Can you picture Sal doing this??

Last night Sal took the boys to the Monster Truck Jam. On their way home they stopped at Sonic for some icecream. As they were on their way home, Sal was pulled over by a policeman. He asked Sal if he had been drinking or doing drugs. When Sal said no he asked Sal to get out of the car. The officer then told Sal that he didn't smell any alcohol, but an undercover cop had observed Sal swerving, speeding up and slowing down and cutting people off. Sal told him that there was only one other car on the road and he was more than a 1/4 mile behind him. The officer still had Sal follow his finger and look at the flashlight. After this short field sobriety test, he asked where they had been and where they were going. Finally he told Sal to have a good night and let him go.

When Sal told me about this, I thought he was kidding. Once the kids came in and started talkin about it, I knew he was dead serious. He laughed about it and so did I. I just can't imagine Sal standing on the side of the road doing a sobriety test! LOL

I Love Our Ward Garden

Our ward was blessed to plant a winter garden on a small plot of land near the Church Welfare Farm. Each ward in our stake got about 6 or 8 rows to plant. Today, I went out to see what was ready to be picked. I was able to get broccoli, leaf lettuce, green onion and beets. Fairly soon the peas will also be ready.



I love pickled beets. I remember always eating them with Sunday dinner and seeing them in Gram's basement. In fact, I would always raid Gram's food storage when we would visit. My favorite thing was her yummy pickles. Anyway, today I was able to can 7 pints of beets. (Thanks Gram for giving the recipe to my Mom who gave the recipe to me) As the beets were cooking, it reminded me of the smell of Gram's house. In fact, as the kids came in the house, they asked, "What smells so good?" When I said "beets" they all turned up their noses. Sal and the kids won't TOUCH beets, although they would like them if they tried them! Oh well that just means more for me right??

Picture Princess for Shabby Apple

OK so one of my favorite sites is Shabby Apple. They have the cutest dresses and no one in Arizona seems to know about them.... yet. Anyway, they have a contest for girls 0-8 years old and I thought Olivia would be the perfect Picture Princess. So please forgive me while I blog about why she will be the perfect Picture Princess.

From the looks of my blog you would think that Olivia is an only child. Well she is the baby of the family and she came after 2 boys so in our house she is THE princess. Olivia is 3 years old and from the time she could talk she has constantly said, "Mom, take a picture of me!" No matter what she is doing, she wants a picture taken of her. So we have pictures of her:

Painting her toes......

modeling her new ballet costume (notice the pointed toe)

and playing dress-up.

Once we have taken the pictures she immediately wants to see them on the computer. We have to look at them over and over again. The Shabby Apple dress that would look perfect on Olivia would have to be the Queen of Hearts. Olivia will continue to be our Picture Princess!!

Living history.....

How do you put today into words? I am absolutely speechless. As I sat watching President Obama's speech I wished that I would have kept my boys home from school so that I could experience history with them. Luckily I have it on the DVR and we will watch it again as a family tonight and talk about the significance of it.

Choosing a presidential candidate was, for me, similar to gaining a testimony. As members of the Church we are taught to ponder what we study. Think it over in our minds and hearts, be open to the spirit, and ask if it is right. As I did this, I knew without a doubt that Barack Obama was the right one to lead this country. His priorities are in the right place - the economy, the wars, health care, families, education. I trust him to do what is right for my family and for this country. Today I was filled with pride, gratitude and hope as President Obama spoke these words:

"For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."

"There are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."

My continued prayers will be with him and the other leaders of this country and the world that we might be able to work together to make a peaceful, prosperous world for our children.

Go ahead PINCH me!

I have to be honest, I am NOT a Cardinal fan.... never have been, but am sittin' on the band wagon now. HOWEVER, Sal has been a fan since the Cardinals set foot in this city. He has endured years and years and years.... ok 21 years to be exact.... of absolute miserable football. Every year, I ask Sal if he wants to pick a new team to cheer for and every year the answer is the same.... "NO, the Cardinals are MY team." He owns Cardinals t-shirts, hats, socks and he even put a Cardinal on the back of MY car. Now he had all this BEFORE this year. He has even brainwashed the kids to be Cardinal fans.





As this years season started, Hayden said to me, "Mom, I will bet you that the Cardinals go tot he Super Bowl!" I said, "Hayden, the Cardinals have NO chance of going to the Super Bowl, so I will bet you one million dollars that the Cardinals will NOT go to the Super Bowl." We quickly shook hands and the bet was on. Of course I was absolutely sure that hell would freeze over and pigs would fly first. Well, wouldn't you know.....






So Hayden, here is your million:




As we watched the game on Sunday, I was waiting for the normal Cardinal ending..... a hail Mary catch in the end zone for the Eagles and the Cardinals to lose the game. In the 4th quarter I actually thought I would throw up and Sal started pacing. With about 2 minutes left, when it looked as though the Cardinals would win, I looked at Sal and said, "you've got to be kidding me." I was stunned! Sal was speechless and just watched in awe. I truly think he never thought he would see this day. This years Super Bowl holds all new meaning for Sal this year. Hopefully, in 2 weeks the Cardinals will make history AGAIN!


Sal and his favorite player Deuce Lutui at the 49er game in SFO.

