Winter Barbecue

My brothers are all quite good cooks. A few of them have really gotten into barbecuing, so of course, we had to get the smoker going while they were here. It was freezing, but they still had a lot of fun. They even put some insulation over the smoker to keep it warm. It might have been the best pulled pork I've ever eaten.

Here is the star of the meal:

And the supporting cast: baked beans, cole slaw, rolls, and garlic mashed potatoes (my contribution)-- all homemade.

So delicious. We Robertsons can put on quite the spread, if I might say so myself.

More Christmas Break

Our entire family was together for the first time in a year and a half, so we had to make a lot of fun plans. My nephew Isaac drew us some pictures to remind us what we had scheduled for the 27th.

Here's the explanation:
*"Picher Day Hol Famliey": We went and had a family picture taken with our entire family. It turned out beautifully. I'll post it as soon as I get a digital copy.
*"Bryan Clayton- USA---A- AA":  Sadly, my brother-in-law had to head back to Argentina right after the photo to fulfill his responsibilities with the embassy. His family stayed here since Kirsten will be giving birth to a baby girl soon. He flew American Airlines, by the way.
*"Café Reoe": After the photo, we went to a family favorite and Utah special, Cafe Rio.
*"Dinner- Taco Night- Christmas Carol": That night, we had one of my favorite Robertson traditions. For FHE at Christmastime, we listen to a dramatized version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" while we eat tacos and drink hot chocolate.

As advertised, we had our tacos. Here's the little artist himself. Isn't he cute?

Christmas 2010

I finally imported my pictures from my camera from the last month so I thought I'd share a few. Here are some Christmas highlights:

Lots of cousin fun. Here are the two little buddies.

Steve has always had a great sense of fashion.

Lots of presents for lots of kids.

We got something to help Dad keep his physique while he's on his mission.

We did a Nativity. Cute Mary and an angel.

Cutest donkey ever.

King Kyle

Joseph and Mary head to the manger while Grandpa reads from his iPad.

The End.

"...you've never seen, so they tell me, such downright domesticity..."

I decided last Sunday to make a blanket for my beau, Taylor, for Christmas. That night I did a little research, settled on a rag quilt, and designed the pattern. Then after school on Monday, I went to the fabric store, bought everything I needed, showed up at my mom's house, and announced that I was going to make a blanket in three days, since Taylor was leaving on Friday morning. If it had been any other project that intense that hadn't involved a sewing machine my mom would have tried to talk me out of it. However, since my mom has been dreaming of my being a seamstress extraordinaire since my childhood days, she jumped right in to help me. (Isn't she amazing?) There is no way in hades I could have finished it without her. Mom saves the day again!

On Monday we cut out all the squares, Tuesday we sewed each square together with the batting in the middle, and Wednesday we sewed it all together and clipped the seams so it would fray up. I also need to give a shout-out to my amazing cousin-in-law Janelle (who left the next day to move to Boston with my amazing cousin Scott) and my amazing sister-in-law Jenny (here visiting from Texas) who helped with all the snipping. It would have taken FOREVER by myself. I definitely miss having Jenny live close, and I'm surely going to miss having Scott and Janelle around— they're two of my favorites.

Here is my finished product, or at least half of it:

Taylor loved it. Isn't he a lucky boy to have such a domestic girl?

And since I got it in your head, here's the clip of the song. Enjoy.

Good King Wenceslas

Ever since Mr. Harvie, my elementary school choir teacher, (I've been mentioning him a lot lately) introduced me to all of the verses of this song, it has been one of my favorites. Before then, I thought it was kind of a weird Christmas song. It is a great story of a leader and a mentor. Take a little read:

Sad Day

As I was celebrating my last day of school, I received news that the Provo Tabernacle had burned down. I suspect that most of my blog readers are familiar with the building and I suspect that many of you have tender feelings about it. It was a beautiful building and a monument to all of the pioneers who helped build this wonderful valley.

Many of us that have spent a lot of time in the valley have warm memories of the Tabernacle. I have attended countless meetings and concerts in the building. Here are a few memories I have:

When I was in the Northridge Elementary Chorus, we were invited to perform at a Christmas concert there. There were several choirs that sang. We had a bus driver that had requested to take us on every route. He liked us because our director made us be absolutely silent on the bus ride there to save our voices, plus he loved listening to us sing. He knew that if we got a standing ovation, Mr. Harvie would come back out and we would sing an encore. So after our set, a man sitting on the balcony in suspenders stood up amidst the clapping, and the rest of the audience followed. We felt pretty special because we were the only ones to receive a standing ovation that night. We obliged the bus driver (and the audience) with an encore.

