Happy 27th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to Kyle and I today.  The years have flown by and the kids are almost all grown up.  It went to fast!  Many times over the years we have celebrated at various Bowl Games.  This year our Bowl and Christmas were both over.  So we went to the new Reese Witherspoon movie.  Not so good movie but Kyle enjoyed watching Reese. 

We went to dinner at Market Street Grill by our house.  I am watching my weight so I did not have too much.  Then we went up to the Marriott hotel where the team stays when in town.  Kyle got us a room but we were unsure of if we would make it all night with Kylie home alone and Alex having a curfew.  So we ended up staying a few hours then of course had to head home.

It was another great anniversary!

Before going out to dinner

Happy Holiday's 2010

It is great to have Tyler and Melissa at home for the holidays.  I miss having everyone under the same roof all the time.  I always spend the last minute before Christmas getting the shopping done; maybe some year I will overcome that.  On Christmas Eve we all went to Brady’s house for the annual Nativity reenactment and dinner.  My dad, Matt and Christy joined us.  Dinner was Potluck.

Tyler was not sure he wanted to dress up for the Nativity but everyone told him that until he was married he had to participate, so he did.

Nativity 2010

Nativity 2010

Christmas morning Kylie was the first one up at about 9:00 am.  So we woke everyone up and got started.  

Kyle Christmas Gift

Tyler Christmas Gift

Melissa Christmas From Kylie

Alex Beatles Gift

Kylie Christmas Gift

 After all the gifts are opened and the Rich Family Sticky Buns devoured (two trees this year), and so we do our annual go up to the office and work out and sauna.  Everyone usually goes in the past but I think Tyler and Melissa skipped out this year.  Times are a changing that is for sure!  It was a great Christmas overall!  We are very blessed!!

Viva Las Vegas!

We left for Las Vegas on the morning of Dec. 18th.  There were two chartered planes with players with any who had a wife and/or children, coaches and their families on the planes.  It is all a well organized process of who is to arrive when and getting checked in and loaded on the plane.  It is separate from the main Salt Lake International Airport.  So the process is not too bad.  Seats are assigned and they give you a bag with some breakfast or lunch, depending on the time of day.

After we arrived we got our room assignments.  Getting everyone to their rooms with all our luggage is a lot harder in Las Vegas.  The hotels are so busy and we are not the only ones there, like on a regular game trip.  We had a nice suite with two connecting bedrooms.  This helps our family with all the family around.  It gives them a place to gather and sometimes hang out.  

Suite

View from our room

Alex after getting to his room-first things first

Some of the Whittingham group did not arrive until Sunday, the second day.  We took Alex to the Beatles "Love" show.  Kyle has a connection with a friend of his dad, Gene Kilroy, who got us some good seats.  Cary, Tyler, Alex, Kyle and I went.  It was a great show, love the music!

After the "Love" show

The next day I went with Kyle and the team to a lunch with both Boise and Utah there and they could pick out their Bowl gifts.  It was at the Hard Rock Cafe.  First Kyle went and met the media.

I can't imagine having all those microphones and cameras in my face!

Kyle with the Media

The next day we got to go to another lunch with the teams and Kyle met with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and their producers about the upcoming game.  Who knew all this stuff went on before the game?  I went because Kyle likes me to go with him and I was going to the luncheon.

Then at the lunch, Kyle had to sit on the podium and then speak.  The Boise coach was there too, along with some of the Bowl committee.

While we were doing all of this, our kids, with their cousins, went to see some sights.

M & M Factory

Ashley and Alex

Ashley, Elvis, and Melissa

Alex loves the Beatles!

            Kyle speaks again, the day of the game, to the Boosters.

More speaking

                                      Utah vs Boise State

Tyler warming up

Tyler and Alex talking it over

After the game with my girls

Bowl games are always a fun time with the family.  It makes great memories for us all.  Kyle works so hard at home and at the Bowl games.  I appreciate all he does for our family!  There are so many meetings, meals with the team, lunches and dinners that he has to think about and go to.  I am sure it is not as fun for him as it is for everyone else.

Getting Ready

I am not really good at organizing my November and December months.  They come so fast every year, when the football regular season ends it seems like the holidays are suddenly upon us and I have no Christmas shopping done.  Every year I think I will never do this again.!

The tree got put up by Kylie and I.  We put up  the rest of our minimal things for around the house.  We even managed a few lights outside.  I knew we were going to be in Las Vegas from Dec. 18-22, I did not want to do too much since we would not be home a lot.  We did get some snow before we left, which it makes it seem more like the holiday's to me.

