Happy 17th Anniversary To Us

Shortly after we were married in 1992

Back in the day, when we were both mere babies, Matt had some hair, I was skinny, and we both wore floods a lot. These days, we don't wear floods anymore and we've added lots of 'character' to our features ;-) But most of all... we still love each other lots... and lots... and lots!

All in all, 17 years of marriage adds up to about 15.25 years of wedded bliss - give or take a day or two. That's pretty awesome, wouldn't you say? :)

My Baby Is Eight *Sniff Sniff*

Sophie and me, just moments after her birth (and I even did my hair and make-up before going to the hospital so I wouldn't look like this - I'm not in the middle of a blink either)

My baby Sophie is eight. I.want.to freeze.her.in.time. I've wanted to since the day she was born. She is the sweetest thing ever created. Anyone reading this who thinks their child is sweeter than Sophie is just stone cold crazy and wrong!!!

It's a well known fact in our family that Sophie was the best of the three babies (Ella was the worst, hee hee hee). First of all, she didn't come equipped with the vocal power that both Ella and Eva came with - that was one of the first things that overjoyed us about her. And she was so docile. She would take a bottle or the boob, it didn't matter. Whichever was most most convenient for me was what she would take - so unlike those first two babies :)

And then her head would flop all over the place. It was so hard for her to hold it up for very long. Even at four months old she would suddenly give up and let her head roll onto her shoulder - and smile all the while. When she finally began to walk at nearly 21 months, the entire family cheered her on as if cheering a runner the last mile of a marathon - and she felt as accomplished.

We always giggled when anyone asked her name and she replied 'Popie', and sometimes even 'Dopie'. It was so adorable and heartwarming. She was so excited the first time she said her name correctly when she was five. It was a long time coming after three years of speech therapy, and she just couldn't wait for Matt to get home from work so she could say her name for him.

*sniff sniff*

She is a child who possesses no ill intent. She is easily devastated when she does something wrong. You have to be careful when pointing out that the new word she learned at school isn't a nice one. She falls apart even when such news is broken to her gently. Her innocence inspires a kind of protectiveness in her friends and family. When she is wronged, I want nothing more than to kick some major boo-TAY!! Don't mess with my Sophie!

I will avenge :)

But behind all the delays and the learning disability, lurks a mind that thinks deep deep thoughts.

That brain of hers is always pondering imponderables, like a couple years ago when she woke up, went into our bedroom, crawled into our bed, made herself comfortable and then asked, "why we not all live in Africa?"

Indeed! Why we not all live in Africa anyway?

About a year ago when she woke up one day, she asked, "why we not have chicken legs?"

And about 18 months ago, while I ran her bath water, she asked, "do you believe in ghosts?"

Me: "oh no. All those ghosts like Casper and all that Halloween stuff is just fake and for fun. It's just so we can pretend to be scared - it's all fake."

Sophie: "what about the Holy Ghost?"

Me: "oh... well ... that's different of course..."

My favorite was about 3 years ago though. We were driving past The Little Flower Catholic Church on Kietzke, and she asked if it was a church. I was kind of surprised that she could tell it was a church since isn't at all traditional looking. I answered her, "yes, it's a church - the Catholic Church." The she asked me, "is Jesus in there?" Not wanting to make things complicated by explaining the resurrection, etc., I simply said, "yes, Jesus is in there." Then she asked the most amazing thing ever. She asked, with the last word in song, "did Jesus take the ♫ whee-ee-eel ♫ ?"

Then I both laughed and cried the rest of the day.

Her questions are ENDLESS and always amusing.

Here's a sampling of some I remember her asking over the weekend while we were out of town - all of them completely random:

How old was your great great great great great great great uncle?

What is water in Japanese?

How do babies get in tummies?

What does Van Morrison's wife look like?

Who's gonna die first?

What is poop made of?

