true blue

Blue foam and a slip 'n slide.  Combined.

This is true blue football.  A BYU homecoming tradition that is very well attended, and it isn't just by the freshmen.  The appeal of playing in blue foam attracts many different ages of students.

The blue, foamy students quickly make those without any foam on them blue as well.  Literally.  The foam will stain both skin and clothes.  It washes off quite easily, but to be safe, it is a good idea to wear clothes that can be ruined.

Yes, all those people standing in a line are waiting for their turn on the slip 'n slide.  Yes, I had to wait in that line.  Twice.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

I went down once on each of the slides, and the left slide is far superior.  The hill is slightly steeper, and the foam pit at the bottom is bigger.  In fact, the pit is so tall that when students come sliding into it they can't be seen until they stand up, and then try to reorient themselves.  The foam covered their eyes (unless they chose to wear the goggles) so they would sort of stumble around while trying to find where their friends went.  It was quite entertaining to watch, but not very much fun to have to experience.  Not being able to see or hear makes finding your friends rather difficult, but these consequences are a small price to pay for the fun that will be experienced from sliding down through the blue foam.

If you ever have the opportunity to go down a slip 'n slide covered with firefighter foam this is my advice: keep your mouth closed, the foam will make you feel like you're suffocating if you have the misfortune of inhaling it.

smurfs live in cougarville

The homecoming game.  It is played only once a year, and it sure feels great when it is won.  One thing that can make this feeling better?  Knowing that you are one of the best fans in the stadium.

Face paint.  This is your ticket to knowing that you are one of the best fans.  Granted, the other fans will probably give you looks that range from obvious envy to a look that clearly shows that they believe you are crazy.  Hannah and I definitely got to experience having these looks directed to us, and it is pretty obvious why we did.

Yes, we looked like smurfs.  I am completely aware of this observation, and I am even more aware of how awesome we look.  

Thankfully the cougars won the game, so it was worth staying at the stadium until 11:15 at night.  Even if a win against San Jose isn't very impressive and the second half of the game wasn't very exciting, I'm still very appreciative for a win.  This way I got the chance to leave the stadium looking great and with an exceptional attitude.  So, thank you BYU football for being victorious.

No, smurfs do not actually live at BYU.  Except on game days, when they do.

  

it's almost freezing

Winter: (noun) The coldest season of the year, in the northern hemisphere from December to February.

Winter has come back to Provo, and it's only the beginning of October.  That couldn't possibly be correct, right?  After all, the definition of winter says that it begins in December and ends in February.  The definition doesn't apply to Utah.

Winter: (noun) The coldest months of the year, in Utah from October to March, or possibly later, depending on the year.

Much more accurate.

The good news?  All of the hats and scarves I brought down here can finally start being useful.  The bad news?  Those hats and scarves I brought down have to start being useful.  

While I love having the chance to wear my winter clothes, I don't love the fact that I have to wear them in order to avoid freezing.  Unfortunately that is what I am going to have to do, whether I like it or not.  I'll just have to get used to my extra layers of clothes and the very cold temperatures.

So to conclude, welcome back winter.  You have made it an interesting, and very cold last couple of days.  You can leave now, and come back at a more reasonable date.

friends, family, and football

Remember all of those people that you knew in high school and then you parted ways you went off to college you wouldn't have to see them anymore?  It was a relief to not have to see some of them any longer, and for others, it was quite saddening.  I knew plenty of these people.  This past weekend I was fortunate enough to have the chance to see one of the people that I was sad to part ways with.  She is one of my best friends and her name is Tarah.  I saw Tarah almost everyday last summer, up until we had to start college.  Tarah going up to Logan to attend Utah State, and me going down to Provo to attend BYU.

Last weekend Utah State came down and played BYU, and in the last couple of minutes of the game, the cougars managed to pull out a win over the aggies.  While I was elated from the cougar victory, I can't say that much for Tarah.  She was heartbroken.  I can understand this, if the tables had been turned I would have been the same way.  

She was disappointed

I forced her to smile

Salt Lake City, our families, and general conference was what topped off the weekend.  Tarah and I were able to get together one last time on Saturday evening and while we were together we continued our summer tradition of eating ice cream with some other dessert mixed in with it (this time it was a cookie) and planning on watching a movie, but never ending up doing so.  

It would be expected that I wouldn't learn anything from this exciting weekend, but I did.  First, I learned that I will always love it when my football team wins.  Second, spending time with an old friend and family is great.  And last of all, being able to have ice cream with my old friend is a great idea, especially when that ice cream comes with a chocolate chip cookie.