Notre Dame VS BYU

Notre Dame VS BYU.
The coldest game in TWENTY years.
100 bucks a ticket.
BYU played horribly.
And did I mention THE COLDEST GAME IN TWENTY YEARS?
It was really cool to be there...in the begninning. But then it just got FREEZING. and with the cold, my attitude just couldn't keep up. By half-time, I stopped trying. It. was. not. fun. Slowly, as the temperature dropped, the wind picked up, and the snow/ice blew in my face- I just realized how much I hated life at that moment.
To sum it up this is how I felt...

Anyway- Glad I had the opportunity to go to a Notre Dame game- but next year,

 we will definitely be choosing to go to a warmer game.

Ryan's Parents were planning on coming out to the game but last minute decided not to. BEST decision EVER. I'm so glad they didn't have to fly all that way to suffer.
But we did miss them nonetheless.

Here are some pictures from when I was still in a good mood... 

We met up with Ryan's best buddy's family- Kurtis and Devin Dayley. 

Getting our tickets and hanging out at ND before the game.
The campus is always PACKED on game day

Freezing.

The best part of the game was actually the day before. The BYU football team does a big fireside for our stake and we got to hear Bronco Mendenhall and Taysum Hill give some great talks as well as hear some musical numbers. That was a really neat experience. 

Grandpa Harvey

Ryan's sweet Grandpa Harvey has been really struggling with his health this year. I remember this spring/summer when he just wanted so badly to hold on until Danny got home- but we knew there was just no way he would make it until then. Well, he sure surprised all of us as he hung on not just until Danny got home but through another few months afterwards. It was an amazing experience just before he passed. We called Ryan's mom and she happened to be over at Grandpa Harvey's. All of Grandpa's kids were surrounding his bedside in a very reverent atmosphere. We turned the call into a facetime and were able to "say our goodbyes" in a way. We were able to spend a few minutes at his bedside even though we were clear across the country. It was really special, especially for Ryan to be able to see his Grandpa one more time. Apparently there were another couple grandkids who also lived across the country who were facetiming at that moment as well. We, (the grandkids facetiming) were the only ones who hadn't had a chance to say goodbye. When our call ended we got a text-minutes later- telling us that Grandpa had just passed. We feel that Grandpa Harvey was so selfless that he even held on until all the grandkids had their chance to say goodbye. We feel so blessed to have had that experience. Here are Ryan's thoughts soon after his grandpa died:

"My grandpa Gene Harvey just passed away peacefully at home at age 93. He was one of the most charitable and selfless individuals I have ever known, and he blessed the lives of an incredible number of people. I hope I can someday be more like him. Thanks Grandpa. I'll miss you."

We were fortunate enough to be flown across the country to attend Grandpa Harvey's funeral. Thanks to Mom and Dad Van Wagoner. It was wonderful to be able to be with the family and remember Grandpa Harvey. I got a crazy, bad vertigo spell and was so dizzy I could not even move without throwing up or dry heaving. I was devastated that I was not able to go to the funeral. I went to the Dr. and got some medicine/exercises to make it better and was able to be with the family immediately after the funeral and go to the burial and other events of the day. I'm so glad Ryan could be there though. We really are so grateful we had that opportunity to remember his wonderful life and to be with the family and Grandma Harvey.

Grandpa Harvey was buried in the AF cemetery right by the Harvey's old house
where Ryan's mom grew up.  I thought that was so neat!

Ry with his sweet Grandma Harvey. She is in our prayers.