Cardinal Football in Prime Time

In case you didn't know.... We LOVE football in our house. Wait, I think that is an UNDERSTATEMENT. I grew up watching football with my Dad..... he had his favorite teams, but outside of that he always cheered for the underdog and for Army of course. I remember my mom would always tell people that from September through February, we belonged to the Church of the NFL. I think our family has followed suit. We watch any game we can find and even find ourselves watching classic games on NFL Network on non-game days.

This football season has been especially fun because we were able to split Cardinal's season tickets with a lady I work with. Sal has gone to all the games and the boys and I rotate. Sunday night was my game to go with Sal. Of course they were playing Favre and the Vikings. I KNEW it would be a BLOW out just like the Colts game was, which I also attended. I would think I was the jinx but the Cards also lost when Hayden and Cole went to the game. It is always fun when it it is Sunday Night Football. NBC's booth is near our seats so we sit and watch Bob Costas do his thing..... Cris Collinsworth is usually with him, but must have gone up to the broadcast booth before we got there.

We made it in time to watch warm-ups.....

And to watch them come out of the tunnel..... Of course our favorite Duece #76, revving up the team.......

The stadium was so loud and it is SO cool to see red and white cover the stands. There was quite a bit of purple but they got quite after the first quarter.... and I mean QUIET!! ;o) Sal said it was nice to be on the winning end of things for once.

Favre is amazing but I was happy to watch him on an "off-night". This is the great view from our seats.

Next victim will be the 49ers, who Cole loves to call the Farty-Niners. Monday night to clinch the division. Wish I could be there in person to watch the game.... maybe next year.

Los Gringa's Tamale Party!

Last year Sandra taught Jill, Heather and I how to make tamales. In fact last year Sandra and I sold over 100 dozen tamales..... it was absolutely EXHAUSTING work. This year we decided we would not sell any and just make them for ourselves. Sounds selfish doesn't it?? I am convinced most people don't understand how much work is involved, so go ahead and let me know how it goes. ;o)

Today we made 28 dozen green corn tamales and it took us about 4 hours start to finish. That includes time to shred the cheese, clean and cut the green chili's and jalapenos, make the masa from scratch of course, and assemble the tamales. It was so much fun to watch Manny and Jill mixing the masa. Sal took a picture of the commotion.....and WOW do I ever look pregnant! Of course thanks to Sal for making a drink run to Sonic before we started and thanks to Sandra for yummy Pasole and refried beans. They made for a delicious lunch!

We had quite the assembly line. Manny is always our spreader. He can spread masa faster than anyone I know. Jill was responsible for the green chili's, Heather did the cheese and the wrapping. Sandra prepared the corn husks, Sal wrapped the finished tamales in paper, and I packaged the wrapped tamales into freezer bags. I was also responsible for making sure Sal never ran out of tamales to wrap.

We always have such a fun time and we multi-task very well. After all what mother doesn't? We chat and laugh... I know Manny just thinks we are crazy girls, but we end up talking about EVERYTHING!

Thanks girls for the fun time and Jill thanks for housing our tamales in your freezer one more time. I promise we will EVENTUALLY get our own freezer!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving. We certainly did. This year we did double duty.... We ate with my family at noon and then with Sal's family at 4. Needless to say by the end of the day, we were overly stuffed with yummy good food. So much so that we didn't even touch all the leftover food Sandra sent home with us. Shhh, don't tell her. ;o)

Thanks to Jill's sewing abilities, I was able to make this darling turkey shirt for Olivia to wear on Thanksgiving Day. She loved it and still will choose it first when getting dressed in the morning. We have the pattern if anyone else wants to make a shirt or onesie for next year!

Thought for the week!!

Happy Halloween!!

We had a great Halloween and hope you did too. Like last year, we had a neighborly BBQ in the front yard and so we were able to stuff our faces AND hand out candy. In fact, at the end of the night we offered kids wings, hot dogs or candy and some kids actually chose the food. Here are pictures of my cute kids.....

Hayden - a 20's gangster

Cole - a scary monster

Liv - Sleeping Beauty

We now are all on a continuous sugar high. The Sunday Family Circus comic is now my life:

I can't believe it is November and Phoenix is supposed to have record temperatures tomorrow. Really, 90 degrees in November? Remind me why I live here??

