Bishop Howe

A surprise came to the whole family when Dave was called as bishop of our ward near the end of October. He had been serving as the EQ President, and we figured his new calling would likely be a counselor, so bishop came as a bit of a shock. Our ward is small and everyone is needed, but this was still not on our radar! We know the ensuing years will be full of many challenges and blessings related to this new role, but as a family we are ready to answer the call. 

Reference photo so we can see how many grey hairs this gives him over the next 5 years

Dave's parents came down for the weekend to witness Dave get called and sustained as bishop. We were so grateful for their support! The night before our Big Sunday we went to the WT football game, which turned out to be extremely boring. It was 5-0 at the half, so we didn't feel bad leaving early. 

Sophie somehow snuck a paper doll kit into the game, which kept her very entertained

Family Football Weekend (Except Different Games in Different States)

Dave went away with Greg, Jack and his dad to California for a weekend in September. The main event was watching the Cowboys play the Chargers in the new SoFi stadium, but they also had time for a baseball game and a few other local highlights. Dave said overall LA was dirty and rundown, but he had a good time with his family. I told Dave to make sure he took pictures since I wouldn't be there to document, and came through with lots of selfies :)

With the Hollywood sign off in the distance

Griffith Observatory and Venice Beach

Harry Potter cast on the Walk of Fame

Ready for the big game

Cowboys won 20-17 over the Chargers

While Dave was away, we decided we should also go enjoy some football. It was no small feat to take 5 kids (ours + one friend) to a game all on my own, but the effort was worth it. WT won big and we had a great night cheering them on from the front row!! It felt weird going to a game at the university where Dave teaches without him, but I'm glad we went and had fun anyway. Go Buffs

Such a beautiful night for a game

After some early hysterics, Griffin managed to have a good time

Sidewalk chalk and popcorn served on the promotional frisbees kept them occupied when the game wasn't exciting enough

WT WINS!!

WT Football Game

This year was the opening season for the new football stadium at WT. The business school had a game night in mid October, and we were allowed to request up to 10 tickets so we invited our friends the Taylor to come with us. We chose to sit on the grass in the end zone so all the kids could run around and play during the game instead of being stuck in a seat. It was a good choice because they ran around all night, leaving us free to watch the game. WT missed a field goal at the very end that would have won it for them, so it was a sad ending, but still a fun night!

These cute kids are all such good friends and had so much fun at the game together

Sophie with the WT Buffalo

Charlie and Rossi enjoying the action and a bag of popcorn 

Dave's Trip to Washington

At the end of September Dave went on a trip to Washington with his dad and brothers. Without me. I am still forgiving him for doing that. Actually, I was invited, but it was just too much work/money to factor and the kids into the travel plans, especially since we are already booked to fly up there as a family in just a couple months for Christmas. While he was gone it was hard to think of him having fun at my house, while I was home with the kids, but I am glad he was able to go spend that time with his family.

The main reason for the trip was the BYU vs. UW football game. A few years ago the boys all went out to Michigan to watch the Cougars play the Wolverines, and we lost spectacularly. Sadly this game wasn't much different, and even though BYU went into the game as a ranked team, they lost 35-7. Luckily the Howe men did several other fun things and were able to make some good memories up in the Pacific Northwest.

Dave surfed, wakeboarded, kayaked, and road the wave runner

Dave and Greg in their wet suits - the water gets pretty chilly in late September, and this was the first time Dave could be convinced to wear a wet suit. 

At Gasworks Park, looking towards Seattle

Cirque du Soleil was not part of the plan, but when they looked for events in Seattle happening that night, they found a show happening at Marymoor Park, which is just minutes from my parents, where they were staying. Dave said it was amazing!

Doubles pickleball - Dave played with Tim and Greg played with dad. I asked if they wore coordinated t-shirts on purpose, but it was just a coincidence. 

Great seats from which to watch BYU breakdown. My dad, Derek, Faye, and Jeremy also went with the to the game. 

Great seats for a disappointing game

On Friday my aunt offered us tickets to the BYU vs. USU football game. It was a late game, so we arranged for Sophie to go to bed at my other aunt's house (hooray for awesome relatives!), and then left to meet my brother at the stadium.

We were super excited for this game for a few reasons - it was a surprise night out without Sophie, we had good seats, BYU was having a great season, and BYU demolished USU last year, so this year would be be the same. Right? Wrong. It was such a sad game to watch. Our offense couldn't put anything together, the defense couldn't stop anything, our quarterback went down with a season-ending injury and with him went BYU's chances of anything special happening this year.

Happy fans before everything went wrong

I'm still in a bit of a funk from last night's depressing loss, but Conference has been a good boost for my soul. We enjoyed today's sessions and are looking forward to more tomorrow!

