Thursday, January 29, 2015

SCORE!


SOMETIMES IN LIFE...YOU FEEL LIKE YOU JUST SCORED!
AND SCORED BIG!!!

WHEN I WAS LITTLE, I REMEMBER GAS COSTING
$.19 A GALLON.
THEN, IT WAS $.29 FOREVER!!!

IN HIGH SCHOOL, IN THE MID-SEVENTIES,
WE HAD A NATION-WIDE ENERGY CRISIS!
THERE WERE EVEN PLACES WHERE YOU COULD ONLY
BUY GAS ON A CERTAIN DAY!
THIS WAS DETERMINED BY THE LAST DIGIT OF YOUR
LICENSE PLATE. 
 EVEN NUMBERS...MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, SATURDAY.
ODD NUMBERS...TUESDAY, THURSDAY, SATURDAY.
CLOSED ON SUNDAYS.

AND THE PRICE OF GAS ROSE TO $.45.
(BUT, WE COULD PUT $.50 TO $1.00 IN THE TANK,
AND COULD DRAG MAIN STREET FOREVER!!!)

WELL...GAS PRICES WENT UP FOREVER!
AT ONE POINT, GAS COST A LITTLE OVER $4.00 A GALLON!!!

THIS LAST YEAR, THE COST OF GAS HAS BEEN
GOING DOWN!
I USED TO PAY $35-$40 TO FILL UP MY
12 GALLON TANK CAR EACH TIME.

TODAY, I SCORED!!!
I HAD $.60 OFF EACH GALLON AT SMITH'S.
I PUT IN 11.511 GALLONS OF GAS, FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF
$13.00!!!

LOVE IT!!!
(HOWEVER, NOW THE STATE LEGISLATURE WANTS
A HUGE GAS TAX TO RAISE MONEY!  BLEH!!!)



Wednesday, January 28, 2015

ANOTHER "PROUD MISS MITCHELL MOMENT!"

Published in the January and February New Era!



Hillary Olsen, was one of my great students!  Her uncle, Merlin Olsen, was
one of the greatest NFL football players of all time!  He was also in the tv shows,
"Little House on the Prairie" and was Father Murphy in the show, "Father Murphy."
Orrin Olsen is Hillary's father. He played in the NFL, as did his brother, Phil.
Her cousin, Hans, played at BYU.  He is on the Sports Talk radio show 
I listen to...1280 The Zone.

Hillary recently returned from serving a mission in Italy.
She was extremely smart as a 5th grader, and loved writing!!! 

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

ONE OF MY PRIMARY KIDDOS IS GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL! (AND NOT AS A SPECTATOR)


I was either in the presidency, or 
Primary pianist when Jordan went through Primary.
Mom was his Primary teacher...because she was
everyone's Primary teacher!
His parents are Kerry and Leslie.

This article was on the AF Bands Facebook page.


It has been brought to my attention that a former AF Band Alumni will be playing in the Super Bowl this Saturday!! This story has been on our website this year, but I've copied and pasted it to share here. 

Enjoy!