Dinner Conversation courtesy of Hayden

So I have debated all week whether I was going to blog about this or not, and I guess I decided it is too funny to keep to myself. So as we were eating cake and ice cream Sunday night we over hear this conversation between Hayden and his friends Jordan (13) and Nick (11).

Hayden: So I am starting to get hair down there....(and he looks "down there" with his eyes) You know what I am going to do? I am going to let it grow for like 2 months and it will be coming out the bottom of my pants. Then I will have to go to Cost Cutters to get a hair cut.

It was all I could do to not pee my pants, we were laughing so hard. I guess Sal and I didn't do such a great job with "THE TALK". My poor son thinks about going to Cost Cutters to get his "down there" hair cut! Maybe we better try that talk again!

My Princess Turns Four!!

Sunday was Olivia's birthday and we have been counting down the days since the middle of September. It is so hard for little kids to really understand how long 30 days is. She placed her birthday order quite early..... she wanted a princess cake.... Briar Rose to be specific, balloons and presents. We delivered on all 3 points and she was thrilled. Although the first thing she said when she woke up was that she was NOT going to stand up in the front of Primary and let them sing to her. She then decided she was NOT going to Church at all. I reminded her that she had a new dress and shoes to wear and that changed her mind fairly quickly.

Here she is modeling her dress and shoes..... and of course showing you that she is indeed 4.

And here she is after Church opening one of her presents.

We had a little dinner with the Woolley's, Evan's and Granny and Papa. Then it was time for cake and ice cream. Olivia told me she didn't want candles on her cake, but how can you sing Happy Birthday with no candles? I lit the candles anyway and she cried through the singing. Emily and Kennedy blew out the candles and once Liv had cake and ice cream all was forgotten.

Thanks to everyone for the presents and the good food. We are still enjoying leftovers.

Hayden's First Camporee

Hayden and Sal went on their first Scout camporee this weekend. Hayden was SO excited to go... honestly he is always excited about anything that has to do with Scouts and/or camping. Unfortunately, neither Sal or I are huge camping fans. I love to camp as long as I am in a trailer with heat/ac, running water, and a toilet. Sal is always a good sport and he goes because he knows Hayden loves it.

When they returned home the first thing I hear about is the scorpion Hayden found under their tent. Luckily it wasn't IN their tent. Sal said they were packing up their tent and saw something moving on the ground. As they got closer they realized it was a Desert Hairy Scorpion. Sal quickly caught it in a plastic cup that he had and they brought him home. Lucky us!! In the 24 years that I have lived in Arizona I have never seen a scorpion let alone one this size. He was huge. Here is a picture of him glowing.

I know this isn't a great picture, but here is the scorpion eating a superworm. It took the scorpion about 4 hours to eat the entire worm. It was quite a sight let me tell you!

Sal took the scorpion to work and is going to cast him into metal and add him to his collection of bugs. I will post a picture of the casted scorpion when Sal gets home tonight. Other bugs in Sal's collection include black widows, beetles, praying mantis, and wolf spiders. The neighbor kids know that if they see a cool bug, to bring it to Sal for his collection. I will try to get pictures of his bugs and post those too.

Our First Date and First Kiss

I was reading Jessica's post today and it made me think of Sal and my first kiss and first date.

Most people know that I have known Sal since the first day of 7th grade at Kino Jr. High. We were in Mrs. Ernst's math class. I think he sat behind me and he can even remember what I wore the first day of school. I guess I was oblivious because I can't remember what he was wearing. Anyway, we spent the next 2 years trading notes and waving hello in the halls.

In the 8th grade he told me he was going to marry me one day and I thought he was out of his mind. It really wasn't until our 9th grade year that we really started hanging out. He played football and I played volleyball so I rarely watched him play. I do remember when he hurt his knee and had to walk around on crutches for a while. During softball season he would come and sit behind the backstop while the team practiced. I wasn't good enough to make the team so Wendy Stowers and I were the equipment managers. If you want to get a rise out of Sal ask him about the time he taped my hair to the backstop. That was not pretty!!

