The Wonderful World of Women's Conference 2012

This year was my eighth year at Women's Conference, and it was just as wonderful as always.  I don't expect to ever miss a year until I die.  This year was sad because my sister  Amie had a baby and couldn't come and my mom didn't come this year, but as you can see my other two sisters and I still managed to have some fun.

The first speaker of the conference told us when we have hard days to think back and remember the feeling of sitting in the Marriott Center with so many other righteous women.  It really is amazing.  So often as a mother I feel that I am in hand to hand combat with Satan, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed and alone.  To sit in a room full of others who share my convictions and goals to raise a righteous family is fortifying in a way that is hard to describe.  This is one of the reasons I go to Women's Conference.  That and the food.

After the first general session, my sisters and I headed up to the conference center where we listened to a wonderful class given by Chad and Michelle Lewis titled: Mormon's Warning: Arming your home and family.  While we listened we made these bunnies.  Their cuteness is somewhat questionable, but hopefully they will be given to children with nothing and that will make them look better.  They are certainly better than nothing.   That or blind children might enjoy them as well.

Brother Lewis shared a story about climbing Kilimanjaro last summer as part of the wounded warrior project.  There was a soldier from Iraq with them who had lost his leg in an injury and had a metal leg.  That soldier became too sick to go on and had to turn back, but the others told him that they would take his leg to the top even if he couldn't make it.  As they climbed the air became thinner and thinner and the task became more and more difficult.  Brother Lewis was helping carry the leg and was determined that he was strong enough to make it happen as a sign of respect for this soldier and his sacrifice.  But it became very difficult for Brother Lewis and the guide with them finally said "Let me carry the leg.  I am used to the elevation and the thin air, I climb this mountain all the time."  And so Brother Lewis let him carry the leg and he compared this to how we try to carry our own burdens and the Savior is right there trying to help us if we will only let him. He is pleading with us to cast our burdens on him, for his yolk is easy and his burden is light.   It was a wonderful class.  And such a good lesson.

Jen poses with her cute blue bunny.

Look I made a purple one.

Of course there was the BYU mint brownie consumption.  That is mandatory and a completely necessary part of the whole experience.  Look I got a corner piece.  Yummmy!

And of course there are the spiced almonds.  I have to admit to purchasing 3 of these bad boys.  One each day, and one to bring home.  How do I love these almonds?  Let me count the ways.  And the fact that they are warm when you get them is not a bad thing for warming ones hands or face.  Delectable and delicious delicacies.

Here is the group shot on day one.  After all the learning and the sewing and the eating, we went to Brick Oven for dinner with our two sisters in law.  Somehow we did not get photographic evidence of the eating going on there, but it happened, true story.  After dinner we headed back to the Smith Fieldhouse for the evening of service.

As we were about to enter the Fieldhouse, who should come out but, Sandra Rogers.  Now most of you will not know her, but she is the academic vice president of BYU.  She has also been in charge of Women's Conference for the past 8 years.  She gives wonderful talks and even better etiquette videos.  I have snapped pictures of her from the stands for years, but I never dreamed I would get this close to her.  I love this woman who is responsible for something I look forward to each year and has changed my life for good.

And then as if  Sister Rogers was not enough who should come out next, but the entire new Relief Society General presidency.  Now  those of you who know me well, (and really who would be reading this, if they didn't know me well,) will know that I had a goal to get my picture taken with this dear, sweet lady, Sister Burton.  Of course in my wildest dreams, I never really thought it would happen.  But as I posted on Facebook, the stalking Gods smiled upon us and we were able to get this picture.  Look she doesn't even seem that scared or anything.

A BYU Brownie and my picture with the new General Relief Society president, how could this day get any better?

But wait there's more.

We went into the Fieldhouse, where we helped with the finishing up of putting together 35,000 back pack kits for Title 1 schools in Utah county.  Service really is one of my favorite parts of Women's Conference.

 Then we went into the Sports Museum and I got my picture with all of the Jimmer memorabilia.  That is pretty awesome, isn't it?

 And then look we made our sister from Utah State pose with us and the cougar.  She was a good sport about it and it is a pretty cute picture of all of us.  I mean really who doesn't need a picture with a large bronze cougar?

