Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Making Family a Tradition

As the father of three beautiful children I have tried to make Christmas extra special by doing those extra little things that will help create memories throughout their lifetimes. Christmas is a magical time for young children and it is up to us fathers to make sure and do those things that we can to make it a memorable time. Our wives and mothers have a knack for making everything special throughout the year and have many opportunities to serve our children. Christmas is one time that fathers can take a larger role in doing something special and fun for their children.

My love for Christmas started for me as a young boy. My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of year and he made it very special for me and my four other siblings. The very minute that Thanksgiving ended my dad was pulling out what felt like hundreds of Christmas boxes full of decorations, lights, and many other Christmas items. While pulling out all of these wonderful decorations my dad would dust off his old Bing Crosby “White Christmas” record and put it on our ancient record player. I can still hear the record player churning out those Christmas songs in my mind and picture myself plugging in and testing the endless strands of Christmas lights. I start to feel nostalgic every year on the day after Thanksgiving.

My dad would string up lights on the house, have us kids help set up the nativity sets, put decorations on the mantle, hang up our stockings, and spend the whole night on the day after Thanksgiving making the house a Christmas wonderland. He would even boil cloves and apples to give the house a wonderful Christmas scent. It was a special day every year and as a little boy I would anticipate this day as much as Christmas Day itself.

In the week following the decoration of the house, we would make our way to the Christmas tree lot in town to find a Christmas tree. This wasn’t a lot where you just picked out a tree that was already cut down. This was a large field full of trees that were still in the ground. We were so excited to pick the perfect tree and thrilled with the opportunity to actually cut it down and tie it to the top of our car. We often flocked the tree making it appear as if snow were covering the tree. We then would take it in the house and start the tree decorating process. My mom would make fresh baked cookies or hot cinnamon rolls while we helped our dad string the lights on the tree, hang the little icicle strands, tinsel, and hundreds of other ornaments. My dad would make this night special, too, by playing more of his records, and later on reading us Christmas books.

My dad instilled in me a love for the holiday time of year. He taught me that it was a time for the kids. I am sure he saved extra money all year to be able to make this time special for us and do things to enjoy the whole month of December, not just Christmas Day.

It’s not the presents and the gifts that I remember the most, it’s that day after Thanksgiving spent with my dad hanging lights outside; it’s that night helping my dad decorate the tree; it’s that night he read us kids ‘Twas the Night before Christmas; it’s that afternoon picking out a tree and helping my dad cut it down; it’s the wonderful smell of the house and the sound of old Christmas records; it’s the happy feeling inside I had knowing that my dad loved me enough to do the extra little things to make Christmas a special time to remember.

When your children want to go for a drive to see Christmas lights this year, take them. When your children want to go cut down a real tree this year, take them. When your children want you to read them Christmas books at night, read to them. When your kids want to make a snowman, help them. You will never regret doing too much for them or spending too much time with them.

Make this year’s Christmas special. A father can offer a lot to his children and Christmas is a great time to start making memories that will last forever.

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Monday, November 24, 2008

The Cougars Get Ran over by the Runnin’ Utes and the Packers at the Saints

BYU traveled to Salt Lake City this weekend to take on the University of Utah. The stands were flooded with red shirts and thousands of crazy fans cheering on the Utes. The Cougars had their fans spread out with Cougar blue shirts on hoping that BYU could take one in Rice Eccles Stadium. BYU would have no luck this year as they went on to lose by a lopsided score of 48-24 to the fired up Utes.

The first half of the game was very close with the score a manageable 27-17 lead for Utah going into the half. The Cougars running game looked great with over 200 yards rushing on the night and 3 touchdowns. Their passing game was just the opposite with Max Hall giving up 5 costly interceptions and 1 fumble for a total of 6 turnovers for the Cougars. He was held out of the end zone and barely had over 200 yards passing. It turned out to be the worst game of his career at BYU. He was not able to get the rhythm going in the passing game. The Runnin’ Utes shut down the vaunted BYU passing game and forced them to resort to the running game which BYU ran with great success. The only problem being as the Cougars got behind by too many points they had to keep resorting back to the passing game where there was no success at all. The game turned out to be a rout in the second half with Utah getting most of their interceptions in this part of the game and turning on their own passing game with Brian Johnson throwing for over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns.

