Saturday, September 3, 2011

Goal! ...I mean Touchdown!

Daniel is officially a Texas Longhorn.  Which in turn, as I am his wife, makes me the apprehensive holder of an Official Texas All-Sports year long pass. Yes, ONE YEAR!  Daniel has committed me to an entire year of attending Texas sports.  And today, since apparently fall is football season, we will be attending the first game of the season. (Yay?)


As I grew up in a home where watching sports equivalent to reading right to left, I have little knowledge on the subject. Which as you well know is the polar opposite of households in the South.  Down here football is an obsession, devotion and nothing short of a way of life.  The people of Texas bleed BURNT ORANGE

Here is what I think I know about football (which may or may not be right):

1. Two teams play against each other.  The teams consist of some large men that could easily be mistaken for Bigfoot.
2. A football field is 100 yards long.  The 50 yard line is the middle but apparently not where they start (Daniel informed me of this just this morning).
3. There is a pole at each end of the field (end-zone?) which has 3/4 of a very large square on top of it.
4. They use brown ball with a point on each end with white stitches on it.
5. Players throw the ball, catch it and sometimes kick it (but I think there are only certain times when they are allowed to kick it).
6. Players try to get the ball to their end of the field, but not necessarily through the 3/4 square on the pole.
7.  I'm fairly sure after they get a touchdown (Touchdown NOT goal...I always get this wrong, which Daniel finds funny but embarrassing) the team's kicker (I know... you're impressed that I know that word) gets to try to kick the ball into the 3/4 square.
8.  A touchdown is 7 points and I have some faint memory that if you kick it in you get 3 points.
9.  There are 4 quarters in a game. 
10. The games take FOREVER because the game gets paused a lot (I don't know why this happens).
11.  If one of the players in holding the ball ALL the other players jump on top of him(I don't know why this happens either).
12. Football is the most complicated sport EVER!

Yep, that about sums it up.
My goal is to learn three more things at each game.

Now you are probably wondering why I am so uneasy about attending these football games.  And you might be thinking it is merely because I don't understand how the game works.  Well, you are dead wrong.  The real reason I am concerned is that I have a few irrational phobias and misconceptions that I will now admit:

#1 Stampede vs. Stampede - Is there really a difference?:

This is a LONGHORN stampede.
  {The person who took this picture is most likely dead}
I find this frightening

     


   









This is a LONGHORN stampede.
{Notice the person who took this picture was smart enough to take it from high ground and is most likely not dead}
I also find this frightening because in my mind I cannot separate this picture from the one above.


#2: The Players:

In my head I have this image of a whole team of football players.
The best way I can explain what I am picturing is a mixture of a few things.

First, Bigfoot.
 {8 feet tall with 2 inch canine teeth, covered in hair}
,


 Second, A Viking.
{I think it's the whole helmet with horns and axe thing}

 And Third, This Man.
{390 pounds}



Wouldn't you be scared?
#3 The Pile Up:

I have a strange fear of getting stuck at the bottom of one of these:


#4 Longhorns vs. Hang Loose - Two very different things. :

This is the hand sign that EVERYONE does to mean Longhorns.



 This is the hand sign I automatically do when I try to do Longhorns.
{For those who don't know this is the hand symbol that means "Hang Loose."}

'


So far this small thumb-finger mix up has been humorous, but I have a feeling these diehard Texans ain't gon' think it so dan' hilarious.

I figure as long as I don't accidentally hold the horns upside down I should be able to narrowly escape with my life.

Well that about sums it up. Next, let me just introduce you to two last crazy facts about the Texas Longhorns.

First, THIS is the Stadium.
Fact: It holds 100,119 fans!


And Lastly, their mascot is a REAL LIVE LONGHORN!
Fact: His name is Bevo.






P.S. I want to have a football party JUST so I can make THESE:


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Playing Catch Up

Well I think everyone knows we have had a very busy last 6 months.  So needless to say I am very behind.  Many life changing things have happened and I think it is about time to catch everyone up.  Here is what we've been up to:

#1: Leave Rexburg, ID Forever Daniel and I both loved the time we spent at BYU-Idaho.  I miss it already.  We moved away the beginning of April.  I only had two classes online left to graduate and Daniel had graduated the previous December.  My mom and dad came up and helped us pack up a trailer and move to Las Vegas where we were going to live with them for the summer.  I was 35 weeks pregnant at this point so I was happy to have the help!






Once we were in Las Vegas there was lots to keep us busy.

Hikes at Valley of Fire

A trip to Oceanside

My dad was laughing while he took this picture. (I was 36 weeks)


Daniel and Jane built a huge sand castle.

Simone came to visit and we participated in the Race for the Cure with the Tingeys. 
(37 weeks)
Jacob, Daniel, Me and Ben

 #2 My Baby Shower My Aunt Kimberly threw a baby shower for me that was INCREDIBLE! Everything was perfect and beautiful.  It was so fun to see everyone and I got so many amazing and useful gifts.  