NFL: AF Band Alumni Jordan Devey's progress has been music to Patriots' ears
Jordan Devey stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 270 pounds as a high school senior. So it was hardly surprising he spent his Friday nights on a football field and performed well enough to find himself entertaining several scholarship offers.
There was one twist.
Devey wasn't playing football at American Fork High, but the tuba in the school's nationally acclaimed marching band and it was his musical proficiency that drew the attention of several colleges in his native Utah.
"I went to every football game and sat on the sidelines," said Devey who gave up the sport after eighth grade due to intense knee pain from having Osgood-Schlatters disease. "Most of my friends who weren't in the band were on the football field. They always gave me a hard time trying to get me out there.
"I wanted to, it was just one of those things where we had the big picture in mind rather than the here and now."
That prudent approach paid off.
The here and now for Devey includes being an offensive lineman for the Patriots, who signed the undrafted rookie to their eight-man practice squad in early September just days after he was cut for a second time by the Baltimore Ravens.
Devey's journey to New England was circuitous, protracted and, especially, rewarding in a personal, pious and professional way.
After graduating from high school in 2006, Devey took a job working security on the graveyard shift for a computer company. Twelve hours a day, five days a week he checked diesel rigs bringing in shipments.
From there it was off to Costa Rica to serve a two-year mission as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Devey loved everything about the country from its beautiful beaches to friendly folks.
Well, mostly friendly
Trying to get people to listen to his Mormon message was always demanding and occasionally demoralizing.
"You get a lot of doors slammed in your face," Devey said. "You see the best and the worst of people when you're doing that because a lot of times it is cold calling."
His experience in Central America, while focused on serving others, helped foster his individual growth.
"I definitely loved it and I learned a lot of things that I still apply in my life, about working hard and learning new things — I had to learn Spanish while I was down there," the easygoing and enthusiastic 25-year-old said. "So a lot of life lessons I picked up down there that will stay with me for a while."
When Devey returned to the United States he felt a bit out of place after having been immersed in Latin culture for so long. He had also grown another 2 inches and lost 50 pounds due to a diet heavy on rice and beans and a daily regimen that included lots of walking.
Devey also shed the knee pain that had beset him for years and decided to walk on to the football team at Snow College, not far from his hometown. He not only made the squad, he started for two years and — when was the last time you heard a lineman honored this way — was named the Snow Cats' Offensive Player of the Year on a team that wound up being ranked seventh in the country in 2010.
Now 6-foot-7 and more than 300 pounds, the athletic scholarships poured in. Devey settled on the University of Memphis, where he studied accounting, got married and played every snap in every game while seeing time at left tackle, right guard and right tackle over the next two years. Oh yeah, he was named team MVP after his senior season in 2012.
Although he went undrafted in April, Devey was signed by the Ravens right after the conclusion of the seventh and final round. He spent spring and summer in Baltimore before being released, re-signed and released again, leading to his becoming a Patriot.
Utah will always be home, but Devey has settled in quite nicely in Massachusetts.
"I absolutely love it here," he said. Coach (Bill) Belichick does a really good job. Everyone here is blue collar. It's all about going to work and the team and getting better every day. That's the kind of person I am, so I felt like I fit right in with these guys and I couldn't imagine a better group of guys to be around."
As for the tuba, Devey came home from Costa Rica and discovered he couldn't blow a note. That's about the only thing that hasn't worked out these last few years for him.




Blocking for #12 . . . Tom Brady



LET'S GO JAZZ???



THIS WAS MY VIEW OF THE ENTIRE JAZZ VS CELTICS GAME
ON JANUARY 26!
NICE, HUH???

NORMALLY, I WOULD HAVE ASKED HER TO SIT BACK
SO I COULD SEE.
BUT, YOU LEARN IN LIFE NOT TO MESS WITH SOME PEOPLE!


HER AND HER PARTNER

  DRUNK WHEN THEY CAME

BEER IN EACH HAND

CELTICS HATS BACKWARDS

LOTS OF TATOOS . . . EVEN ON NECK

LOTS OF PIERCINGS

LEATHER PANTS

OBNOXIOUS
(I LIKE THE CELTICS, BUT...THEIR FANS ARE JUST
A STEP ABOVE LEBRON FANS ... WHO ARE A STEP
ABOVE THE WORST FANS IN NBA...LAKERS FANS)


I CHOSE NOT TO BOTHER.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE ALCOHOL PATROL
REALLY KEPT AN EYE ON THEM!
HOPE THEY WEREN'T DRIVING!!!


AND THEN, THE 2 CELTICS FANS ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF MY MOM.  
REEKED OF TOBACCO.
HE HAD A PIERCED STUD ON SIDE OF HIS CHEEK.
(HOW DO THEY DO THAT???)


CELTICS.
BAD, BAD TEAM.  NOT THE RED AURBACH TEAMS.
NOT THE BIRD, McHALE, PARRISH TEAMS.
(BIRD vs. MAGIC)
NOT EVEN THE PIERCE, RONDO TEAMS.
(AND, YES...JAZZ HAD A BAD GAME.)
BUT, THEY HAVE A REPUTATION!
THEY WON MOST OF THE NBA TITLES DURING
THE ENTIRE DECADE OF THE 60s!
AND THEN SOME MORE IN THE 80s!
AND ONE A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN CJ's COACH,
DOC RIVERS, WAS COACHING.

I LOVE BOSTON TEAMS.
RED SOX.
PATRIOTS.
CELTICS.  (ALTHOUGH NOT NOW.  TOO BAD.)
WHEN I WENT TO BOSTON WITH THE DISTRICT HISTORY CLASS,
I HAD A CHOICE.
CELTICS GAME OR RED SOX GAME.
(BOTH WERE ON "PATRIOTS DAY.)
I DEFINITELY CHOSE
RED SOX!
I CAN ALWAYS SEE A CELTICS GAME IN SLC.
(AND FENWAY PARK IS DEFINITELY MORE ICONIC
THAN THE NEW "GARDEN.")


MONEY TALKS


Neil Diamond has a song called,
"Forever in Blue Jeans."

There's a part that says, 
 "Money talks
but it don't sing and dance and it don't walk.
And long as I can have you here with me
I'd much rather be
forever in blue jeans."

For many years, the Jazz had a player from
Turkey, named Mehmet Okur.

