The Seven of Us

I'll be honest: I"m sad.  Quite sad, actually.  Last night BYU lost to Florida in the Sweet Sixteen. I'm not really sad that they lost; everyone loses sometime. My sadness began with about a minute and a half left in the game. That's when Coach Rose took Jimmer out.  As Jimmer walked along the sideline and hugged his coaches I was overcome.   I knew that one day Jimmer would no longer be a Cougar; he played his final home game in the Marriot Center almost three weeks ago.   But I'm still incredibly sad that my cousin, whom I've come to love and admire, is no longer representing the school that I love so much.  I'm happy for Jimmer; he's had a great career and he's headed to the NBA.  I'm happy for all of the guys and am very proud of what they accomplished this year. I love Coach Rose and I'm awed at what he and his staff have done. But I'm sad that this era is over. Yes, I'll be a Cougar basketball fan forever, but I'll never ge...

ATLANTA (March 20, 2011) - With Freshman standout Jared Sullinger looking to follow in the footsteps of 2010 winner Evan Turner, The Ohio State University is hoping to produce the first back-toback Naismith Men's College Players of the year since Duke's Shane Battier and Jason Williams won the award in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Sullinger, along with Jimmer Fredette (BYU), Nolan Smith (Duke) and Kemba Walker (UConn) were named finalists for the 2011 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Award presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. "The voters have an especially tough choice in selecting the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year this year and have to choose between the best players on the best teams or the players who carried their teams on their backs," said Atlanta Tipoff Club Executive Director Eric Oberman, "We wish them all luck in the upcoming NCAA tournament and will be looking for the final rallies in the...

This morning it happened: The Thing Every Mother Dreads Most.  I'd taken the kids to school and come home; Corbin wanted to take some trash out.  I was in the kitchen cleaning up, so I let him out the back door, which is in the kitchen. I had a clear view of the back yard and he played happily for awhile. I went in and out to help him a couple of times.  At one point I made the Mistake: I went into the bathroom for about 3 or 4 minutes.  When I came back Corbin was gone.  I  did a quick check of our yard, garage, garden, and the alley behind our house, then started to panic.  I went through the house to  the front yard. No  Corbin.  I circled half of our block, calling his name, looking in neighbor's yards, the alley, and the field behind our house.  No Corbin.  I went faster, sprinting through the house, into the road, and in the opposite direction toward the mailbox.  As I neared the mailbox (diagonally across ...

Well, if you've wondered why posting this has taken me so long, it's because I've written it twice.  The first (authentic) version is not published. It turned out too journalish for a blog post; not that I haven't published other things where I've been journalish, but for some reason the authentic version of this post feels even moreso. So, here's a summary: I went to the Provo Temple. I ate lunch with Jessie Schumacher. I tried to find Bishop Cranney, but he had gone to take care of his mother...we have an appointment in July. I went to the soils lab and spent a wonderful hour with Bruce Webb.  An hour isn't enough to spend with Bruce.  We love that man! I went to the bookstore and spent money.  I went to the creamery for mint brownies and ran into Rob Ramos, now a BYU staff trainer (coincidentally, he works with the basketball team) . Rob was a grad student when I was in the ATC program.  He answered all of my questions about George Curtis (th...

This is our end-of-year letter for 2010.  I'm not really a terrible procrastinator ; I just wasn't in the mood to write this type of thing until now.  Rabid Cougar Fans in Northeast Colorado: Andersen Family Update 2010 Dear Friends and Family, Today is March 1, and this letter is long overdue. I could say that I’ve been lax about sending holiday cards in recent years, but that’d be an understatement. I certainly have plenty of excuses, but I’ll spare you the details and give you the news instead. We continue to be blessed beyond what we deserve. We’re all healthy, happy (sometimes obnoxiously so), and busy doing things we love. Here’s an update: Corbin turned 3 in November. He’s a roostery firecracker who resents being managed or directed in any way. He follows in Taylor’s footsteps: fiercely independent, overconfident, and incredibly strong. Corbs loves climbing everything, whether fence, refrigerator, or desk , and today as I was helping him move something ...

This is the much-delayed follow-up to my initial post about  my trip to Utah.  Part II will focus on the temple, BYU, and Uncle Dennis & Aunt Susan.   I'm going to open this post with my favorite BYU story, The Dream of a Provo School Boy, as told by Jeffery R. Holland. This will be a long post and I may break it into two parts. from Elder Holland: In the spring of 1912 Brigham Young University was in a financial crisis.  In order to raise needed capital, it had been decided that the university would sell the land north and east of the then partially complete Maeser Building on Temple Hill for the development of a new Provo suburb.  The university simply had to have the money to survive.  The graduation ceremony was to conclude with a sales pitch to the community.   When Alfred Kelly was introduced that morning as the student speaker for the first four-year graduating class, he rose and stood absolutely silent for several mome...

From an Andersen cousin-in-law'sfacebook page : "Saw Jimmer walking through BYU campus today like a normal guy, no body guards or horse pulled chariot! Hmmm...who woulda thought!!!" My reply:  "He is a normal guy--off of the basketball court!" I'm glad my cousin has been so successful, but I just don't think fame is for me.  Ha! Maybe that's why I never played basketball.  :-)