It was November 23rd that he finally got the nerve to ask me out.... you know that, "will you go out with me?" even though there was no where to go at 14? I of course said yes. I think it didn't mean anything except we would hold hands in the halls on the way to class. ROMANTIC isn't it?? We did secretly meet at the Mesa Library once and I guess that was our official first date. Instead of studying, Sal took me to Steve and Charlie's (a restaurant across the street) where we both had a Coke. Sal paid and everything. Sal still has the straw I used that night. I think he wanted to kiss me that night, but he never did. We held hands and walked back to the library.

The kiss came a few weeks later when we went to the Boys Basketball team vs. the Kino Faculty annual basketball game. During the 3rd quarter we went outside to the football bleachers. It was early December although I can't remember the exact date. From the bleachers we could see some red lights in the sky. Sal told me they were Christmas Tree lights (I later realized they were the radio tower lights on South Mountain) and I told him that Mormons didn't celebrate Christmas. I believed him and he believed me. After a few awkward seconds which seemed like hours, he kissed me. It was perfect! We kissed quite a bit before going back into the game. EVERYONE in the stands knew exactly where we had been and what we had been doing. I was SO embarrassed!

After that Sal and I were inseperable. We talked on the phone, wrote notes, spent one Saturday watching Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, and one Saturday at the Kino Christmas dance. That was the BEST night. Sal and I joke all the time about how we went out to dinner with 3 of our teachers after the dance. Today that would NEVER happen and the teachers would be fired for even thinking about it. Kino was the best time ever and I will always treasure the memories I have of that time of my life.

So there you have it, our first date and first kiss...... of course I have 23 years worth of stories about Sal and I. I could go on and on and on, but I won't. I will stop there! I only have 11 years of memories without Sal so I can't imagine my life without him. He is truly my best friend!

A Change of Seasons

The weather has been so nice here lately. (I won't mention that we are expecting record heat later in the week..... yup back to 97 degrees!) We are even sleeping with the windows open. Early in the morning it gets fairly chilly in the house and I love that Sal tucks me in when he leaves for work.

This change in season means time to replace all the plants that were scorched by the summer heat. The kids were so excited to help their Dad in the yard. They dug holes for the new plants, and helped him plant winter grass. I love watching the baby grass grow and looking at the deep green that covers my yard. I love everything about Fall and the relief from the summer heat.

I do long for Salt Lake as I watch conference or the BYU games. I tell Sal every week that all I want is to live close enough to BYU to have season tickets and to sit in LaVell Edwards Stadium every few weeks.

I miss the bountiful fruit and the hours we spent canning when I was little. Luckily, I have found a way to get Utah peaches and pears to can, but somehow it isn't the same.

I miss the mountains and the colored leaves. The Sunday drives into the canyons just to see the changes.

I even miss the snow.... Hayden is our only child that has been skiing or sledding and that was on a family trip to Wyoming. What a shame that my kids haven't owned "Moon Boots" or walked to school with their pants tucked into those boots with their tennis shoes in their backpacks.

Sure they have experienced all that Arizona has to offer, but after living here for almost 25 years, I am ready for a change..... now if I could only find Sal and I jobs and sell our house.......

Loved this article in the NY Times.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/opinion/05krugman.html?_r=1

Why do we have to be "against" one another when we need to be "FOR" America?

Advanced Maternal Age

Ok so being old and pregnant is not fun. I honestly don't feel THAT old, but I guess when it comes to having babies 35 is OLD.

At my first OB appointment at 5 weeks, I was labeled as AMA.... advanced maternal age. I guess that is the nice way to say you are OLD! The doctors immediately told me about all the gentetic testing that can be done since I am AMA. I decided that I would do all the testing possible to determine if my baby was healthy. I really just wanted to be prepared in case something was genetically wrong. I of course wouldn't terminate the pregnancy under any circumstances, but I wanted to know that all was ok.

So last week I did the nuchal translucency test which is a screen for trisomy 13, 18 and 21 (Down's Syndrome) as well as major congenital heart defects. An ultrasound is done to measure the amount of the fat in the baby's neck. Babies with trisomies have poor lymphatic systems and the fat in the neck doesn't drain as it should. Our baby's number was 1.9, the ultrasound tech said anything under 3.0 is good. This number is then sent, along with blood work (similar to a babies PKU test), to the lab for further testing.