It was an ugly game for BYU and was disappointing considering the great season that they had this year. They will now most likely receive a bowl game invite and somehow get over this loss so that they can play in December and win one last game this year. Max Hall has one more year left in his college career and with a lot of key players returning can be a top QB again the college ranks. He should learn a lot from this experience and will hopefully come out even better next year because of it. The BYU-Utah annual rivalry is in Provo next year and all I can say is look out Utah Utes, because next time the only running you will be doing, is in the other direction.


The Packers will go into New Orleans tonight to play the Saints in a Monday Night Football showdown. This game features 2 of the best offenses in the game and will surely be a joy to watch. I expect the packers to come out on top due to their superior defensive backfield and their emerging running game. The Saints are missing many of their start players on defense and will be suspect against the Packers deadly passing game.

I am predicting that the Packers will come out and score quickly and take this game by a score of 38-28. The Saints will hang close but in the end the Packers will be victorious and the only ones singing the blues will be the fans in New Orleans.

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Friday, November 21, 2008

How to Make the Perfect Turkey

Thanksgiving is a day to watch football, get together as family, eat great food, and most important of all—eat turkey. It is vital that the turkey is cooked to perfection as this is usually the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal in most homes. I have cooked turkeys for a long time now and have discovered a recipe and method that has drawn many great reviews from family, friends, and others who have partaken of my roasted turkey.

• It is very important to thaw out your turkey in plenty of time before the big Thanksgiving Day. It is best to thaw out the turkey in the fridge or in a bath tub full of cold water. Make sure and change the water every few hours when using the bath method. If the turkey is not thawed sufficiently then it will make for uneven cooking making the outside over-cooked and the insides under-cooked.
• Once you have thawed the turkey out and have removed the insides, rinse it off and pat with paper towels.
• When the turkey is dried off, rub the whole body with real butter with your hands. Use a generous amount and make sure it is completely coated on the skin. Once the bird is covered in butter, you are ready to add the seasonings.
• Use Grill Mates dry rub for the seasonings on the turkey. You can find this in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. There are different flavors of seasonings (my favorite is Montreal steak). Choose whatever flavor you would like and rub it onto the skin and into the butter. Make sure and use generous amounts to cover the turkey completely and rub into the skin as much as possible.
• Once the turkey is covered in butter and seasonings, put into an oven bag which helps to keep the moisture and heat in the turkey and cooks it faster and better. The directions will be in the oven bag box.
• Put the turkey in the oven and cook for the amount of time listed on the oven bag instructions. Make sure and put several small holes on the top side of the turkey bag for some of the air to release from the bag.
• Once the turkey has finished cooking, let is sit for about 15 or 20 minutes to let the meat set up and the juices to settle into the meat. This also makes it easier to slice.
• To carve the turkey, it is important to use an electric knife. The electric knife makes for a better cut and is much quicker than with a regular knife. Start with removing the drum sticks and remove extra meat on the sides to make it easy to cut the breast on each side of the turkey.
• Cut the breast slices in large uniform slices with some of the seasoned skin on the edge of each slice if possible.
• Finish carving the turkey and place it on a large platter in a uniform pattern.
• The final touch is to sprinkle some of the grill mates seasoning on all of the slices (not too much, but enough to give it a little more flavor).

Hope you enjoy this recipe. This turkey should draw some great compliments.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to take some time to think of all the things that you are thankful for- including a great roasted turkey.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

The Cougars Continue to Win and the Packers Send the Bears into Hibernation

BYU continues their winning ways with a 38-24 over the Air Force Falcons. The Cougars continued to use their air arsenal duo of Max Hall and Austin Collie to put up a lot of points against the Falcons. Hall finished the game with over 350 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, while Collie continues to impress with 7 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. Week in and week out these 2 are virtually unstoppable. The BYU running game got into the act as well with a total of 143 yards total rushing with Harvey Unga leading the way with 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Cougars defense only had 1 sack and 1 interception but was able to clamp down on the Falcons enough to hold them off from mounting a come back at the end of the game. BYU’s defense continues to do just enough each week to win the high scoring shootouts. Next week’s matchup against the University of Utah will present the toughest test this season for BYU.