 

Utah was going to the Las Vegas Bowl and play Boise State on December 22, 2010.  Boise State has done very well for the past 10 years probably.  They have been to BCS games just like Utah has.  So I knew it was going to be a challenging match up.  Utah had not lost a Bowl game in 10 years.  Kyle spent time getting ready for the game with practices and he also had recruiting meetings going on and all sorts of things.  Coach John Pease decided he did not want to coach another game, he was done.  So he did not even want to go coach in the Bowl.  He was just tired of  and not feeling well.

Another Year Older

The older I get the more I don't look forward to another birthday.  It manages to come again no matter what I wish for.
Kyle and Kylie woke me up with breakfast in bed.  It really was breakfast for 3 people.  It was a fun surprise and started the day off great!   
Alex got me the cute cookie (below) and had them write on it.   He calls me Mamma sometimes, so that sounded so like him.  Tyler and Melissa each gave me gifts too.  Great kids I have!  They made this birthday fun.
Kyle had recruits in for the weekend, so after work they had dinner at Ruby River that I went to with all the recruits and some parents.  It was a great day!

Breakfast in bed

From Alex

December as usual

Well the regular football season has come to a close, ahhhh!  Now Kyle is busy with recruiting, practicing and planning for the Las Vegas Bowl.  I don't see him a whole lot more than the regular season.
When it comes to Christmas shopping for family and friends and decorating the home for the holidays, I am in charge.  Kyle abhors shopping of any kind, he always has.  So in all ways good and bad, I get to do it all myself.  As long as it is not overdone he has no criticism of what I do.  He is too busy to help anyway.  The crowds over the weekend were awful so I have resorted to online shopping the past few days.  To try and simplify things for myself I am going by the following moto this year:
                           

.Something they want
.Something they need
.Something to wear
.Something to read

Kylie Braces Off

                         

Fresh from the Orthodontist.  Finally the braces are off.  What a beautiful smile she has!  I remember wanting mine right back on after years of seeing only silver, the white took some adjusting.  She looks great!

BYU

The week before the BYU-Utah game has become way too stressful.  So I decided to avoid all media or any conversations about the game. I cannot believe how fast the season has gone by.
With Thanksgiving just past, we had the family all in town for the game.  It was a very cold day for the game, I think in the 20's.  The game started at 1:30 and the skies were cloudy.   So we all came dressed warmly and had many blankets.

Pre-Game

It was not the kind of game I enjoy.  Close games are way too stressful but I guess when you are the winner at the end, then the joy seems greater somehow.  Final Utah 17, BYU 16.

The game of football brings a lot of emotion to it, especially when you are a player, a coach, or family member of one of them.  When you are so involved with all of the hours, sweat, and heart put into a dream, it is hard to let go.  When this game ended, there was a player and a coach who had tears in their eyes, and not just from the joy of winning.  The player had to try to accept that he will never be able to play football again due to having too many concussions.  And a coach who is retiring will miss his associations with players and coaches, and the bonds that are made through all the time spent together.  It encompasses so much of your life in both joy and pain.  Every year there are players who graduate and move on that we will miss.
After the game, the family all went to PF Chang's then everyone came to our home.  We had dessert and re-watched parts of the game.  We watched the end and the celebration in slow-motion.  It was a great family time together.

Whittingham Family

Thanksgiving 2010

I spent the first few days before Thanksgiving watching and being wary of the various visiting family dogs trying to mark their territory in my home (I tried to keep it outside but they did not like the snow and cold).  Then on Thanksgiving the two girl visiting dogs entertained some and upset others with their jealousies and typical girl fighting.  They are such cute and well behaved dogs in their own homes.

Lucky, Cindy, and Max the peacemaker

Melissa was in San Francisco for a few days and arrived home at 4:15 on Thanksgiving Day.  So we scheduled the dinner for later than usual and I offered to have it at our home for the first time since I can remember.  There were 27 Whittingham's and my Dad and Matt came too.

Waiting to eat, Buffet Style, Thanksgiving Dinner

It was a cold, beautiful, sunny day all day on Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be grateful for.  It was good food and great to be together.  When the sun set on the day and the adults wanted to take naps.

Brady, Alex, and Ashley

The younger kids put on their snow clothes and went outside with the sleds.

