Mason Turns 2 & Erik leaves for 2!

Mason at Leatherby's

We LOVE those Lippies!
So...Mason turned 2 on January 16th. We celebrated with Barbie and Little Bumma coming over at about 10ish before the BIG departure to the MTC. Leo and I were fortunate enough to be able to go with Barbie to deliver our Little Bumma off to Provo and then off to Russia for 2 years. Mason's b-day was kind of forgotten....in a good way. (The next post will be dedicated to the departure of CLB)

We waited until the weekend so the Twins could be with us to celebrate. We ate Mason's favorite din-din which is pancakes and juice and then headed off to good old Leatherby's. For those of you who do/don't know about Leatherby's there are only 2 left here in the city. One is located in Taylorsville...and the other is located in Midvale....Little Tijuana as we like to call it. We chose to go to the Taylorsville location because believe it or not at the Midvale location they serve tacos with your ice cream...if you want. And even though 90% of the Gonzo's have some Hispanic blood in them, we aren't that Hispanic...and actually I'm not even the least bit Hispanic. So...we chose to go to the original Leatherby's. The employees there sang to Mason and he was full of laughs.

I can't even begin to express how much I love this little guy. He is my sweetheart and the love of my life. He loves "hee-hees" (horses) "a-hai" (Backyardigans) and "Joosh" (juice)...but most of all he loves his "Haylay" (Haili). He could have just woken up from a nap and the first thing he asks for is HAYLAY...if he gets hurt, it's HAYLAY...and when he wants to cuddle, it's HAYLAY.
It is so sweet how much he loves her.

Besides being a sweet little boy, Mason has a mean, high-pitched scream that can break anyones eardrums...he also can throw cars at the walls and hit his family better than his big brother Brandon.

Over all...we love everything about him and are so happy to have this little guy in our family.

Happy Birthday Mason!

Gonzo Update!

WOW...I am SOOO glad the Holidays are over. I haven't posted anything in 2 flipping months! So, for my sake, I am going to add a little run down of what the Gonzo's have been up to:

1. Kicked out of our Dinner Group...this weighs heaviest on my mind
2. Invited into a "couples" Bunko group
3. I've have been sicker than a dog for the past 2 weeks
4. Haili finally gets her spacer out...no more "sh" or "ch" sounds
5. Michael is doing awesome in Basketball
6. Mason will be 2 years old in a couple of days
7. Leo gave me a coupon book for Christmas...that was my favorite gift by far!
8. Leo's company is doing good..he gave me a job proposal...I'm thinking it over
9. We had the Tuna's over for 2 weeks...always fun times
10. Steph and Liz are getting contacts this weekend
11. I'm working from home 2 out of my 3 days now...yeah!
12. We finally got our much needed Suburban...minivan anyone?
13. The Biggest Loser is back on and Leo and I are having our own competition
14. The house is a mess
15. I'm getting REALLY good at Guitar Hero

There, that should hold me over for another couple of months.

Random Gonzo Pics

Liz, Tony (Liz's "boyfriend") & Steph at their Halloween Choir performance.

Steph, Karina & Liz ready for the Halloween Dance.

The American Biker Chic "Candy" with Her Hispanic Boyfriend/Biker "Rafael Jose Montoya" ready to compete at the Patterson's Annual Halloween Party for 1st Place...we took a tie for 2nd...with honorable mentions

A Monkey dressed as "King Kong"...

My cute little Monsters...Brandon and Mason

The Alien and The Rock Star

Leo getting ready to watch our favorite show "The Biggest Loser" along with his 2 boxes of donuts and 44 ounce Diet Coke...go figure?

Survivor VS. Hannah Montana

All 25 Kids..almost

So...it was our little Haili Boosies 11th Birthday this past week and let me tell you what an exciting week she had: First of all she was able to have a party this year. She was making the list of friends to invite when Leo popped his head in and told her to invite the

WHOLE

soccer team (he coaches) so we had about 25 kids instead of 10. She was going to invite some of them, but not all 15!

Lulu with her "tree mail"

Then she tossed the idea around for awhile what kind of "theme" she wanted to have. After going back and forth and because our family LOVES Survivor, she decided on this as her theme. Once all the kids arrived we divided them into 3 tribes. We sent them to special "islands" in the house for them to converse with their team. Then Lulu would go to each tribe and give them clues for the challenges. It turned out SO cute!

