Bleed red.....

Cardinals Red!!
Superbowl XLIII is tomorrow in Tampa Bay Florida, and we are just stoked for the game! I went out and bought us all new Cardinals shirts and Tage was lucky and got a jersey!
Good Luck Cardinals!

"Believe in now"

GO CARDINALS

Basketball Game

Ok, today was Tage's 2nd game. Let's just say it didn't go to well today.

It all started out at breakfast. I'm in a happy, cheerful mood (cuz Moms have to be at 7:30am on a Saturday) and ask Tage if he is excited for his game.
Tage: NO
Mom: why?
Tage: cuz I just don't like it.
Mom: but you are so good at basketball. Last game you did so good, played good defence and were awesome.
Tage: but I just don't like it and its boring.
Mom: how could it be boring? you are running all the time and trying to get the ball...
Tage: well I just don't like it and don't want to go.
Then the crying began.
OK, time for the 'time out' for Mom. At this point I don't know how to react. Do I get mad and just firmly say, "well, your going. like it or not." or do I let him whine and cry and say its OK we don't have to go. Quit because he 'just doesn't like it' on his 2nd game?
After just walking away at that point (for 30min!) and calling Tyson asking him what I should do (he talked to Tage too) I calmly talked to Tage to figure out the whole reason WHY? Come to find out he doesn't like it because he doesn't get the ball! (that's why its boring) Then it hit me...I do remember him saying after last game, "Mom, I just like practices, not the games." HELLOOO?! That's because he has the ball more at practices!!!! DUH!!
Back to our talk....OK Tage, I understand that you want the ball more, but do you realize that there is only ONE ball out there and ALL the kids on the teams too?
I encouraged him that we should still go to the game to support the team and to cheer them on because you are still part of the team, but he could sit out this game. And he was good with that....as long as he didn't have to play!
At this point we were definitely late and got there at half time. I told his coach that he didn't want to play, then slipped a 'try to put him in on the last rotation' hint. Tage sat on the bench with his team and was completely content, cheering them on. Last rotation came......his coach said for him to go out. Tage said 'no', she said 'yep, your out'. That at least got him off the bench. Then the crying began again. She said a few words to him, then I saw a shake of his head saying yes and he sat back down on the bench. Oh well I thought to myself. Then the coach came over to me and said that he had pinky swore that he would play next game. How about each game I thought to myself, next game is going to be a breeze cuz Dad and Grandpa were going to come watch!
I guess we will see how our season goes.

1st basketball game

Lucky #7

Well, actually second, but we missed last weeks game so we are calling this the first game.
Tage did pretty good being the first game. After a little 'mom coaching' I think he now knows when he should be offence and defence. (He had the defending part down pretty good seeing he was defending when their team had the ball)

Good defence bud!

He got a couple chances with the ball. Here is a video clip of one of them.

They each have a cute wrist band of the color they are suppose to guard. I think that's a pretty good idea! Plus they all thought they were cool wearing them.

More basketball updates to come I'm sure.

Spur Cross Trail

After Tages basketball game we went home and had lunch. Then Tage and I headed off to Cave Creek, AZ for an afternoon hike! I learned about this place from a friend and I have been wanting to go check it out. (Thanks Erin!)

The weather was perfect today! 74* and blue, blue skies. We didn't go that far on the trail (just to the creek) but it was still good.

He is showing you his muscles because he is proud that he hiked this far (not far at all) and crossed the river with only falling in once!

My lil' cowboy ("Cowboys don't smile mom" "Oh, ok!")

After the hike we stopped by El Encanto Dos for some dinner. It's a mexican resturant right off the Carefree Hwy. Ty and I have been there before and really liked it. The food is good. But what really matters is that the salsa is good too. And it is!

Once we got home Tage wanted to decorate the house because Dad is coming home tomorrow! Well, we didn't go all out like he wanted, but we did make a welcome home banner.

A "heavenly" day for all

For me....
A spa morning.! Over 2 hrs of complete bliss this morning with a facial and a full body massage! LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! Thanks Terah and Ty for the gift card! I even had time to take a nap when I got home before Tage came home from school! Sweet! To top it off, I stayed in my "comfy" clothes ALL day, put on hardly any makeup (just so I wouldn't scare people) and didn't even do my hair! Ahhhhh!!

For Tage...
A late night with some friends! Need I say more? At 5:00pm is where my "heavenly" day ended. Since Dad got a boys weekend, I thought Tage could have a boys night.

The boys entertained themselves by playing outside for a bit.

(Will, Tage, Carter, Andrew, and Tanner)
Made their own pizza


Played pizza Bingo (you play it just like regular Bingo, but just call out numbers)

Played Hullabaloo (Thanks Mom for the game they absolutely LOVED this! Couldn't stop playing it!)


And enjoyed caramel popcorn


Wow Tage, what a fun night! So glad you had fun, I love you.

