and Richard was very happy that he got to do his tour.
The weather was beautiful! Carolyn and Chad kept saying what a bummer it was that we came on this week because it had started cooling down for that week and then was gonna be nice again the next week, but being from Utah we were more than happy with the 65 degree weather! It felt great compared to the 50 degrees we had been used to. We even went swimming on Friday! Woohoo! Swimming during Thanksgiving Break now that is the good life!
Wednesday we went shopping to get everything that we needed for Thanksgiving dinner, since there was only four of us we decided against a turkey and went with a rotisserie chicken instead. The main thing that we focused on was PIE (as long as there was potatoes and stuffing I was happy and all Carolyn cared about was her pie). We made six...yes SIX for four people! Haha! Needless to say we spent the entire weekend eating pie. We had to chocolate, one banana cream, one pumpkin, one cherry, and huge Apple Crisp (which we are counting as a pie).
We played many games of Outburst and it was very fun, we enjoyed it and I enjoyed getting to know Carolyn because I haven't really been able to spend much time with her before. And we also got to know her boyfriend, Chad, which was a lot of fun.
Thursday we just spent the day eating, watching movies, and playing games, it was GREAT!
Friday we did the same. :)
Saturday Chad didn't have to work so we spent the whole day doing lots of fun things. First, we went hiking (which I don't love, but Richard's family loves hiking as does Chad so I tried to be a good sport...I failed a little...). We did a hike called Camelback and there was a lot of people hiking it. We only made it about 2/3 of the way because I was dying and so everybody was very nice and willing to turn around there. This is how much I enjoy hiking...
Here is me and Richard with Carolyn's dog Shredder. This is as far as we got on the hike.
All four of us...
After hiking and eating lunch we went and saw the new James Bond Movie "Quantum of Solace" it was fun. Especially because Scottsdale has a 5 dollar theater! And it has brand new movies!!! Provo needs one of those!!!!After relaxing for a while we went to a big huge shopping complex in Scottsdale (expensive stores) to look at the lights. It was fun to feel the Christmas spirit! :)
Me and Richard
Richard and Carolyn
The Thanksgiving Break was great, but unfortunately it had to end. We headed back to Utah at 10am. We took a stop at the Glen Canyon Dam (the dam that makes Lake Powell) because Richard being the Civil Engineer that he is wanted to look at it (especially because they had just been talking about it in one of his classes). While in the visitor's center we found out that they give tours where you can go inside of the dam. I had no desire to do this but Richard did, so he went and I decided it would be more fun to sit outside and talk on the phone (don't worry, it was warm outside). So our five minute stop turned into 1 1/2 hours (we got there at 2:30 but the tour didn't start til 3 and then it was 45 minutes long). But we still got home by 9:15 so we considered the trip a success and Richard was very happy that he got to do his tour.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Graduate School
We are currently being faced with making the decision of where Richard should go to graduate school...stay here or go somewhere else...that is the question. He doesn't graduate until April 2010, but this is a decision that is supposed to be made quite a bit in advance. He will take the GRE next summer and needs to know which schools he wants it sent to because they will send his score straight to four schools for him. So in order to get some help on making this decision we attended a Civil Engineering Graduate Banquet that was put on by BYU's Civil Engineering Faculty. It was a lot of fun, and really informative. They had faculty sitting at each table, so that was really great for Richard to be able to talk to some faculty. The best part about that was that Dr. Gerber was the professor at our table and he specializes in Geotechnichal Engineering, which is what Richard wants to do, so that was GREAT!
The banquet started at 6:30 and we had a delicious meal catered by BYU (always good)! First we had salad and rolls. Followed by chicken and broccoli alfredo for dinner. That was all topped off with personal chocolate cream pies (so fun!), the had whipped cream and chocolate chips, and it was DELICIOUS! I wish I had thought to take a picture so tha I could make you all jealous, but I didn't, so you'll just have to imagine it. :)
After dinner there were a few different speakers talking about the advantages of graduate school. They informed us that starting in 2015 it is going to be a requirement to have a Master's Degree in order to become a professional engineer. Therefore, now is the time to do it because it 7 years they are going to be competing with young engineers who all have Master's Degrees.
It was a great night and it was really fun to meet some of Richard's friends from his classes! We had a great night!
The banquet started at 6:30 and we had a delicious meal catered by BYU (always good)! First we had salad and rolls. Followed by chicken and broccoli alfredo for dinner. That was all topped off with personal chocolate cream pies (so fun!), the had whipped cream and chocolate chips, and it was DELICIOUS! I wish I had thought to take a picture so tha I could make you all jealous, but I didn't, so you'll just have to imagine it. :)
After dinner there were a few different speakers talking about the advantages of graduate school. They informed us that starting in 2015 it is going to be a requirement to have a Master's Degree in order to become a professional engineer. Therefore, now is the time to do it because it 7 years they are going to be competing with young engineers who all have Master's Degrees.
It was a great night and it was really fun to meet some of Richard's friends from his classes! We had a great night!
