Tag I am it... Couples Style......

♥ What are your middle names ? Only Sal has one..... Anthony
♥ How long have you been together ? Do you mean married? 15 years, but together....23 years!!
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating ? Officially dating..... 5 years.... we met in the 7th grade at Kino. I was 11 and he was 12.
Who asked who out ? Sal asked me to "go out" with him in the 9th grade.
♥ How old are each of you ? I'm 34 & Sal is 35
♥ What about pets? One Basset Hound named Grace.
♥ Which situation has been the hardest on you as a couple? Stupid things we did early in our marriage.... what can I say we were both young!
♥ Did you go to the same school ? Yes~ Kino and Mountain View
♥ Are you from the same home town ? Sal is an AZ native and I moved here when I was 10.
♥ Who is the smartest ? Depends on the subject..... Math - ME! Science and anything needing creativity - SAL
♥ Who is the most sensitive ? Both
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple ? We like all kinds of places, it just depends on the mood. We REALLY like Longhorns or Flemings
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple ? St. Petersburg, Russia
♥ Who has the craziest ex's ? Probably me..... Sal didn't really date anyone but me
♥ Who has the worst temper ? ME, Sal is the patient one.
♥ Who does the cooking ? During the week me, on the weekends Sal will cook breakfast and grill something yummy.
♥ Who is more social ? Me, I can talk to anyone anywhere
♥ Who is the neat-freak ? Neither, we both like a clean house, but we aren't overly concerned about it. I would rather be riding quads not cleaning on Saturdays.
♥ Who is more stubborn ? Ummmm, Me?
♥ Who hogs the bed ? Neither, we usually stay on our own sides of the bed.... of course I like my leg to touch his when I sleep.
♥ Who wakes up earlier ? Sal ALWAYS!! What can I say, I LOVE my sleep!
♥ Where was your first date ? I think we met at the library in the 9th grade and he took me to Harry and Steve's for a Coke. He still has the straw that was in his drink that night.
♥ Who has the bigger family ? Sal only has one sister, but his mom has 16 siblings and his Dad has 12 siblings so he definitely has the bigger family.
♥ Do you get flowers often ? He will surprise me every now and then.
♥How do you spend the holidays ? Usually with our family at home, but we do see our parents too.
♥ Who is more jealous ? Sal
♥ How long did it take to get serious ? Sal told me in the 8th grade he was going to marry me, but it took a bit longer for me to be on board.
♥ Who eats more ? Sal, but we both love cookies at midnight!
♥ Who does the laundry ? Me
♥ Who’s better with the computer ? That would be me
♥ Who drives when you are together ? Sal usually drives and I love to be chauffeured!

Now I tag... Shani, Jill and Heather............

Happy 7th Birthday Cole!!

Today is Cole's 7th birthday and I always love to remember the day they were born. Sal HATES this story so I hope he forgives me for telling it.... I woke up at about 3 in the morning with contractions and I walked around the house for a while to make sure I was really in labor. Once I knew this was it, I called my mom and told her we were on our way and to meet us at the hospital. I then woke Sal up... thinking he would jump out of bed, get dressed and we would be on our way.... Well, it DIDN'T happen that way. Sal got out of bed, laid out several outfits on the bed trying to decide what to wear, then he washed and did his hair. I was so frustrated I went to sit on the couch. When I didn't see him for a few minutes I returned to our bedroom, where I realized he was in the bathroom with the NEWSPAPER. Need I say more? Then he woke Hayden up and put him in the car. Sal then asked if he should go back inside to get a change of clothes for Hayden as he was still in his p.j's. Through clenched teeth I said, "No, if he needs other clothes my mom can bring him back to the house!" We were finally off. Sal then proceeded to run every stop light on the way to Desert Sam. Hospital. Cole David was born at 7:20am. He weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Here are some pictures of Cole:

Here you are at your first 4th of July parade in Eagar....

One day I found you here..... on a shelf in the closet. I was amazed that you could climb onto the shelf without falling off.

