This trip has been planned since last September (not joking) when Jonathan saw the University of Texas game schedule and noticed they were going to be playing in Provo, Utah against BYU, closer than any other location near us.
Not going was out of the question.
Since our car is pretty ghetto and can't handle long road trips anymore, we decided to rent a car for the trip. We were going to have a Dodge Charger, but it wasn't available in time, so we got a new 2013 Chrysler Town and Country van instead, which in my opinion was much nicer. More space especially for the girls. Basically.. I never wanted to give that van up. It was so nice and spacious..At times I felt technologically disadvantaged because I am so used to our little junk car. I didn't know what half the buttons meant and had to pull out the manual more than once to figure it out.
I also felt like a soccer mom, but at least we were comfortable! And my head wasn't about to hit the roof of our car ;)
We left about 4pm on Friday and headed out. We had to stop a few times to make the girls more comfortable and then finally reached our friends, Paul and Mandy Phillips in Provo after 10pm. We stayed the night there, allowing Lydia to play with their 18 month old little girl, Lily. I'm not sure if they enjoyed playing or harassing each other more.
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The next morning we all got up and prepped for the day. We had lunch at the Brick Oven and had some yummy pizza. We met up with Jonathan's missionary companion/trainer, Corey Nielsen and his girlfriend Kristina. Then we all split up. We took the girls out to Payson, where my grandmother used to live, where my Aunt Lilly would watch the girls for us while we were at the game. We dropped them off around 230ish and headed back to the Phillips' house at 3. From there we got a ride over to the stadium and we walked in.
I swear.. Jonathan was like a little kid in a candy shop. He was thrilled to be there. Half the time I couldn't keep up because he was running around with excitement and couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of his favorite players and team. After taking lots of pictures we decided to find our seats in the bleachers. I was left in the dust and Jonathan went back down below to get a closer shot of the UT team. He even got to touch Mack Brown's hand (the head coach)..which he later told me he was never going to wash ;).
While he was down there obsessing, I was observing the fast-paced super dark clouds that were looming over us. We were on the far right side of the stadium, and they were approaching the far left side. Suddenly the wind picked up and I noticed other fans started to head down. I figured that would be a good idea, too. It quickly started pouring and luckily we got under the bleachers before we got drenched. My feet were soaked and I frequently got sprayed due to the forceful wind, but we were okay. Luckily we had both brought coats, even though just earlier that day it was somewhat hot and humid.
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We ended up staying under the bleachers waiting out the storm for probably 2 hours. Originally, when we got there there was about 65 minutes 'til game time. Each time we saw lightning strike, it added another 30 minutes. My knees were starting to get real sore. Something about rainy weather and standing make my knees hurt a lot. Finally we were allowed back up to sit in our seats, but it was still raining a lot. And of course the teams needed another 60 minutes to warm up :|.. so we sat soaked in the rain on the stands waiting for the game to start. I said my prayers, but all I wished for was for the rain to go away during the game. And lo and behold! It did! :) During the game it was mostly clear despite all the clouds around us, so that was nice. And as it got dark it strangely got warmer.
Unfortunately our team didn't win, but it was still a pretty cool game to watch - my first ever college football game. It was fun to see Jonathan in his element, showing pride for his favorite team, throwing up "Hook-Em" whenever he could and chanting along with the touchdown song. I can only imagine what it would really be like at the University of Texas... What's it called.. the Darrell K Royal stadium? Jonathan you should be proud I remembered that. ;) The only thing that would have made it better.. was if UT had beat them (and there had been no rain). Anyway, it was a fun 9 hour long date!! And I sure missed my babies!!
After the game (which was after 11pm) we walked up through the Provo campus slightly wet until our friend's brother picked us up. Then when we got home, since we had only eaten at Brick Oven all day, Mandy graciously made us really yummy turkey asiago sandwiches. Afterward, we made our 20 minute trip out to Payson to see my aunt, Lydia, and Elena and to finally call it a night. We didn't get back 'til after midnight. It was a long day.
We stayed Saturday night at my aunt's house, where the girls had been all day. We skipped out on Church the next morning and decided to head home earlier than planned because we kind of just wanted to be home and really didn't want to drive in the dark. I was still trying to recover from the game. Sleeping on an air mattress and then sitting on those bleachers for 4+ hours was exhausting and no matter how I tried to sit to help my posture and my back, my neck still ached. When we got home I made a quick meal and popped two Tylenol. It felt nice to relax.
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Well, that was our trip! I have to say I'm glad we were able to go. It felt nice to take a little vacation, since we've been in Rexburg since January. And I loved seeing Jonathan so happy. :)
Not going was out of the question.
Since our car is pretty ghetto and can't handle long road trips anymore, we decided to rent a car for the trip. We were going to have a Dodge Charger, but it wasn't available in time, so we got a new 2013 Chrysler Town and Country van instead, which in my opinion was much nicer. More space especially for the girls. Basically.. I never wanted to give that van up. It was so nice and spacious..At times I felt technologically disadvantaged because I am so used to our little junk car. I didn't know what half the buttons meant and had to pull out the manual more than once to figure it out.