I received a call this morning that my test was in the normal range. I breathed a sigh of relief. This doesn't guarantee me a genetically perfect baby, but it does reduce the risk or chances of having a baby with problems. My next test will be the AFP (alpha fetoprotein screen) at 16 weeks. This screen is for spina bifida and anencephaly as well as the trisomies. After that I will have my routine ultrasound at 18-20 weeks and then we will be done with all the "old lady" testing. Whew!

Our Surprising... make that SHOCKING news!!

Baby's Profile with a hand by its face (12 weeks)


Back view of baby (12 weeks)


Looking at babys face (12 weeks)

Baby at 6 weeks.....

Yes we are expecting baby #4. Sal and I were SHOCKED to put it bluntly. Without getting too graphic.... we know what makes a baby and we know what to do to prevent having a baby..... I guess in our case it didn't work?? After fertility treatments to get Cole and Liv, I really didn't think I would ever pee on a stick and be shocked to see a plus sign. Sal and I say, "we had a plan, but we know Heavenly Father has a bigger plan for us" and since HE knows best, we have decided to go with the flow.

We didn't tell anyone about the baby until we had an ultrasound at 7 weeks. Once we saw and heard the heartbeat reality hit. WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!

Telling the kids was a whole other story. We put the ultrasound picture on the fridge and waited for someone to notice. The boys were convinced it was an old picture of them or one of Liv. Hayden eventually noticed the date and then said, "Not in this economy!" He KNEW we were playing a trick on them, but once he saw my name on the picture it began to sink in. Cole gave his usual reaction..... shrugged his shoulders and said "whatever!" Olivia immediately wanted the baby to come out and then she said, "Mom, I want a baby sister..... that's a girl one."

Hayden took it a bit harder. He moped around the house for a while and then it was time to go to a merit badge clinic. While we had quiet time in the car, we talked. I told him it was ok to be surprised and even a little bit sad about the new baby. I told him that Dad and I were not trying to have a baby and then he said, "Mom, weren't you taking the birth control pill?" I was a bit surprised to hear my 11 year old son talking to ME about birth control pills. I told him that I was not taking the pill, but that we were using condoms. (Sorry, but you wanted the FULL story right?!) I asked if he knew what those were and he waited for a minute and then said "yea, I know that they are." I told him that sometimes Heavenly Father knows what is best for us and HE must of thought we needed another baby. At this point he started to cry and he said, "But Mom, what is going to keep us from going under?" I immediately knew what he was talking about. We have been fairly open with the kids about the economy and the effect it has had on our family. While we have been ok, we have had to cut back and tighten our belts. My first words were, "Dad and I would never let anything happen to our family." I went on to explain that we are fine financially and his only worry needs to be doing well in school. Once I was able to explain that we aren't about to lose our house and cars, he seemed to settle right down.

When I picked him up 3 hours later, he said to me, "Mom, we are going to need to buy a bigger car. And what about a room for the baby? Where will it sleep?" Hayden started thinking about all the things Sal and I have spent the past 7 weeks thinking about. We have decided that all will work out however it is supposed to.

I am now 12 weeks and am finally feeling myself again. It is strange to still be wearing my regular clothes. Because of the fertility treatments to get Cole and Liv, I started wearing maternity clothes at 10 weeks. Those hormone pounds are not fun...but totally worth it in the end. We hope it will be an uneventful pregnancy and can't wait to see the baby in March.

HOPE

I LOVE President Uchtdorf

The Red Scare of 2009??

I had to give myself a few days to calm down after the craziness that happened here in Queen Creek over President Obama's speech to school children. I was disappointed that our school district didn't give our kids the choice to watch the speech. They just made an executive decision to ban it from all classrooms. However, I was APPALLED at the emails and Facebook comments regarding the speech. I will not give names but here are just a sample of what was sent around:

"??? voted 'No' in the "Should President Obama be allowed to address school children?" poll! What's your opinion? Can we say, Hitler? I will not allow him to brainwash my child."

AND

"It is my personal opinion that this is an attempt at indoctrinating our youngsters from the highest levels of government. We need not look too far for history to teach us that many dictatorial and socialist leaders and regimes throughout time have found great success in beginning by indoctrinating the very young."

Comments like this made me think, "When did we get so paranoid and why are these people choosing to live in fear instead of having Faith?" There is so much talk about Obama being a SOCIALIST that it is driving me crazy. I think many people are confusing SOCIALISM and COMMUNISM.

