Hillcrest Husky Volleyball Season 2014

Baba & Grandpa Make History while Grandma and Mom Laugh with Ari

Siamak said after this game we might need to worry about Bruce - the two had a blast together at this incredible game.  What's to worry if you are enjoying life! 

SALT LAKE CITY -- Travis Wilson gave Utah its biggest victory since joining the Pac-12 four years ago -- and earned a little job security, too.

Wilson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kaelin Clay with 8 seconds left to give No. 19 Utah a 24-21 victory over No. 20 Southern California on Saturday night.

"It's so amazing," Wilson said. "Words can't really describe how I'm feeling right now."

The 6-foot-7 Wilson lost the starting job to Oklahoma transfer Kendal Thompson last week before taking over in the second half in a 29-23 double-overtime victory at Oregon State.

Wilson put the Utes (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) in position for the winning touchdown when he was flushed from the pocket and scrambled 19 yards, diving as he approached the goal line. The play was initially ruled a touchdown, but was overturned on review -- giving Utah the ball a foot from the end zone.

"I was actually just headed toward the sideline but I saw a little bit more room and I made an extra effort to get the end zone," Wilson said.

Devontae Booker was stopped just short on the next play before Wilson's touchdown pass to Clay on a sprint-out to the right side -- a catch that also was reviewed before it was confirmed.

"I'm so emotional right now," Clay said. "I grew up cheering for USC and to score the winning touchdown against them is really special."

After Adoree' Jackson returned the kickoff to the USC 28, the Trojans' last-gasp effort was snuffed when Cody Kessler was sacked by Nate Orchard and Hunter Dimick on the final play.

"That was a gut-check," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, whose team is bowl eligible for the first time in three seasons. "USC is one talented team, probably the best talent man-for-man in the conference but we slugged it out with them for 60 minutes."

Black-clad Utes fans streamed onto the field around some of the Trojans players, who stood motionless, stunned at another last-second loss.

"That's our season right now," USC coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We're living and dying by these moments. It obviously hurts a lot when you lose the way we lost tonight."

Southern California dropped to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12. USC lost to Arizona State on a Hail Mary play and escaped with a victory over Arizona when the Wildcats missed a last-second 36-yard field goal.

Wilson was 18-for-32 passing for 194 yards and Booker had his fourth straight 100-yard game with 102 yards.

"I'm speechless right now," Booker said. "We came out here tonight and it started rough, but we came back and fought our butt off to win this game."

Kessler completed 24 of 32 attempts for 264 yards and Javorius Allen ran for 101 yards, but the Trojans couldn't convert a late fourth down after opting not to kick a field goal with a 21-17 lead.

Utah forced the turnover on downs with 2:08 to play when Nelson Agholor stepped out of bounds a yard short of the first-down marker at the Utah 27.

After USC gained only 44 yards of total offense in the second and third quarters, Kessler capped a 12-play, 73-yard touchdown drive with a four-yard TD pass to Darreus Rogers to give USC a 21-17 lead with 10:18 left.

Utah linebacker Jason Fanaika intercepted a ball after it glanced off Agholor's hands. Three plays later, Booker finally broke loose and ran 24 yards for a touchdown just before the end of the third quarter for a 17-14 Utah lead.

"We wanted to come out here and establish who we are, and let everyone know what Utah is all about," Fanaika said.

The conference and the country are starting to take notice as Utah takes a prime position on the Pac-12 South race.

Clay took a punt 51 yards to the 16 after running into one of his own blockers. But three plays later, Jackson pried the ball loose from receiver Tim Patrick just shy of the goal line and recovered in the end zone to deny the Utes for the second time at the 1.

After Andy Phillips' field goal gave Utah a 10-7 lead, Jackson returned a kickoff from deep in his end zone down the right sideline for a touchdown.

On the second play from scrimmage, Kessler threw a lateral pass to Rogers, who had it glance off his hands and figured it was a forward pass. The ball bounded around on the field before Davion Orphey alerted picked it up and ran 53 yards past the stunned Trojans offense, just beating Kessler to the end zone.

Even though Kessler left the game for a couple plays after a hard hit, the junior quarterback led a touchdown drive the other way, culminating in a 10-yard scoring pass to JuJu Smith for a 7-7 tie.

Utah missed an opportunity later in the first quarter when Booker fumbled at 1.

Kessler also lost the ball after driving to the Utah 27 in the second quarter.

The game marked the first time two ranked teams met in Rice-Eccles Stadium since Utah lost to TCU 47-7 in 2010. Utah fans marked the occasion with the largest home crowd in school history at 47,619.