The Quading Adventures Never Cease

For those of you who have not gone riding with us, it is ALWAYS a memorable experience. We have almost been raped and murdered (a long story), had a quad stolen, been stuck in mud, been stuck in a river, had flat tires, scaled boulders, been rained on, rolled quads..... do I really need to continue? This weekend was no exception. What can I say we are building memories with our kids!! (BE WARE LOTS OF PHOTOS TO COME.)

This was our 4th trip to the Coke Ovens. We decided the little kids (Cole and Garrett) were good enough on their quads to make the 12 mile trip. It is a tough trail with lots of steep downhill rocky terrain.

We had the little girls take a quick pee break before we got started.....

See Liv sitting on the ground to pee...... the result was......

Cactus in the bum. Sal had his pliers to pick the needles out and I got to hold her while she screamed!

Finally we got started...... here are 5 of the 12 quads. We make quite the group!

It was a fairly warm day (ok it was almost hot) and there isn't much shade, but we found a little spot of lunch......

After lunch, and about 3 hours of riding, we finally made it to the Coke Ovens. What is a Coke Oven? The Coke Ovens are remnants of the large mining operations in the Mineral Mountain Range that prospered in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. These ovens were created for the production of Coke. Coke is a fuel that burns at extremely high temperatures. This was – and still is today - an ideal product to use in the smelter process. From what we have heard they would use mesquite and turn it into Coke.

Since it was late in the day, we decided to not go back the way we came as it would take nearly 4 hours to make the climb out. To be honest we have never back tracked. One our first ride we were told we could go across the river, on the railroad tracks, through the train tunnel to a trail on the other side. So that is what we decided to do today. Of course the kids were thrilled at the idea of riding through the river. Before you get to the river you have to go through this VERY cool forest. It is like being in Sleepy Hollow. Here are some pictures that Sal took.

Once we got to the river, I thought it didn't look as full as other times we have crossed. However, it looked much swifter. Sal and Jill rode ahead to our crossing spot while I hung back while the kids played in the water. When I finally got to the crossing point, Jill and Heather told me Sal was stuck. As I glanced over, I could barely see the quad as it was almost submerged in the water. Sal was thigh deep standing on his bike. The story I heard later was that Jill and Sal decided that someone needed to cross the river first to see how deep it was. Of course Sal went first. Unfortunately he didn't quite take into consider the strong current of the water and it drifted him and the quad too far down river where he got stuck. I was panicked, but was trying to remain calm. Mark and Doug decided my quad needed to pull Sal's out so I crossed to a median in the river. Doug had to pull the tow rope while Mark pulled with my quad. It was quite a scene.

Once they got Sal out it was decided that the men would piggy back the kids across the river and we would have to tow the little bikes with the bigger quads. So Jill, Heather and I all towed a little bike across and then the men did the others. Have I said yet that the water was freezing? On one of the trips across the river Sal slipped and fell. All but his face went under the water. Luckily he wasn't carrying a child that time. One by one we pulled the little quads across.

Here are the rest of us watching as the men towed the quads across......

It was Sal's turn to bring his quad across and guess what? It would start, but it wouldn't move. Here are all 3 guys trying to decide what was wrong and what to do about it. Again it was decided that my quad would pull Sal's across the river. So that is what we did.

OK now if you are still following the story, we have all crossed the river and it is time to go to the train tracks. We quickly learn that Sal's quad isn't the only one having problems. Cole's won't move and Garrett's won't start. Luckily we had 3 tow ropes. We tied them up and off we went. The train tracks always makes me nervous. We were told that the train only come through on Friday's but do you trust the guy who told you that? Here is a picture of where we had to go.... across the bridge and into the tunnel.

It was decided that we all shouldn't be on the track together and we should go in 2 groups. We got the 1st group of quads between the tracks and off they went. Then we got the second group inside the tracks and off we went. I think we all prayed the whole way that a train would not magically show up.

When our group met up with the first group we realized that Mark was hurt. Of course the kids were quick to tell us that he rolled his quad while trying to make a sharp turn down a hill while towing Garrett's quad. When he rolled he got his leg pinned between the quad and a piece of concrete. Mark rested until we discovered that Sal had a flat tire. I mean really flat. Luckily, after learning our lesson a few times, we had an inflator in our pack. We were able to get enough air in Sal's tire to make the 30 minute ride back to the car. Of course by this time it was dusk and it was cold. It truly is amazing how quickly the temperature changes in the desert. I can't imagine how cold the guys were given that they were wet. We tried to hustle back to the trucks as fast as we could, but a few of the kids quads have no lights. They had to ride along side one of us so they could use our light. We finally got back, got the quads loaded, the kids warm and thanked Heavenly Father that we were once again able to make it back. Sal rode home without pants and the seat warmers in the H2 came in VERY handy. We have since decided that we are DONE with the Coke Ovens. It still remains to be determined if Sal, Cole and Garrett's quads will actually run. I will keep you posted. :o)

Bucket List

OK HERE I GO.....
(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland ... and Disneyworld!
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon 1/2
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

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

A night for dress-up

For Christmas Granny gave Olivia the cutest dress up clothes. Every day she trys on something different and loves to parade around the house and call herself a princess. Last night we had dinner after church with our friends the Evans and Woolleys. Jessica loved outfitting each of the girls in their own unique outfit. The girls giggled and giggled. It was too cute.