It reminded me about learning about the Red Scares from 1917 to 1920 and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. Remember these Scares were characterized by the fear that communism would upset the capitalist social order in the United States. I seriously think this is what people are so afraid of now. If we all think rationally, Obama is not trying to upset the capitalist society in the US, he simply wanted to encourage kids to stay in school and to work hard and be responsible..... is that such a bad thing? Do we seriously need to pull our kids out of school and call Obama HITLER? Seriously PEOPLE??

I found this in the editorial section of the paper and LOVE it: "Although I was quite young during the "Red Scare" in the early 1950s, I always wondered what it was like to be in fear of rousing Sen. Joe McCarthy's suspicions. Now I know. I see near-hysterical people shouting at their legislators to keep our country from becoming socialized or even (gasp) communist. Now parents want to keep their children out of the classroom so that they don't have to be subjected to watching their president inspire children about education. These parents need to get a grip, set a good example for their children and let them learn to think for themselves, something many of the parents have not mastered."

Hayden then came home from a friends house and he told me, "??'s Dad said, You are Mormon and your parents voted for Obama?" I guess I wasn't aware that being a Mormon automatically made you a Republican. I am a registered Republican, however I study and vote the issues. I would never stand in a voting booth and vote for someone ONLY because he is a member of the GOP.

Did you know that Senate Majority Leader HARRY REID is a Member of the Church. Yup that is right a DEMOCRAT and a MORMON. Imagine that??

Here is what he said about being a Democrat and a Mormon and I agree with him 100%. "I think it is much easier to be a good member of the Church and a Democrat than a good member of the Church and a Republican." He went on to say that the Democrats' emphasis on helping others, as opposed to what he considers Republican dogma to the contrary, is the reason he's a Democrat.[50] He delivered a speech at BYU to about 20,000 students on October 9, 2007, in which he expressed his opinion that Democratic values mirror Mormon values."

I just find that many Republican's are filled with anger and rage and they are so quick to be defensive about every little thing. The more I hear and read, the farther I am pushed to the left. While I don't agree with everything President Obama is and has done, I do consider what the alternative might have been if the OTHER guy would have won the election. Wow, that is a terrifying thought! I choose to continue to live in FAITH, knowing that I dictate my kids and my family's future. I will not fear the US government or those elected to lead our country. I will continue pray for their wise decisions and that they can lead our country in peace.

Oh by the way, I did watch the speech with my kids after school and you know what?? They thought it was cool that the President was talking to them. They laughed and pointed at each other when he talked about too much time playing video games, and Hayden said he didn't hear anything he hadn't heard from Sal and I already. I appreciated the "brainwashing" that President Obama did last week. I hope you did too!

Critters from the Cabin

My boys are always amazed at what Papa can catch at the cabin. Whether it is gophers or skunks, they love to hear the stories and see the evidence. This past weekend was no different. My parents have had nightly visitors in their garden ever since it was planted in May.

18 ears of corn here, and 12 ears of corn there...... So Papa set the trap to see what he could catch. The first night, the visitors dug under the trap and used their long fingers to reach the bait on the inside of the trap.

Critters - 1 Papa - 0 and 12 more ears of corn eaten!

The next night, Papa decided he would out smart those nightly critters. This time he put the trap on a sheet of plywood and nailed the bait (aka cat food) into a block of wood so they wouldn't be able to grab the bait without getting caught. That night.....

Critters - 0 Papa - 2 plus 18 ears of corn eaten.

Papa called to tell the boys all about what he caught and he even brought them home so we could all see them.......

RACCOONS - and they are the cutest things you have ever seen!! Mean, but so cute with their little masks on!!

See how long their fingers are......

We think it was a mama and a baby raccoon because one was bigger and she did all the growling and hissing at us when we got close to the trap. She was quite protective of the other little guy. My parents decided to let them somewhere they could be at home and they wouldn't be able to eat any more corn!

We will see if we can catch some more this weekend when we go!

Monday Mornings at the Espi's

This morning as I was getting dressed, Olivia grabbed my bra off the door knob (isn't that where you keep yours?) and asked me, "Mom, do you need some boobs?"

I tried not to laugh and thought about what my answer really might be..."yes, but Daddy refuses to buy me some."