The winning team showing their tongues

The first challenge was an eating contest. 3 members of each tribe had to eat an ice cream sundae with diced hotdogs, pickles and salsa to win.

"Where the heck is the dog treat you guys? I know we had it!"

The second challenge was a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood...don't we all love those? I made sure there were all kinds of weird, random items so the hunt would take up a lot of time since the party was 4 hours long...yes, 4 hours!

All 3 tribes arrived back within seconds of each other and when I was crossing off items from Tribe #1's list, one of their things mysteriously disappeared. So, I told them they didn't have everything.. They were all mad as heck and then realized that the item they were missing was a dog treat and off to the side of the group on the grass was Lulu smacking and licking her lips. It was hilarious...the dog was eating their stuff!

Balancing Challenge

The last challenge was a physical challenge balancing on their legs as a team. As you can only imagine a game with this many girls, there was bound to be some crying. So, insteading of hearing 25 girls cry, we manuevered a 3-way tie. So, we had some tie breaking questions. It was a blast!

Okay...so that was the party. Probably even MORE exciting for Haili was the present Tia Sandra gave her the day before...Hannah Montana tickets. Not just Hannah Montana tickets, but tickets in a suite, and not just any suite, the suite sitting right smack dab in front of the stage. So off Haili went to the concert with her cousin Paula. They had so much fun! It was really cute to see how excited they were as we were driving down to the Delta Center (I know it's named something else now, but I still think of it as the Delta Center). As Leo ran the girls in I sat in the car waiting and watching all the moms walking in with their cute little girls all decked out...it made me want to go see the concert myself. And as my kids know, I DO know every flippin Hannah Montana song by heart...not by choice but because Radio Disney is all that my kids allow me to listen to in the car. In fact, I hate to admit this, but I even listen to it when they aren't with me.

Paula & Haili at the concert

So, once again, Haili had a fabulous birthday. But not just any fabulous birthday, she had the best birthday in 11 years!

Happy Birthday Haili Boo...we love you so much and are so happy you are our Llama!

TAGGED!

Okay...this is for elder sister Laurel...I usually don't answer these type of things because I never know what to say. So, I'll fill it out, but I do have to add some comments to each.

4 Jobs That I've Had

Dan's Bakery..

I would purposely drop donuts so that me and my friends could eat them because they weren't "Customer Worthy" at that point.

Italian Courtyard Waitress...

Me and my BFF wanted the night off..and our chubby boss said we could ONLY if we brought him some dessert. So, Barb had just made some of her famous Pumpkin Bake, so we went home, grabbed a piece and had my dog lick it and drool on it. Then, we added Cool Whip on top. He said that was the best pumpkin pie he'd ever had. Did I mention we didn't like him? I'll tell you some day how we locked him in the big freezer for an hour.

4 Places That I Lived

Sandy, Utah

Downtown SLC

Back to Sandy, Utah

Settled in South Jordan, Utah

4 Favorite Foods

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Licorice

Cheese Enchiladas

Cheesecake

(And I wonder how I can't seem to lose weight?)

4 Favorite Music Artists

U2

Matchbox 20

The Killers

But my absolute favorite is Bon Jovi...I'll always be a Stoner at heart

4 Places I'd Rather Be

Hawaii

Greece

Italy

Egypt

4 Favorite Movies/TV Shows

50 First Dates

Survivor

The Biggest Loser

The Office

4 Favorite Books

I couldn't even tell you..I never have time to read. At this point in my life out of the books I DO read, it would be:

Arthur & DW Get A New Baby Sister

Baby Animals

The Goblin's Did It

Fun At The Park

So, I will go ahead and "TAG" my long lost friends that I haven't seen forever:

Christy in Cali and Emily Osborne AND Barbie from Sandy!

Wonderful Weekend With...

The Kiddies!

The kids and I had a fun filled, movie-watching, witches-sightseeing, pizza-eating, soccer- playing, Settlers-playing, little-kids-peuking-and-cleaning-up-kind-of-weekend. It was the BEST!

Leo went out of town on a little Guys trip of his own to Vegas for the BYU game and some golfing....leaving me with a half a dozen kiddos to entertain by myself for 5 days. Steph and Liz got out of school on Wednesday and still wanted to spend their LOOONG weekend with us even though Dad would be gone...aren't they the best girls? I love them so much!