And then it was back to the Marriott Center for the evening concert hosted once again by Hilary Weeks.  I got my picture with her last year, in case you forgot.  This evening was a tribute to Relief Society complete with a visit from Eliza  R Snow.  It was very moving and I would have to say one of the best.

Here is a Youtube video of the last song.  This video does not quit capture the magic of the moment, but you can get some idea.  Click on the button that says skip to the best part.

That was Day One.  Hard to believe that it all happened in just the span of twelve hours.  Time to head home and sleep and rest up for Day Two.

I didn't really have any classes picked out for Friday, but I noticed that Blaine Fowler and his wife were teaching a class.  He is a sportscaster and often calls  BYU Football and Basketball games.  I knew that I had to go to his class and see if I could get a picture with him.  When I got there I asked the lady at the door if she thought I might get a picture.  She said she wasn't sure because he wasn't there yet.  I went and set up position in a seat on the front row in the preferred stalking section.  It wasn't too long before the lady brought Blaine up to me and said "This is the lady that wants a picture with you."  How nice was that of her to facilitate my stalking?

This is what I had to say about this picture on Facebook:" Here is today's installment of "See Pat stalk people at Women's Conference and raise questions about her sanity or at the very least her manners." This lucky/unlucky victim is Blaine Fowler. Most of you will have no idea who he is, but he was a quarterback at BYU when I was at school there. And he went on to be a sports broadcaster. I have watched him call games on TV many times. He was very kind and a bit shocked that I would want a picture with him. Look how well he masked his inner terror in this picture? His wife was also kind to share him for a minute as if she had a choice or anything."

And next as I was walking back to the Marriott Center, who should I run into, but Sister Dibb, President Monson's daughter.  She very unsuspectingly asked me if I knew where the shuttle stop was. Of course I did and was glad to tell her, but not before I snapped this little gem.  So nice of her to come to me, even. 

And here is the group shot on day two.  Don't tell but I may or may not have snapped this while a speaker was speaking, but it was necessary before we all split up to go to different classes.

And here is one more at the end of the day.  Look at the crowd thinning out behind us.  And look how cute we are with our matching bags.  Too bad I missed the memo about bending my arm and hence ended up looking like my arm was amputated.  For any of you concerned, I do in fact have a hand at the end of my arm.

And so another successful Women's Conference comes to an end.  Sigh.  It is hard to say which part is my favorite: the speakers, or the classes, or the spirit, or the General Authorities, or the General Auxiliary Presidencies, or the musical performances, or the food, or the stalking, or the service, or the time with sisters, or the shopping in the bookstore.  Pretty much all of it is my favorite part and makes it two days of the year I can not do without.

And here is a shot of my beloved Y.  I know all of you are sick to death of hearing me go on and on about BYU, but it is a place that is near and dear to my heart.  I understand that not everyone feels the same way, and that is OK.  I don't ask that you do.  But for me, after growing up in the mission field and being alone a lot of the time, I loved going to BYU and being part of the majority.  And each year I get to relive those golden college years for two days at Women's Conference.  That is my other favorite part.  So thanks for the memories.  See you next year. 

A Night Under the Stars

Try not to die of shock, but I actually have some blog worthy events to report. And so after you pick yourself up off the floor, you can check out these pictures.

First of all, remember this picture from three years ago? Yes those were some scary times. I was looking through some old photos and even reading some old blog posts, and well that was certainly a memorable time in my life. I am so happy that I recorded so much of the details and can go back and read them. Go figure I had managed to forget about the blood clot scare after the hip replacement surgery. Good, good times people, NOT. But it made me realize how much I take for granted how healthy Jared has become.

Yes we have come along way from hospital beds to this fine looking specimen of a young man:

It is almost inconceivable to think how worried I was that a day like today would never happen. Perhaps there is something to that whole opposition thing. In that when you get what you never thought would happen, does it make it seem all the sweeter? I don't know, but today was a day I had always hoped and dreamed would become a reality. And I am extremely grateful that we both lived to see such a happy event as a Mormon Formal.

Here he is waiting for the bedecking of the flowers.

I think wrist corsages are the only way to go. Really avoids some awkward moments.

