In September, we were lucky enough to go back to Texas (again) for the UO vs. LSU game. We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge because we were with two families' worth of kids, and I ended up with an ear infection. But everyone else had fun, which is important, and here is the proof:
Josh and my niece Jordan, with the Dallas Cowboys jumbotron in the background
Jordan and my dad
Josh and my brother Austin
Josh and Austin outside of the stadium
Then for the first home game, Josh joined the pickup band (made of marching band alumni, current members, and future members) for the first time. It was actually the first time I've ever seen him perform, since he had already graduated by the time we started dating.
Because Josh was sitting with the band, I asked my friend Carissa to sit with me in our seats.
We showed up really early so I could be sure I didn't miss Josh
I made him wear a white hat so he'd be easy to see
Josh loved it so much, he's thinking of doing it again next year!
We didn't just go to temples while we were in Arizona, we also did things like eat a lot of food (you can look forward to a post about that later), laze in the lazy river at our hotel, and hike Piestewa/Squaw Peak. The hike is a lot harder than it looks because it is mostly straight up, on rough terrain, and is like climbing a very steep staircase. As with most things, I figured that if kids could do it then I could too.
Halfway through, we were still smiling, despite the sweat:
The view of Phoenix was amazing!
This gives you a little idea of what the hike was like (very rough!):
The "stairs":
Josh had an unfortunate encounter with a prickly friend:
But it turned out he was a Duck fan too:
Because Piestewa Peak is so popular, we had to park pretty far away. Sadly, in the time that we got to the peak, parked, hiked, and got back to the car, this happened. We spent much of the next few days watching the news.
Then we went to a little event...
... where we got to dress up...
... and watch the team we love...
... and the marching band...
... come REALLY CLOSE to winning a National Championship!
The experience was totally worth it, even though I thought Josh might cry.
And this was my view of my husband at the end of the game:
He was a little sad. It was tough to lose. But we also walked off with about twenty of these things:
We have accumulated so many game day cups over the years, we practically never use anything else!
It's depressing when your favorite team loses, but we certainly have had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'll update a little more about our trip in the next couple posts. (Spoiler alert: the ShepAlder temple tally is up to 37!)
Remember when Josh and I went to Reno and then to Medford? And that the reason we went to Medford was to visit our friends the Westons? And that even though we had fun in Medford we didn't take any pictures that had the Westons in them?
Well, we tried to remedy that this past weekend when we met up with Haylie and Chris for a couple days in Eugene. Neither of them had ever been to Eugene, so we tried to give them The Grand Tour, starting with BJs for pizza:
We discovered way too late that Chris and Haylie like BJs (and that there is a location in Portland), because I am obsessed with pizzookies and I try to eat there whenever we're in Eugene.
On Saturday we made them walk around to places like...
And tons of other places of which Josh didn't take pictures.
Then we took them to lunch at the Glenwood, which we figured was a perfect place for the campus experience.
Oh, and there was one other thing:
We also got to see the Ducks trounce the Portland State Vikings (69-0!)
Because Josh and I have season tickets, we couldn't sit next to Haylie and Chris, but they weren't too far away.
We had a great weekend showing off our old stomping grounds, and we discovered that we should have spent more time with them before they moved to Medford because they hadn't heard any of our usual stories! (or maybe that means they spent the perfect time with us previously because they hadn't had to hear any of our usual stories....) We look forward to their visiting us again (soon maybe?) and visiting them when (if) they move back to Utah!
UPDATE: Our beloved OREGON DUCKS not only beat the Oregon State Beavers... they completely DESTROYED them!! Final score from Corvallis: 65-38! The Ducks led the whole way, surging to nearly 700 total offensive yards!! This all but guarantees them second place in the Pac-10 Conference and a berth in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 30.
I am so happy, I cannot even begin to explain my incredible satisfaction. To see all those disappointed Beaver fans just warmed my heart to no end. What a joy for Duck fans to have their team beat all three NW teams this year -- the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers -- by sizable margins.
ORIGINAL POST
Today is the day! In just a couple hours (4 p.m. PST), the OREGON DUCKS and the Oregon State Beavers face off in the 112th annual CIVIL WAR.
As devoted Duck fans, Emily and I will be watching the game at home. Why not at the game? Simple: It's in Corvallis at "Frozen Burrito" Stadium. I hate that place. I've watched exactly three games there in person: the 1998 Civil War and the 2002 Civil War as a member of the Oregon Marching Band, and the 2005 matchup between Oregon State and Washington State, as the Sports Editor of theCottage Grove Sentinel newspaper.
Reser Stadium, in my Duck opinion, is a horrible place. Each time I went as a member of the OMB, the fans there were so filled with rage and anger toward Duck fans that they had no problem hurling expletives, bottles, etc., at the band. Seriously.
There are many Oregonians who don't understand why the Civil War is such a big deal. I understand that. Unless you grew up around it or have a undying devotion to either team, it probably seems a bit silly. Some people have told me that they root for both teams, until they play for each other. I can't subscribe to this theory... I'm completely incapable of rooting for the Beavers... ever. When they won back-to-back NCAA baseball championships, many Oregonians exclaimed that it was a great accomplishment for the states and both Ducks and Beavers fans should rejoice.
Not me. No way. The only thing those championships did for me was make me jealous that Oregon's baseball team had been discontinued in 1982, thanks to Title IX (thankfully, the team has been restarted and will start competitive play next year!).
The CIVIL WAR is always a big game, as the winner gets bragging rights for the rest of the year. Oregon State has won the last two games, but neither of those were as important as today's game.