In what will be one of the best matchups of the year in college football, BYU will travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Runnin’ Utes of Utah on Saturday Nov 22nd. The Utes are currently ranked in 8th place while BYU continues to hold on to their 16th place in the weekly AP poll. Utah continues to impress with their undefeated season and big wins while BYU has only lost one game to a great TCU squad and has really impressed with their high scoring passing game. Utah has the better defense and BYU has the better offense. This game comes down to the comparison of the BYU defense and the Utah offense. I believe this game will be high scoring and very close. I think the Cougars will come out running to try and open up the passing game for Hall and Collie. I expect these 2 players to have a great game and will score just enough points to win one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football.
I think the Cougars will win this one by a score of 38-34. The Utes try to move down the field in the final minutes but fall short of mounting a comeback. BYU knocks them out of the BCS rankings and relishes in this big win.

The Packers hosted the Bears in what turned out to be one of the biggest blow outs in a while in this huge rivalry. The Packers won this by a score of 37-3. Chicago had previously won the Packers 3 times on the “Frozen Tundra” (Lambeau Field) in Green Bay. This time the Packers would be ready and prepared to put a stop to the Bears winning streak. The Packers would push the Bear’s defense around to gain 200 yards on the ground being led by Ryan Grant who had 145 of those yards and 1 touchdown. Aaron Rodgers had a great game of his own with 227 yards and 2 personal touchdowns. The Packers kicker, Mason Crosby, had a good game with 3 field goals to redeem himself from last week’s potential game winner miss. The Packers defense held the Bears to only 3 points and 240 total yards.

This was a win that the Packers really needed after losing the last 2 very close games. The Pack now heads to New Orleans to take on the Saints in a Monday night game. This will be a great game that should be high scoring that will feature a lot of great plays and players. The offenses on these teams are about equal but the Packers defense is much better than the Saints which would mean that the Packers should be able to win this game. I am predicting the Packers to win this one by a score of 38-28.

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Friday, November 14, 2008

Thanksgiving Activities

Thanksgiving is a great holiday to get together with family and enjoy a wonderful meal together and then spend an afternoon doing fun activities which help to strengthen relationships with some of those relatives that you may not see as often throughout the year. Here are 5 different ideas of fun activities and things that you can do after you are done eating that final piece of pumpkin pie.

1. Watch the Cowboys football game. Other than turkey, the thing most associated with Thanksgiving is football. The Dallas Cowboys play in the annual afternoon football game that starts after most people’s Thanksgiving meals are finishing up. There isn’t anything more bonding for men than to watch a good football game together. This also helps to get the men out of the way of the women so they can accomplish the projects they enjoy working on.

2. Cards, Scrapbooking, and Crafts. Women love to get together and create things and visit while they are working. I have seen this many times over the years since I have been married to my wife. Her family makes cards and crafts once the Thanksgiving feast has been finished. They clear the tables and sit out their card making equipment, pictures for scrapbooking, and other various crafts.
This also helps the men to get the women out of the way so they can watch their football game without interruption.

3. Board Games and other Games. The kids need something to do after Thanksgiving so that the men and women can do their thing. In my family we set out a whole bunch of board games and play with the kids and let them play by themselves. We also let them play dress up and other little games. The kids love seeing their cousins and playing together all afternoon long.

4. Shooting Guns. My wife’s family is not the sports fanatics that mine is, so the men shoot their shotguns at clay pigeons and target shoot following the big dinner. They enjoy being outside and watching each other miss (I mean hit) the target and clay pigeons.

5. Watch a Movie. One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving night is to put in a good movie, start a warm fire, pour up a cup of steaming hot cocoa, curl up on the couch, and put in a good movie to enjoy after the kids have gone to sleep.

While doing these activities we should remember how lucky we are to have a wonderful family to be together with, how lucky we are to have the freedoms we do, and also all of the blessings that we receive each and every day of our lives.

Make your Thanksgiving a fun one with the activities listed above and make sure that
you don’t eat too much food, because your New Year’s resolutions are coming up.

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Monday, November 10, 2008

BYU gets Back on Track and the Packers Lose another Nail-Biter

The Cougars hosted the Aztecs of San Diego State this past Saturday. The players surely wanted to show the fans that they were ready to play this week and wouldn’t settle for another close finish. They finished off the Aztecs by a score of 41-12 making it a third consecutive unbeaten season at home. Max Hall was back at it throwing for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. Austin Collie was yet again his favorite target catching 9 balls for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. I doubt there is a better QB-WR combination in the league than Hall and Collie. They have been phenomenal this season.