Then I quickly replied, "Nope" because who really puts a bra on before they REALLY have to?

Then Liv replied, "oh, you already have some boobs?"

I picked her up in my arms and tickled her to death! I wish all Monday Mornings could start that way!

Oh the silly little things they say!

Liv and Dad making teeth together

I am so thankful that Sal has his OWN space to make his teeth. In our last house that space was in the master bedroom and I HATED it. Most nights Sal will have a case or two to do and Olivia LOVES to sit with her Dad and make teeth too.

Sal and I have already decided that none of our kids are allowed to be a dental lab technician!! I constantly remind Sal that I tried to talk him out of it too!! ;o)

First Day of School Pictures

Ok so I am so far behind on my posting, but at least I am doing it... (Mitzi!)

We start school the last week of July and I absolutely LOVE our modified year-round school. We have a 2 week break in October, 2 weeks at Christmas and then 2 weeks in March. The 6 week break for summer is just about perfect. By then the kids are tired of the pool, the PS2, their MEAN mom and each other and are ready to get back to school.

As usual Hayden was NOT thrilled to take first day of school pictures. Why is it worse than pulling teeth?? IS that what happens when you are in the 6th grade and going to MIDDLE SCHOOL?

Cole was thrilled to show off his new school clothes and shoes..... must just be how it is in the SECOND GRADE

Olivia ALWAYS wants in on the action......... I think that is just being a GIRL.... Liv will be 4 in October.

TRANSFORMERS vs. SHOPPING

It was our last day in SL and we decided to split up and conquer. The boys went to see the new Transformer movie and Liv and I went to Gardner Village and Thai Pan to shop. Which one would you rather do?

LAGOON DAY!

Growing up Stake Lagoon Day was always the highlight of our summer. Kierstin and I would spend hours mapping out our day and planning what rides we would ride and in what order. We never did use that list, but it was fun to do. This year it was amazing to see my boys create the same kind of list. They had everything planned out. Unfortunately, it rained....maybe I should say it POURED the day we went to Lagoon. Most of the rides had to be shut down, and the boys wanted to go back to Snowbird. Sal bought the boys poncho's and told them it would be worth it to wait out the rain. So Olivia slept as the boys ran from ride to ride in the rain. As usual, Sal was right. The sun eventually did come out and it was a PERFECT evening for roller coaster riding.

The year Colossus came to Lagoon, I remember my Aunt Candi had to drag me kicking and screaming on that ride. In fact I cried the entire time! But after one ride, I was hooked. The same thing happened with Cole. All day he mostly hung with Liv and I riding the kiddie coasters. We all tried to talk him into riding some of the bigger coasters, but he wasn't gonna do it. Near closing time, I bribed Cole to go on Wicked with me. For $20 that kid will do anything. He LOVED it. He was then convinced that he COULD ride Colossus too. After that he didn't want to ride anything but the upside down rides. He even thinks he is ready for Magic Mountain and the REALLY BIG roller coasters.

We had the BEST day just being together as a family, laughing and playing. Like everything else, it comes to an end WAY too soon. We were all exhausted, but we have memories that will last a lifetime!

Day 4..... A trip to Kennecott Copper Mine

I remember going to Kennecott as a kid and I thought it was SO cool. This time I honestly wasn't too thrilled about it and neither were the kids. I think part of it is you just can't comprehend how HUGE the mine really is. Yea, yea, yea, they tell you the astronauts can see if from space, but how does an average person truly understand what that means. They also tell you that the Statue of Liberty can fit inside the mine. Well that is great too, but my kids have never seen that in real life so how do they compare it??

We did stand and watched the enormous dump trucks haul the dirt back and forth. We were able to see those dump trucks next to a normal truck and the difference was amazing! They also told us that the electric shovels in the mine can scoop up as much as 98 tons in a single bite. That is mind boggling!

The dump truck up close....

The dump truck driving by a dual cab full sized Chevy truck.

The trucks compared to the size of the mine.....

Here are the kids standing next to one of the tires from the dump trucks. ONE tire costs between $18,000 to $26,000 and lasts just 9 months. I am SO glad I don't have to pay for those tires.

I also found it quite interesting that 2 bi-products from mining the copper are silver and gold. Not bad bi-products if you ask me!