You see, Oregon and Oregon State enter today's 112th CIVIL WAR with identical overall records (8-3). The difference is that, while the Ducks are 6-2 in the Pac-10 conference, the Beavers are 7-1, having beaten the only other 7-1 team in the Pac-10: the University of Southern California Trojans. USC has won (or shared) the Pac-10 title in each of the last SIX seasons and their ONLY loss this season is to Oregon State.
What does this mean? Basically, if Oregon State beats Oregon today in the CIVIL WAR, the Beavers go to the Rose Bowl and would (likely) tie with USC for the Pac-10 Championship. For Duck fans, that event would be akin to the beginning of the Apocalypse. The Beavers have not been to the Rose Bowl since 1965 (the Ducks last went in 1995, though they won the Pac-10 championship in 2001).
My hopes for the game? A win by the Ducks. A HUGE win. If they do, they'll likely go to the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30 in San Diego. If not, they'll probably end up at the Las Vegas Bowl (where they could potentially play BYU) or at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.
Josh and I went to the Ducks vs. Stanford game on Saturday and it was the most ridiculously wet time I have ever spent at a football game. The Ducks won, which only solidifies my belief that my presence is what is necessary for a win (they have won every game I have attended this season). Unfortunately, this was the last game we are planning to attend this season because Josh has a ski show this coming weekend that coincides with the last home game. For more information about our Duck pride, click here (Josh keeps telling me to include information, but I refuse to repeat myself because that's how I am. Wooh).
If we were any wetter, we'd be swimming
Thankfully my bro-in-law lent us this old sideline jacket similar to the ones the players wear between drives on inclement days. It was like being in a big, wet sleeping bag but it kept me warm.
Josh didn't wear his cape because he was worried it would get too wet.
We had a great (albeit quick) weekend trip that included a brief stop in my hometown Hermiston (call it a "cameo" appearance!).
As many of you know, Emily and I are alumni of the University of Oregon. I played the trombone in the Oregon Marching Band for four years and have a deep devotion to my beloved Oregon Ducks. Emily and I have season tickets and go to almost every home game (we make exceptions for special events, including my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary last year!).
I started wearing these awesome socks this season. GO DUCKS!
Last year, Emily's mom made me this reversible cape, which I now wear to every home game.
This is my ever-growing collection of Oregon hats. The Oregon Ducks football team has more uniform combinations than any other NCAA team, with jerseys and pants in four colors (green, yellow, white and black),as well as three different helmet colors (green, yellow and white).
I've always wanted to take Dad to a game, but he can never seem to make it to Eugene. So, when I saw that the Ducks would play Washington State in Pullman this year, I bought tickets for Dad, Emily and me (the Ducks and the WSU Cougars are in the same conference, so they play each other once a year, alternating home venues).
As I've also mentioned previously, Emily and I have made a goal to go to attend endowment sessions at as many temples as possible. Usually, we try to schedule our trips with the temple in mind. Having never been to the Spokane Temple, we decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to go since the game in Pullman didn't start until 3:15 p.m.
After Emily arrived home Friday evening, we drove to my dad's house, arriving just after midnight (OK, so we actually watched part of the presidential debates and then went to the gym for a workout... and THEN we drove to Hermiston). We caught a few hours of sleep, and when Dad got home from work around 6:15 a.m., we got dressed and headed for Spokane. We arrived at the temple about 9:40 a.m., with plenty of time to make our scheduled appointment for the 10 a.m. session (One thing I love about the smaller temples is how quickly you can get from arriving to actually being inside the endowment room waiting for the session to begin. Since there are no stairs to navigate and no chapel, it takes just a few minutes).
ShepAlders celebrate their 24th unique temple visit at the Spokane Washington Temple!
We had a wonderful session and really enjoyed partaking in the blessings of temple work. Emily and I have now visited 24 temples together.
After the temple, Emily said we should get lunch at Applebees so we could silence our growling stomachs and get changed in to our Oregon Ducks-themed clothing. Emily grabbed her clothes and headed for the restroom, while I changed in the car (Emily said, "You're a boy... you can do that!). By the time we got done and returned to the table, our lunch had arrived. When we finished, Dad got dressed in the restroom, but he hadn't seen the Ducks t-shirt I left out for him. I told him he had to put it on because both his son and daughter-in-law are Ducks, therefore, he is vicariously a Duck... and Ducks don't go to games without the appropriate attire.
We made our way to Pullman, parked near the downtown WSU visitors center and boarded a free bus to Martin Stadium, which is the smallest stadium in the PAC-10.
With a capacity of 35,117, Martin Stadium holds only about 60% of the typical 59,000+ sellout crowd at Oregon home games at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
If it not's Autzen... it's not awesome.
But, we still had a good time (even though it was pretty hot).
However, the uncomfortable high-school-bleacher quality of the stadium's metal seats was too much for Em, and she fled to the wide open spaces above section 14.
The Ducks massacred the hapless Cougars -- whose sole win this season this year came at the expense of Portland State -- and by the time the game ended, it seemed that there were more Duck fans left at the stadium then WSU fans (many who left after halftime). The game became so uncompetitive toward the end that our mascot, The Duck, got into his pajamas and took a nap in the end zone.
In the end zone, the Cougar end zone, the Oregon Duck sleeps tonight.
The final score was 63-14, leaving the Ducks with a 4-1 overall record (they lost to Boise State last week, but we'll get our revenge next year with a rematch in Boise. We will definitely be there to see the Ducks and Broncos play on the famous SMURF TURF at BSU's Bronco Stadium).
Dad said he had a good time...and he even
wore the shirt I brought for him!
(Notice the sparsely filled stadium in the background...
WSU fans started to bolt in droves by halftime).
After the game, we drove back to Hermiston, stopping briefly in Kennewick for some dinner and Frostys from Wendy's. Emily had to teach primary today... and since neither of us are "morning people," we decided to drive on to Beaverton. We finally got home around 2:30 a.m.