I've been to several Stake Conferences there, including one when I was in a BYU Stake. My roommate and dear friend Shalon had curled her hair up all pretty, and it was quite bouncy. One of our more scandalous friends in our ward told Shalon she'd pay her $10 (or some sum of money) to walk up the aisle to the bathroom (the bathrooms were in the front of the building) so her curls would bounce. Shalon was hard up for cash at the time, so she took the dare. I laughed as I saw the girls sitting in front of us making fun of Shalon.

On a more spiritual note, I attended a Stake Conference when I was in that same stake with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. He quoted Harry Potter in his talk, which we thought was pretty awesome. Afterward we went up and shook his hand, and he was very kind.

                                                                                                                  

Here are a few images of the fire. Warning: If you feel any sort of attachment to the building, they might make you cry.

Gratitude

Note: I wrote this post on Thanksgiving Day, but since I didn't have an internet connection, it had to wait to be posted until today.

I'm thankful for...

...parents who are great examples of selflessness, and love the Lord enough to sacrifice a year and a half and their material possessions to serve Him.

Opening their mission call.

...a loving sister who, though thousands of miles away, is still one of my best friends.

...five fantastic, protective brothers who constantly remind me of my worth.

Three of my brothers and my sister.

...sisters-in-law who are more like sisters, and a great brother-in-law who takes good care of my sister.

...nieces and nephews who bring joy to my life, even when I just think about them.

Lauren and me.

...one living grandma who is a constant source of humor, and a shining example of generosity.

...grandparents and great-grandparents long passed-away who left words and examples that still teach and guide me.

...aunts, uncles and cousins that care about me and keep track of what’s going on in my life, whether on Facebook, my blog, or though my parents’ gossip.

...cousins that share my passion for BYU sports.

Watching the BYU-Colorado State Game.

...dear friends of many years that make every effort to keep our friendship strong.

Harry Potter at midnight, thanks to the Merrills.

...new friends with whom I am creating wonderful memories.

...co-workers that inspire me to work harder and remind me how lucky I am to have the job that I do.

...the girls I coach on the tennis team that fill my life with laughter.

At dinner after our divisional tournament.

...students that remind me why I picked the profession I’m in.

...teachers past whose influence I still feel daily.

...church leaders who care deeply about my happiness and wellbeing (even when they make it a point to embarrass me).

...people who inspire me without really knowing the influence they have on me.

...people who are willing to share their talents with me, whether in concert halls, or sitting next to me on the living room piano.

...people who make me laugh.

Two of my favorites.

...people who have confidence in me despite my imperfections.

...strangers who are not too shy to share a kind word with me.

...living prophets and apostles whose words give me guidance and comfort.

...Jesus Christ and the healing power of His atonement.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Thanks for all you do to enrich my life.

I ♥ Bronco Mendenhall

Two weeks ago I got to meet one of my heroes:

I applied for tickets to attend a live broadcast of "BYU Football with Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall," a weekly radio show that they have on KSL Radio here in Utah. I had to write an essay about what BYU Football means to me to get my tickets. Maybe I'll post what I wrote in a different post. I got an email back telling me that I'd been selected to receive 4 tickets to the the November 10th broadcast.

It was such a fun experience. The only disappointment was when I found out that my fancy camera was out of batteries. All we had was my dad's iPhone– not the greatest for picture taking. Here we are waiting for the show to begin.

At the beginning of the show, they had us submit questions to ask Bronco. They selected four questions to be asked on the show. Mine was the third in order. However, the show went long, so they only got one question on air. Bronco told us that he would be happy to answer any other questions that didn't get on air.

I asked him what advice he had for a new coach in any sport. His answer was profound. He said, "Coaching is really teaching and teaching is service." He went on to tell me that I shouldn't expect my players to adjust to my teaching style, but I should know my players and how to best teach them. He said that I need to know the heart of each individual. This is all great advice for anybody in any teaching role (which is just about everyone at some point). My summary surely isn't as eloquent as Bronco's answer, but I thought it was worth sharing.

Even more impressive than the words he shared was how I could tell he lived his advice. It showed in the way he interacted with Joshua Quezada, the player who made an appearance on the show, that evening. Then, I went to the final home game at BYU on Saturday. I stayed for the ceremony after the game where they honor the seniors. What he said meant even more to me as I watched him hug each of his seniors. You can see a little bit of it here. Click the video on the right that is entitled "BYU vs. New Mexico Senior Night". You can see why I got a little teary-eyed watching.

My students crack me up.

Two quotes from one of the characters in my government class:

"There is this one serial killer that I really admire..."

We were talking about legal responsibilities that citizens of the U.S. have. The class had already listed following the law, paying taxes, and jury duty. I was looking for someone to talk about registering for the selective service, so I gave them a hint, telling them that only half of the people in the room would have to do it. He responded, "Be circumcised!"

Awesome