Miami Beach Bowl

We just finished up the Miami Beach Bowl which completes our BYU Football experience.

To say this location was beautiful is a complete understatement! The warmth and trees and beach... oh we just didn't know how to handle it all! Somehow we managed! 

We started at the beach and we didn't even care that we both have WILD hair so now you get to enjoy it! *You're welcome*

Our most fun times were definitely at night enjoying the beach. We loved getting close to the water, making a little castle fort and seeing how long it would survive before the water overcame us.

Now it's not a bowl game without checking out the local eats and we really found our Miami Beach favorites! 

Starting off at Pizza Rustica on Lincoln Street - at the heart of Miami Beach! It's a fun area that has everything you need from shops to food and everything in between. 

Yes, we went back again the next day... and with no guilt.

So thankful for this girl! Michelle made the bowl so much more fun. 

Nothing like some shopping....

including the Kardashian's store -- DASH

Mike and I picked one night to go out on our own and have a really nice date night.

It was beautiful to walk along the beach and enjoy each other and the scenery.

We visited Bellini and had some delicious seafood linguine. I was in foodie heaven!

What better way to spend our last day than by the pool??

I submit that there is not! :)

Lunch and (virgin) drink by the pool. 

As we headed to the fireside we couldn't help snagging a picture by this BYU Christmas tree.

We loved that Loews Miami Beach Hotel did everything up for us.

It was a little emotional seeing Michael participate in his last ever fireside.

The firesides have always been my favorite part. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is always an important part of the mission of BYU football and I love seeing our football family share their message and wonderful experiences with those around them.

The boys headed to the stadium to check out Marlins Park where they'll be playing the next day! 

I love these guys so much! Of course my favorite is there in the bottom right but really these guys have been such an important part of our life.

Game day was here and we were very excited to watch the cougars!

While the outcome was not what we expected or hoped for we all walked away very proud of the way our team fought. Going to OT twice made for a very exciting game!

I still can't believe I watched Mike play for the last time. Shouldn't we be prepping for another season? Nope, not for us. Now it's off to Texas for Christmas and then back to Provo! 

Miami Beach on Dwellable

BYU @ UCONN

Today is the BYU @ UCONN game and here I am, sitting with my husband...

It was weird but so much fun. I'm excited to sit with him for years to come and watch BYU games. 

And what's even better? The Y was lit bright for the BYU win!
Mike is out of him boot and practicing this week. We are ready to BEAT TEXAS!

A broken toe and a snarky wife...

At practice on Thursday Mike came out of a play with pain in his left foot. The trainers checked him out and saw that his toe was swelling really fast.

This practice happened to be a public practice so there were a lot of people there. I made my way to the area he was at to see if I could tell if it was his knee, ankle, or foot.

I got as close as I could and one of the "security" guys I know said, "Sorry, we can't let you past today like usual. We have to rope it off when it's open to the public." I replied, "That's okay. It looks like Mike's hurt so I wanted to see what's up."

Some random guy said, Don't worry, he's fine. Trust me, I was a lineman, I know.

I turned to look at this guy. Let me tell you, he just didn't look like a lineman. Thin, maybe even skinny doesn't begin to describe this guy.

So I said, "You look like it." Maybe he was offended.

His response was just kinda 'know it all' and it bugged. He said, Trust me, I know the o-line really well.

As I turned to walk away because they were bringing Mike to the training room, I said, "Yeah, I know them pretty well too." (I think that was the line that sounded a bit snarky)

So I got into the training room and they said Mike had just jammed his big toe.

That sucks but he's okay. They put him in a boot and off he went.

I came home and was browsing twitter when I found this gem...

I'm glad I can handle myself.... but apparently I seemed "scolding".

So Thursday came, he busted his butt in practice but it was still killing him. The trainers pulled him and they took him to get an x-ray because it looked terrible! Come to find out, his toe is broken in 2 places!

On Saturday, after the BYU scrimmage, this floated across Twitter...

My response was, "Wife always knows". And it's true. I've been focused on one guy on the field for 4 years now and I know if he's hurt. So you may "know the line" but I know him a lot more.

So today, Mike saw a specialist for his foot. It's going to be about 9 more days until he can run and then assess the situation before he can play.

After seeing countless injuries in our time here, it's a blessing that he's only out for a few weeks. We're glad it's only a broken toe.
*Quotes are as remembered and not exact*

what a week.....

WOW! This week has been crazy.... crazy and BLESSED!
So here is the breakdown:

Sunday: Wake-up in Highland, drive South to Provo for church, drive North (past Highland) up to Layton for dinner with Mike's Aunt and Uncle, then back to Highland.
Monday: 5am Wake-up in Highland, Work/Football, Drs. Appointment, Pick car up from shop, Swim Party
Tuesday: 5am Wake-up in Highland,Work/Football, Church Activity, MRI
Wednesday: Work/Football, Back Specialist (and this is where it gets fun!) So after the meeting with the specialist we were so grateful they were able to nail down what the problem is. Mike has a herniated disk in his back....
We scheduled an epidural for Mike. It was for Thursday after work -- PERFECT!
So I got back to work and suddenly get a call that we have to go to the hospital right away because we can't do it on Thursday and they're booked for Friday.
We knew it needed and wanted it to happen ASAP to help Mike with the pain so I rushed to pick him up and get to the hospital in Orem. Meanwhile, our car starts doing what we just paid a bunch to get fixed.

