Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to my Dad today!

-

---

Plus, it was Dallas' birthday last Tuesday, and Kim's birthday yesterday!

Happy, happy birthdays all around ;)

Dad Tribute Video

Reynolds deeply saddened...

{Reid and Reynolds in the '79 and '80 BYU football

media guides; Reid was a player (OT) and Reynolds

was a Graduate Assistant to the coaching staff}

"Lance Reynolds deeply saddened on the news of Garrett Reid's death"

BYU tight ends coach Lance Reynolds has known Philadelphia coach Andy Reid for more than 30 years. Reynolds was a graduate assistant for the Cougars in 1979-80, when Reid was a BYU offensive lineman.

So when Reynolds found out that Reid's son, Garrett, was found dead in a Lehigh University dormitory room early Sunday morning, he was deeply saddened.

"It was really tough news. Anytime you bury one of your kids, it's got to really be tough," Reynolds said after Monday's practice. "You could try to understand and feel for it, but we haven't been through that, so it's hard. He's done a lot of work with those kids of his. It cuts you off at the knees when bad things happen, and this is certainly one of those."

Garrett Reid, 29, had been working for the Eagles as a strength and conditioning coach since he was released from prison in 2009. He had a troubled past involving drug addiction, but had appeared to have overcome his struggles. There was no indication of suicide or foul play.

"No matter what the surrounding circumstances are, which I don't know what they are, it's just flat-out hard. It's nasty tough," Reynolds said. "I feel bad for (Andy Reid). I actually took a few classes with his wife. I feel bad for her. Maybe worse for her."

Reynolds' son, Dallas, is an offensive lineman with the Eagles.

"Dallas told me (Garrett Reid) was in the dorm, at camp, when this happened," Reynolds said. "The kid was doing well, from my understanding."

-

--Deseret News

ah, Superbowl

A few of my fave Superbowl cards from someecards this year...

I trust NONE of my brothers around chili.

Or turkey.

Or salsa.

Or milk, for that matter. Don't ask. ;)

--- 

I was just thinking of all my new fabulous recipes I was gonna

make... and should NOT eat! (Queso dip, much?)

-

The whole TV thing the last few years is outta control, no??

So I had to laugh that a certain someone I'm related to

really, really wants an 80-inch television.

E I G H T Y Inches.

Pretty sure that's longer than my house.

wahoo!

Taught him everything he knows! haha... just sayin. ;)
Matt, you rocked this! So awesome!!
Congrats, boys.

Team Salutes Servicemen & Vets

Veteran at the fireside

Football Team Salutes Servicemen,

Servicewomen and Veterans

-

The BYU football team honored Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, with a patriotic program called "Salute to Servicemen, Servicewomen and Veterans."
-
The program took place in the Smith Fieldhouse and featured patriotic songs as well as addresses by BYU players Matt Reynolds and Romney Fuga, head coach Bronco Mendenhall, and former Cougar and NFL All-Pro tight end Chad Lewis. Several members of the football team also sang a musical number. Assistant coach Joe DuPaix, who previously worked at the U.S. Naval Academy, conducted the special fireside.
-
Reynolds, a preseason All-America offensive tackle, stressed the importance of doing our best, while Fuga, BYU’s starting defensive tackle, told how he came to BYU and talked about service and coming unto Christ. Coach Mendenhall praised our nation’s military and talked about standing for right.

Matt speaking

-
Lewis, now an Assistant Athletics Director at BYU, spoke about his Wounded Warriors experience climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with four wounded war veterans along other NFL representatives Tedy Bruschi and Jeff Fisher. A 10-minute video featuring the trip experience was shown as part of his comments.
-
During the event the veterans and servicemen and servicewomen in attendance were recognized while hymns of the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy were played.
-
The event was broadcast nationally on BYUtv.

Bronco speaking; Matt, Romney and Chad sitting at right

Chad speaking

Rise Up w/ Matt part 2



Chili's Queso recipe

Generally, I only post recipes over at the Melting Pot,

but with the BIG GAME coming tomorrow,

I thought this one was fitting!

Chili's Skillet Queso

This really IS a delicious copycat of Chili's famous queso.