Memo.

Money.

He was the center for the Jazz...but,
he was great at shooting 3 pointers!!!
Centers just don't do that!
Every time he made one, the announcer
would say, MONEY!!!

Memo had an achilles injury, and had to retire.
He is currently serving as an ambassador
for the Utah Jazz.

At last night's game, all season ticket holders
could get their picture taken in the
season ticket holder lounge.



 

GIVE A CHEER, GIVE A CHEER, HE'S HERE!!!


RYKER JON KELLY

BORN:  JANUARY 23, 2015
AMERICAN FORK, UTAH

8 LB. 3 OZ.
21"

PARENTS:
ASHLEY & JON KELLY

WAITING TO WELCOME HIM:
JAYCIE
PRESTON
ADDIE

This day was a first for me!
I had my very first time ever of checking
kids out of school!!!
I checked Jaycie, Preston, and Camry out!

It was hard on Ryker's siblings.
The hospital now doesn't allow anyone under
age 14 on any floor of the hospital during
flu season.
It was especially hard on Jaycie.
She had been to the hospital after
 Preston and Addie were born.
Also, a few cousins...including going with
me to see the twins last year.

Ashley is the first of the nieces and nephews
to have more than 3 children.
Chris, 3  Camille, 1   Ashley, 4   McKay, 3   Heidi, 3

 Ashley and Ryker


 Grandma Laurel & Papa Reid waited patiently at the
hospital for the birth

Papa Reid & Ryker

 Ryker with his favorite great aunt . . . Auntie Ann

 Chris & Kim

 Ryker still loves Aunt Ann!
Look how he's looking at me!!!
This is his cute BYU onesie!  
It feels like a football!!!




HOME

Reunited . . . and it feels so good!
Yup. He knows his big sister!!!

 A proud big brother!


Even though they're asleep, I love how
Addie has a protective arm around Ryker.


COUNT:  GIRLS 10  
Courtney (14), Jaycie (9 1/2), Camry (9), Shayla (8),                                                         Haley (7), Addie (4 1/2), Lily (3 1/2), Oakley (3 1/2)                                                         Ally (14 mo), Brooklyn (14 mo)

BOYS  4  
Cole (10 1/2), Preston (7), Carter (5), Ryker (3 days)


THERE'S A NEW PHRASE IN TOWN

There's a new phrase in town . . . "DEFLATE GATE."

And with it . . . soooo many jokes!

It will be interesting to see what comes of it!






Deflate-gate has been the main topic of the first few days following championship Sunday. Everyday more information is released about what seems to be the next big “scandal” in the NFL. So lets start from the beginning.
It all started with D’Qwell Jackson‘s interception of Tom Brady in the AFC championship game. After that interception, Jackson believed that the ball felt under-inflated, and gave the ball the Colts equipment manager, so that he could check the pressure of the ball. From there on in went to head coach Chuck Pagano and then to GM Ryan Grigson, who reported it to NFL officials. According to ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen, the Colts already had concerns about under-inflated balls in their week 11 matchup in Indianapolis.
One thing that should be quite obvious to everybody is that the Patriots did not win this game because of under-inflated balls. The final scored was 45-7 and under-inflated balls do not make up for a 38 point difference. Colts tight end Dwayne Allen seems to agree:
In the same article linked above, Mortensen also reported that 11 of the 12 Patriots balls were under-inflated according to the NFL. This basically rules out the belief that maybe one or two balls were under-inflated, and therefore it was an accident, or a ball was defect. It is definitely not a good sign for a Patriots team that is still heavily scrutinized for their Spygate “scandal” back in 2007. Now it is the NFL’s job to figure out what happened, who knew about it and what a good punishment would be, if rules were broken.



