The 12th Man

My brother Jesse has been a Seattle Seahawks fan for as long as I can remember. He's cheered for them long before they became a contender for the Super Bowl. He even made sure his girls were in appropriate attire for the big game. So to say he was a little excited and a little nervous {he said he was calling in sick on Monday if the Seahawks lost} for the big game would be an understatement.

I'm a Seahawks fan because #1 their uniforms are good looking. I know, I know. It sounds totally girly but it's true! The blue, bright green, and gray looks sharp. #2 They have former Aggie greats on their Freshman team. Duh. Gotta cheer for Turbin and B-wagz. And #3 I like Seattle. It's a cool town and one I'd love to go visit again, so this gives me a perfect excuse to someday take Jeff there to see a game.

Oh, and #4 they slaughtered the Denver Broncos and are Super Bowl Champions! Just because we live close to Colorado, and every other Utahn loves them, doesn't mean we cheer for the Broncos. Winning Team!

A little pre-game activity. Making my Dad some birthday {and 12th man} treats. Decorated of course in the winning team's colors and our favorite player's numbers. Or in the case of the losing team, blood. Jeff predicted the slaughter even before the game started!

And a bear to celebrate my Dad's birthday. You can guess if he turned 75 or 57.

I love my helpers! Seriously. Love that husband of mine for always helping with the treats. He does a great job "accessorizing" the teddy bears. 

Fern and Pearl were very proud of their bears. So proud in fact that when we left some at my parent's house for my Dad to enjoy, that they cried. 

We had so much food set out for pre-half time snacking that we didn't actually eat any of the main course {traditional chili and clam chowder} my mom missed church to cook! I'm blaming Emily and her baked nachos. Sorry Mom.

{This adorable cheese cutter was part of my Grandpa's Nabiso collection... I'm claiming it. "When you want a cracker, you want a Ritz!"}

The kids loved my Dad's traditional Super Bowl Bingo and game trivia. After all, there is a giant basket of prizes at stake for the winners.

I love Super Bowl Sunday weekends!

Super Bowling

Per years of family tradition, we went "Super Bowling" the night before the actual Super Bowl. It's a tradition I loved as a kid and I think our kids are starting to love it too. I mean, it's the only time we take them bowling so what kid wouldn't be excited?

This year we stayed in Logan for the weekend and hit the ole Logan Alley Bowling Lanes. Ah the memories. And for the first time in many years, we actually had the entire family there! The past few years it's just been us and my parents. Sometimes Kurtis.

We had a lot of fun. It's funny to watch everyone's bowling styles. 

I caught Kurtis dancing to some song. He's such a goofball. Love him!

My two brothers could almost pass as twins now. Same body shape, same height, same bowling style. And what is up with Jesse's shirt? Seriously. Where does he find these!? A panda riding a giraffe? With a red Solo cup in hand? He's weird.

Anberlin... the little twerp. She didn't flat out scream when I picked her up but she had this look on her face like she was going to start crying any second. She loves everyone else but me. 

Pearl and Ruby kicked our bowling bums. Ruby won by one pin, with Pearl in second place. Jeff attempted a few gutter balls to keep his score at 69. Not surprised. I think the trick to winning is that funny contraption for kids to use to roll their balls down the alley. My Dad said next year we could institute an upgrade on the official Jewkes Family Super Bowl scoring criteria with a reverse handicap score. The adults need it!

And per tradition, a picture of everyone's bowling shoes.

Pumping your own gas

I remember stopping with my Grandma Jewkes at a gas station. She drove her fancy Riveria and was out of gas. The only problem was, she didn't know how to pump gas. Grandma had me get out of the car and asked me if I knew how to fill the car up with gas. I bet I was no more than 10 and of course, like Grandma, I didn't have a clue what to do. I remember asking her why she didn't know how to put gas in the car... I probably laughed too. She said growing up, that's what the boys at the gas station did for everyone. And once she married my Grandpa, he always made sure her cars were full. Talk about true love {or spoiled}. 

Anyway, we stood there staring at that gas pump for a few minutes when my little brother, Jesse, told us to get out of the way, that he would do it. Apparently boys pay more attention to these kind of things than girls. We filled up, Grandma went inside to pay, and then we laughed all the way home. 

Every once in awhile that memory hits me as I'm pumping my own gas. I miss my Grandma terribly.