Minnesota Vikings vs. Denver Broncos

For Christmas Brianna got me tickets to the Vikings/Broncos game in Denver. We decided it would be best if we didn't leave the puppies again overnight, so we flew out Sunday morning and flew back again Sunday night.

This is us outside of the stadium before the game:



It used to be called Mile High Stadium but has since been renamed Invesco Field. There's still the old street sign outside the stadium:



This is the view of the field from our seats. We were high in the North end zone:



This is the scoreboard before the game:



You can see that our seats were pretty close to the top, but we actually had a really good view of the field. Here Brianna is flashing her new Vikings shirt. By the end of the first quarter she was so bundled up you couldn't tell which team she was cheering for. It was pretty cold:



Here I am returning happily with my popcorn. I'm wearing the Adrian Peterson jersey that Brianna got me for Christmas:



When the Broncos ran out of their locker room flames came out around them. It was pretty cool I guess, if you like that sort of crap:



Here's a picture we took of the actual game. The Vikings were pretty close to scoring, but then they screwed it up, as usual:



Here's Adrian Peterson talking with an official before returning a kickoff:



At first it wasn't that cold but then the wind began to blow:



By the end of the game the sun was down and it started to snow so it was really cold. Lots of people left because the Vikings were down 19-3 with only four minutes to go and the weather was really bad. Brianna and I decided to stick it out until the end of the game:



The Vikings ended up scoring two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to tie the game at 19-19. It was really exciting and the Bronco fans were stunned (So were we):



In overtime the Vikings blew it like they normally do. Our "quarterback" (I put the word quarterback in quotations because I don't think he's a quarterback. He should find a new job. He stinks.) fumbled the ball in our own end and the Broncos kicked a field goal to win it. The Broncos won 22-19. Here's a picture of the "quarterback" doing something stupid just to make me mad:



Our flight out of Denver was delayed but we got to the airport early enough to jump on an earlier flight. It was a quick trip, but it was a lot of fun. Jenny took care of the puppies for us while we were gone. We've been really lucky to have our family members close enough to help us out with different things. It'll be really hard next year when we're farther away from everyone.

Christmas 2007

This year Brianna and I stayed in Utah for Christmas. We really wanted to go up to Idaho, but as a nurse Brianna has to work every other Christmas. Because she didn't work Christmas last year, she had to work it this year. Despite not being in Idaho with our families it was a good experience to have our own Christmas with just us... and Brady and Mia... and eight stinkin' puppies.

Here's our little Christmas tree with all of our presents:

We put out two big bones for the big dogs and eight little bones for the demon puppies:

I forgot to do stocking stuffers until Christmas Eve night. I tried going to the store, but everything was closed (Wal-mart, Target, Smiths, etc.), so I had to improvise. Everything in our stockings came from Maverick:

Brianna got me a lot of cool stuff. The best present was probably the tickets to the Vikings football game this Sunday:

Brianna likes to have themes for each Christmas. Last year her theme for me was football helmets. Here is a picture from last year. In total Brianna got me over 70 helmets last year:

Her theme for me this year was the Minnesota Vikings (my favorite football team). Her is the hat she got me:

That afternoon we made sugar cookies:

Brianna's sugar cookies looked a lot better than mine. I'd rather eat cookies than frost them:

Later that afternoon my family stopped by. Some played with the puppies while the others played Dance Dance Revolution. Then we took our nephews sledding while the dogs pulled them. To see videos and pictures of the dog sledding go to Jenny's blog by clicking here.

Even though we didn't get to go to Idaho we still were able to spend time with family and have a merry Christmas. We missed the Hale family and we hope to go to Idaho soon to be able to spend time with them.

Dance Dance Revolution

For Christmas this year I got Brianna Dance Dance Revolution. I was skeptical at first, but it actually turned out to be really fun. Jenny and John came over on Christmas and we all played.

John was really good:



Jenny needs a little practice, but she has potential:



Jonah was probably the best. He even incorporated somersaults into his dance routine:



The day after Christmas Greg and I had a dance off:



It was a close match, but Greg ended up winning by a slim margin. That's because he's a fairy and dances all of the time anyways:




So whoever comes to visit better bring their dancing shoes and be ready to boogie down.

Las Vegas Bowl 2007: BYU vs. UCLA

Here are some pictures that Brianna took while at the game. She'll blog later about what we actually did during the week while we were down there. I included a lot of her pictures because this was my last game with the team.

Here's me walking on the field before the game. You can see Coach Bronco and Coach Anae to the left:



Here you can see Austin Collie warming up to the left and Max Hall warming up to the right:


Another picture of Bronco and Anae before the game:


This is where the players would enter the field (under the balloons):



Brianna on the sidelines before the game:


The runningbacks warming up. You can see me and Fui Vakapuna (#1):


Me and the runningbacks huddled before the game:


The runnning backs warming up (left to right- Manase Tonga, Harvey Unga, Fui Vakapuna, Issac Taylor, & Joe Semanoff):


Me with a bunch of footballs:


The team warming up. Number 74 is Travis Bright. He would break his leg in this game:


The team warming up:



The scoreboard before the game:


Shawn Hill, me, and John Bramwell:


Manase Tonga waiving the flag as the team runs onto the field:


The next three pictures are of the Haka that the players do before the game:






The game was kind of boring. UCLA went to kick a field goal at the end of the game but we blocked it! The end was really dramatic so it made up for the earlier boring portion. This is a picture taken from the BYU website. To read the article on the game click here. The kick was blocked by both Eathyn Manumaleuna and Brett Denney:



This is the final scoreboard:


Postgame fireworks:




Brett Denney being interviewed following the game:


Bronco on the big screen accepting the Las Vegas Bowl Trophy:


Ben Brown, me, Andrew Mitchell, and Jon Swift (fellow managers):


Me, Brianna, and Dan Czech:


It's been really fun being a part of the BYU football team. I'll really miss it. It'll be weird watching a game from the stands or watching it on T.V. because for the last five seasons that I've been at BYU (2001, 2004-2007) I've had the privaledge of being in the locker room and on the sidelines. Like I said, it's been fun but it's also time to move on.