In our family we have a tradition, each child gets cake in their face on their first birthday. It started with Sal.... here he is on his first birthday....

and here you are Cole on your first birthday.

You and Hayden in matching Halloween costumes......

Here we are in Wyoming in the snow.....

One of my favorite pictures of Cole..... You have big beautiful brown eyes, just like your Dad.

Cole, you are such an amazing boy. You are a good student and you always try your very best. You love to help... whether it is mowing the lawn or baking cookies, you are always the first one to ask to help and you do it cheerfully. You look up to Hayden and I know you want to be just like him. Continue to be the good boy that you are. Dad and I are so proud of you and all that you accomplish. We love you Cole!! Happy Birthday!

The trip of a lifetime.....

Yesterday I decided that I was going to fill a frame that I have had in my closet since Christmas 2007. I know total procrastinator. Anyway, as I was looking through our pictures I found the pictures of Sal and I in St. Petersburg, Russia. We were there almost 2 years ago, though it seems as though we were never really there. Seeing the pictures is truly believing. The whole trip was one of a lifetime.......

I had a symposium for work in St. Petersburg that I had to go to and I begged Sal to come and go with me. He wasn't sure he could spend 5 days away from the lab, he didn't have a passport or a Russian visa. The flight tickets would be free and I guaranteed him that we would be in first class, the hotel would also be free all we had to pay for was souvenirs for the kids. At almost the last minute he decided to go. We had to rush to get his passport done and then send away for his visa. It cost us a bit of money but we got it. We left the kids safely in Nana's hands and we were off. We flew from Phoenix to Washington DC and then boarded the Austrian Airways flight to Vienna and then to St. Petersburg. The flight from Washington DC to Vienna was amazing. We were in the front of the plane and had seats that make into a bed. I slept, Sal watched movies and we ate in style. It is the only way to fly of course we will never be able to afford to sit up there again! It was a long way and we were exhausted once we finally arrived, but it was all worth it.

Sal slept while I went to meetings and then each day we would meet up to go on the private tours that were set up for us. In fact on the first day we were there, there was a riot outside our hotel, but Sal slept right through it. We saw some amazing sites and experienced the warm generosity of the Russian people. Not many spoke English, but they were kind always trying to help us.

This is The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood. All the walls inside are made up of Mosaic tile paintings. It is absolutely unbelievable to see the workmanship of this church.

This isn't a great picture, but you can get a sense of how many tiles were used in this church.



It is a Russian-style church and it was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881. Here is the memorial to him inside the church.



The church was closed for services in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks went on an offensive against religion and destroyed churches all over the country. It remained closed and under restoration for over 30 years and was finally re-opened in 1997. In fact, one of the Zsar's was so against religion that he hung huge pendulums in the churches to prove that God doesn't really exist and it is only by science that the pendulum would move.

We also got a private tour of The State Hermitage Museum. We were the only group in the 6 building museum. This museum has over 3 million works and it was totally different that the Louvre in Paris. Here is the front of the Hermitage and is only 1 of the 6 buildings.....

This building is across the courtyard from the Hermitage and it used to be a government building but it is now an annex for the Museum.

Lions in the courtyard of the Hermitage

The ceiling in one of the rooms.

Here is a painting of Sal and I.... ha ha ha...

They had a Picasso room where they have 36 original Picasso paintings. Here is one of them:

One night we went to see the famous Russian Ballet. It wasn't Sal's favorite event of the week, but I loved it. Bummer I don't have pictures of that night.

The culmination of the week was a black tie dinner at Catherine the Great's summer palace just outside St. Petersburg. I should mention that everywhere we went we had police escorts and tour guides. I love to hear the people talk about their own country and the rich history and the good and bad about their rulers. As we were driving out to the palace our tour guide talked about the fighting in WWII and he said that before the fall of communism, he HAD to say that the Germans were the only ones bombing the Russians, but now he was free to speak his mind and his opinion and he knew that the bombs were flying from the Russians as well. I can't imagine a world in which I was told what I could and couldn't say.