I also felt like a soccer mom, but at least we were comfortable! And my head wasn't about to hit the roof of our car ;)
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| The inside was so nice :) |
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| On our way! |
We left about 4pm on Friday and headed out. We had to stop a few times to make the girls more comfortable and then finally reached our friends, Paul and Mandy Phillips in Provo after 10pm. We stayed the night there, allowing Lydia to play with their 18 month old little girl, Lily. I'm not sure if they enjoyed playing or harassing each other more.
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| The wee rivals |
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| Basically how it was the entire time haha |
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| Relaxin' Rosie |
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| University of Texas |
VS
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| BYU |
The next morning we all got up and prepped for the day. We had lunch at the Brick Oven and had some yummy pizza. We met up with Jonathan's missionary companion/trainer, Corey Nielsen and his girlfriend Kristina. Then we all split up. We took the girls out to Payson, where my grandmother used to live, where my Aunt Lilly would watch the girls for us while we were at the game. We dropped them off around 230ish and headed back to the Phillips' house at 3. From there we got a ride over to the stadium and we walked in.
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| Right before Lydia spilled an entirely full glass of soda all over herself. Lovely. |
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| Sleepy head. On our way to drop the girls off at my aunt's house. |
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| Us, minus the kids on our way back to Provo for the game. |
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| Missionary companions and good friends. Paul and Jonathan |
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| The wives: Mandy and I |
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| We were laughing because as the picture was taken two UT fans were throwing bunny ears over Paul and Mandy. Heheh |
I swear.. Jonathan was like a little kid in a candy shop. He was thrilled to be there. Half the time I couldn't keep up because he was running around with excitement and couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of his favorite players and team. After taking lots of pictures we decided to find our seats in the bleachers. I was left in the dust and Jonathan went back down below to get a closer shot of the UT team. He even got to touch Mack Brown's hand (the head coach)..which he later told me he was never going to wash ;).
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| Before the storm |
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| Jonathan's favorite player, Jonathan Gray |
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| Warming up |
While he was down there obsessing, I was observing the fast-paced super dark clouds that were looming over us. We were on the far right side of the stadium, and they were approaching the far left side. Suddenly the wind picked up and I noticed other fans started to head down. I figured that would be a good idea, too. It quickly started pouring and luckily we got under the bleachers before we got drenched. My feet were soaked and I frequently got sprayed due to the forceful wind, but we were okay. Luckily we had both brought coats, even though just earlier that day it was somewhat hot and humid.
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| Hiding under the bleachers, waiting out the storm. |
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| We spent about an hour and a half or more under that just waiting out the storm. Every time lightning struck nearby it was like another 30 minutes before they could even let the players come out and warm up for another HOUR. :/ |
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| UT's band. |
We ended up staying under the bleachers waiting out the storm for probably 2 hours. Originally, when we got there there was about 65 minutes 'til game time. Each time we saw lightning strike, it added another 30 minutes. My knees were starting to get real sore. Something about rainy weather and standing make my knees hurt a lot. Finally we were allowed back up to sit in our seats, but it was still raining a lot. And of course the teams needed another 60 minutes to warm up :|.. so we sat soaked in the rain on the stands waiting for the game to start. I said my prayers, but all I wished for was for the rain to go away during the game. And lo and behold! It did! :) During the game it was mostly clear despite all the clouds around us, so that was nice. And as it got dark it strangely got warmer.
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| Yay, a Texas touchdown! |
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| The band. |
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| I just like this picture because the girl's face crack's me up haha |
Unfortunately our team didn't win, but it was still a pretty cool game to watch - my first ever college football game. It was fun to see Jonathan in his element, showing pride for his favorite team, throwing up "Hook-Em" whenever he could and chanting along with the touchdown song. I can only imagine what it would really be like at the University of Texas... What's it called.. the Darrell K Royal stadium? Jonathan you should be proud I remembered that. ;) The only thing that would have made it better.. was if UT had beat them (and there had been no rain). Anyway, it was a fun 9 hour long date!! And I sure missed my babies!!
After the game (which was after 11pm) we walked up through the Provo campus slightly wet until our friend's brother picked us up. Then when we got home, since we had only eaten at Brick Oven all day, Mandy graciously made us really yummy turkey asiago sandwiches. Afterward, we made our 20 minute trip out to Payson to see my aunt, Lydia, and Elena and to finally call it a night. We didn't get back 'til after midnight. It was a long day.
We stayed Saturday night at my aunt's house, where the girls had been all day. We skipped out on Church the next morning and decided to head home earlier than planned because we kind of just wanted to be home and really didn't want to drive in the dark. I was still trying to recover from the game. Sleeping on an air mattress and then sitting on those bleachers for 4+ hours was exhausting and no matter how I tried to sit to help my posture and my back, my neck still ached. When we got home I made a quick meal and popped two Tylenol. It felt nice to relax.
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Well, that was our trip! I have to say I'm glad we were able to go. It felt nice to take a little vacation, since we've been in Rexburg since January. And I loved seeing Jonathan so happy. :)
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