My only problem was that it was a teensy bit spicy for me and

my littles... so the next time I make it, I will cut the cayenne and

chili powder in half (I marked these with asterisks as a reminder) -

-

INGREDIENTS:

-

16-ounce box Velveeta Cheese

-

1 C. milk

-

2 teaspoons paprika

-

½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper **

-

15-ounce can Hormel Chili (No Beans)

-

4 tsp. chili powder **

-

1 tablespoon lime juice

-

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

=====

DIRECTIONS:

-

Cut Velveeta into cubes.

-

Over medium-low heat, warm all ingredients in saucepan til cheese is melted.

-

That's it!! It's DELISH!

'nuff said.

Rise Up

I usually post all the football stuff over on the other blog,
but this was so awesome I just had to post it here too...

Matt, Dad, Houston

Loyalty: It is in the blood of the Reynolds clan

By Dick Harmon

Deseret News

-

What is expected of a son of Lance Reynolds?

-
We've seen Lance and Dallas. We're about to see the last of All-American tackle Matt who decided not to leave BYU early for the NFL and will play his senior season. The youngest, offensive guard Houston, fights for a spot this fall to continue the legacy of his family name in Provo.
-
Line up Lance Reynolds' sons and each has a unique reflection of his father. The smile, the unique facial features, the big shoulders and thick chest, the way of talking; it’s a remarkable play on a strand or two of solid DNA.
-
The name Reynolds evolved from the Norman given name Reginald or Regenweald, an alteration of the French Reinold. It means Brave Councilor.
-
Lance Reynolds is BYU football, the lone standing flesh and blood remnant of the LaVell Edwards regime. Now associate head coach for the Cougars, Reynolds has stood steadfast as BYU has made two head coaching changes since Edwards retired in 2000. A legion of former Cougars have put forth Lance Reynolds' name to be BYU's head coach, but decision makers chose to give the reins to Gary Crowton and Bronco Mendenhall.
-
In a decade of changes, Lance Reynolds has stood faithful in his charge to coach at BYU. And he's put sons in BYU uniforms like a Ford assembly line.
-
Lance Reynolds’ loyalty is legendary and athletes who've been coached by him swear a lifelong love of the man for his character, honor and sincerity.
-
So, what is expected of a son of Lance Reynolds?
-
Well, they have all become Eagle Scouts. They have all served honorable LDS missions. None of them has ever quit as a football player, regardless of what has been asked.
-
His namesake, Lance Jr., was asked to switch from linebacker to center in the twilight of his career and he fed the ball to John Beck, who will start this Friday for the Washington Redskins. Junior made the switch and became very proficient, albeit undersized for a center.
-
"Lance was my roommate for every game my sophomore and junior years," remembers Beck. "We will meet up with him and his wife whenever we come to Provo. I always felt I had a very reliable person blocking right in front of me. I liked being around Lance because he was very serious on the field but very easygoing and a jokester off the field who made me laugh."