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This year she was very conflicted about what kind of birthday party she wanted. For the last four months at least, she's been torn between Chuck E Cheese, a bowling party, a Girly Girl party, etc., etc., etc.. Finally, a couple weeks ago, she settled on a surprise party. How can you not love a girl who innocently requests a surprise party, and then fully expects to be completely surprised? So, a surprise party is what we gave her!

Sophie's arrival and fanfare. There were horns, streamers and poppers - cheering and clapping!

She wore a crown and we barbequed in the back yard - Eva loving on Sophie

Matt's here risking our satellite reception for the pinatas

Ominous sky

Matt lays down the rules (but no one really listened and it was kind of mayhem)

The frenzy

Lightning forced us indoors, so Ella deejayed an impromptu dance party

A good time was had by all! After the party was over and everyone had gone home, Sophie said to me, "that was the best party you ever planned."

That made the party bomb aftermath and debris all worth it :)

Happy birthday Sophie!!!

Ella Finds Her Photo Mojo

Ella, still upholding her no pics of the braces photo policy

Reluctantly acquiescing to a photo-op with that teenager look

Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe - almost as spectacular as Matt's farmer's tan!!!

Exploring Eagle Falls at Lake Tahoe

And finally, I coaxed a real smile out of her - Ella and Eva

By the end of the day, she was back to her hammy ol' self :)

And now all is right in the world again (with the notable exceptions of the the 'Stimulus Package', the government takeover of the auto industry, and season's end of 'The Real Housewives of New York City').

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Methinks there could be a huge upset in this week's American Idol Finale if a sizable number of Danny's fans vote for Kris Allen...

Reno Aces Baseball Game (More Dangerous Than Swine Flu)

Oh man! I am so behind on blogging, and you know I hate that because then it feels like homework, which turns into to feeling like housework... and well... you know the rest of the story on that...

So let me start catching up with the Reno Aces game we went to on Friday at the new stadium. It was really a great time and I kind of felt as if the stadium was mine. You know what I mean? Like I had some sort of vested interest in something local. Something I can get into and support, and like everyone else there felt the same way (insert group hug here).

We met my in-laws, Marv and Joanie, and Matt's brother Ryan and our nephew Ben at the entrance for the game. It turns out that Friday's are perfect for a family night. In addition to all the entertainment between innings, there was a fireworks show afterwards, and then kids under 12 got to run the bases. I think we were there for about four hours, and the kids never complained :)

It turns out though, that standing in the concession stand line, the one that's about parallel with right field, is more dangerous than the Swine Flu. True story. A woman was nailed in the head by a foul ball in the exact spot I had been standing only two minutes before she was hit. She was in my line about four people back, but was still out in the open. I had already entered the covered area of the stand. It was shocking, to say the least, to hear that loud thud and then gasps all around. Surprisingly though, it didn't knock her out, and she remained standing, with support, and had the most terrible look in her eyes. She didn't say a word, but just stood there for a few moments (kind of looking like I imagine we were all supposed to be looking right now dying from Swine Flu), with her eyes all popped out and her hand on her head - and then they whisked her away. I wish I knew what happened to her.

So don't worry about taking your hand sanitizer to the ball park - take a helmet instead.

Oh, and note to self: the end of the fifth inning is the worst time of all to go for snacks. It's when EVERYONE goes for snacks, which causes people to have to stand out in the open to be struck by foul balls. And it's also the reason you missed the Barry Bonds home run that landed just two seats from where you had been sitting back in 2002 - that moment was one of the most shocking of your life, and sent you into a funk for days. You and Matt were the only two at Pac Bell Park who weren't celebrating. And on top of all that, you had that foul ball almost near death experience standing in line to get Eva garlic fries, only to find out, when it was finally your turn, that you were at the wrong concession stand, and that you had to go to a different concession stand for garlic fries and stand in line all over again. So, don't ever go for food right after the fifth inning. That's when bad things happen.