BYU showed San Diego State no mercy by going up 20-0 at the end of the first half. At the end of the third quarter BYU was up 27-6 and then put up 14 more in the final quarter to end at 41-12. The Cougars running game looked impressive gaining over a hundred yards led by Harvey Unga with 37 yards. The Cougar defense also looked impressive with a first half shutout and holding the Aztecs to only 12 points for the entire game.

This was a game that BYU sorely needed to gain their confidence back. It was a great way to finish the last home game for the season. Three straight years without losing at home is very impressive and probably has not been accomplished by many other programs in college football. BYU has 2 more games left this season with next week at Air Force and then the big finale with the University of Utah, which looks to be one of the biggest and best games in years for this great rivalry. First, I need to pick the game against the Falcons of Air Force. This is a classic trap game for BYU after a big win at home and huge game coming up after this one against the Utes. Games like this are hard for teams because they look ahead to the big game and they might be coming down after the emotional win at home. I think Coach Mendenhall will keep his players focused and they will come out victorious against Air Force by a score of 31-20.


Green Bay fell short by a field goal for the second straight week. Last week they lost to Tennessee in overtime by a Tennessee field goal and this week was a similar fate but the Packers were the ones trying for the field goal and missing at the end of regulation losing to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 28-27. The Packers offense struggled in this game and couldn’t get much going through the air or on the ground. Aaron Rodgers gave up 2 safeties in the opening half based largely on the Vikings ferocious defense led by Jared Allen. At the end of the first half Green Bay was trailing 14-10 in what was a classic defensive battle in the first. Green Bay had 2 interceptions in the first half and Minnesota had 2 safeties and a couple of sacks.


In the second half of the game Green Bay got 2 quick touchdowns- one on an interception return by safety Nick Collins and the other on a punt return by Will Blackmon. The Packers would take the lead by a score of 24-21 with only 1 quarter left.
Green Bay would score a field goal to go up 27-21 with only a few minutes left in the game. The Vikings marched down the field and scored on an Adrian Peterson 29 yard touchdown scamper to put the Vikings back up 28-27. Green Bay then got the ball with 2 minutes to go and moved it all the way to the Minnesota 35 yard line with seconds remaining on the clock. The packers kicker, Mason Crosby, lined up for the winning field goal and kicked the ball toward the goal post having it fade wide right by a few inches and missing the go ahead score for the Packers. This was an emotional loss for the Packers, but they must prepare for next week’s game against their other division rival, the Chicago Bears. If the packers can pull off the win against the Bears and the Vikings lose (playing in Tampa Bay) it will be a 3-way tie for 1st place in the NFC North division. I expect the Pack to come out and beat the Bears handily on the frosty field of Lambeau. The score will be Green Bay 27 Chicago 21.

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Friday, November 7, 2008

Thanksgiving Memories


















Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that is very relaxing and enjoyable. The basic premise of the holiday is to eat a lot of food, watch football, and celebrate together as a family the many blessings that we have and receive daily. We are truly a blessed people to have the many blessings and luxuries of life that we enjoy on a daily basis.

As a child I have many fond memories of Thanksgiving. I remember preparing the night before the big day by setting up the tables and chairs and helping my mom get the house ready for the large group of extended family that would be coming the next day. When Thanksgiving morning arrived my brother and I would put on our clothes and coats and play the annual game of Thanksgiving football. We played the game one-on-one and would hold our little game in rain, sleet, or snow. I remember many years when the snow would be coming down heavily but we would still be out there running around tackling each other. We would then come in and have a cup of hot cocoa and get warmed up and start helping our Mom finish up the final preparations for the big dinner.

About this time, the relatives started to arrive. My uncles, aunts, and cousins would come over for the big feast. It was fun to visit and play together while waiting to start the meal. We would often watch football while waiting. I remember watching many games with my uncles and cousins on Thanksgiving afternoons. The nearby coal stove would warm the room while we watched and the aroma of the food being cooked in the kitchen filled the entire house. We would snack on appetizers of chips and dips and veggie trays.