Gardner Village

Anyway...we started off the weekend festivities by going to Gardner Village for their annual Witches Fest. If you haven't gone...you really need to. Although I would suggest going on a weekday and early. Don't wait until a Friday when school gets out like we did...it was a MAD HOUSE with kids screaming at their mom's because they were sick of getting pictures taken by each of the 230 witches in the whole village. I was only able to snap a couple of pics because Mason wasn't cooperating...

Brandon and Haili

The whole family...minus Leo

We had a great time and stopped at the little bakery there and ate some fun Halloween treats.

Once we got home we watched "50 First Dates" (edited by me, ofcourse)...if you haven't seen this classic Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie...you need to. It is hilarious and super sweet. Once we got the baby to bed we pulled out the good ol'e Settlers game...Leo is going to be so proud of his girls...all 3 of them learned how to play! I can tell we are going to have many long, long nights ahead playing this game with them (minus the Tuna's...sorry, but Leo has forbidden to ever play this game again with Ryan...Rachie is still welcome to play with us.)

Playing Settlers

The next day we started the day off with Brandon telling me his stomach hurt...I figured it was just a little ache...so, off to the gym I went and left the kids with the Twins. While I was gone for just an hour, Brandon managed to throw up throughout the entire upstairs and Steph and Liz came to the rescue...again. They were so sweet...they cleaned up the entire peuk and gave B a bath...what great sisters!

Later that afternoon we headed off to Haili's soccer game minus Mason...Michael offered to sacrifice and stay with him since it was cold/raining. Oh...I forgot to mention, Michael has a girlfriend...Shatara. Apparently she asked him to "go out with her" on Friday. So I mentioned that Michael "sacrificed" to stay with Mason...and he did, because Shatara scored the tiebreaking goal against an undefeated team. I think she was assuming Michael was there watching her and was stepping up her game for him. ANYWAY...Haili got sick half way through the game and almost "T'd Up" (threw up).... that's what the kids refer to as these days. So, we left during half time, took Haili Booshie home and she rested for the rest of the night.

And then to wrap up the evening, me and the girls watched Pearl Harbor and cried our eyes out! It took us 4 hours to get through the entrie movie...we were having technical issues, but we learned the theme song by heart! After the movie we debated if it was right for Evelyn to move on so soon AND to move on so soon with her not-so-dead-lover's-best-friend. I totally think it was wrong of her...but that could be because I have a soft spot for Ben Affleck.

To sum things up I think we had an awesome weekend! I am so grateful for all my kids and I love each one of them so much!

Seattle or St. George?

OR

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 Adventures of Homestead

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!

Beezer (Wedgie and all)


Mason, Holland and B


Napolean & Pedro



Cute Gonzo Kids

Liz, Steph, Mikey & Haili Boo

Bye-Bye Summer!

Michael, David, Jason, Emma & Haili

Although I am one who LOVES summer...I am oh-so-glad it is over for a few reasons.

My Top 5 reasons why:

5 - No more hot days working in the yard
4 - No more sunburns (no one else in the family gets burnt but me)
3 - No more days at the pool showing off my stuff
2 - No more kids telling me they are bored
1 - SCHOOL STARTS

Don't get me wrong...I love to work in the yard, except my garden hasn't produced crap this year....that could be why, I didn't add any crap (manure) to my soil. I love to get tan, minus all the freckles and wrinkles and I LOVE to go to the pool with the kids. But I am so TIRED of the kids telling me that they are BORED. They could've had the funnest day of their lives..ie, gone to Lagoon, b-day party, Raging Waters, D'land... and then as soon as things calm down they ask, "What are we going to do tonight?" I for one am soooo glad that they start school tomorrow.

The twins are never a problem, they occupy their time between reading and tv, but Michael & Haili need a little bit more direction in this department, so to them especially, I say (or if I was their teacher I would say) "Welcome back to school!" I hope both of you have a great year in the 5th grade.

Michael - I hope you can meet more friends in your class...the odds are in your favor. 22 boys and 6 girls, you better come home with a new friend every week of the school year!

Haili - Have fun this year and be the great example you are to your friends and brother that you are each year.

Steph - This is your last year before High School, have fun...be good and learn Espanol as if you were 100% Hispanic and not just a muggle. Have fun in choir and sing your heart out as if you were Gabrielle on HSM.