While the big boys went to the game and Setareh was at her dance the Mama's too Ari to see Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! I remember my mom reading that book to Allon over and over.  

Watching the film was fantastic! How someone can take Judith Viorst's children's book and turn it into a very funny full length film is amazing.  Grandma and laughed and laughed!  It was wonderful to listen to Ari giggle throughout the whole experience.  A major highlight... the chem lab is burning down and Ari is watching in terror as Grandma and I can't stop laughing.  Really really fun!

Friday Night - Party Night

We probably put 100 miles on the car on Friday ----Setareh had 2 parties and Ari was invited to a

Halloween Party in South Jordan.  Cameron from soccer has some amazing parents who threw the best Halloween party ever. It was worth the drive to and from.  When I arrived Susan knew exactly where my 1 of at least 50 kids was. It was incredible.  She had a great quote the next morning..."I think I have a Kid Hangover."

Setareh too had good time at a party much closer to home which was great! And she wanted to come home early - whoot whoot!

Mommy and Baba weren't able to get to Angie's house in SLC which was really disappointing and believe it or not we spent a quiet night watching BYU, yes BYU football.  Here's the funny part....we did the exact same thing last Saturday night. I asked Sia if a 21 years ago, when we met, if he ever thought he would be in bed by 9pm on a Saturday night and watching BYU football?  LOL the best part of both evenings is that BYU lost!!!

Husky Howl 2014

I really enjoyed having these teens come to the house for dinner before they headed off to their first high school dance.  These "overachievers" were some of the few Freshmen to attend.  It was also great to have them at the house for a movie after.  Setareh too scared by the movie -laugh out loud.

From an essay by... Vanessa Martir 
Vanessa's life is very different from mine but this statement is so beautiful and exactly how I have been feeling this entire year!

I am terrified of failing my girl. This terror is like white-knuckled hands tightly gripping my neck. Some days I am more terrified than others. I don't want to be scared, but I am. It's fear that's fueling this essay.

Mazel Tov to the Grandparents of Baby Etta

Birthday Weekend

Arian Played Host to Chiggers

Chiggers are tiny members of the arachnid family. Although they are extremely small in size, their bites pack a powerful punch. They’re so tiny that you probably won’t notice when they jump from that tall blade of grass onto your skin. You won’t feel it as they hitch a ride right into your home. When you eventually do feel them, however, they can make you itch like you’ve never itched before.

Ari finally feeling relief in the pool. 

Chiggers live in tall weeds and grass, in berry patches, and in wooded areas. They may be in your backyard, by the lake, and clustered along your favorite hiking trail. They are most active on summer and fall afternoons, when temperatures are warm and inviting. They can quickly attach to your skin if you walk by and brush up against vegetation where they live. When the temperature falls below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, chiggers become inactive. They die off when the temperature falls below 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chiggers are very tiny and it generally takes a magnifying glass to see them. Adults are about 1/60 of an inch and have eight legs. The larvae are red, wingless, six-legged creatures that measure less than 1/150 of an inch. Because of their red color, you might be able to spot the larvae when they cluster together. After they feast on human skin cells, they turn a yellowish color.

Only the larvae bite humans. They tend to choose warm, moist areas of the body. Chiggers have claws that help them grab onto skin. The chigger then attaches its mouth to the skin and injects saliva. The saliva contains an enzyme that breaks skin cells down to liquid form. Your body responds by hardening skin cells around the saliva, creating a tube (stylostome) through which the chigger sucks the dissolved skin cells. Chiggers can stay attached and feeding for several days before falling off.

DC with Ari 9/27 Red Eye to 10/2

I loved every minute of this trip. I was so proud of Ari and his maturity, his inquiry and go with the flow. I do tend to walk the kids to the point of exhaustion but it's memorable!  Ari was truly appreciative of everything!  Such a fun travel companion.  Even more special was to find the pictures of my trip with Setareh in 2010 on the same camera Ari used.  Can't wait to get those pictures up.

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Shanah Tovah Sept. 24, 2014 Year 5776

Great quote from Hal Pollock, " I don't care how busy you are, I am coming over for that chicken dish."  What a compliment.   I absolutely love beginning the High Holidays with everyone coming to the house Erev Rosh Hoshanah for the perfect mix of Persian Jewish celebration Fesinjoon.  This year I just couldn't get it together to host everyone on a Wednesday night and then leave for DC on Friday.  So after some crazy communication and when everyone was finally home - we had a most lovely Erev yontif dinner just the 4 of us.  We talked about the New Year and things to work on.  I admitted that my pishi grew up and I didn't catch up so I will work on that and apologized for that. We decided as a family to think more before we speak...really hard to do but worth the effort. 

Shanah Tovah!