Clothes for the baby

Group Gift: stoller and carseat




Guessing game

Yummy food





 #3: Pregnancy Pictures {No Nudity} It blows my mind that people choose of their own free will to have pictures taken of themselves with little, if not no clothing on.  Now to make matters worse while trying to get ideas for pictures I found that people think that this practice is a great idea to do while they are pregnant.  All I've got to say is a pregnant belly is a whole lot cuter when covered by clothes than out of them.  So my point is that when I was 40 weeks pregnant I decided we were running out of time to take pictures. 








#4: Along Comes Charlie By 40 weeks and 4 days I had finally come to the conclusion that I was doomed to be pregnant forever.  But on Friday, May 20, 2011 Charles Daniel Schkrohowsky finally decided he wanted to get back at the person who was always poking him from the outside to make him kick.  And boy he, did all 8 lbs 6 oz of him. My water broke at 2:30 pm.  My mom, Daniel and I spent the morning walking around Forever 21 in the Fashion Show mall.  Once we got home I thought I'd have a little nap.  When I laid down I felt an awful cramp and when I stood up I relized my water had broken.  Well we got everything together and headed to the hospital.  They got me in immediately and 6 hours later Charlie arrived. He was born at 8:31pm in Henderson, NV.  He was 20.5 inches long.
Leaving for the hosptal

This is when it was still fun.




This is when it wasn't fun anymore.


My sweet husband.

You really want me to smile right now?

Charlie's first outfit!

This was the most frightening and exciting moment of my life.  Frightening because he was purple, screaming and very slippery; Exciting because he was mine.

Daniel cutting the cord.

What is this stuff in my eyes?


Tiny little feet!

Where is my daddy?!

Oh there he is!

Oh yeah, I have a stomach.

Finally! This was much less scary!







Can I sleep now?

Going home!




Daniel's sister Simone came to meet Charlie!
Once we were home there were lots of new things to get used to.  But it was so fun!

Charlie's first bath.


Great Aunt Wendy made a beautiful blanket for Charlie with this stitched on it.

Mostly Charlie just slept.


This. is. my. favorite. picture. EVER.


So that's what you look like on the outside.

We mostly just slept for a few weeks.



Charlie's first swim.  He loves to be in water!

Charlie swimming with Grandpa.







#5: Baby Pictures Here are a few pictures of Charlie when he was 3 weeks old.









#6: Charlie's Blessing and the Fourth of July Charlie was blessed my his Father in North Salt Lake on July 3rd.  Daniel gave a beautiful blessing it was such a neat day.  My family went up and Daniel's family came down to meet for the blessing.  It was fun to have the blessing over the fourth of July so that so much of our family could be there.

Me, my mom and my grandma

Charlie's baby blessing!

Us with Oma and Opa (Daniel's Mom and Dad)

Hiking in Utah

My Family




Charlie with his Great Grandpa Jack and Great Grandma Delores

Charlie with his Grandma and Grandpa


Grandma, Me, Grandpa

Daniel with his Dad and Charlie


Which one is Grandma?
#7: Dickson Family Reunion In July we spent a week in Arlington, WA for a family reunion.  It was a great week.  The best part was that charlie got to meet his Great Great Grandparents!
Five Generations
Charlie with his Great Great Grandparents.
Great Great Grandpa Dickson


We were on the Pig team at the Family Olympics.


Charlie hanging out with Grandpa.
All my Dickson cousins!


My mom's family.


Charlie loves his Grandmas.




This is part of a tree that my Grandpa's old logging company cut down.
#8: Charlie goes to Boise We were lucky this summer to be able to see Daniel's family twice.  It was wonderful that we got to spend a week in Boise so that Charlie could get to meet our Boise friends!  It was a wonderful and relaxing week.  We ate in the backyard every night, went on walks, went to parks and ate yummy yummy food!

Charlie with Opa.




Gloria had a wonderful little open house for Charlie.  It was so fun!


#9: Don't Mess with Texas - The Move to Austin We moved to Austin the first week of August.  Daniel is attending The University of Texas at Austin to get a Masters of Professional Accounting.  UT has the number one masters accounting program so I am so proud of him for getting in! Although I am not surprised.  So we will be here for one year and then will be off to somewhere else.  We have a little two bedroom apartment.  I really like it! It's just perfect for us.  Well as far as moving goes Daniel drove down here with my dad in the Uhaul and my mom, Charlie and I flew down two days later.  The drive is 21 hours! So now we have been here for almost four weeks! It has gone fast and we are loving it. There are tons of great places to eat. I LOVE TEXAS BBQ.  Also, Tex-Mex is delicious.  Our ward here is great, most are students with young families.  However I must mention the weather.  It is SO hot and SO humid.  The humidity is the main issue for me.  Everyone says you get used to it but I'm not sure I ever will.  Poor Charlie turns into a sweat ball every time we walk outside.

Well I will post pictures soon!