Buffalo Schools Closed

We have officially had our first real winter storm here in Buffalo. When I went to bed last night it in the low to mid 40's, without wind. We woke up to temperatures in the mid-teens with winds into the 60's. Schools were closed throughout western New York, except the University at Buffalo of course. On my way in to school today I counted more than 5 trees uprooted (the ground had frozen and the high winds caused the roots to snap), one of them had landed on a car in our circle (cul-de-sac in Utah), and I saw another that had fallen through a garage roof. Garbage cans had been blown all over the place, and four of the eight lights that I go through on my way to school were no longer working (some of them were obviously broken).

To illustrate how bad it was, this morning (around four) while Janna and I were laying in bed listening to the wind she said, "I just keep waiting for the roof to get blown off." She was of course referring to the potential of a tornado passing through.

Updated Pictures and a Clock

If you have been wondering how soon we will be leaving New York, you can check our new countdown clock. It is not necessarily accurate, due to the fact that we are unsure of the exact date that we will be leaving, but we figure that it will be some time close to December 18, 2009. The clock is located at the very bottom of our blog page.

These pictures of Anna were taken during this last week. She is now six weeks old, and as you can see, she has been eating well. Make sure to look at the video of Alyssa and Anna at the end of this blog.

More Pics

Art

The Vincent Five: By Ambrey

This is a family portrait that was drawn by Ambrey on January 11th, 2008. In case you have a difficult time distinguishing which person is which, I will tell you. From left to right: Alyssa, Anna (if you look carefully you will see that Ambrey drew her with earrings), Janna, Josh, and Ambrey.

Snowy Day: By Alyssa

This is a picture that was drawn by Alyssa on January 3rd, 2008. It is a picture of Alyssa, standing between a tree and a snow angel (the snow angel is to the right of the person that was drawn with color), with a snowman waving in the background. I am not sure where the blue sky came from, because we rarely see one around here.

Some Random Thoughts About the Sports Teams That I Care About

The Jazz

I really do not know where to begin with the Jazz. They started off the season in a similar fashion to last year, but then December came and things fell apart. It appears that they are missing Derek Fisher a little more than I thought they would. Here are some of my thoughts:

Andre Kirilenko: AK is having a very good season. By bringing in Jeff Hornecek, the Jazz have extended a helping hand to one of their most talented, and emotional players. It appears that the move has been a success, if you don't believe me check out AK's stats. His field goal percentage is about the same that it always has been, but his three point percentage has jumped to 35% (which is better than Memo's 34%) and he is having a career year for assists.

Memo Okur: I have to ask, is this guy injured? Not only has his shooting percentage dropped dramatically, but he is not rebounding all that well either.

Carlos Boozer: This guy is a monster on offense and the boards, I just wish that he was on defense too.

Deron Williams: He is well on his way to becoming a great point guard, and his competitive nature is special. The only criticism I can offer is to cut down on the turnovers, especially late in games.

The rookies: The 7-1 Kyrylo Fesenko looks like he could end up being the steal of this draft. I think that he will eventually take Memo's starting job from him because of his size, his defense, and his effort. Morris Almond has been tearing up the D-league, hopefully his game will eventually make the transition to the NBA.

The rest of the team: They need Matt Harpring for more than his allotted playing time, Paul Milsap needs more minutes, Ronnie Brewer should be up for the most improved player award, and CJ Miles has finally proven that he can play. The trade for Kyle Korver was a brilliant move.

BYU Football

It was another good year on the gridiron for the 14th ranked BYU Cougars. They finished the season at 11-2, and are currently riding the nations longest winning streak, 10 games (they have also won 16 straight against conference opponents). They were significantly better than I thought they would be, and here are some of the reasons why. Max Hall replaced John Beck as QB, and performed at a "higher level" (that phrase was for Bronco) than I think anyone thought he would. Also, Harvey Unga and Austin Collie were phenomenal, and Dennis Pita brought back memories of Johnny Harline. Having said all that, the biggest reason for their success had to be their defense which finished the season ranked seventh in total defense, and tied for 13th in scoring defense.

The outlook for next year will vary depending on the source you read. Some people are talking about a BCS busting season, but I personally have a hard time believing that it will happen next year. If I am correct, BYU will be losing eight of their defensive starters from this year, including all of their linebackers and secondary. I personally believe that their best chance to break into the BCS will be in two years, when Hall, Collie, and Pita will all be seniors.

Bronco is finally letting go of the reigns, at least a little bit. Jaime Hill will now be serving as BYU's defensive coordinator, although he will not be calling the defense on game day. Jaime's impact on the Cougars defense has been impressive. He was a major part of the scheme change that was made two years ago when they moved from a 3-3-5 formation which involved a great deal of blitzing and man coverage, to a 3-4-4 formation that focused on a bend but don't break philosophy and zone coverage. It was a change in philosophy that has Bronco looking like a genius.

The 49ers

Sometimes it just sucks to be a fan. The 49ers had another disappointing season, finishing 5-11 this season. Their biggest mistake dates back to three seasons ago when the used the number one draft pick on Alex Smith. There is no doubting his intelligence, but my opinion has always been that he was overrated. Who knows, I could be wrong. Their other problems include, but are certainly not limited to, poor play at wide receiver, an offensive line that desperately needs to improve, and a defensive front that is less than intimidating.

It is possible that Smith will be better then I am giving him credit for, considering that the first two problems I mentioned can have a significant impact on his effectiveness.

John Beck and Dolphin Football

The good: The good news for the Dolphins is that the season has finally come to an end. What makes things better is that they have brought in Bill Parcells. This is a guy who is completely committed to winning. Parcells will make the tough decisions necessary to improve this team, and they will improve quickly. On top of Parcells coming in, the Dolphins will also have the number one pick in this draft.

The bad: The Miami Dolphins 1-15 season, need I say more.

The Ugly: This section has to go to Dan Le Batard, a Miami Herald sports columnist, who occasionally appears on ESPN's show Pardon the Interruption. In less then 50 seconds he bashes Mormons, Samoans, and Mexicans (according to him, the huddle of the United Nations), all while not answering Tony Kornheiser's question. He also wrote an article concerning the Dolphin's poor season, and Coach Cam Cameron getting fired. The edited version can be found online at the Miami Herald's website. The unedited section of his article can also be found online.

Dan Le Batard's Comments on ESPN's Pardon the Interuption

What is this guy talking about? Is he attempting to offend as many people as he can in under 50 seconds, or is he just trying to get fired?

A Little Something for Kiersten

Kiersten told Janna that we need to put more pictures on our blog. Well Kiersten, this one is for you.
This is a picture that I took of the Mississippi River from the Joseph Smith Family Cemetary this summer on our trip to New York.
Love ya Kiersten, I hope this helps.

A Quick Update, a Video, and Some Photos

Sorry that we have been a little slow on our posts, but life has kept us busy. We have some new photos and a fun video clip that we hope you will enjoy. Anna is doing well, she is almost already up to 8 pounds. We are not as sure of her hair color any more, it seems to change with the lighting.

Alyssa and Ambrey on their way out to build another snowman.

Janna and the girls after our Danish feast.

This is a picture of Janna and Anna in front of our well used Christmas tree.

This is a picture of our Christmas Eve Danish Dinner, which we usually have with Janna's family. It consists of potatoes, pork shoulder roast, sausage (which we did not have, so we replaced it with frikadelle), pork gravy, red cabbage and rice pudding.

This picture was taken shortly after we had Christmas online with my Mom.