MY PLANS ARE RUINED!

WHEN I do Camille's hair in a way that she doesn't like she cries and says, "You Ruined Me!"

WELL tonight, Cougars - YOU RUINED ME!!

WE had some friends over to watch that horrible, so-called game BYU attempted to play against TCU. After the game we were licking our wounds, realizing we won't be spending New Years in the Valley of the Sun (my favorite place to be in the winter, by the way), we will end up at some lame bowl in Boise or Albuquerque, we won't be ranked anymore, we just flushed away a chance to go to a BCS bowl, we were out coached and outplayed, yada yada yada.

WHEN all of a sudden we heard DING-DONG on our front door. And this is what we saw:

The paint wasn't even dry yet. It says "This Is Our House!"

Notice it is cut out like the state of Utah

Our flag which we hang faithfully in front of our house before EVERY game was desecrated by a band of hooligans! Dang you Wendels... Dang you!!

I am seriously scared to death that I'm going end up with that stupid U of U trailer in my yard! (See 2 posts down)

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

Daren had to go to St. George for a couple days for work. He decided to take Abby with him and drop her off at my parents house in Cedar City. Abby was so excited!

Call #1: 2 minutes after departure

Daren: Yeah...we aren't even to the temple yet and Abby has to go potty!

Julie: Laughter...it's going to be a LONG 3 hours for him!

Call #2: 20 minutes after departure

Daren: Just left the gas station. Abby feels much better. She won't stop talking and I can't hear sports radio so I bought her a Gatorade and Oreos!

Julie: Again... laughter. Abby has a bladder the size of a thimble. And he just bought her a Gatorade, which doesn't come in a small container. Oreos? Really? It's 9:30am? No wonders why my kids like to travel with Daren more than me!

Call #3: Just south of Nephi

Daren: I can't get sports radio anymore so Abby let's hear all of your questions and comments now.

Julie: Apparently the Gatorade is gone and so are the Oreos!

Call #4: Meadow, Utah

Another potty break

Call #5: Cedar City, Utah

Daren: Just dropped off Abby. Our conversation from Meadow to Cedar City went something like this:

Abby: Dad guess what? Blah blah blah

Daren: That's great Abby

Abby: Dad guess what? Blah blah blah

Daren: That's great Abby

Abby: Are we there yet? How much longer? Is it longer than if I count to 100 3 times?

Daren: Yeah a little longer than that.

Abby: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

Daren: Count in your head Abby.

Abby: Dad guess what? Blah blah blah

Daren: That's great Abby

(The above repeated for an hour and a half!)

Julie: WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

RIVALRY WEEK HAS BEGUN A MONTH EARLY!

Travis & Daren - Even when they do yard work they are appropriately dressed

We have these really fun neighbors, The Wendels. They are great people and we totally love them, except for 1 thing! THEY ARE UTE FANS!! I mean they are BIG TIME UTE FANS! We have had so much fun with them through the years, especially during rivalry week. This year since The Utes and BYU are both undefeated and aspiring for a BCS bowl, THE PRESSURE IS ON!

Both Daren and Travis agree on 1 thing. Every football fan in the state of Utah needs to be rooting for both BYU and The U of U right now. These 2 teams need to go into the rivalry game at the end of November undefeated. Secretly, I think Daren is just hoping that the ESPN crew shows up in Salt Lake so he can go see Lee Corsco and that Herbstreet guy.

A Bet Has Been Placed. The losing family (which will be The Wendels) will have this placed in their front yard after the game: (By the way, when BYU wins we will be redecorating the trailer.)

And who wouldn't want THAT sitting in their front yard! This is one game I PRAY the Cougars don't lose!

SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT!

Abby, Camille and Erica

My friend Anna had this picture on her blog and I realized I totally forgot to blog about the girls cheer camp a couple weeks ago. This whole blogging thing is still new to me.

ANYWAY, Camille and Abby participated in the American Fork High School Cheer Clinic. They learned cheers and dances with the cheerleaders. The best part of the clinic was that they were able to participate with their friends and perform at halftime at the football game. They were so cute! They still perform the cheers they learned around the house.

Camille and Abby are so blessed to have so many friends in our neighborhood. They love to play, dance and cheer with all of them!

P.S. Anna I hope you had fun in New York! I've thought about you all weekend and was extremely jealous of you & Mark's trip. Welcome home!

FIRST CLASS!

TONIGHT Tanner earned the ranking of 1st Class! He has worked really hard in his scout troop. His scout leaders work with the boys to be a 1st Class by the time the scout is 12. Tanner earned this rank advancement 2 months ahead of this goal. Way to go Tanner! He also earned 5 merit badges tonight-Forestry, Geology, Citizenship in the Nation, Environmental Science and Music. He currently serves as Patrol Leader in his troop. We are really proud of you Tanner! Keep up the great work!

CONGRATULATIONS TANNER!

Tanner tried out for a 6th grade basketball team at The Factory! There were over 40 kids trying out for 3 teams. He worked hard and did his best! Congrats on making the team. We are really proud of you!

#1 FAN LAYS IT ALL ON THE LINE!

HERE'S THE DEAL--My husband bleeds blue, I mean true BYU blue. Typically his days (especially in the fall) include reading the BYU boards, checking out new recruits, getting any and all facts pertaining to the team, coaches and players. On Saturday and Sunday evenings he LOVES to watch Sportsbeat on KSL at 10:35. Me on the other hand, would LOVE to go to bed at 10:35 but can't because Tom Kirkland, Bronco Mendanhall or various other sports figures invade my bedroom.

Deep down in my Aggie heart, I've always cheered for the Aggies to do well. I attended Utah State and I love it when the little guy upsets the big guy. I also love it when Utah State beats BYU and recovers the prized "Wagon Wheel." Daren knows and accepts my devotion to Utah State. He loves to point out to me that Utah State started out this season DEAD LAST in all of the polls. I think they've moved up a spot or two since.

In tonight's game, #7 BYU is taking on the lowly Aggies of Utah State. (Go Aggies, Go Aggies, hey, hey hey!) Daren is SO confident of BYU defeating the Aggies that he came up with an idea. He said that IF BYU loses he will NEVER attend another BYU game again. He will NEVER read the BYU boards again. He will NEVER watch Sportsbeat again. In essence, he will NEVER be a BYU fan again! For me, the mere proposition of being able to go to bed at a decent hour on Saturday and Sunday nights without Bronco in my bedroom sounds heavenly!

However, I am so torn. On one hand I really want Utah State to be the BCS Buster and beat BYU. I would FOREVER and EVER have bragging rights in the entire Bloxham Family! On the other hand, I want BYU to win because it would be awesome to keep the 'Quest For Perfection' alive and well. I know that if Utah State wins and Daren has to give up his self-induced punishment for losing, I would totally have mercy on him. How could I deny the guy access to his beloved Cougs? Seriously, what would the fall be like around here without them? So I think IF by some freak of nature, Utah State can pull out the upset, a trip to Hawaii would be redemption enough for the #1 Fan to still be a fan! As my friend Pam says in reference to BYU, "Why get upset over things you can't control!"

Little side note here-Somewhere, someplace on the other side is our beloved Grandpa Bloxham. He would always give me grief about being an Aggie fan. The last time we ever saw him was 2 years ago at the BYU/Utah State game. BYU won by a large amount. After the game, he looked at me and said, "Maybe next year, kid!" He passed away 48 hours later. I really miss him at the games and especially in the fall! But I know somewhere he is still cheering for the Cougs and would be giving me grief today about the Aggies. WE MISS YOU Grandpa!!!