Dad

Beck said Lance Jr. was passionate about BYU football and winning games – it mattered deeply.
-
"BYU is what he grew up around as a coach’s son," Beck said. "He would always shares stories his dad had told him about players or games. It was always cool to hear them from that perspective.
-
"I trust Lance off the field the same way I trusted him on the field."
-
The father sees all his sons as good men. He never had any trouble with any of them, although his namesake was a little harder to handle.
-
"He wasn't bad, just had a little zip in his tailgate," said Lance, the senior. "They have different personalities but they are great kids."
-
How many fathers can say they've had four sons play major college football? How many fathers can say they were in the team room preparing for games with them?
-
Lance Reynolds never pushed his sons to play. None picked up the game until sixth grade. When they played as seventh graders, his wife Leslie didn't like it. He never thought any of his sons would grow big in stature because in his own home growing up, he was the anomaly, the only huge guy.
-
"People have the feeling there was this expectation from a football standpoint," said the father. "But the only thing I ever told them was if you’re going to do football, do it. If you’re not, it's OK. But it was their decision."
-
Almost daily, NFL scouts appear at BYU practices to see Outland Trophy candidate Matt Reynolds.
-
The star says his father's expectations for him and his brothers were for off-the-field behavior first.
-
"Really, the expectations he put on us were not physical and never had anything to do with sports," Matt said. "It was you as an individual. He expected nothing but honesty, nothing but integrity. He taught us those disciplines that coaches try to instill in players on the field, but did it off the field, and it translated back onto the field."
-
Lance Jr. served an LDS mission to Little Rock, Ark. Dallas served in his father's mission in Seattle, Wash. The last two sons served as missionaries in Germany; Matt served in Munich and Houston in Frankfurt.
-
To go on missions and earn Eagle Scout awards were mileposts Lance and Leslie set for their sons, like most LDS parents. The Eagle projects had similar themes. Lance Jr. set out to organize a movement in his neighborhood to tighten down and secure water heaters in case of an earthquake. Matt gathered and donated new and used books for local shelters. Dallas collected toys for nurseries. Houston gathered essential toiletries for kits sent to poverty stricken areas of Africa.
-
Houston said he was never forced to get with the program, but he felt the pressure of his parents through their expectations and his brothers set an example hard to stray from.
-
"My father taught me to be true to the beliefs that I have and be loyal to the things I care about, whether it's been friends, family, the church, a belief system or qualities I want to possess,” Houston said.
-
"My biggest fear has been to disappoint my father,” he said. “Not that he would be mad or come after me, or anything like that; it would be the disappointment. As I've grown up and watched my dad live his life, I realized that if I could say at the end of my life that I've become like him and done a good job, I'd pass my test so to speak . And that is the motivation; that is the expectation we hold ourselves to as a family, that at the end of the day, to say we were like our father was."
-
Houston said when it came time to decide to serve his church for two years full time, he balked, pulled back, waited. As inquiries continued to come his way, he kept pulling back.
-
"When the time came for me to serve, I kind of beat around the bush,” he said. “The fact that I pulled back and thought if this was something I wanted to do for myself, shows that there was pressure. I saw all the plaques of all my brothers that went on missions honorably and worked hard and had been successful. At the end of the day I wanted to follow that legacy and be part of it and do something they had done and follow suit.”
-
To be a son of Lance Reynolds means loyalty.
-
"Without question, something he demonstrates throughout his life," Houston said. "When it's that gray area or when you aren't sure if sticking up for your friend was the right thing to do, my father is the example of loyalty. He's stayed with BYU because he believes in BYU and what it stands for. There have been some hard times as there will be in anything in life, but he's stuck to it because of his beliefs and his loyalty."
-
In his playing days, Lance Reynolds was one of the first to make it popular as a BYU football player to serve an LDS mission. A few months later, seven on the squad followed him. Those considered stars who did serve, were a minority.

Matt

Any father would want his sons to see the best in him and forgive the flaws. In this regard his sons swear their fealty with pride. They've watched their father endure situations with changes at BYU with loyalty and a dutiful attitude of allegiance to an ideal.
-
"I see it as legendary," Matt said. "He's had such a long career, three decades with the same team. If you start a list of names of people who have come and gone since he's been here, the friendships and associations he's made are really impressive. His love for the game and his love for the school is surpassed by nobody. He is just totally dedicated to BYU and BYU football."
-
Reynolds. Steadfastness. Brave Councilor.

Chad Lewis Climbs Kilimanjaro for Wounded Soldiers

Former BYU football player Chad Lewis loves a challenge. He climbed from a walk-on for the Cougars in Provo to an All-Pro player in the NFL.

