The Gonzalez Family: September 2007

Leo and I planned a quick little getaway to Seattle a couple weeks back. We always skip our anniversary (8/31) because we are at Homestead with the whole fam damily. AND, his birthday is a week later...so, we decided to head up to Seattle. Ticket...check. Babysitter (Barbie)...check. Time off of work....check. Weather? The forecast showed 55 degrees for the weekend in Seattle! We re-thunk (sp?) our plans and decided to head down to St. George...the only thing in common St. George and Seattle have are that they both start with an "S".

We got a sweet little condo with 3 beautiful pools, a great view and warm, warm weather, no kids, no work and no cell phone (except for emergencies). We were in HEAVEN! We slept in until 10am, snacked a little and went to lunch each day. We rented every movie Red Box had available and stayed up late at night eating popcorn and playing Scrabble. We also made daily drive-bys past the courthouse since the infamous Warren Jeffs was on trial....I was hoping to catch a glimpse of him but never saw him or any Polygamist on trial, except for at Harmons...there were a ton of them there.

Anyway, this trip was by far better than any recent trip we have taken...even our trip to Puerto Rico..."Why" you ask? Well because, we have been to St. George a gazillion times, we have seen everything, and once again...we were alone with no kids. Each day Leo would say to me, "We are so dumb...who would go on a little trip and end up sleeping, watching movies and lounge around when there is so much to do outside?" My reply to him was, "Um...me...and any other sleep-deprived-parent- with-4-kids-at-home-and-no-time-to-themselves-kind-of-person." His reply was, "Oh yeah...your right...just don't tell anyone what we did all weekend." My reply, "Okay, I promise."

And there you have it...the story of our 8th anniversary/39th bday.

The Whole Family

The Homestead tradition lives on.....Each year over Labor Day our family spends the weekend up in Midway at the Homestead. This has been a tradition for generations. Over the past few years this family tradition has turned more towards a golf extravaganza for the guys. Every year we (girls) get frustrated and vow to not let the same thing happen the next year....and every year after complaining and fighting with our husbands, they continue to golf!

Aside from the golf, we really do have a great time. We wake up early on Friday mornings, head over to Swiss Days for some of that yummy Swiss bread and make our way over to the Park City Outlets. It is a weekend of fun, games, food, fighting (sometimes between the guys) and no sleep with kids arguing, babies crying and Ryan farting. We squeeze all 14 of us into a 2 bedroom condo that is way overpriced and every year Barb finds something to complain about so that we get an extra discount on our room. This year the complaint was because the pools were closed down due to an outbreak of kids pooping and peeing in swimming pools across the state. Barb's complaint saved us an extra 20% per night...I wonder what she'll come up with next year?

The kids swim almost the entire time we are there (they did open the pool the next day, and yes, we still got the discount for the rest of the nights) and they love to go to the Gift Shop.

Each year whomever wins the week long golf tournament wins this awlful looking 4 foot golf trophy and they receive their name on the plaque....Leo has never won this and I know he has been dreaming about the day his name will appear on the plaque, but until then (it might be awhile) I'm going to give him an honorable mention for the drama he created when he lost his keys.

This is how the story goes: The first night we got there he misplaced his keys. He swore that he put them in his golf bag but had checked each pocket 20 times. Not only did he check and recheck, but Erik checked, Steph and Liz checked...basically everyone checked. We offered the kids a $5 reward to see who could find the keys...they searched the grass and all over the condo for 2 days. We even called the Sheriff who came and jimmied the car door so that we could check in the trunk. All of this was done in total frustration on my part...and we were going to have to bite the bullet and drive all the way home to get the spare and then drive all the way back up. I had asked Leo a couple of times if he was sure he checked the car and the golf bag....he basically bit my head off for even suggesting that he didn't look "hard enough" and asked if I was calling him "stupid" for not looking in all the zippers.

Well, 3 days into the quest of the lost keys, Barb and I took matters into our own hands. We searched the trunk (secretly, without Leo seeing us) and then went to search the golf bag. You can guess what was in the first pocket I put my hands in! I swore (not a swear word) but I said something like this "Tio Freaking Leo!" His keys were in the bag the whole time! I wrapped those babies up and gave him a little present that night (our anniversary also falls on Homestead weekend) even though I wanted to throw them at him. Needless to say he was thankful and nice and felt really, really bad for yelling at me for asking him if he double checked his golf bag.

So Leo, Congratulations...I know this wasn't the award or trophy you wanted to win this year...but you won the Craziest Gonzo Award!