Basketball Hall of Fame and BYU vs. UMass

In December we headed out to Springfield to check out the Basketball Hall of Fame.  We had fun going around and seeing the place with my mom and dad.  

 We also had a lot of fun shooting hoops on an original basketball hoop, which consisted of a peach basket hanging off the wall.  I never knew there was a special type of basket for peaches, but this one is about 2.5 feet tall and tapering in to just large enough to let the basketball fall out the bottom.  The ball would rattle around in the basket for a while before falling out.

Getting prepared for the game... Braveheart style.

 BYU had a pretty strong showing at the game.  Some UMass fans came and asked Dane how BYU had so many fans there.  We would get chants going and they would be loud enough to get a "boo" from the UMass crowd.

 Mom and Carolee supporting their Alma Mater.

We made lots of signs including this one.  Our others said: "Haws-ome""Mika - So Fresh, man" "Carlino is my cousin's favorite." A guy across the isle got on the dancing cam.  Since they weren't showing any BYU fans there I decided to give us a proper showing.  I stuck this BYU sign into the shot and danced it around.

BYU didn't win, but we had fun at the game.  It really made Dane miss BYU basketball.  When we were leaving the arena we were walking on the sidewalk and a car drove by and they yelled out the window, "MORMONS!!!"  It really made us laugh.

Dane's trip to Chicago and Notre Dame

"Let's make some memories." -Tim Riggins

Dane's trip with G and Fer to Chicago and the BYU vs Notre Dame Football game

November 21-23, 2013

At the top of the John Hancock Center overlooking Chicago our first night.

Only the 4th tallest building in the city. (1st-Willis, 2nd-Trump, 3rd-Aon)

Checked out Wrigley Field in the bitter cold. We tried to sneak in,

but made it about 7 steps in before someone stopped us. They are doing

some major renovation to the stadium. It needs it.

Some legitimate Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. Keeps you full for about 8-10 hours.

We went to the Northwestern vs IUPUI basketball game because Fer scored

tickets from craigslist for $4. We made friends with one of the elderly aged ushers,

Bruce, and he gave us some hats to remember our trip by. 

Northwestern won on a last second shot. We got our moneys worth.

CHICAGO'S BIG TEN TEAM

Toured around Notre Dame's Campus for about 3 hours before the game.

The Notre Dame Trumpet Section goes into the building behind us and plays 

Notre Dame Our Mother and the Notre Dame Victory March inside of the 

Golden Dome. Notre Dame has a reputation for being one of the nicest campuses,

along with having the nicest people you could possibly meet. They fully lived up

to that reputation. Each and every Notre Dame fan we met was genuinely kind.

Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral. Impressive building with stunning detail.

 Even the Leprechaun was a cool guy. Josh Williams also met up with us for the game.

Game temperatures were not warm. We each had 2 hand warmers and stuffed 2 more

inside of our shoes. Walking around Notre Dame campus with all of our clothes was a

little cumbersome, but we were grateful to be dressed warm for the duration of the game.

 Wish BYU would have had a few more touchdowns during that game...

But had an absolute blast with these guys

Seriously! Look at how thick that crust is!

Hanh and Matthew's Sealing

Dane and I headed down to D.C. area the morning after the Red Sox won the world series. We were on our way to Hahn and Matthew's sealing! It was so fun.  We stayed with the Heiner family and loved spending time with them.  James and Tracy showed up a day after us.  We miss hanging out with them. 

We actually didn't take many pictures, but here are a few that we did take, or that I stole off of Hanh's FB page. :) 

We went to the Luray Caverns which happen to be among the top 5 largest caverns in the US.  I've been to the Timpanogos caves in Utah that are similar to these, but this cave was HUGE. It went on for ever, and we didn't even get to see all of it.

 Caves with the hottie.

Here's the one picture I could find with us and Hanh.  It was so fun seeing her and her husband.  Her sealing was so fun.  It was Dane and my first time at the D.C. temple. What a beautiful place.  We got to spend time with Dane's mission president and his wife, Oscar and Carol McConkie.  It was fun catching up with them and reminiscing about the mission.