Graduation

Last Friday, my sweetheart graduated from BYU with a major in Italian and a minor in Communications. He has worked so hard and has almost straight A's. I am so proud of him! I kept telling him that over and over. He said that graduation is silly and just a formality. He also feels like it isn't really over because he starts again in the fall. I don't think that it has hit him yet. It probably won't until we are back in Buffalo and he has to watch a BYU football game on TV.

Again, I am so proud of him. He has managed to do the football stuff and Sportsman's Warehouse and go to school and get good grades and deal with me! He is such a great man. I swear he can do everything well. It almost drives me crazy. He is just too perfect, and such a hard worker. I am excited to see where he goes in life and what he accomplishes. I know that no matter what he decides to do that he will be successful. I mean look at everything he has done so far in life! I love him so much and I am astonished and proud of him. And most of all, I am grateful for him and all that he does.

Here we are before.




Here is Spencer walking across the stage.



Here is the stage and all of the professors.



Here we are after the ceremony. I bought Spencer some leis. He gave two of them away (that is just like him...he felt bad for other people and gave them away). I gave him the nut kind and the other one is green, red, and white which are the colors of the Italian flag. Spencer's parents have a similar picture of at graduation with the "Y" in the background.



Here we are again. Spencer liked this picture the best because we are doing what we always do...cuddle.



And here he is with his parents. We were so grateful that they came all the way down to see him graduate. They are so proud of him, too. It was really fun for me to sit with his mom and talk. We usually don't have much time to do that.



We went to dinner at Macaroni Grill afterword. Spencer's parents treated us, which was much too generous. It was really, really fun! We have never had the opportunity to go to dinner with just them and us as couples. What an awesome experience! I really enjoyed myself. I hope that we can spend more time together in the future and get to know each other better.

Jazz Game

Last Thursday (yeah, a week ago...we've been busy), Spencer and I went to a Jazz Playoff Game. The Jazz were playing game 3 against the Houston Rockets. Utah had won the first two games in Houston and were now coming to home-court to play game three. Our friend, Dan, had tickets but wasn't able to go due to a work softball game. He offered to sell the tickets to us and we agreed. So we went.

It was a really close game the whole time. It was really exciting and it was fun to be there with just the two of us. When we first got there, they were giving away white tee-shirts that said "One Team, One Dream." I guess that it the theme for this years playoffs.

It was fight to the very end, and sadly, the Jazz lost in the last seconds. It was very disappointing and frustrating. But there was still another home game to play before going back to Houston, so there was a lot of hope.

This is warm-up.



This is the crowd all in white. Last year, they gave away light blue shirts. I liked that a whole lot better. But it is still nice that they gave us the shirts and that most everyone was wearing them. They would put the people who weren't wearing them up on the big TV above the court and had writing that said to put the shirt on. It was funny.



This is a drum line on garbage cans that they did between quarters or in a time out or something. I liked it. My other favorite was when they did a singing-bee, where someone would karaoke for a little while to a familiar song, and then they would stop putting the words on the TV and the person would have to sing the words correctly to get a prize. I like karaoke.




This is the final score of the game. 94-92, Houston. Sad.




And here is me and my baby at the game.

Meet Bill

This is Bill.

He was given to us by Bentley, Max, Jonah, and Ruby. They made him at the build a bear workshop in the mall.

Here Bill is in his Buffalo Bills football uniform.

He also has a birth certificate.

We're going to miss the Jenny and her family, but at least we have Bill now to remind us of them.

Watch Out Buffalo, Here We Come

So after months of deliberating about what to do and where to go....we finally decided. We are moving to Buffalo, New York in May or June.


Spencer got a position working for the NFL Buffalo Bills. It is a good offer. He also got an offer from the San Francisco 49ers, but they didn't offer as good of a position. So we went with Buffalo. We are both really excited. This is a dream come true for Spencer.

Here is the stadium.




The main reason that we chose Buffalo is because everything seemed to fall into place there. Actually, the funny thing is that in February I gave Spencer a list of cities and schools where both of our programs were offered. I told him to look it over because we probably needed to apply to more schools to increase our options. He said back then that he felt good about Buffalo for some reason. After that, he found out that his program was really good in Buffalo. And I found out that my program was really good. Then he found out that there was this job opening with the Bills, and he applied. When all of those things ended up working out, the choice seemed obvious.