-

Chad, center

Lewis made a much steeper climb recently, one he will never forget.
-
"It was an epic adventure," he said -- an adventure made even more special thanks to the company he climbed with: Four wounded warriors from the military -- two who each lost a leg, one who suffered brain trauma and a woman who lost an eye. Their team name: "Hard Target."
-
Their mission was to climb the highest free-standing mountain the world: Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.
-
Lewis made the trek with former NFL coach Jeff Fisher, former New England Patriots star Tedy Bruschi, and four wounded warriors from the military: two who each lost a leg, one who suffered brain trauma and a woman who lost an eye. "Our slogan was 19K: 19,000 for the KIA, killed in action, for those in Iraq and Afghanistan," Lewis explained. "We felt we had a mission."
-
"There is no yellow brick road to the top of Kilimanjaro," he continued. "It's 19,000 feet, and you have to walk every bit of it."
-
Also along for the trek was former NFL coach Jeff Fisher and former star for the New England Patriots Tedy Bruschi.
-
No amount of football training prepared them for the grueling hike -- especially on summit day.
-
"The lack of oxygen at the top was no joke," Lewis said. "In one 24-hour period we hiked for 19 hours. We hiked up 3,000 feet, we went down 3,000 feet, then went down another 3,000 feet."
-
But on day five, the group of 11 would have to summit without two of their wounded warriors. Michael Wilson, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury, got sick and was taken back to camp. The day before the summit, Ben Lunak -- who lost a leg in battle -- could no longer walk. He was devastated.
-
"When he left, Teddy Bruschi went and talked to him and said, ‘We're going to take your reserve leg to the top of that mountain, and a piece of you is going to go to the top,'" Lewis said. "So he put it in his backpack and we hiked that thing up the mountain."
-
But near the top, Bruschi became exhausted. Like any good football player, he handed it off to his teammate.
-
"I put it in my backpack and said, ‘Let's go, bro,'" Lewis said.
-

Chad, with a wounded soldier's prosthetic leg.  The soldier attempted
the climb, but became exhausted.  Chad carried the leg to the top!

-
So now down to nine, the team slowly made it to the top. It was a victory not only for Lewis; he says it was also a tribute to our nations' military.
-
"We value your lives, we value you losing your leg for our freedom. We're grateful for that," he said. "To hear them say the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten... Their plea to us was, 'Don't forget us. Don't forget what we're doing, don't forget we're fighting for your freedom.'"
-
Lewis issued a challenge to everyone: Thank at least one veteran this Memorial Day weekend.
-
The team's climb was to bring awareness to the Wounded Warriors Project.
-
--KSL

Matt, Bri and Lucy in the news

Here's a pic of Matt, Lucy and Brianna in the Deseret News-

to read the story, CLICK HERE

catch-up...

Peli posing for Grandma...

-

...and hiding in the corner ??

-

Raini 

-

I'm only slightly jealous of those eyelashes.

-

Serious Face. 

-

Dall and Hoot

-

Sharae

-

Baby Lucy's VANS...

-

Yes, that's Peli.

and Yes, he's ASLEEP...

-

Dallas' hair.  haha 

-

Wubbs.

-

Mean Dallas. (cue the Shakin' in your Boots.)

-

Houston playing center at the Spring Blue & White Game

-

Spring Blue & White Game: Houston top left walking,

Dad coaching bottom center-left-

-

for more football pix, click HERE

dad in the news...

There's a great article about this guy:

on Total Blue Sports.

I also posted it OVER HERE.

how did i never see this?

I'm a Superbowl watcher.

And a Superbowl Commercial watcher.

So I'm wondering how I've never, ever

ever seen this Gem...

-
some of my other faves are over HERE.

trick play

Saw this on the news this morning- it's a middle school

football team who ran a crazy trick play to score-

nice.

a plug for a great show and a congrats

Okay, have you seen this show?!?!

It's called 'Chase' and it's on Monday nights on NBC.

It is awesome!  Action-packed, well-written...

it's about a team of US Marshals led by Annie and her

partney Jimmy (Cole Hauser, who I LOVE!)

It's on at the same time as Hawaii Five-0 (which I also like), so

alot of people have missed Chase- but if you haven't seen it,

you should check it out!

-

And I wanted to tell my bro Houston congrats on his big game Saturday!

(Matt gets a congrats, too, of course!)

Houston played much of the first half at RG and the entire

second half at Center- he rocked it and we were very proud of him-

that's him below (hint: he's not the little one ! ;) 

My cuz Joe posted this on FB, and I loved it... of course-

-

-

Wubbs' 5th b-day party was Saturday, and it was so fun-

there was a water fight (Peli and Wubbs center back)

-

-

 (Peli running far left)

-

{Presents!!}

- 

-

{pinata} 

- 

the Boys of Fall

This is part music video, part motivational locker room clips and interviews.

awesome-