BYU vs. Texas

Last Saturday my grandma Mimi shared her football tickets with us so we were able to go down to Provo to see BYU play against Texas! We thought this would be the perfect game for Sophie because it's early in the season so the weather would still be nice, and the start time was 5:00, so we would get home early enough to put her to bed. Well, we were wrong on both accounts....

After eating an early dinner in Provo, we went over to my sister Natalie's apartment so I could feed Sophie before the game. As soon as we walked in the door a HUGE wind kicked up and debris started flying everywhere. Just a minute later, the clouds burst open and rain started dumping. It was like a mini hurricane. The power went out, and there was so much rain that some of the first floor apartments started flooding. Crazy!

I was just so grateful that we were somewhere warm and dry rather than trying to seek shelter at the stadium. Eventually the game started after a two hour delay and it was a GREAT game!! Sophie was stunned for the whole first quarter and just sat there taking it all in. After getting over the shock of all the lights and sounds, she seemed to enjoy herself. I'll admit I went in hoping for the best, but expected BYU to loose, but we WON! . Go Cougars!!

Before going to the game we stopped at our local pet store and Sophie held a puppy

Playing with some electric candles during the power outage - she thought these were awesome!!

Loyal, strong, and true BYU fans!!

True Blue BYU Fans

When Dave got accepted to the University of Utah, we always thought that with time we might become Utah fans, but now I don't think that will ever happen. All our love is for BYU, although it was tough to love them after the Boise State game. Ugh. My heart hurt for a few days after that.

On Friday we got tickets to the game against Hawaii (thanks grandma!) It was a beautiful night and BYU played great. It was nice to finally see us score a touchdown, or two, or seven :)

Almost as entertaining as the game, however, was the woman in front of us. She had a churro and would first lick every groove, then suck on the churro like a popsicle, then bite off the end, and then lick the paper. It was very thorough, methodical, and strange...

Right on the 50 yard line - Go Cougars!

Luck o' the Irish... We Won a Game!

On Saturday (St. Patrick's Day) the BYU MBA wives intramural football team won their first game ever - not the first of the season - but the first win ever. Up until Saturday, over three seasons, we were 0-15.

Our win came against a team that beat us earlier this season something like 50-0 (very sad), but the second time around we played so well!! The final score was 13-12, and it was a nail biter down to the end. Needless to say, we were thrilled!!

BYU Bowl Game

BYU was invited to play at the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, which happened to take place in Dallas! Convenient, huh? We went to the game with Dave's dad, brothers, and sister. It was a beautiful day and we were able to wear t-shirts and even got a little bit pink from the sun.

The Cougars were matched against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Even though Tulsa is just one state over, there were a lot of BYU fans in attendance and the cheering sections for each school were about even.

BYU struggled a bit during the first two quarters, but scored a touchdown with 12 seconds left in the half to cut Tulsa's lead to 10-14. After the half, things picked up and BYU and Tulsa traded touchdowns, until BYU scored with 11 seconds left in the game to win the game 24-21. GO COUGARS!

 

BYU vs. Idaho

Last night Dave and I went to the BYU football game. It was fun but f-f-f-freezing! Pretty much any child in attendance was dressed in a full snow suit. I came outfitted with pants, a shirt, a sweatshirt, a ski jacket, warm socks, boots, gloves, hat, scarf, hand warmers, two hoods, and....

HOT CHOCOLATE!!

We have a skinny thermos that fits unsuspectingly inside Dave's coat. The people sitting next to us were very jealous. We would break out the hot chocolate about twice a quarter and it was a life saver! When we ran out at the end of the third, we decided to go home. BYU was winning 42-7 at that point, so we had already seen most of the action. Go Cougars!

Part way through the first quarter, Riley Nelson left with a broken rib and Jake Heaps took over at quarterback. Dave and I made a little bet - Dave thought he would fumble first; I thought he would score a touchdown. I won and now Dave has an appointment with this dish pile - oh ye of little faith :)

 

BYU vs USU

On Friday we went to the BYU football game with Amy and Anne (Jeremy couldn't make it). For this game we were sitting in my grandma's seats, which are actual seats, not bleachers! It was a beautiful, warm night and the Cougars put together an amazing 4th quarter to get the win. Go BYU!

Don't judge Dave's lack of team spirit here - he had to come straight from campus. At least his shirt had some little blue stripes :)

For the 3rd quarter I had this cutie on my lap, and she was just giddy with excitement. We weren't sure how Anne would handle sitting for so long, but she did awesome. She loved watching the game, when the crowd did the wave, whenever the cannon went off, and watching the band play at half time. We had to drag her home when it was time to leave.

 

BYU Homecoming Game

Happy Homecoming! We had a good view of the field from way, way up top. The sun was out, the stands were full, the game was fun and it was nice to see BYU win one again!