Spencer is planning to attend Canisius for graduate school this fall. He will be working towards a Master's Degree in Athletic/Sports Administration. He may also get his MBA, we haven't decided on that yet. The program that Spencer will be enrolled in includes classes for an MBA, so it wouldn't take him much longer to finish that degree as well. This would also be useful to him in his career.

The Canisius mascot is a griffin. His name is Petey. I think that he looks funny and not very ferocious.

Here is some information about Canisius.

Canisius College is one of 28 Jesuit colleges in the nation and is consistently ranked among the top regional colleges in the Northeast.

Founded in 1870 by German Jesuits, Canisius College is named for St. Peter Canisius, a renowned Dutch educator and one of the original members of the Society of Jesus. What began in a single building in downtown Buffalo now consists of 65 buildings located on 40 acres in a residential neighborhood in North-Central Buffalo.

Mission:
Canisius College is proud to share in the Jesuit heritage, which offers students a highly personalized education solidly based in the liberal arts that emphasizes the development of the whole person. Canisius prepares leaders – intelligent, caring, faithful individuals – able to pursue and promote excellence in their professions, their communities and their service to humanity.

Enrollment:
Undergraduate – 3,591 Full-time – 3,310, Part-time – 281
Graduate – 1,388 Full-time – 691, Part-time – 697
Total number of students – 4,979
42 percent male 58 percent female
35 states represented
22 foreign countries represented

Canisius ranked 25th in the US News and World Report 2005 rankings of Best Universities-Master’s North. The jump of eight positions, from 33 to 25, is the largest jump by any school in the tier.

Here are some pictures of the campus.

I am planning to attend the University at Buffalo, which is a State University of New York (SUNY) college. I will be going to get my masters in nurse anesthesia (CRNA). I probably won't start until next year, but I am still excited. Our mascot is a bull named Victor E. Bull (victory bull, ha ha). He looks ferocious.

And here is a picture of campus. I am really excited to live there in the autumn. I have always wanted to be back east when all of the deciduous trees change colors.

We want to thank everyone for your patience and support while we have been making this difficult decision. Sorry we kept you all waiting so long. We are really going to miss everyone and we hope that in our last few months here we will be able to spend quality time with our family and friends. We also hope that the distance between us won't change how close we are. We love you all and hopefully we can stay in touch and visit often.

Emo Side Project

So I have heard some songs on the radio by a group Emo Side Project. The problem is that I can't actually find their music anywhere. They are a group from somewhere in Texas. And I really like their music, but it can't be found in stores or online or anywhere. It isn't even on i-tunes. I am frustrated. If anyone can help, I would appreciate it.

This is my favorite song. It's called Twitterpated.

i know those thing you say will make my every day
we'll be together for tonight and i hope
you'll be close to me you're my everything
i’ll fall in love with you again and again

if i could tell you one more thing
i’d tell you that i love you
and i want to hold you
kiss you all over
and we'll be together
and i’ll be so twitterpated

i’ll hold your hand and
sing you every song i wrote for you
i’d do you hair until
you fall asleep on my lap
and sing right back to me
you're my everything
i’ll sign our names upon this moon tonight

if i could tell you one more thing
i’d tell you that i love you
and i want to hold you
and kiss you all over
and we'll be together forever

i’ll love you till the day i die
and whisper words you'd wanna hear
and i love you so much baby
you’re my perfect lady
i'm so lost in this dream

Alphabet Beej

A-Attached or Single? Attached.

B-Best Friend? Spencer and Kar.

C-Cake or Pie? Cake, most of the time.

D-Day of Choice? Sunday. It is the only day that Spencer and I might get to be together. And Lazy Sunday....what more can I say....

E-Essential Item? Deodorant, contacts, toothbrush. I don't know... I freak out without my wedding band...

F-Favorite Color? Blue or green.

G-Gummy bears or worms? It depends. Probably worms, unless cinnamon bears was an option.

H-Hometown? IF

I-Favorite Indulgence? Cuddling.

J-January or July? July. I love the Fourth of July. And after surviving it in Arizona, anywhere else is perfect temperature for me.

K-Kids? Do dogs count?? How about husbands??

L-Life isn't complete without? My sweetheart.

M-Marriage date? June 23, 2006

N-Number of brothers and sisters? three hot sisters

O-Oranges or apples? Apples. I like them both, but I have a hard time with the texture of oranges. Plus oranges are harder to eat. I really love a sour, green apple. Yum.

