The Skunk in the Garden

We just returned from a wonderfully cool weekend at Granny and Papa's cabin in Eagar. We went with the Woolley's (minus Jill who was in Chicago for a girls weekend). Now, Granny and Papa planted a garden once again this year and it has been the first year there has been enough water to bear fruit.... or I guess I should say bear veggies. Granny has spent every weekend canning green beans and doing freezer corn. Luckily, she shares and we all have beans on our shelves and corn in the freezer.

A few weeks back Granny and Papa mentioned to my boys that a raccoon had been spending its nights eating corn. After doing much research, they decided to get a trap to catch it. Well, last weekend they caught a skunk and Colby had to shoot it. This weekend the result was the same....another SKUNK!

It was the first time that I had ever seen a real skunk. Of course I knew they were nocturnal but I thought it would wake up with all the noise. Just imagine, 5 boys lob-- wait... if you have ever had 5 boys ages 11 to 5 together you will understand that all I needed to say was 5 boys and you can imagine the noise level ;o) The skunk didn't even budge. The debate was who was going to shoot it. 4 out of 5 boys wanted to take a shot, but fearing that they wouldn't have great aim, it was decided that the true hunter among us should shoot it..... Mark! Luckily he had great aim and killed it with one shot. He added another one just to be sure and Hayden added his BB just

as an insurance shot.

Now here is Papa creeping in to make sure it really was dead.....

And now with the trophy kill.....

Surprisingly it didn't stink at all, but maybe I just stayed far enough back that I couldn't smell anything. The kids said it did and I think a few of them were tearing up because of the smell. All 8 boys including Sal, Mark and Papa were impressed with the kill. Granny was glad to have the predator gone, I was enjoying watching the boys get so excited, Jessica was saying "ewww, gross" and Em and Liv were too busy modeling to pay attention.

We were also able to go on 2 quad rides with the kids. I was impressed with Cole who rode the 8 mile trail all by himself. It was a bit scary at first but coming down the mountain he was riding like a champion. We are thankful to be able to make memories with our family and friends. Thanks too to Granny and Papa for always letting us stay at their "bed and breakfast."

Can you say BRAINWASHING??

It should be illegal at such a young age!!

Hurricane Lowell in AZ??

Ok ONE good thing about living in Arizona is the monsoon season. I LOVE the rain and so far this year we have had over 14 inches of rain which puts us 6 inches above the norm for the year. It HAS to be all the prayers we are saying! Last week we get the remnants of Hurricane Lowell that came up from Mexico. It was the first time our kids have experienced the power being out. They were thrilled to sit around with lanterns and watch the rain pour down.... for all of 5 minutes! Olivia kept asking to watch Max and Ruby. She also said that the monsters were coming. I wonder if the boys were trying to scare her? ;o) Funny thing was..... no one could go to bed because it was "TOO dark". Can it ever be too dark to sleep??

After the rain finally stopped we went outside to see the damage..... as you can see we are down one tree in the front yard! It will be the 4th tree we have had to plant because of the monsoons and the freeze last winter. When I say freeze, I mean freeze..... I bet we hit 30 degrees one time last winter. Hey, what can I say? That is cold for us folks that have to endure 117 degrees in the summer. The monsoons and the triple digits are officially over and I can't wait for the cooler weather.

Peeing in Rocks.....

A funny thing happened today when I picked Olivia up from her morning play group. Rochelle said Olivia had an accident in her pants. I was surprised because we haven't had an accident in weeks. Then she told me the story..... she said that they were walking to the park when Olivia decided, of course, that she needed to go pee. They were only one house away from her house so she told Olivia to quickly run back to the bathroom while she walked back with the other kids. Rochelle said she looked up and saw Olivia straddling a bush in the neighbors yard and she was peeing. Rochelle asked her what she was doing and Olivia said peeing in the rocks. As Rochelle was telling me this story I was laughing. Rochelle was relieved when I told her that when we are swimming and Olivia needs to pee, I just have her pee in the rocks. It sure beats getting out of the pool and walking though the house with wet feet or even worse peeing IN the pool. I can just picture Olivia straddling the neighbors bush peeing in the rocks! ;o)

Final Score: Cardinals 23 49ers 13

Sal and I spent this past weekend in San Francisco. It was one of those vacations where we decided we would eat and sleep... and of course go to the Cardinal/49er game. We stayed at the Fairmont..... it pays to have colleagues that give us a fantastic rate when we stay there. We certainly couldn't afford it otherwise! Here is the view from our room! You can see Alcatraz Island through the fog.

OK well a little background first...... Growing up in SLC, I was a huge BYU fan (and still am)! I became a 49er fan as soon as Steve Young became the quarterback there and have remained a fan ever since. I REFUSE to be a Cardinal fan.... mostly because the Bidwells are the worst owners in the history of the NFL and also, if I was, there would be no friendly rivalry in our family. You see Sal has brainwashed the boys into being Cardinal fans. One day they will realize how horrible the team is and has always been and I bet they choose a different team to cheer for. At least that is what I am hoping for. Hayden and I made a bet. Of course he chose the Cardinal to win and I chose the 49ers. Needless to say, I am on dish duty for the next week!

The weather was perfect for football. In fact I wore my 49er sweatshirt the whole time. For me it was like traveling to Mecca to see where some of the NFL greats have played. Here is a picture of the 49er Hall of Fame and of Sal and I at the game.

Here is our view from our seats.....

We had a great time and at halftime they had the Navy Leap Frogs parachute into the stadium. The wind was blowing so hard that one of the guys landed in the parking lot by mistake.

Somehow after the game, Sal and ended up outside where the Cardinal players were boarding their buses for the airport. Each player went through security screening right there in front of us. We had fun laughing at the clothes they were wearing. We even had the chance to talk with Deuce Lutui and Sal was thrilled to get a picture with him. I was impressed that he gave us both a hug and shook our hands. He has quite a grip! We forgave him for being a Mesa Jackrabbit and he forgave us for being Mountain View Toros.

I also like this picture of Matt Leinart. He is much cuter in person! I am not sure who the guy with dreads is. I am Sal knows.

Sal and I have decided that each year we will go to a Cardinal game in a different city. Although, I must say, I was quite spoiled growing up in BYU stadium.... no one really cussed.... OK maybe the "d" word or the "h" word, but it was always aimed at the players or coaches. Never was it said toward the fans of the opposing team. This experience was quite like going to the Holiday Bowl and having to sit among Texas A&M fans. The curse words were a plenty and directed a few times at Sal and his Cardinal shirt. We have decided that we will not go to a game in Oakland! I don't think we could live through a game on that side of the Bay!