Ella's new photo policy since getting braces

Ben, Ryan and Ella

Joanie and Ben - no greater love hath a grandmother for her grandchild, but that she will crack open each and every individual sunflower seed for him

Eva

Sophie, unaware that she is about to be consumed by Archie

Matt's in the middle with the red hat, Eva's holding a glove over her head

Ryan and Ben - that's the same glove I've had since I was about twelve

Matt and Eva

The new Reno Aces Stadium with Downtown Reno in the background

Wanted: Swine Flu Germs

At this point, I really really really want to be exposed to the Swine Flu in order to build some resistance against any future H1N1 mutations. I don't have a medical degree, or any kind of degree for that matter, but who really needs one these days when one has teh internets at ones finger tips, right? ;-)

For the last week, since it became apparent that Swine Flu is mild and wasn't actually killing all the people the media had first sensationally reported, I've been thinking about the benefits of exposure to H1N1 as an immunity builder. So this morning, I did a simple google search, 'H1N1 immunity', and found this in the second article that popped up:

"The global outbreak of H1N1 flu hovering just below the pandemic threshold could provide immunity for those already infected if the virus mutates into a more deadly form, scientists have told AFP.

That is what happened in 1918, when most people who fell ill with a mild Spring flu were effectively inoculated from the far more lethal strains that roared back a few months later and killed at least 40 million worldwide, according to recent and upcoming studies.

The findings suggest that going all-out to prevent exposure to the kind of non-seasonal flu sweeping across the world today may turn out to be counter-productive in the fight to reduce mortality."

So I say, bring it ON!!!!! I want the Swine Flu and I want it NOW!!! I invite any and all who are ill with this flu to touch every doorknob in my house. I want to shake your hand, give you a hug and share a soda with you (just not when I'm looking though, cuz that's gross - but what I don't know won't hurt me).

This just seems like common sense to me, and waaaaaaaaaay cheaper than whatever any government or 'world organization' would do to mess things up...

Read the entire article here

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The Gap

It's already closing

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*sniff sniff*

I'm so sad Allison got the boot last night! I really loved her.

I'm not an Adam fan, but I think he could definitely revive the rock opera genre.

Ella's new Grill, and More On Janene's Gas Nozzle Jacking

Oddly enough, Ella's love of the photo op has done a 180. She was not thrilled to have her picture taken, nor was she thrilled with the outcome, so here's just a tiny peek. She really rocks the metal look in my opinion though.

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There seems to be some interest in hearing more about my sister Janene's gas nozzle jacking. Here's the rest of the story, continued from this post. It's one I can sit and listen to her tell all day long...

Upon discovering that she had a gas pump nozzle and its accompanying hose conspicuously trailing her rear end, she repeatedly uttered that mild expletive that rhymes with the word 'it'. Did I mention she said it repeatedly? While thus engaged in repeating said expletive, she considered her options............................. but not for very long, because she's an honest person like that - even in the face of such a mortifying and humiliating circumstance. Upon turning around to bravely meet her fate, she discovered she was the object of much finger pointing and laughter. And yet she continued on. Only a few moments later, upon returning to the scene of the crime, she discovered herself to be the target of even more fingers and laughter by those whom had witnessed her spectacular departure. Then, to her astonishment, from amongst the throngs of gleeful mocking faces, emerged three Good Samaritans (from south of the border) rushing to her aid.

"You go, you go", they said, as one of them removed the nozzle from its infamous resting place. "You go, you go, we tell them we did it. You go".

As they tried to persuade her in their broken English to let them take the fall, the one who had taken the nozzle was trying to hook it back up before the attendant came out. The hose was too banged up from pavement pounding however, and it didn't take. In the annuls of history, and even in the scriptures themselves, have you ever heard a greater tale of mercy and self-sacrifice? Okay, yeah. But have you ever heard a sweeter one. Okay, yes again. But would you have ever expected this story to take such a touching and heartwarming turn? I think not. I hope those three nice men can get some legal documents someday (oh my gosh, did I just imply that out loud?).

In conclusion, it was determined that the nozzle and hose were both covered by the station's insurance. The only fine to be paid was lots of embarrassment, which she took with great humor. That's why I love her so much :)