P-Phobia or fears? I am scared of suffocating or drowning. More specifically being buried alive. The whole process of consciously dying does not sound fun to me.

Q-Quote? All that jelly and no toast!

R-Reason to smile? I am moving and won't have to deal with work drama anymore...

S-Season of choice? Spring.

T-Tag 3 people: No.

U-Unknown facts about me? I was on the debate team in high school to get my speech credit. I had to compete to pass the class. So I went to the competition and totally won. I even got a big trophy.

V-Vegetable? I love veggies. My favorite is cauliflower, then broccoli, then cabbage, then lettuce, then spinach.... However, I do NOT like beets, zucchini (unless it is made into bread), yams, or sweet potatoes.

W-Worst habit? Biting my cheeks and nails. I also clench my jaw a lot.

X-X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound. They can be therapeutic.

Y-Your favorite food? Bean burritos.

Z-Zodiac sign? Capricorn.

Astrologers broadly agree that the following are the characteristics of Capricorn: The Capricorn person is prudent, responsible, realistic, very wise, formal, patient, methodical, disciplined, traditional, cautious, conventional, hard-working, polite, persevering, ambitious, dedicated, focused, honest, dependable, serious, self-reliant, businesslike, career-oriented, authoritative, conscientious, and competent.

Likes — Romance, loyalty, feeling secure, financial/material stability, ambitious mates, feeling committed, making long term relationship plans, dependability, reliability, perseverance.

Dislikes — Flightiness, being bossed around, crudeness/coarseness, dominance, game playing, ego displays, extravagance, being challenged by a lover, indecisiveness.

Suitable occupations often cited are - any capacity of authority, doctor, lawyer, accountant, politician, teacher, principal, engineer, farmer, anything math related

Physical traits
Many astrologers believe that each sign of the zodiac has identifiable physical traits. Some find that physically, individuals born under the sign of Capricorn tend to have dark hair, steady eyes, a dark complexion, capable hands, and prominent cheekbones.

NCAA Basketball Championship

Last night was the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game. It was between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Memphis Tigers. It was played in San Antonio, Texas. This was probably the most exciting championship game that I have ever seen. What a game!! The whole game was exciting, well played, and very close scoring. I couldn't have asked for more. There was excellent demonstrations of athleticism by these guys last night. There was a lot of good passing and shooting and even showy things like ally-oops and slam-dunks. I was completely entertained.

The only thing lacking was free throws. That is what cost Memphis the game. It has been a weakness for them throughout this tournament, and it came back to bite them in the booty. With the way that Memphis was at the free-throw line, you would think that they were playing with bricks. Memphis missed four of five free throws that would have put the game and the title out of reach. The Tigers led by nine points with 2:12 remaining. They still held a three-point lead with 10 seconds left. And they let the game get away from them in overtime of the 75-68 loss to the Jayhawks

With 10.8 seconds on the clock, Derrick Rose from Memphis was fouled and had two shots. The score was 62-60, with Memphis up by two. If he made both free-throws, it would become a two possession game, making it impossible to tie. If he made one, then only a three-point shot would send them into overtime. His first shot hit the rim and fell off. He made the second, but the one miss gave Kansas its opportunity to tie.



Kansas had the ball with no timeouts, trailing by three, and with the 10.8 seconds left to make that three-point shot. It was Collins who pushed the ball downcourt, going just fast enough so that the Tigers couldn't foul him and take away the chance to attempt the needed 3-pointer and basically end the game. Sherron Collins handed off to Mario Chalmers at the top of the 3-point line, and Chalmers took the shot. It hit nothing but net and tied the score at 63. Overtime.

Kansas dominated in overtime. Every player made a point in overtime. It was a well-deserved win by Kansas. They won 75-68. Only Chris Douglas-Roberts made points for Memphis. They missed rebounds and just didn't play well enough in overtime.




