Excuse me while I brag.....

about my husband and his wonderful artistic talents. Last year he spent a couple of nights carving those Styrofoam pumpkins you get at Michael's. I had forgotten about them until he got them out earlier this week. Take a look and be amazed......

They go WAY beyond your typical jack o'lantern wouldn't you say?

New blog site for Manny Says Tamales

Hey check out my new blog for Manny Says Tamales. http://mannysaystamales.blogspot.com. I am also having a boutique this weekend. Check out that site at http://rhholidayboutique.blogspot.com.

Tamales Anyone?

So a couple of weeks ago Sal's mom (Sandra) came over and taught us "whitegirls" (Jill, Heather and I) how to make tamales. It was quite entertaining. Manny (Sandra's husband) came too and he kept telling Sandra how we were doing things wrong. Then Sandra would translate what he said into English and tell us. Sandra would say, "Manny says the masa is too thick" or "Manny says you need to use more cheese." We would laugh and laugh. I must interject that both Sandra and Manny were quite impressed with our tamale making skills - even if we are white girls!

Sandra and I decided that we would sell tamales for the holidays. So if you know anyone who wants to buy some tamales, red or green corn, you know where to reach me. Heck if this tamale thing takes off.... we will call our business "Manny Says Tamales!"

Colin Powell on Meet the Press

I was anxious today to watch Colin Powell on Meet the Press. He is a man that I have admired for many years. Sal and I have often said he is one man we wish would run for President of the US because we would vote for him without discussion. I was impressed when he, in deciding to run for President back in 2000, asked his wife what she thought. When she said she didn't want him to run, he took her word and didn't enter the race. He is a man of insight, wisdom, honesty and integrity.

For those of you who missed him talking about his candidate for President you can watch it here or download it for free at iTunes.

Yes he does endorse my choice for President but don't you love how he explains WHY he is voting for Obama? He discussed many thoughts that I had in deciding who to vote for.

I absolutely got goose bumps when he said that he was troubled that some Republicans — he excluded McCain — continue to say or allow others to say that Obama is a Muslim, when he is a Christian. Such rhetoric is polarizing, he said. "He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America," Powell said. "Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?" I find it hypocritical that members of the Church didn't want religion to be a negative when Romney was in the race, but many have had no issue with forwarding the emails that talk about Obama being a Muslim, as if it would be a neagative if he was. Isn't that what we would want people to say about being a member of the Church... "what if he is?" Reread the quote by Powell above but substitute the word Mormon for Muslim. Makes sense doesn't it?

Is Fall really here??

Last weekend we had the most amazing weather. I still am not sure how we go from 100+ degrees to the 70's within a week. Saturday afternoon after Sal was done planting the winter grass we dusted off the quads and headed out to the desert for a quick ride. The weather was perfect and the kids were able to ride and play. We decided to go on a short trail ride and of course it wasn't too long before Liv was fast asleep. No matter when we ride, or where we ride she sleeps. I believe she went on her first ride when she was 3 months old. I figured it is what we do and she might as well learn to like it. First I used a sling to hold her. When she got too big for that I found a hiking backpack and strapped her in and away we went. I know my Dad has a picture of her in her backpack I will post it later. I am sure she feels free not having to be confined to a backpack. Notice how she is still hanging on??

On our quick little trail ride we all got cold. I would guess it was dropping into the 60's.....burrrr! We headed back and started a fire to sit by while Sal, Mark and Doug cooked dinner. After we were all packed up and ready to go, Doug told all 5 boys to pee on the fire to put it out. Sorry for the horrible picture but you can definitely tell that all 5 boys are peeing on the fire! They were not happy when I snapped a picture!

Got Milk??

Last week we went to Supersition Farms for their anniversary celebration. Hayden was not excited about going. "I bet there won't be any kids there my age, " he said in disgust. Amazingly enough there were...... we had a great time. They had a milk bar where you could try different flavors of milk. Hayden and Cole wanted to try LEMON milk. I honestly gag just thinking about LEMON milk. I didn't give Olivia a choice. She got chocolate. The boys both said "Mmmm, this is good." But being the Mom I could see behind those smug grins. I offered Cole my chocolate milk and he gulped it down! Hayden quietly walked to the trash can and threw away his delicious - or not - LEMON milk.

I have said it a million times, Hayden hates to take pictures. I hope one day he will grow out of this funk and actually smile.

Olivia was upset that she couldn't actually hold the bunnies......

Fall Break......

I love our year round school schedule. The kids are off in the summer for 8 weeks and then we have a 2 week break in October, December and March. We didn't have any wonderful plans for Fall break this year. We decided to just hang out and relax and do some day trips. We went to the Lost Dutchman State Park. This state park is named after the fabled lost gold mine. Hayden says when he gets older he is going to look for and find that mine! To read more about the fable click here. You can decide for yourself whether it really does exist. Here is a picture of the kids sitting on a dead Saguaro (pronounced "sah-wah-roh") cactus. Did you know it is illeagal in Arizona to destroy a Saguaro cactus? In fact in the Saguaro National Park has started microchipping the cactus to deter people from stealing them. I personally prefer pine trees but they are quite interesting. I made the boys read all about them and so can you by clicking here. Hey I had to make it an educational trip!

We also visited the Lost Dutchman Museum and Goldfield, Arizona. Here is a picture of Hayden and Jordan and Nick Woolley in jail. We also tried to get all the kids to take a picture in this large bird cage, but of course the older boys didn't want to so they are ducking down in the back. It was a great day and the weather wasn't too hot.

At lunch, Hayden spotted Arizona's State Bird. Can you guess what it is??

A Cactus Wren of course!

Finally a Girly Girl Room......

Thanks to our friend Kara McDowell, we finally got Liv's big girl room done. Liv feels like a princess in her BIG girl bed!

I went spray paint happy...... the bookshelf and toy box were both white, but I fixed that real quick!

Lettie Peterson is in our Ward and she is incredibly talented. She made this for me a year ago. It took discipline not to hang it up, but it is perfect!

Sorry about the open closet doors, but I just love vinyl! This is a perfect saying for my little princess. Don't you love the bling on the shoe??