They welcomed us in full period costumes and as I walked up the stairs I truly felt as though I was having dinner with the Queen.

A picture of Catherine the Great.

One of Catherine's sons.

This palace is home to the famous Amber Room. If you aren't familiar with the story of the Amber Room and how the Nazi's allegedly dismantled and stole the room go here to read about it. It was fully reconstructed and Putin reopened it in 2003.

As we sat for dinner, I looked out one of the windows and it was lightly snowing outside. It was as though I was in a dream....eating a private dinner, in a palace, in Russia with it snowing outside.

Sal and I left the next day and we had an overnight in Vienna. When we got to our hotel we dropped our bags, grabbed our camera and hit the streets. Most of our pictures are very dark, but we ate ice cream as we walked along the streets and we ate pizza in a small restaurant by our hotel. We decided someday we will have to go back to Vienna to really see the sights. I hope one day to be fortunate enough to show Sal some of my other favorite cities like Paris and Edinburgh and I hope we can experience some new cities together like Rome and Barcelona.

Last night Olivia had her ballet recital. She looked so cute in her tu-tu and her hair was done so cute (thanks Heather!). Liv was so excited to dance for everyone. Granny and Nana came to watch her. She was supposed to dance 2 dances, but no one told her it was her turn to dance so she sat on the floor for the first song. I felt so bad for her but I was stuck in a corner with no way to get to her. Before the second song, Hayden went over and told her it was her turn. She stood right up and started dancing with the other girls. She looked beautiful as she was trying so hard to follow the teacher's moves. Liv definitely does not take after me. She is not afraid to be up in front of a crowd dancing, in fact I think she loves it.

This picture was taken before the recital started. She knew she needed to stand on her blue tape.

She was carefully listening to the teacher explain where they needed to stand.

Some posing after the recital was over......

And the most important part of the evening..... treats.....

I love you beautiful Olivia and I hope you will always want to dance!

A ride to Martinez Mine

About a month ago we went on a ride to Martinez Mine. It was one of those rides where you rock hop most of the way and we had to stop to help the little kids over the big boulders, but we saw some beautiful Arizona scenery. Rarely in Phoenix do you see leaves change colors and when you do it doesn't compare to being in the Utah mountains in the fall, but we take what we can get.

It was a fun ride and at one point we had to go over some pretty big boulders, but before we did we watched a 13 year old kid in a rock climbing Jeep manuever his way over some HUGE boulders. My dad took pictures, I will have to get those from him.

The kids found a giant cave in the mountain and climbed up.

And of course Olivia had to pose for the camera.

A Super SuperBowl.....

Sal's dream come true..... a family picture where we are all dressed in Cardinal gear.....

For the past 10 years or so our family has gotten together to watch the SuperBowl and of course the commercials. This was the 4th time we have hosted the party at our house. This year the SuperBowl had all new meaning for us because the Cardinals were playing. It was fun to watch Sal be so excited about the game. He got a flag to fly outside and balloons to decorate the house. He paced the floor when he got frustrated and we all cheered and screamed when the Cardinals scored. Did I mention that I peed my pants? With 2 minutes left to go, the Cardinals were down and needed a touchdown. As Fitzgerald caught that pass, we were all jumping and screaming and I guess after having 3 kids, my bladder isn't what it used to be and seriously I peed.... not completely but my pants did get a bit wet. How embarrassing isn't it? Oh well it was worth it to watch the Cardinals mount a comeback that nearly upset the highly favored Steelers. Us adults had a great time and I think the kids did too......

We decided a few years ago that we need to find something to keep the kids entertained so we could actually watch the game, so now we all chip in a rent a bouncer for the day.

Hayden and Liv trying out the slide....

Hayden showing his flipping skills....

Cole flipping and Liv jumping....

How many months until football begins again?? I am going through withdrawls already!