Friday, November 7, 2008
My feelings on the new Prop 8 developments...
Before writing this, I want to make it clear that this is in no way a note concerning discrimination against those who are homosexual or those who voted no (or would have if they lived in California) on proposition 8. I have nothing against those on the no side of prop 8, but that will not keep me from standing up for the things that I believe in.
It disgusts me that people are more than happy to vote on issues when they think that their side will win, but as soon as it doesn't they are right back there being disrespectful towards the people that have been doing the same thing as them, standing up for what they believe in. Many people are accusing the LDS church for the Yes on 8 passing, what they fail to realize is that the Catholic church and many people who have no religious affiliation at all are also standing up for prop 8. Yes, the church took a strong stand, which it usually avoids, but this is a crucial stand for the future generations of our nation. 70% of the African-American population in California also voted yes on Prop 8, they went out in record numbers to show their love, support, and respect for president-elect Obama and in turn voted yes on Prop 8 while they were there. Prop 8 passed, telling us that in the state of California there are more people in favor of traditional marriage than not, deal with it, propositions just like this one are passing all over the nation, not just in CA, Florida and Arizona also passed a ban on same sex marriage on Tuesday, as did a few other states. Be respectful and be good citizens, abide by the law of the land.
If you feel you must keep fighting it, do so respectfully and lawfully. Put it back on the ballot in a few years, until then, respect EVERYBODY and EVERYTHING, especially those things which are sacred in the religion of others, we will not protest in front of your religious symbols, don't we deserve the same respect? Respect is not conditional, all people deserve it from everybody, not just those with the same ideas, beliefs, and values.
It disgusts me that people are more than happy to vote on issues when they think that their side will win, but as soon as it doesn't they are right back there being disrespectful towards the people that have been doing the same thing as them, standing up for what they believe in. Many people are accusing the LDS church for the Yes on 8 passing, what they fail to realize is that the Catholic church and many people who have no religious affiliation at all are also standing up for prop 8. Yes, the church took a strong stand, which it usually avoids, but this is a crucial stand for the future generations of our nation. 70% of the African-American population in California also voted yes on Prop 8, they went out in record numbers to show their love, support, and respect for president-elect Obama and in turn voted yes on Prop 8 while they were there. Prop 8 passed, telling us that in the state of California there are more people in favor of traditional marriage than not, deal with it, propositions just like this one are passing all over the nation, not just in CA, Florida and Arizona also passed a ban on same sex marriage on Tuesday, as did a few other states. Be respectful and be good citizens, abide by the law of the land.
If you feel you must keep fighting it, do so respectfully and lawfully. Put it back on the ballot in a few years, until then, respect EVERYBODY and EVERYTHING, especially those things which are sacred in the religion of others, we will not protest in front of your religious symbols, don't we deserve the same respect? Respect is not conditional, all people deserve it from everybody, not just those with the same ideas, beliefs, and values.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Sundays are a wonderful day!
Last Sunday we spent the morning sleeping....until approximately 10:40 (because we don't have church til 1:20). Pathetic, I know, but it is the only day we have to sleep in so we take full advantage of that opportunity! :) After church we went over to my house to spend some time there celebrating my dad's birthday. Lorie and the girls also went over there. We had a delicious dinner of spaghetti (YUMMY! I love spaghetti!) and then we of course had cake and ice cream and watched dad open his presents.
This Sunday (yesterday) we were invited up to Richard's uncle's house for dinner and games. They live up in Ogden (about 1 1/2 hour drive) so we decided to go to Richard's grandma's church at 9 in order to get up there at a decent hour. So after a wonderful block of church meetings we started the drive up to Ogden. I sat in the back and slept while Richard and his Grandma enjoyed a conversation (don't worry...I REALLY enjoyed my nap!). We got up to his uncle's house around 2:00, just in time for a delicious dinner of lasagna, breadsticks, and salad. YUMMY! Then we played an intense 12 rounds of Scattegories! I love that game, it was really fun, but I didn't win...:( Grandma Christensen kicked our butts! :) It was a very fun evening. I love spending time with our families on Sundays it is a great and relaxing break from our ridiculously busy weeks! :)
This Sunday (yesterday) we were invited up to Richard's uncle's house for dinner and games. They live up in Ogden (about 1 1/2 hour drive) so we decided to go to Richard's grandma's church at 9 in order to get up there at a decent hour. So after a wonderful block of church meetings we started the drive up to Ogden. I sat in the back and slept while Richard and his Grandma enjoyed a conversation (don't worry...I REALLY enjoyed my nap!). We got up to his uncle's house around 2:00, just in time for a delicious dinner of lasagna, breadsticks, and salad. YUMMY! Then we played an intense 12 rounds of Scattegories! I love that game, it was really fun, but I didn't win...:( Grandma Christensen kicked our butts! :) It was a very fun evening. I love spending time with our families on Sundays it is a great and relaxing break from our ridiculously busy weeks! :)
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