And it was a two person job to get his boutonniere pinned in place. Finally his date's mom managed to get it on there.

And here is the happy couple. Check out her dress? Isn't it gorgeous? She really wanted purple and found this perfect dress at the dress exchange. Can I just tell you about the pressure of choosing a vest at the tux shop? Gosh I am so relieved that it actually went well together. Mother blunder averted. Whew!

And a closer up one where you can see their adorable faces. Their group had planned to go to a park and take pictures, but the weather decided that it was still winter and it was cold and windy and then it rained cats and dogs, so they had to go to plan B which was the public library.There is an art gallery at the public library which included this rather interesting colorful cow.

Now who doesn't need their picture taken with a cow like that?Because the light was so bad inside, they did brave the rain and go out for one quick shot, umbrellas and all.

Jared and Bailey had left their umbrella in the car, you can see the rain drops on her dress but it dried soon enough. They are standing next to their good friends Tori and Tanner.

This is the group shot of all the kids from our ward. Eighteen in all, quite a large group.Nice face Jared, way to stand out in a crowd.

Here are Tanner, Tori, Jake, Katie, Jared, and Bailey.

Here Jared is showing just how thrilled he was to have his mother come to the picture taking ceremony. As if there was really any other way it would turn out. Has he met me?

And here is a little bit better one, I took with my own trusty arms length method. Too bad I was so busy getting him ready to be able to put any make up on myself.

You can imagine my disappointment (and Jared's relief) that I wasn't needed as a chaperon so I had to come home after the pictures. I would have loved to tag along for the whole evening. Not a popular idea with my kid.

All in all it seemed very successful. It is his first big dance and I am glad that he got to join his friends for one last hurrah before they all graduate and go their separate ways. He has been very fortunate to have such a great group of friends. Most of them all played soccer together throughout middle school and then there have been scout camps and just generally lots of fun times together through the years.

Goodnight kids,

Have fun storming the castle!

Elder Hammond

I got the best surprise the other day  when there was a knock at my door.  And who do you think it was, but an Angel sent from Heaven, well actually it was a girl sent from Pahrump.  Pahrump is a city that is in the middle of nowhere about an hour from Vegas, but that doesn't really have much to do with this beautiful girl who brought me the most wonderful thing in the world. 

And it's name is a video she made of Trent last November when she was serving with him in Jacksonville.  How stupendous is that?  Well it is pretty much the bestest thing to happen to me in quite some time. 

Because as much as I love and adore my missionary son, he is not up for any sharing of pictures and videos awards.  I can say that after 20 months of service, he has sent home about 20 pictures.  For a mother who documented pretty much every five minutes of his life, well that is kind of like killing me with non information. 

This after I sent him a second memory card for his camera, so that he could exchange it and send me home the one that is full of pictures.  And who then also sent him a stamped addressed padded envelope so that all he had to do was insert said memory card and drop it in the mail box.  Sigh. 

Well I suppose that it just wasn't meant to be.  And you can tell that I am fine with it, right?  And even though it was allowed at Christmas phone calls, we never skyped because we don't have any webcams on our computers. 

So it feels like I have not seen him for almost two years.  And you can imagine how a receiving an actual video of him actually talking to me feels like winning the lottery.  He just looks so much like himself, and he seems so happy.  I can honestly say that I haven't been homesick for him, until I saw this video.  I have watched it over and over.

And so I had to share with all of you.  If you are bored by home movies you can look away, but I would recommend the second two videos because that are some pretty funny parts.

And just last Friday I got a letter in my mailbox from his mission office asking for the details of how they are to send him home.  Yes, people apparently he will be home in just a short 128 days.  I didn't count it, it was another mom whose son went into the MTC the same day as Trent. 

And guess when he comes home?  July 19th which happens to be Diana's birthday.  And she will be at girl's camp that week, but I will go up and get her and bring her home so she can be at the airport.  And then I will take her back that night so she can finish the week.  She has already planned the banner she is going to make.  July will be here before you know it.  It is very hard to believe that two years have come and gone.   

Beautiful Heartbreak

Just though I would share, if you haven't already seen this video.  How Hilary Weeks can so perfectly capture thoughts is an amazing gift.