Kyle's Birthday

Well it is Kyle's birthday today and it is the usual 1st day that they start preparing for the BYU game that is this Saturday.  So no rest from the usual job, not even for a birthday dinner.  I wish for just a day I could take him away and visit our favorite place on the earth.  Happy Birthday Kyle, I love you!!

San Diego State

San Diego is always a fun place to visit.  Sara Hill came on this trip because she was unable to go on the official "wives trip" to Notre Dame.  So Sara, Helen, and members of Kyle's family were there also.  Kyle's brother, Brady, was already in California on business so he had a car.
Our group went to eat that night at Baja Fresh.  It is one of my favorite so I probably influenced that choice.  Then we just hung out at the hotel and visited with everyone.  The team was split between a movie in one room and football game playing in the room next to it.
The young cousins jumped in the hot tub fully clothed (of course).
The next morning we did not do much but relax around the hotel and prepare our rain gear, since it was supposed to rain the whole game (my favorite thing). Kyle's sister Julie, who used to live in the area, went and visited some her neighborhood friends and family before the game.

It did rain the whole game as predicted.  Our group just moved back under the over hang of seats that they have in that multilevel stadium. Grateful that no one came and kicked us out of them.
Eric and Chanel Weddle came to the game.  Eric went on the sidelines and Chanel came and sat by me.  They are so cute and still so supportive of their Utes.  It was great to see them
The game ended with Utah coming from being down to winning 38-34.

Kylie, Kristi, Kali's friend, Kali

Notre Dame

The trip to Notre Dame was the "wives trip" (they get one free trip to go on a year).  My kids all decided to go since they had never been there.  So everyone was excited to go.  When we got there the team buses went straight to the stadium for a walk through.  The 3rd bus, which is the fan bus, went to Michigan City where everyone was going to stay in a hotel there.  This bus was for really anyone that was not part of the team, so that included all the wives, media people and administration that were there.  
Once we got there the wives went to lunch at the restaurant that was connected to the hotel.  Then those who wanted to went to the Outlet Mall that was 4 miles away.  The hotel shuttled us over, which was nice.  It was a very nice Outlet Mall and fun for those who like to shop (ie. me).
The team, coaches, and wives went to dinner at a restaurant called 'Hammers'.  They had so much food and a large variety of items that were served buffet style.  It was obviously good because I ate way to much!
Then we went to the movie 'Unstoppable' with Denzel Washington in it.  It was fast moving and I like Denzel so anything he is in I think is good.  The team is all required to go to the movie and all go to the same movie.  So it is kind of fun I think to be with everyone.

Dinner and a Movie with the Team (and Family)

On Saturday morning we left the hotel by 10:30 since we had the hour long bus ride.  It was interesting to me to find out that the teams always have police escorts to the stadium from whatever hotel they are at.  This was the first time I remember a helicopter escort along with the police cars.  The helicopter did not start in until we got into South Bend............. that I noticed anyway.   

The stadium holds 80,795 to be exact.  To keep with tradition they still have wooden benches and no Jumbo Tron.  I really missed the Jumbo Tron for replay purposes and since we were almost in the end zone it would have just helped in actually seeing the game.  It rained for most the game so the wooden seats were wet.  But other than that the stadium was impressive.
We took a tour of the campus and saw a short video on the history of the school before the game.  We saw the steeple of Scared Heart Basilica, the golden dome with its statue of the Virgin Mary, and we saw Touch down Jesus.  These are a few of the things that define Notre Dame.  There were a lot of people walking around touring the campus.  Many were wearing red but everyone was extremely nice.

Melissa and Kylie, Cancer Awareness and Survivor Tree

Notre Dame was very impressive and full of tradition.  It was a beautiful campus and a great experience going there.

Grandma Pat's Chili

My mother was a very excellent cook.  I don't know what makes someone a Gourmet Cook but she was that to me and many people called her that.  She was also good a doctoring up recipes she would find and making them better.  This chili recipe she made is simple and most excellent.

Ingredients

1-15 oz. can Hot Chili (Nalley's) with beans

1-15 oz. can regular Chili with beans

1 pound Hamburger browned and drained

1-8 oz. can Tomato Sauce

1-12 oz. can V-8 juice (Spicy is good or use original)

1-2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Chili Powder

Garlic Salt, Onion Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown the meat, drain grease, add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.  I taste it and add more seasonings if needed.  My kids eat it with bread and butter or cheese bread, or over burritos and sometime over rice with extra cheese.  It is good on anything.