If I Only Had a Brain

Rugby

Definition: Sport from England where players in a team of 15 attempt to score points by touching an ovid ball to the ground in the area past their opponent's territory known as the tryline or kicking the ball between goalposts and over a cross bar

Translation: Recreational activity from England where players, exhibiting irrationality and mental unsoundness, in a team of 15 attempt to score points by exerting brutal force against their opponents. (without the use of helmets or pads...which is where the irrationality & mental unsoundness come in!!!)

Example 1: Yes, they are running at each other at full speed....hmmmm....those are my husband's legs you can see peeking out through the midst of the bodies!


Example 2: Yes, that is my husband with the ball getting ready to pass it behind him to on of his other mentally unsound teammates before he is trampled and crushed!!

But really, I have grown to LOVE Rugby! (And not just because of the sweet short shorts!!! Ooh baby!! I remember the time when James was embarassed of the shorty shorts but the next thing you know, he is showing off his upper thigh wherever he can...at the grocery store, gas station... DMV!! Yes, I did say the DMV!!)
But Rugby is way fun! It definitely gets in your blood and I was excited to get to cheer on my husband again in the Utes vs. Utes Alumni game. James' eligibility was up last spring so he played on the alumni team against his younger brother and the present Utah Rugby team. The Utes were talking a lot of heat before the game only to be completely humiliated by the Out-of-Shape Alumni players in a 44-18 victory!! James only managed to bruise his pinky finger and thumb (what worries me is that he isn't sure when it happened!!!) while his poor little brother got a concussion! YIKES!

Rugby... Gotta Love It!!!

Keep Holding On...

Just over 2 weeks ago on August 28th, I woke up to a phone call from my mom telling me that my sisters Fiance, Chad Pierson, had been killed in a car accident 2 days before their wedding on their ranch in Montana.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/08/29/news/10fatal.txt
We were devastated to say the least and flew to Montana as planned to be there as a family for Christina. We spent the weekend together, along with Chad's family and friends and even planted a Silver Maple tree in the front yard of their home in honor of Chad. We helped a little but noticed most of the ranch hands watched as the "city folks" did most of the work!!! It is a beautiful tree and every time Christina looks out her bedroom window she will see it standing firm and hopefully help to give her the strength she needs to get through losing her best friend. The numbness and shock had not worn off by the day of the funeral, Wednesday September 3rd, but Christina needed to begin her healing process without everyone around so reluctantly we all left by September 4th. Since then she has been strong and is taking life day by day. Her advice to James and I is to never fight over the little things because in the big picture the little things are meaningless. Thanks Christina, we love you!!

After flying home from Montana I wasn't sure if I should still go on a Girls Trip I had planned with my James' mom Becky, sister Melissa and soon-to-be sister-in-law Bree Hansen to Disney World so soon after leaving my grieving sister in Montana. Becky told me that she had actually had a family trip to Disney World planned and decided that, although it was one day after her own father's funeral, they still went and it was the best thing for her in that circumstance. So I decided to go and ended up having a great time! The weather was beautiful, the company lovely, and it was the perfect getaway after such an emotional week! We stayed in the Boardwalk Villas that are just the best to stay in anytime you visit Disney World! I love the 1920's-1950's and it is totally themed for that time and it is just... Relaxing! We went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Wednesday Night and there was NO ONE in the Magic Kingdom!! We walked right on to every ride and we watched the parade and fireworks and it was just so nice to not have a million people around!! Early September is the perfect time to go! We also hit our favorite restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios the Brown Derby as well as the fun rides in that park and then also went into Epcot for a few hours but mostly we slept in, laid in the sun by the pool drinking Shirley Temples and Pink Pony Lemonades and read great books and relaxed... Oh, and shopped of course!! And while I was gone my cute husband flew to Lagoona Beach for a work conference and stayed at the Surf & Sand Resort right on the beach...literally... so he also got a good break from reality for a few days!! Although I wish we would have been away from reality together instead of 3 time-zones apart!!

We got home yesterday and now I am just getting my life back in order to start working and going to school again after 2 and a half weeks off. I attended my first Utah Rugby game of the season today so that helped get me back into the swing of things but I am still reluctant to get too motivated... I still want to enjoy the next 2 days before the dreaded Monday!!! So much to do for both work and school that I almost don't know where to start but that's life!!! I will just keep holding on for the ride!!!