Something to make you smile

This made me spit my drink all over the place.  It is hee-hee-hee-larious.  And even though I don't agree with everything on Glee, you have to admit this parody is pretty darn clever.  Enjoy.

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.

I case you live in a cave and haven't heard

 In case you live in a soundproof cave and haven't heard me screaming for joy, here is picture proof that I did in fact win the facebook contest for BYU-Utah football tickets.  It is also proof that sometimes good guys finish first.  And that you should never give up, no matter how far behind you think you are in a race.  You never know what the end result will be until you cross the finish line.

I posted about how excited I was about the contest, and honestly I had a hard time sleeping the first night of the contest, as I was in first place when I went to bed.  I woke up the next morning only find that I had moved down to 3rd, then 4rth, and finally 5th place.  I couldn't figure out how these people ahead of me were getting hundreds of votes.  I told myself, "Oh well, it really doesn't matter."  But deep down I was very sad to think that I was so close but still so far away from my dream.  I still kept voting every day and made my husband and kids votes as well, just so I could stay in 5th place. 

Finally it was the last day.  The contest was suppose to end at noon.  I checked about 1:00 and it said that the contest had been extended until midnight.  Then when I looked the top place people had been removed from the contest.  I wasn't sure why, but suddenly I was in second place.  My spirits soared like a caged bird just set free.  I had a chance.  The next several hours were spent visiting the homes of several friends, so I could talk them through the somewhat complicated process of voting.  Because there is nothing obnoxious about showing up on someone's doorstep, say "Hi, please go to your computer RIGHT NOW and vote for me!!!"  I went to people who had multiple facebook users at their house.  Also I called and texted family and had them vote as well.  I spent pretty much the next 6 hours begging for votes.  One of the best things I did was text my good friend The Crash Test Dummy.  She posted a link on her facebook wall, and she has 900 friends for goodness sake.  It is good to have friends with such connections.  Many of her people were kind enough to vote for me as well.  In the end I got 300 points that afternoon.  Which at 5 points a vote, is a lot of votes.

It turns out that the top people were cheating by using fake accounts and voting services.  So they were disqualified once their votes were verified.  Because I got so many votes so fast, I was accused of cheating.  The people disqualified even used their fake accounts to vote for me to try and disqualify me as well.  The morning after the contest I got a call from the verification service to ask me how exactly did I get so many votes in one day.  I explained to him about my driving from house to house.  This seemed to satisfy him.  An hour later I got the call from the bank that I had won the tickets.  I am still in shock and disbelief.  But there was much happy dancing involved that day.

Hip hip hooray for winning!!! Here is pictorial proof that I did win something, and in fact it is something I am thrilled to death to have won.  I have actually never attended a BYU/Utah football game in person.  The fact that I finally get to be there in the flesh, well I am excited beyond word.  I am covered in bruises from pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Here is a up close look at just how up close I will be watching this game.  Hee hee hee, I am giddy with anticipation!  These seats are on the 35 yard line, so hopefully I will get to see some touchdowns. 

And here is the pair of them.  My husband has a scouting commitment so he can't go.  I mean priorities, get some.  But instead my sister will be attending with me.  It is going to be the best day ever!!!  And should be good for a few more photo opportunities/stalking situations.

Here I am in my RISE UP game day t-shirt.  I wore this last Saturday to wish my Cougars good luck against Ole Miss.  And despite the fact that I almost had a heart attach watching that game, my team did prevail in the end.  So woohoo! for starting the season off with a win.  Good luck in Texas tomorrow.

And one week from tomorrow, you and me baby!!!

Last chance to vote

OK if you have a facebook click  HERE and vote for me to win the football tickets.

With 3 hours to go in the contest, I am ahead by 268 pts.I am holding my breath, crossing my toes and fingers, and knocking on any wood I can find.

Once you click on the link, click on the first star on the right to give me 5 points.

My dream just may come true.  Three more hours.

Are you ready for some Football?

