BYU Bowl Week & Elder Ridley's Return

Final Score: 23-6... Cougar victory. A great way end to the bowl week. However, that was just the end :) the whole week was full of fun activities, yummy food, lots of shopping, and great company!

But FIRST.... the week of death, I mean finals, had to be taken care of. My finals week was easier than usual, since a lot of my big projects were due before finals week even began. However, Skyler's final's week was jam-packed.

Studyin' away...

Thanks heavens that's over.

We were then off to San Diego! We started by boarding the private charter for players, coaches, and wives.

After a quick flight (during which I watched the Katy Perry Movie), we arrived in San Diego and boarded a bus which took us to our hotel.

San Diego sky line.

Once at the hotel, we dropped of luggage and went to the Poinsettia Bowl welcome dinner. We then had the rest of the night to ourselves, so we walked the harbor and played games with some friends (Yahtzee!)

The view from our room.

The view from our room.

The next day we went to Sea World! And I felt SO sick--super nauseous with an upset stomach. (No, I'm not pregnant!) BUT, I wasn't about to miss out on Sea World. So I decided I'd go but just sit on a bench most of the time, and hopefully sit through a show or two. But Skyler was not about to let that happen. As soon as we entered the gates, he went straight to the wheelchair/stroller rental and rented me a wheelchair for the day (he did all this before I could even protest). But I will admit, it made me feel a lot better. I felt so dizzy standing up and walking around, so the wheelchair was the perfect solution. He is such a sweet husband.

Being pushed in my wheelchair.

DOLPHIN SHOW!

Atlantis ride

Shamuuuu.

The following day was San Diego Zoo! I felt much better, so no wheelchair was needed :) We started off by taking the bus tour that went through the entire zoo.

On the bus.

We decided to take a picture on this puma thing, and it was quite the effort to get up on it. Our photographer (the one and only Ammon Olsen) took pics of the whooole process. I was stuck high centered on it in this awkward position for a while due to the fact that I couldn't stop laughing! Haha. Here is the photostream...

Finally made it up!

That night we headed to the San Diego Airport to pick up Elder Cody Ridley--Skyler's brother returning home from the Baranquilla, Columbia mission. I had met him before he left for his mission, but had never really gotten to know him--so I was excited for his return! As was the whole family.

He was the VERY LAST one to come down the escalator. We all got a little worried when the flight attendants came down and told us that they were the last ones off the plane and we still hadn't seen Cody. However, minutes later, we spotted him! (He had just taken a stop at the bathroom).

It was all very exciting!! Here are all the pictures from that night!

First hug off the escalator... his Momma :)

Second hug... his proud Dad.

Then came his siblings...

Ashley.

Skyler.

Shayna.

Ryan.

He then hugged his cute nieces...

Brooklyn.

Maylee.

Lyla.

Then came other family and friends...

Grandma.

Paul.

Brianne.

Karrie.

Tim.

Meeting Lyla Belle for the first time!

Reunited!

The girls practicing their sign holding skills!

Oh how I love a chunky baby!! (And her handsome Uncle Skyler!)

 Now for the group pictures! Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

What a night! :)

The next day we went to the bowl kick-off luncheon on the USS Midway--a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier that has been retired and is now used as a museum. Both teams were at the luncheon--along with coaches, wives, school bands, and cheerleaders. It was kind of like a rival pep-rally feel. Both coaches spoke, awards were given, and a yummy lunch was served.

Entering the ship.

After lunch, we toured the ship and were able to see all the cool helicopters and planes. Sky's late Grandpa flew helicopters for decades, so Sky was excited to show these pictures to his Grandma. Thoughtful!

View of downtown San Diego from the harbor.

Then the boys were off to practice and us girls headed to the mall :) All of the wives received "per diem" money from the bowl--probably as a way to keep us busy while our husbands practiced... So they just gave us money and sent us to the mall. Hey, I wasn't complaining ;)

We then had a yummy dinner that night in the hotel banquet room. After dinner and a few games of Yahtzee with our goods friends, we were off to bed. I had never been able to stay with Sky the night before a game since he is either traveling or staying in the team hotel for home games. It was funny to see his routine of stretching, icing, massaging, etc.

Next day... GAME DAY! The game was played against San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium. One would think that SDSU would have a lot more fans there since the game was played in their hometown, but it seemed that there were just as many BYU fans. It made for a fun atmosphere and exciting game! (During the fourth quarter at least!) BYU pulled off the win 23-6, and Sky did awesome :) so proud of my number 17!

A couple of action shots... #17 is in there somewhere...

Halftime fireworks.

The Ridley gang.

Parents. 

Sky holding the Poinsettia Bowl trophy.

It was a great bowl week, and we were definitely spoiled. It just felt like an all expenses paid vacation! We had a great time, and are grateful for the opportunity. Now onto my post about the rest of Christmas Break (ugh...) Stay tuned!