Football Adventure

Last Saturday we had an adventure . . .

Took a few kids to watch the BYU Cougars defeat the U of A Wildcats.

That stadium is the coolest. I love the huge screens and comfy seats.

And I loved sharing the evening with these monkeys.

Too bad the Cougs couldn't pull off a last-second win this last Saturday.  Doesn't matter too much; still love the Cougars.

If You Like Football . . .

Micah made the transition to the 7-12 school without a hitch. I was expecting it to be hard for him, but he comes home happy every day and practices hard twice a week for the school's flag football team.

Micah has big shoes to fill on the Heritage football field. The boys who are currently seniors were sophomores when Ben played, and they all know the Denton name. That's pressure for a twelve year old.

I don't think it's fazing him, though. He left practice sweaty but proud a few weeks ago, bursting into my office with the news that he'd swatted a pass intended for the starting varsity quarterback.

Now, I don't know how good the pass was. And I don't know what kind of a receiver a quarterback makes, but it gave my little sevvie something to BRAG about. "MOM! I swatted him! And they were all like, 'who is this kid?' and I said, 'Micah Denton,' and they were like, 'Ben's brother?' and I was like, 'Yeah,' and they were like, 'Oh! That makes sense!'" The smile never left his face that day.

All the varsity players who help with his team now call him, "Little Denton." He wears the moniker with pride.

He had a pick 6 in their first game (called back for flag guarding), and the team won in the last minute. It's stupid how much I love watching football . . . especially when played by boys I know and love.

And while I was watching Micah's first game, Eve amused herself with selfies on my phone.

I love this last one. Now that's a face you don't want to see angry, right?

And you all thought she was a sweet little girl with green eyes, right? Wrong.

When Dad's Away

It was our annual Mom/Son weekend. At least that's how I saw it when Brad took Eve on the Daddy/Daughter campout this weekend. Lily had to work and stayed home, but she was so busy that we rarely saw her.

I love these weekends when it's me and just a few of the kids. I let the boys dictate our schedule, and it was testosterone heavy, to be sure.

After stopping at Sonic for Lily (and for dinner and shakes for the boys), we played three rounds of laser tag.

Guess who was the best shot of the three of us? Hyrum. Laser tag is not Mom's favorite activity, but I'd do anything for these two guys.

After laser tag, we made popcorn and watched the first part of Harry Potter 7. The rule in our family is this: before watching the movie, you must read the book. As great as Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the big screen, they're even better when seen through J. K. Rowling's prose. Hyrum just finished #7, so this was the perfect opportunity to watch the movie without excluding Eve. Hyrum falls asleep easy and early (just like his mom), but he had no problem staying up till almost midnight to finish the movie.

Saturday morning (after dropping Lily off at work again), we ate breakfast at Cracker's, their favorite breakfast anywhere.

Then we were off to the next boy thing--BYU FanFest at Pioneer Park. I didn't think the boys would enjoy this much, but I was happily wrong. It was boy HEAVEN.

They tackled the practice dummies like pros . . .

. . . and passed to their favorite receivers.

Coaching staff mingled around and talked with the kids.

They gave passing pointers and showed the boys the best way to stand.

A few photo ops were sprinkled around, and the boys loved wearing the real jerseys and helmets. Micah insisted on an action shot. That boy loves football right now.

Fans lined up for autographs all over the park--there were football players and basketball players, to be sure, but the most popular? Coach Sitake . . .

. . . and the man I wanted to meet, Ty Detmer.

He is the nicest guy ever.

I'm sure his head was pretty sunburned after standing in the AZ sun for hours on end, talking to fans.

We left the park stoked for this next year's season, especially for the BYU/U of A matchup to kick off the season.

I know Dad and Eve had fun camping, but our weekend was the best ever! 

Ketchup, Part 1

I have been so preoccupied with other things that I have missed updating many events of our lives that I don't want to forget--some date all the way back to September. What have I been doing with my time?

Both little boys played flag football this fall. Hyrum was a Cardinal, and he learned a lot this season.

 Mostly he learned how sweaty you get playing football. Check out his hair.

 And some good sportsmanship along the way.

The boys played on the same fields and would sit on the sidelines to cheer each other--and eat shaved ice. These two have been friends since they were born.

 Micah's team struggled with coaching issues, but he still enjoyed  being part of da Bears.

 Plus, two of his best buddies were on his team. That made their losing record a little more bearable. (No pun intended)

Micah went on his first Boy Scout overnighter, and I couldn't resist snapping this shot as they were waiting to leave. I can't wait to compare this photo to one I plan to take xix years from now when they're all graduating from high school.

 As my family gets smaller, I realize I won't always need to shop for food like this. I took this picture as I unloaded the Suburban after a joint trip to Sam's Club and to Fry's. That's a lot of food, right?

 One day (sooner than I think), I will look back on these shopping trips with fondness, I'm sure.

BYU Homecoming, Part 2--The Game

After spending a great day together with all of the kids, the older part of our family (if you can count Hyrum as older) headed to LaVell Edwards Stadium to watch the Cougars play the East Carolina Pirates.

The weather was perfect for us AZ fans--shirt sleeves until the sun went down, then a sweatshirt was plenty warm enough.

The game started out well--Cougars ahead--until Tanner Mangum hurt his hamstring and had to be pulled out.

At that point, I turned to Brad and said, "You watch. If they get in trouble, Mangum will be back."

Turns out I was right. Mangum entered the game for the last series, threw for a touchdown, then hobbled back to the bench.

Whew. Cougars pulled it out at the last minute.

Homecoming Weekend

 It was homecoming weekend at Lily's school, and I was asked to help with a lunch-hour Fear Factor activity.

First challenge--two kids from each class ate a pizza as fast as they could. Lily volunteered for that assignment (she's in navy).

 But the juniors beat them out.

Next challenge was marshmallow stuffing--blindfolded.

And the final challenge--one member of each class volunteered to consume an entire Happy Meal (burger, fries, apples, and chocolate milk) that had been pureed.

 Yeah. It was as nasty as it sounds.

Only two kids managed to get the entire thing down, and there was much gagging and choking in the process. Ew.

The kids had a great time, and I was glad I got to help.

Later that day, some of her friends came over for a quick dinner before attending the JV and Varsity football games. One of her friends allowed Lily to apply henna (from her trip to India) around his arm.

 Don't think I would have been that brave.

Why they all ended up on the floor, I don't know . . .

JV played their sister school (Heritage Gateway), whose principal is the former head coach at Heritage Mesa (he was Ben's coach). It was a competitive game, with both sides wanting to take that victory. I've missed using my cool lens to take pics at football games, so I pulled it out.

One of Lily's friends took two really hard hits, and after the game was over and he was examined by a doctor, he was diagnosed with a concussion and bruised ribs.

They played hard, but the other team had one really good drive and ended up winning 14-6. Heartbreaker. Varsity made up for it with a 66-0 win.

Man, I've missed high school football. Made me miss Ben even more, watching the game and being in the stands.

What is it about high school football that I just love?