The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It was the best of times and the worst of times.  My super, swell weekend of fun and frivolity, with a little bit of pain and torture thrown in for good measure, is now over.  I have returned to real life, but the festivities were remarkably groovy while they lasted.

Diana and I left Vegas, bound for Provo, last Wednesday night.  We traveled up to Cedar City where we spent the night with a dear friend of mine.  Our husbands were in graduate school together in Riverside.  We lived in the student housing there for five years.  And despite the limited budget and cramped living conditions, those years were truly magical.  We shared dinners, played games, cheered our husbands in championship basketball games, held each others' babies, shopped, and walked, and just generally hung out together all the time.  There is something unique about the simplicity of life during the schooling years.  And just like most things, I probably didn't fully appreciate what I had, until it was gone.  And having wonderful friends to share it with made it all the more fantastic.  After those years in school, we parted ways.  They have spent 17 years on the east coast, but have come back to the west.  So it was wonderful to be able to spend the night at her house and catch up.  It is amazing how you just pick up where you left off with really good friends that you haven't seen for a long time.  That was a excellent way to begin the weekend.

Then it was onto Spanish Fork, where we arrived just in time to see my niece perform in a first grade patriotic program.  All the kids were adorable as only 1st graders can be.

That night we headed up to Salt Lake City to see the performance of Mary Poppins.  I heard about the fact that it was playing just the week before and was thrilled when we could fit this into the schedule for the weekend.  I have wanted to see it for at least three years since it first came out on Broadway. 

 Diana and I with Mary herself.  Quite satisfactory!!

Next we have me with the official curtain in the background.  It is hard to see it but it says "Mary Poppins" on it.  Apparently you are not allowed to even take this picture, because we got yelled at by the usher.  Photos are not allowed because of copy right issues.  I got in trouble for taking a similar picture at Wicked, so that is just how I roll at these things, I suppose.  I am not sure if you can see, but we are sitting on the 7th row.  Our seats were amazing.  I have never seen a show so close up before. 

We loved every minute of the performance.  There is just nothing like a professional production.  It was truly sensational. Trust me it was practically perfect in every way.   I would recommend it to anyone, except maybe small children.  There is one number with life size toys that is on the scary side.  Diana thought it might even give her nightmares.  We loved it so much, I am going to start saving up for Beauty in the Beast, that comes in March.  Mary Poppins was really the high light of the weekend, and I enjoyed it to the fullest, blissfully unaware that two days later I would witness a tragedy of mass proportions.  How is that for foreshadowing?


Friday I got my hair done.  And Friday evening I went to the BYU football fireside with my sister and brother-in-law.  The fireside was great as it always is.  Afterwards I took the chance to meet a few players that had not been assaulted by me before.

This is Corby Eason, the safety.  I watched a special about him and how his mom did such a good job raising him by herself.  I was glad to get to meet him.

I also ran into Jaimeson Frazier, who I met at the baseball game after women's conference.  Shockingly enough he recognized me and said he remembered my funny stalking book and turkey bone story.  He may have been saying that to make me feel good, but I suppose in some freakish way, I am memorable.  Not many crazy old ladies running around with turkey bones and books of their stalking pictures.

Here I am with Brandon Olgetree.  He is another defensive player and Coach Mendenhall says that he is a really nice guy, until he gets on the field and then his eyes kind of go in separate directions.  He was very kind to pose for a picture.

And finally the group shot.  Someone else had gotten this group together and taken a picture, so it was easy for me to say "hey don't move, I need a picture with all of you."  Good, good times, people.

Finally Saturday arrived.  There was a terrible downpour on Friday night, and I was worried that it might rain for the game.  But the weather was wonderful, although I did bring my coat with me just because it was a night game.  Here I am so happy and excited to be parked and at the field.  I have no idea that I am about to be run over by a mac truck, so to speak.

And of course this picture was an absolute must.  The girl before me to take her picture with this truck was actually blowing a kiss to this player, so I am capable of some restraint.  Just so you know.

And here I am ready to party.  Kettle corn, cotton candy, and spiced almonds, Oh My!!!  So the evening was not a total loss.

My sister came with me to the game.  This proved to be useful throughout the night when she would remind me that I still needed to keep breathing.  After some plays, I really forgot about things like oxygen.

And even though she is an Aggie, she was kind enough to be supportive and wear one of my BYU shirts and wave her pom and cheer with me.  She was a very good sport. 

And she pointed out this lovely sunset, which was much better to look at than anything going on down on the field.  And at other times she reminded me that yes there is more to life than football and at least no one had died, even though most of us at the stadium probably wished the earth would open up and swallow us whole.

Here is a shot of just how close to the field we were.  Yes nothing like practically a front row seat to the massacre.  It was like watching someone hit your child with their car, and then back over them again and again and again.  Not to mention that the CEO of the bank who gave me the tickets is a Utah fan.  So he with his four daughters were sitting in front of us, and the two Utah fans that won tickets were sitting next to us, and there were 3 other Utah fans right behind us.  So although mildly entertaining, it was rather disturbing and perhaps even more painful watching them bask in the glory of their teams success.  Kind of like pouring lemon juice in my paper cuts, only they felt more like lacerations than paper cuts.

It was quite eye opening to see all of the other BYU fans.  I was with my people, if you know what I mean. Sort of like finally making it to the mother ship.   One fan had a blue football helmet with angel Moroni glued to the top of it.  There were people in completely blue body suits.  My favorite sign that someone was holding said "Hey Jordan, my sister called, she wants her arm back."

Jimmer Fredette was at the game and spent most of it on the sideline just below where we were sitting.  At one point I suggested to the BYU fan sitting next to us, that perhaps we should put Jimmer in the game.  Surely he couldn't have done much worse than the guys on the field.  He seemed to agree and called out "Put some pads on Jimmer."   Here is a shot of him walking out at the end of the game.  You can see the teams on the field in the background.

Overall I would give the ambiance, company, weather, and snacks an A+.  The actual game, well not so good.  However I do still love my team.  I would go to see them again, despite the pain they gave my heart.  My status on facebook that night said "Other than the shooting, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?"  That pretty much sums it all up.   I only hope that they can learn something positive from all of this.  I have the utmost confidence in Coach Mendenhall.  I will be there on my couch Friday night cheering them on to what I seriously hope will be a victory.  One of these days, things will click and they will march up and down the field.  And when that day happens, you can bet that I will be there, turkey bone in hand.