I was ill-prepared for an epidural. For some reason I was planning on a simple, easy shot in his back. I mean, I know what an epidural is but I wasn't expecting the whole hospital sign-these-so-you-won't-sue-us forms. It was our very first hospital experience since we've been married. There will be a few more in our future one Mike retires from football but I'm glad this was our first. It was simple and fairly stress-free for me. :)
Thursday: Mike was hurting like crazy after having them stick big, long needles in his back. He toughed it out though, he's quite the guy! Our car goes back in the shop and we're paying for a rental.
Friday: We're READY for a weekend! Waiting for the cortisone to fully take effect will be interesting. I'm excited for him to be pain-free!! (at least in his back).....

This week tuckered us both out! I'm ready for a break and even though it only lasts 2 days, it will be glorious!

Scholarship Dinner - *BLESSED*

Last night we went to the BYU Athletics Scholarship Dinner.

It was a wonderful experience! It was so amazing to be able to talk about all of the blessings and opportunities these athletes have due to their donor-funded scholarships.

We've always talked about what our life would be like if Michael hadn't been offered a scholarship to play football. We would have 2 options:
1- I dropout and get a full-time job to support him through football and school.
2- He stops playing football.
Both of these options include us giving up something that is so important to us. We never want that.

So it's impossible for me to simply say I'm grateful for his scholarship and the generosity of those who have provided it. I'm grateful, I'm amazed, I'm overwhelmed, I'm feeling blessed. I am also to happy I was able to look at them for a moment and tell then they haven't wasted it. He works hard, does well in school, and has goals they would be proud to support.

So if the Bowen family ever reads this post, let me say THANK YOU again. Your influence in our life will not be forgotten. Our children will know your name and they will grow up knowing that you helped us achieve all we have and will have because of our experience at BYU.

THANK YOU!

Oh, and the food was pretty dang great! 

I could get used to these catered football dinners. 

BYU Football Banquet 2014

This is our one classy night a year and I love it. We rarely get dressed up to go out. I'm usually happy in sweats at a restaurant because I'm too tired for anything else.

The football banquet is our night out, classed up.

We love doing for the great food but more for the chance to honor the seniors.

 We love our seniors and all they've done but it's so sad to see them go.

 This couple as been so much fun to get to know. We LOVE Houston and Kim!

 This crew is too much fun and I'm glad we still have one more year together. Here's to another year, another set of seniors, and another banquet.

New Friends-More Memories

This weekend we had a blast! It was crazy and fun and included some new adventures that I wish I would have taken pictures of.

Our good friend from football is getting married but his fiance is living in California until the big day. So we haven't had a chance to meet her but we've been texting a bit to talk about the Wives Club and all of that fun.

Well she came into town this week and it was so fun to meet her! I picked her up from the airport while the boys were at practice and we had quite the adventure. She's lost her nose ring so we went looking for a tattoo shop. We actually have quite a few in Provo, who knew?! It was fun and we were laughing the whole time.

Off to practice we went and turns out it was the coaches clinic. So the field was packed. I'd like to believe that we fit in well but I don't think we did.

Then it was off to dinner with the soon-to-be Durans and the Dawes. We ate so much, it was ridiculous! So we decided we should probably work it off at Nickle City, the nicklecade. If you haven't been, you're missing out. It's so much fun to just pretend you're a kid and play stupid games.  Plus, they run on nickles so no breaking the bank!

 I love this guy and the baby cow I made him hold in his pocket.

This bunch is going to have a blast this year. GO COUGS!! 

We just need to get Brooke some BYU gear! 

Bowl Game 2013

We had an awesome time in San Francisco for the bowl game this year! It was a beautiful location with so many fun things to do!
The shopping was fantastic! Being right in Union Square meant that we were in the heart of San Francisco and could experience the best of the best!

Monday was a fun day with sight seeing while Mike was practicing.

I met him for the excursion to Alcatraz! So powerful to walk around one of the more infamous prisons!

Pier 39 was a must see! It was so fun and busy with Christmas cheer!

We ate at an awesome restaurant and filled up on seafood! 

 The view was beautiful every direction we looked! I couldn't stop snapping pictures!

 Christmas Eve was interesting! Luckily we had some time to be together and we used it!

My cousin invite us to a dinner party with his friends and it was so nice to be outside the hotel and restaurants during the holidays!

Christmas morning we work up feeling really weird. With not many family members around we didn't know what to think... so we opened stockings and Mike headed to serve food to the needy in the Bay Area! It was a great experience and he really enjoyed being able to help others!

Our loneliness was remedied with Mike's family arriving! Laura and I headed off too the wharf to explore. 

 The day before the game, there is always a banquet where both teams come together and the bowl initiative is talked about and the teams are highlighted. It's was a really fun event! 

 Later that night we were off to the fireside where, for the first time, the wives were asked to participate by singing! I was in charge of putting it together and I'm so happy to say it went well! 

We were a little crazy by this time...

 I even got the Yeck family to agree to take pictures! Mission ACCOMPLISHED!

We couldn't pass up the fun lights at the Oakland Temple!

Speaking of Oakland Temple.... on game day we headed to the temple!

SO BEAUTIFUL!!

Off to the game we went and while it wasn't the outcome we'd hoped for, it was fun to be there. Enjoying San Francisco was worth giving up our holidays. It was a Christmas we'll never forget!