Liz - Enjoy Seminary and choir and Spanish and the cafeteria lunch that you so look forward to. Respect your teachers! If not, you know Dad will race down there and have a meeting with your teachers....how embarrasing because you know he will!

Beezer - Be nice to Miss Marla and learn lots of new songs that you can teach Macey when you get home. Please don't pee your pants more than once this year... your friends will totally make fun of you if you wear your pullups to class.

Mason - It's just you and me...we'll go to the park everyday as long as we're home in time to watch General Hospital (my guilty pleasure).

Good Luck little bummas! We love you and know you will do your best!

Mason Alexander - Gonzo of The Week

It's Mason's turn to be in the spotlight this week. As I sit here typing this and thinking what to say, my heart just goes crazy because I love this little baby SO much! Mason is the last of our litter (Barb will like that term) and is the most loving little boy. He was a surprise to Leo and I...we (mainly me) knew we wanted one more baby but because of the difficulties we had in having Brandon we thought we would have to do IVF again. So, we planned on doing that in August 05' and SURPRISE in April 05' we found out we were pregnant! It was a really hard time for me to be pregnant (when is it a good time?)...we had just sold our house in Sandy and we couldn't find a house that we really, really liked. So, we moved into Leo's Mom's basement for 6 weeks with all 5 kids in tow. I was sicker than a dog and we were staying in Leo's Grandma's room which was adorned by Virgin Mary statues every where you looked. When I woke up in the morning, there the statues were staring at me...I almost felt like I needed to do that little cross thing that Catholics do over their forehead and chest each morning. (totally off the subject, I know)..Anyway, we survived and soon found our house.

We found out in August that we were having another little boy ...Leo had his heart set on a little girl, but I just knew all along our little Mason was a boy. I had always dreamed of having 2 little boys, close in age, playing together and being best friends. Little did I know the fights and screaming that would go along with that! Even though Mason is younger, sweeter, happier and a good little baby, I think it is only a matter of time before he'll put Brandon in his place. He is becoming pretty tough...I guess he has to be with B as his older brother.

Back to the pregnancy.. I gained the usual 65 pounds and was fatter than a pregnant cow. I ended up delivering Mason on January 16, 2006 and having an emergency C-section. I have to admit it wasn't too bad, it landed me a whole week in the hospital to myself, it was like a little vacation. Not to mention 2 extra weeks off from work...and the bonus was that I got to pop all those great pain medication that whole week...(I could really get adicted to those if I let myself) and I think I got a little extra sympathy from Leo after he watched Dr. Smith cut open my guts and pull out our beautiful baby boy. Our little Mason was a sweet, sweet baby from the beginning.

Mason is 18 months old now and he loves to play with Brandon. He thinks that he can do anything Brandon can do and follows him around like a little puppy. His favorite song is "3 Little Ducks Went Out To Play" and he loves sneaking onto the trampoline to have some "alone time" and have the tramp to himself. This doesn't last more than a couple of seconds before we notice that he has rigged a bike up to the tramp and uses that to climb on up. He loves getting into everything, and loves to drag around anything that appears to be a blankie. (Not to long ago, he got into the dirty clothes and was cuddling with Leo's dirty G's...ewww) We always know when he is tired because he'll grab his blankie and binky out of his crib and cuddle up with it against his cheek.

Mason's ideal afternoon would be watching Backyardigans, having a bottle of Apple juice, and taking an evening drive with Beezer in his jeep. Out of all the kids, I think that Mason's favorite is Haili Boo. After all, that was his first word. He loves to cuddle with her and just be around her.



We are so happy to have our little Mason in our family. We LOVE you Mason!

Gonzo's go on Trek!

We received the calling back in January of this past year and asked if we would consider going on Trek this summer as a "Ma" & "Pa"....at first we were all over it. I have some friends that have gone and they raved about how great the experience was and how it was definitely life altering. So, the Gonzo's decided we were in. The Bishop told us that they were calling more couples than would be needed because there would for sure be some who would drop out. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to drop out....UNTIL we started having our mandatory monthly meetings. Holy Cow!

(I'm going to use Mandee's way of conversation on her Blog...it is so much easier to understand)

A: There is no way in heck that we can do this! 30 miles in 2 days....I can't even walk up the stairs without losing my breath..

L: Oh, we can totally do this...it will be a piece of cake! Let's just start working out now and by the time we leave, we'll be passing all of the other handcarts up!