The Story of Miracle Mario (taken from ESPN news)

The shot that saved a season took just a moment -- a Shining Moment, you could say. After hitting the biggest Final Four jumper since Keith Smart's in 1987, Mario Chalmers summoned his mother, Almarie, down from the Alamodome stands to courtside. The unflappable Kansas Jayhawk wrapped both arms around her, laid his head on her shoulder and bawled like a baby.
She pumped her left arm. He wouldn't let go.
"We did it, Mom," Chalmers said between sobs.
"A dream come true," Almarie said later, her own eyes glistening. "A prayer answered. We've been waiting on this moment since he was 2."
This moment -- this Shining Moment -- was almost preordained four years earlier, when Mario went to the Final Four in this same building with his dad, current Kansas director of basketball operations Ronnie Chalmers. They watched Connecticut beat Georgia Tech for the title, and Ronnie remembers one spectacular play from that game when he jumped to his feet but Mario remained in his chair.
"What's wrong?" Ronnie asked his son.
"I'm thinking," Mario said.
"What are you thinking about?"
"One day," Mario said, "I'm going to be out there winning the national championship."
That goal guided the Chalmers family from Alaska to Kansas three years ago. It guided them to this game and ultimately to this moment -- this Shining Moment -- that rescued Kansas from near-certain defeat and gave the 2008 NCAA tournament its signature.
Chalmers' shot capped the Jayhawks' steely nine-point comeback in the final 2:12 of regulation on their way to a 75-68 overtime triumph. It was the blow that broke an excellent Tigers squad -- a Tigers squad that turned the school's first championship into a stunning championship choke.
"You have a lead like that," coach John Calipari said, "you're supposed to win the game."
The emotional whiplash that followed Chalmers' 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining will be felt for years on both campuses. Memphis will always love a team that finished 38-2 -- but always wince at the way it unraveled at the very end. And giddy Kansas now has another name to add to its list of all-time heroes: Clyde Lovellette, Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning …
Mario Chalmers.
"It will probably be the biggest shot in Kansas history," coach Bill Self said.
"It's great for a parent to see their son's dream come true. … You've got to think about it every day the rest of your life. This is the moment."
One Shining Moment.



The Jayhawks won the championship for the first time in 20 years. And they deserved it. They played the best last night.

"Being up seven, being down nine, being up two, down five, going to overtime," Kansas center Cole Aldrich said. "We fought it out, and it's surreal. It's nuts."

This game was not about coaches or side stories, though. It was about the game, and what a dandy it was -- a well-needed reprieve from a more-or-less blah tournament in which 42 of 63 games were decided by double digits. This was the first overtime in the title game since 1997, when Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79.



What a great way to finish this year's March Madness. I was somewhat disappointed in this year. Most of the games were blowouts and I'm really disappointed that ALL of the number one seed teams made the Final Four. That really bothers me.

Spencer and I were in charge of the brackets for our group of friends. Here is our Bracket of Truth, which says how the tournament went. Doing these with Spencer has been one of my favorite pastimes. I like highlighting and crossing out and seeing who is in what place. I have no idea why it is so much fun to me, but it is. I especially like to do it with Spencer. It's weird, I know, but I just go with it.



And now...the news that we all have been waiting for. The standings.


Dan D. 74
Toby 72
Dave 71
JP 71
Lisa 71
Thatcher 70
Karissa 69
Dan C. 65
Brianna 63
Spencer 62
Jenny 61
Mark 60
Jorden 56
Troy 34

The winner is Dan Ditto!! Yay dirty little homeless monkey!





This is the first year that a girl has not won. I was really hoping that Lisa would win. She got very close, but just not quite there.

I am always sad when March Madness is over. It is fun and I like to be competitive with the brackets (especially with Spencer...notice that I beat him, AGAIN). But I always manage to survive without it. The nice thing about sports is that they have spaced the exciting parts of the season out so that there is always something new of interest to replace the thing that just ended. For example, now we are going to be focused on NBA playoffs. So I bid March Madness a fond farewell. Until next year.

By the way, we are still going to do brackets next year even though we aren't living here. Distance does not mean that we stop sacred traditions.

Also of note, the boys play anther bracket game with Dave's dad. He wins every year. Guess what....he won yet again. Congrats Mark! We need to pick a playoff game to take you to...

In addition, we want to thank Dan and Jorden for having us over to their house again. We watched the game at their house with our other friends Dave and Brooke and Dan Ditto. It was really fun. I love to watch all of the guys together. They used to be roommates, and they are hilarious when you get them all together. They have a lot of inside jokes and it is so funny. It was extra funny for me because I am still on drugs for my kidney pain. I had a really good time. And I keep getting really sad about not living near you guys anymore...