Sunday, December 28, 2008

Its Time to Celebrate!


Christmas at the Bukey's was crazy, fun as usual. We jump started the festivities last week with Alyssa and Briggs before they took off for Canada with a weekend of presents, performing at church, last minute shopping, and loads of movies and games.

Cole and I spent Christmas Eve at the parentals and enjoyed the time we had with them, Ben, Bryan and Annie. Christmas morning was full of fun presents (wii for Cole and Dyson for me), yummy muffins, the traditional "Lansford" sausage, egg and cheese casserole, and lastly the ever-important honey-baked ham. (Nicole and Scott met up with us after a busy morning with his folks.)

As you can see above, Cole spent a good portion of the afternoon teaching Dad and Ben the wonders of Madden 09. How successful he was is still up for discussion. But when it comes to Wii bowling, watch out! These parents have some serious skills.

Regardless of the gifts, fun and family time, it is always a blessing to have a few days to pause and reflect on the gift of our Savior and His life.

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends!



Thursday, December 18, 2008

Our Night in Bethlehem

Over the past few months Cole and I had the opportunity to help plan the ward "Night in Bethlehem" Christmas party. While it was a ton of work and a little overwhelming, things went off without a hitch and I think everyone had a great time.

Mom and dad drove down to "support" us. Don't you love that sweet backdrop?

Everyone needed to be "counted."

Amazing drop ceiling installed by Brother Rowe

The town storyteller

Forgot your biblical attire? No worries!

"Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel..."

Cute carpenters passing out wooden ornaments

They ate,

Drank,

And were properly respectful.

Thanks to everyone who helped! We could have never done it all without you, you and you. Ok, and everyone else who needs to get a blog. :)

*Thanks for the photos, Committee Chair Extrodinar Tiffany Runyon.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Its Bowlin' Time

Maura might not like this but there are certain times of the year when our blog will be infiltrated and turned into the sports page. The first time is December/January(football), and then again in March/April (March Madness).

After their rout of the Cougs on November 22nd (48-24, just had to proclaim it again) the Utes completed an undefeated 12-0 regular season and is undeniably the front runner for an at large bid into the BCS (second time in 4 years). BCS projections are now flying and changing day to day. Where is the Utes destiny? The following are projections from 5 highly respected Analysts.

Finally, this post isn't long enough for me to tear apart the BCS system , and I think everyone agrees with me when I say its broken and needs a serious overhaul. This much I will say, it is better to loose earlier rather then later in the season. Not only does the BCS need an official review, but conference rules also need to be looked at.

You probably could have guessed that yes, I am referring to the B12. Texas gets hosed by a rule that states in the event of a 3-way tie, the team with the highest BCS ranking get the bid to the conference championship game. Texas, who has been ranked above OK since their 35-45 victory in the cotton bowl in mid October was jumped by the Sooners in the latest BCS polls by .0124. Because of the identical records of OK, Tex, and TT, the Sooners will play for the Big 12 championship and inevitably, barring a miracle from the heavens will advance to the National championship game. Why is OK more deserving then the Horns? They're not! I do agree that there is no hotter team in college football right now save Florida then the Sooners. However, the Horns beat the Sooners. The SEC tiebreaker rules state that the team with the highest BCS ranking advances to the conference championship unless the second team is within 5 spots. Then the tiebreaker goes head-to-head. If the Big 12 had the same rule as the SEC, Texas would have the tiebreaker, win the Big 12 and play for the national title.

Because of this I am placed in a very interesting spot. The committee of the Fiesta bowl gets the first selection on Dec. 7th. We know they will take Texas, but its their second pick that could be interesting. The committee could elect the Buckeye's of Ohio State, or The Utes. Honestly, I think the second pick will be the Utes. Where does that put me? Being from Texas, my whole life I have supported the Horns and know as an alum from the U (in a month), I am torn on who to back for the game. Some say it doesn't matter because I will be happy no matter who wins. It's the exact opposite. One team still has to loose and that's the hard part. The mountain West deserves respect and winning another BCS game will hopefully pound the respect they deserve into pollsters. The MWC finished the season with 3 ranked teams, and 2 in the top 15, a very impressive feat for a non BCS conference. unfortunately, I am not sure the Utes have what it takes to knock off a team like Texas. Therefore it would be better for Utah to get a sugar bowl bid and play a team like Alabama. Alabama has sat at the top of the rankings for most of the year, but I am still not sold. 'Bama to me seems a bit over-ratted with a mediocre offense that the Utes defense could tear apart. If Brian Johnson comes out and plays like he did against Michigan, Oregon State, SDSU, and BYU, the Runnin' Utes could stun the BCS by topping an SEC giant. Needless to say, I think the Utes will not get the chance and will fight hard against Texas. If it turns out, Maura and I will be in AZ on January 5th.

the following are my Bowl projections and winners for the 5 BCS games.

Orange - Boston College vs Cincinnati - Cincinnati

Rose - USC vs Penn St. - USC

Sugar - Ohio State vs Alabama - Alabama

Fiesta - UTAH vs TEXAS - Congrats to the Utes for a great season, Texas wins

BCS National Title Game - Florida vs Oklahoma - Its tough but Urban Meyer and the Gators get business done

And that's me...Any thoughts football fans?

Daily Updates and projections on all 34 bowl games, click here

Thursday, November 20, 2008

They Walk Among Us

Given our recent lack of personal content, I thought you might enjoy the annual Darwin Awards (honoring the least evolved among us).

Here is the glorious winner:

1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach , California , would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And now, the honorable mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine and, after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger.

The chef's claim was approved.


3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.


4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.

The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.


5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.


6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer...$15.

If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?


7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.


8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher.

Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, 'Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from.'


9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti , Michigan , at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash.

The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away. [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]


10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.


In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with your friends and family... unless of course one of these individuals by chance is a distant relative or long-lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.


*** Remember... They walk among us!!! ***

Sunday, November 9, 2008

BCS Bound?

The madness all started on Monday morning when Cole found himself in a massive line (stretching the entire outside of Rice-Eccles stadium) looking to score U vs. TCU tickets. Lucky for us, he was able to snag a pair and we found ourselves at one of the University of Utah's most significant games.

We started the game a bit worried after TCU jumped ahead with a 10 point lead in the first 8 minutes of the first quarter. We had a feeling it would be a tough battle.

However, the Utes' defense stayed strong the entire time letting the offense take advantage of a missed field goal by TCU kicker. With less than two minutes to go, the Utes brought it out and scored a very exciting touchdown, leaving the final score 13-10.

Go Utes!!!