For Dad...
A day at the sand dunes with some friends! His should be titled "heavenly weekend!" He said that they got to the dunes late last night and rode until 3:00am. Holy Cow!!! Then they grilled up hamburgers. Now that's a late night snack! Today they rode ALL day and he is having a lot of fun. Miss you, love you.
I don't have any pictures yet (I hope he is taking some!) But here is at least one as he was getting everything ready to go yesterday.

Viva Las Vegas Baby

(Rachel, Kristin, Brooke, me and Michelle)

This past weekend a few friends and I hit the road to Vegas! Lets be honest, Vegas is not my favorite place, but the highlight of the trip for me was seeing "O" at the Bellagio! It was such a great show, I loved it!
We left Friday early morning about 7:30am and returned home late (like 12:30pm) Saturday night. Friday before the show we checked into the Pallazzo Hotel (LOVED it! SO beautiful! We shared a suit that faced the strip on the 46th floor! Very nice hotel, I would stay their again!) had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, did a bit of shopping and all got makeovers at MAC. Some of us even got fake eyelashes to top it off! Now we were ready to go out on the town! The show "O" was unbelievable! So fun! You would never think that people could bend and twist their bodies in so many weird ways. WOW! Saturday was full of shopping at the outlets then dinner at Maggiano's. It was really yummy Italian food. But before heading back home some of us blew some moola on the slot. Rachel was given $50 from the hotel for booking, she came out with $26. Everyone else lost it all. (I lost a whoppin' $2 on Wheel of Fortune. Gambling doesn't do anything for me. No thrill. No need to do it.)
On the drive home I took a nightquil and told everyone not to back talk me when I was knocked out. :) (Friday late evening I could feel that I was getting a head cold. All day Saturday still felt the same. Bummer!! I never get sick! Why now? On a girls trip non the less!)

It was a fun trip with such fun girls! Can't wait till the next one!

A beautiful day for.....

Feeding the ducks

Making tunnels in the sand at the park

Ahhhh, how we love this time of year!

How 'bout them Cardinals?

Cardinals did it! Super Bowl here we come!

I have to say that it has been fun living here to be apart of pro teams. We have had fun following the Cardinals.

Today was the game that determined if we went to the Super Bowl. It has been 61 years since the Cardinals have been to the NFL Super Bowl playoffs. That's a long time! So maybe if I said it was a once in a life time opportunity, maybe I'm right!?

Final score:

Arizona Cardinals-32

Philadelphia Eagles-25

Can't say I watched all of it. Bits and pieces here and there. But I definitely watched most of the 4th quarter. Here is a few pics of Ty enjoying the game.

We had to celebrate after the big game, so the boys tossed around the football themselves.

Such a beautiful day here in Arizona! 80* this afternoon. I wondered why they closed the roof to the stadium. I heard that it was to keep as much noise in to distract the Eagles. Guess it worked!

GO CARDINALS!

Student of the Month

That's right, Tage was student of the month! They are recognized for their citizenship and hard work. He is such a good boy, even at home. Good job Tage! Mom and Dad love you!

more pics to come

Playtime

This is how my afternoon was yesterday

Kids galore. Tage had a friend over after school and we had a few neighbor kids over. It was a blast. I didn't hear a peep from Tage the whole afternoon. I got so much done.

The weather has been very nice lately. Low-mid 70's. I'm not complaining because I really enjoy wearing flip flops and short sleeves. But is it too warm for mid Jan.? For some reason I think it was still in the 60's last year. But I could be wrong. I just hope this doesn't mean we are going to have a forever long hot summer. Ty said that he is loving this weather too and if the summer comes early.....'bring it on', he says!

Another hike

Wow, its already been a week!

This morning we did another hike. This time West Wing Mountain and with friends! Bonus!

It always is funner with friends.....

Carson, Tage, Sadie, Kelmen

The kids held out their hands for everyone to give them high fives as they passed

Great hike guys!

Wouldn't get off

That's right, Tage was begging for another turn, after turn, after turn. He absolutely enjoyed this electric, QUIET motorcycle/dirt bike. Now I bet you can guess what is on his list for his b-day.

And this is what they do when they have to share

Even moms could take a spin

Hike

We hiked to the very top of this mountain today! Pretty sure that this mountain is called Lone Mountain. Its right by our house.

Pictures that just scream Arizona

At the base of the mountain when Tage could see the flag on the top, he stopped in the middle of the trail and put his hand over his heart and said the Pledge of Allegiance. It was pretty darn cute. Tage was adamant that we were going to get to the very top to the flag. There was no trail to the very tip-top so we carefully climbed up the rocks. I'm sure I said "watch out for the cactus" a million times. But we made it!

Once we got to the top we had a few snacks and looked at the GORGEOUS views. We tried to look for our house. We think we saw our roof top. Tage says next time we need to bring the binoculars. It was a great day to go for a hike! Beautiful 65* and sunshine! Never in Utah could you go hiking on January 3 without snowshoes and freezing. I love Arizona!