 I was just going about my day today, when I happened to see an email from my bank.  This email was announcing the fact that Deseret First Credit Union was holding a contest that would award the winner with two tickets to the BYU - Utah game in September.  This is what the email asked "Are you the world's biggest fan of BYU or the University of Utah? Let everyone know on Deseret First's Facebook page! "

Well, hello, any contest looking for the biggest BYU fan is definitely one for me.  And then for the prize to be BYU football tickets, well that was a no brainer.  I mean it does seem like I may have a slight unfair advantage, given my stalking skills and relentless quest for all things BYU football. 

I immediately scanned through my memory and photo folders to find the perfect picture.  The only problem is which ONE to choose.  Really, why wouldn't they allow me to submit my entire BYU football portfolio?  I even have a published book, remember?  Because seriously if it was about quantity, I think I could win that contest.

Asking me to pick my favorite BYU football picture, is like asking me to pick my favorite child.  So not fair, and actually quite impossible.  But if I wanted to enter, then one picture had to be picked.  I choose this one, because who can compete with a magical Turkey bone found in my Thanksgiving turkey, predicting the successful win for BYU against Utah that year?

To make me feel a little bit better, I thought I would post some of the runner's up here, since I have no limit on pictures posted on my blog.

I could have chosen this adorable picture of me with the cheerleaders.  I mean, just so you know, I am the second one from right.  You wouldn't have found me otherwise, I am sure.

 I could have chosen this one of me sporting the hat with the cougar coming out of it.  And me training up Diana in the ways of loving BYU football.

 This could have been a good one since it is with Ross Apo, who is destined to catch some great ones this season.  Someday this will be a very famous picture and it would have been very current.

 I don't think anyone could argue with the fanatical part of this fan picture.  And check out the score on the screen in the background.

 This was actually my runner up picture.  I love this family Christmas card picture of forced fanaticism.  I mean the look on my teenage boys faces is just priceless.  My husband steered me away from this picture as I don't think he was comfortable with his picture being in a contest.  But then maybe he shouldn't have signed the release form.

 This was a possibility because there is no denying my excitement over my 2009 Las Vegas Bowl tickets.

 Or this one taken at the actual bowl game might have been a good choice as well.  This was the coldest games known to man, but I am so happy I went, as BYU will most likely never play in the Vegas bowl again.

 This one could have been a good one also.  I mean it is hard to compete with the face of BYU football for so many years.  It is my facebook picture by the way.  Most people probably think it is me with my grandfather.  But No, that would be me harassing the youth conference speaker before he went up to speak.

This is a great one of me with some of my best blogging friends, April, Tonya, and Barb.  So fun when blog world meets real world.

 Here I am with Bryan Karia and April doing her best "Sound of Music, cuckoo clock dance" impression.  Bryan should have an awesome season this year.

 Here is another one proving my biggest fan status.  Need I say more.

Here I am with McKay Jacobson and my stalking book after the Football fireside in Las Vegas October 2010.  I didn't get to go to the game because I had to go to Seattle so Jared could get his patriarchal blessing, but I made it to the fireside anyway.

This is a nice one of Denis Pitta and I after the football fireside in Payson before the UCLA game in Provo September 2009.

This one really is one of my all time favorites, as it was my first stalking picture.  Kind of like your oldest child.  I have to admit that it makes me kind of giggle every time I see it.  It was taken at the UNLV fireside in October 2007.  I remember leaving the fireside and all these guys were hanging around waiting for the bus.  So I just said "Hey everyone! Gather around the crazy old lady who loves BYU football"  Most of these players have graduated, but just behind me to the left is a freshman James Lark, who is a back up quarterback.

After my picture with the players, I was thrilled beyond words to see Bronco and his wife speaking for a few minutes before Bronco got on the bus.  I don't know if pictures like this happen as much any more because Bronco's popularity has grown so much.  I love this picture.

Now I could have gone on for days talking about my pictures and who I have stalked and when and where.  My pictures are rather exhaustive.  But these were some of the best ones.  I know there are other people whose passion for BYU football is equal to mine, but there is no denying that I am a true Cougar, through and through.

I have been through some difficult times in the past 4 years, and yet BYU football has always been there for me, and at times when nothing else could, has put a smile on my face without fail.  BYU football I thank you for that.  Here is to many more good times to come.  And who knows some day, my dream of having a poster in the locker room that warns players to watch out for me, well it may just come true.  Stranger things have happened.