I personally can not picture the Patriots letting air out of the balls on the sideline in plain sight of any cameras, but it seems to be the only way they could have altered the ball, because the balls are only in the hands of officials prior to the game. If they did in fact alter the balls, both Brady and Belichick must have been in on it, especially Brady since he is gripping the ball the entire game and is the player that would benefit most from it being altered. Still, the NFL must gain proof that the Patriots knowingly deflated the balls in order to gain an advantage in the AFC championship.
The other likely option could be that the officials are the ones to blame for this entire thing. Did they follow all the regulations and accurately check all the balls prior to the game? If they didn’t, the Patriots could have just under-inflated their balls, and gotten by with it because the officials did not do their jobs, and they should get most of the blame. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss notes, Aaron Rodgers likes to over-inflate his balls, so if those also go undetected, maybe referees have not been doing their job very accurately.
Especially because it is the Patriots, who so many people consider to be cheaters, everyone is giving their input to this situation, but many people have been way to drastic. On ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith said that Belichick should be suspended for an entire season. A lot more people seem to believe that if the Patriots are found guilty, they will likely lose draft picks.
Nobody actually knows what exactly happened yet, and people should not jump to conclusions about “Deflate-gate.” This will not tarnish Tom Brady’s career, and it shouldn’t tarnish Bill Belichick’s as well. The Patriots deserve to be in the Super Bowl and will play in Arizona in about a week and a half.  The Pats will have to deal with any consequences, but I do not believe that those consequences will be very harsh. It could be a large fine, but the worst case scenario that I could see playing out is the loss of a draft pick in the 5th round.
The Patriots themselves will focus on preparing for the Super Bowl, and not on all the news surrounding the Deflate-gate. I do hope the NFL will finish their investigation quickly, so that the attention will go back to the Super Bowl. No matter what happens, there will always be doubters who will say the Patriots cheated their way to another championship, but if the Patriots take home the Lombardi trophy on Feb. 1st, none of them are going to care.

STAY TUNED . . . 


Monday, January 19, 2015

HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY







MONUMENTS BY MOONLIGHT 
TROLLEY TOUR
WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 7, 2012

Saturday, January 17, 2015

AF BEATS LONE PEAK IN 2OT AT MARRIOTT CENTER


AF outlasts Lone Peak in double OT Region 4 instant classic

Junior Spencer Johnson scored 33 points to lead the American Fork Cavemen to a thrilling, double overtime victory over the Lone Peak Knights Friday night at the Marriott Center. (Photo by Rebecca Lane) 
Junior Spencer Johnson scored 33 points to lead the American Fork Cavemen to a thrilling, double overtime victory over the Lone Peak Knights Friday night at the Marriott Center. (Photo by Rebecca Lane)


In front of more than 4,000 students and fans at BYU’s Marriott Center, American Fork junior Spencer Johnson carried the Caveman to a 77-73 double overtime, upset victory over the No. 1 ranked Lone Peak Knights.
Johnson, made an impressive 16-of-17 free throws and finished the game with 33 points, all the while being face guarded by a host of Lone Peak Knights.
On the Lone Peak side, junior guard Frank Jackson was also face guarded and often double and tripled-teamed on his way to a 34 point performance before fouling out with 3:04 left in the second overtime.
The real difference in the game was free throw shooting. As a team the Caveman made an amazing 25-of-27 free throws (93 percent) while the Knights shot 25-of-37 from the line (68 percent).
As the final second ticked off the clock the American Fork bench exploded onto the Marriott Center floor and celebrated with each other and its fans.
The win brings American Fork’s record against Lone Peak to 2-16 in the last 18 regular season match ups dating back to 2007.





Monday, January 12, 2015

FIRST EVER COLLEGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS


When I was a little girl, there were
FOUR
college football bowl games.

Cotton
Sugar
Orange
and the "Granddaddy of them all"...
Rose

All of the games were on New Year's Day.
Each network (ABC, CBS, NBC) had a game, and one had two games.
The Cotton Bowl Parade was at 8:00 a.m., for one hour.  The game was immediately after.
You were able to see all of the games!
(The games were on while we took down our Christmas tree.)

(I have seen the Fiesta Bowl Stadium in 1975,
the Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami in 2004,
and the Rose Bowl Stadium in 2011)

In 1968, the Peach Bowl was added, and
in 1971, the Fiesta Bowl.
I marched at half time of the Fiesta Bowl football game
on December 26, 1975.
I was a senior in high school.
All of the bands were in an outline of the United States.
We were the (filled in) state of Florida.

And from there, the bowls 
EXPLODED!!!

There are currently
THIRTY-FIVE
college bowl games!!!

At the end of the bowl games, sports writers and coaches
voted, and a national champion was crowned.

In 1984, BYU was the only undefeated team in the country.
They were crowned national champions!

In the last few years, they had the BCS...Bowl Championship Series.
If it was currently the same, Alabama and Florida State
would have played for the championship.

Finally, it was decided that the top four teams would be
involved in the first ever football playoff system.
(A "Final Four")
Oregon defeated Florida State in the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.  

The Bucs
vs 
The Ducks
So, 2 weeks later, Oregon and Ohio State played in the
first ever national championship game!
No more waiting until the next day to see who was #1.

The
 Buckeyes

Beat

The
 Ducks

42-20

To add a little fun, a former student, Hunter Patterson,
went with his dad and two of his brothers to the game!
(Hunter is a junior, and was in the very first class that was on this blog!)

 The game was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
(The first ever game played there when the stadium opened?
BYU defeated Oklahoma!)







Hunter, Daniel, Noah