My Mom made the best Thanksgiving dinners. If the smell of her homemade rolls didn’t delight you, the taste of the crisp buttery outside and soft inside would win you over quickly. Her golden basted turkey always smelled incredible and the slices were moist and would melt in your mouth. She always made the best mashed potatoes and gravy. She used potatoes right from our garden and made the gravy from the turkey drippings. To this day when I smell hot butter rolls or a large turkey cooking in the oven I often think of the Thanksgiving days growing up as a young boy.

After enjoying this incredible meal every year, we would then retire back to the TV room to watch more football. The Dallas Cowboys would play their yearly game and it always seem to be an exciting game full of long passes, hard hits, and close finishes. After the game the desserts would start making the rounds. My Mom made pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and every other dessert you can imagine. As a child I thought this holiday rivaled Christmas. What can be better than lots of food, football, and family?

Now I have my own family, and we trade off every year going to my wife’s family for Thanksgiving one year and my parents the next. I still enjoy the hot rolls, the moist turkey, and watching football. I still enjoy the family and visiting together. I no longer play my brother in the annual football game, but the memories will always be there and I will play it out in my mind every year Thanksgiving comes around.

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Monday, November 3, 2008

The Cougars Win a Shootout at CSU and the Packers Lose a Tight One to Tennessee

BYU squared off against Colorado State this week and pulled off the big win in a classic shootout. When the dust settled in Fort Collins the final score was BYU 45 CSU 42. BYU had to make a late game comeback to win this game, but was victorious nonetheless. BYU’s QB Max Hall had 389 passing yards, 5 touchdown passes, and 1 interception putting him at 29 touchdown throws for the year. He was able to find his favorite target, again, Austin Collie, who had 9 catches for 156 yards and 3 touchdown catches. This week, the tight end, Dennis Pita, also got in on the action with 12 catches for 175 yards and 2 touchdown catches of his own, for what was probably the best game of his career. BYU’s offense was again hitting on all cylinders with the high flying act of Hall, Collie, Pita, and also Harvey Unga. The Cougars featured running back ran for 133 yards and 1 touchdown. The defense didn’t fare so well.

The Cougars defense allowed the Rams of CSU to score 42 points while allowing their QB, Billy Farris, to throw for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Rams seemed to score with ease against the Cougars defense, which a few weeks ago, was holding good teams scoreless. BYU needs to get their defense going so that when a tough defense comes to play, such as the Utah Runnin’ Utes, they won’t have to rely on their offense so much to win these shootouts. Next week the Cougars will face San Diego St in the Lavell Edwards stadium. After posting back to back close games, I would expect them to shut down the Aztecs and hold them to a minimum amount of points. I predict the score will be BYU 38 SDSU 10.

The Packers lost 19-16 in a nail biting overtime game at Tennessee. The Titans were undefeated and ranked first in the NFL going into this game, but the Packers were getting players back healthy, riding a 2-game win streak, and coming off a bye. All of these factors were still not enough to overcome the defensive and running strength of the Titans. The Packers were able to throw the ball effectively with Aaron Rodgers posting 314 yards passing and 1 touchdown throw to Donald Driver, but had a hard time getting the ball into the end zone. The Packers settled for 3 field goals by Mason Crosby, who has proved to be a very reliable and effective kicker for Green Bay. The Packers had the ball with about 4 minutes to go and had a chance to go down the field and score, but ran out of steam and had to punt to the Titans with 2 minutes left in the game. Tennessee led by Kerry Collins as QB, drove down the field riding the hot feet of Chris Johnson, to put themselves in position for a last second game winning Rob Bironas field goal. He kicked the 47 yard field goal and it hit the right upright of the goal post and bounced off as time expired. The game then went into overtime.

The Titans won the coin toss and elected to receive as the Overtime session began. They then began to drive down the field just as they had at the end of regulation to put themselves in position for yet another field goal to win the game. Rob Bironas didn’t miss this time, hitting a 41 yard field goal to finish the game and keep Tennessee undefeated on the season. The Titans are now 8-0 and the packers fall to 4-4. It was a tough game and the packers played hard but in the end they came up short. Green Bay travels to Minnesota next week to take on the Vikings, their biggest division rival in what should be another close game. I am picking the Packers to win this one by a score of 27-24 on a last second Mason Crosby field goal.
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