The Gonzo's at 4am ready to Trek up a storm in our cute skirts!


Well those of you who know me, know that I do like to complain, it's a habit I'm trying to break, but I just can't! So, I just tried to have a positive attitude about the whole thing. But then, we get the list of what we need....I started reverting back to my complaining, only it was in my mind this time. To get 1 child ready for this is quite a task, but I had to not only get the Twinners ready, but myself and Leo. The YW were making their bonnets and skirts and they gave me a pattern to use so that I could do it at home (no one was suppossed to know who the Ma and Pa's were)...the YW Leaders told me, "Oh the patterns are so easy....it'll take you 10 minutes to make one skirt." They knew I didn't sew...and guess what? It didn't take 10 minutes...I probably spent a total of 8 hours making 6 skirts (2 for each of us)...I have to admit, they were pretty cute, although the pockets were on the knees instead of where they should've been.

Anyway...after much preparation we were ready. A few days before we were to leave, I tripped on the stairs and I before I got up, I sat there on the cement for a minute praying that my ankle would be twisted and that I would have to stay behind...but, it wasn't, it was better than ever.

So, we left on Thursday June 28th at 5am. We met at the Church and had a devotional with the youth and their parents. We loaded up on the 2 busses (Le Bus to be exact...never, ever, ever use this company!) Leo and I were fortunate enough to ride with our friends the Patterson's (reference to the Poo Poo in the Pool Party post below) and we made the best of what was suppossed to be a 6 hour ride up to Wyoming. Just up Parley's Canyon, Bus #1 pulled over, so we pulled over behind them, the bus was fuming smoke all over, the bus driver said that it has a habit of overheating on big hills....well, for the next 25 hills, we had to pull over and let the bus rest, so our 6 hour ride ended up being a 9 hour ride....BTW, this also happened on the way home...I hope our ward got reimbursed for some of the cost.

Once we got up to where we needed to be, we divided up into our families. Leo and I knew ahead of time which kids we had. We didn't really know them well, so we were a little bit nervous. But, it turned out that they were all great. We lucked out too, we had 3 super strong YM in our family, so they pulled the cart most of the time and me and the girls just pushed the cart, if you want to call it that.

DAY 1

The first day wasn't too bad...we only walked 6 miles to our camp. The tents were set up and we had a great Dutch oven meal provided to us by the Support Team of the Ward. We were all pretty tired though, I think the bus ride took a toll on everyone! So, we played some games and Leo and Dave Patterson had a circle of YM around them talking about who know what. Kimberly and I were trying to eavesdrop...but we were too tired so we just sat down and talked with some of the girls in our family.

Day 2

This was the HARDEST day of my WHOLE entire life....seriously. I would take being pregnant with Quadruplets on a hot summer afternoon with swollen legs and 70 extra pounds on me than to have to repeat this day of my life. BUT, it was one of the greatest days as well...This was the day that we hiked 18 miles up and around Martin's Cove. We left camp at about 7am and everyone's spirits were high, we had been leading in the front of the company the whole day before and our boys were determined to be in the front on this day. Partly because they had a really good pace and mostly because we didn't want to eat the dust of everyone else. Luckily we were chosen to lead again. It wasn't too long of a walk, maybe 6 miles to Martin's Cove. Once we got there we all thought, this wasn't bad at all...but then we saw that Martin's Cove was actually on the OTHER side of the mountain! At this point I was in survival mode...it was 100 degrees outside, we had on long sleeves, skirts, capris on underneath and were all skinky and sweaty. We saw the mountain we had to climb and it pretty much killed us all to get there. Once we got there it was amazing! It was amazing to see this very small area of grass that nearly 1000 people lived on so many years ago. It was also a very, very surreal moment. Martin's cove is at the bottom of a small hill and over the hill on the other side is where the handcart companies would bury their dead. As we walked over the hill it was a very emotional moment. There were couple missionaries at each point of the whole Trek who would tell stories of what happened at that particular landmark. It was here that we were told of the stories of what happened that winter. Once the Saints would wake up in the morning there were almost always some that had passed away over night. The men would carry the bodies over the hill and bury them as best as they could...usually that wasn't the case though, the ground was usually frozen, so they would lay the bodies and cover them with snow as best they could. The missionaries told us of stories of how as soon as the men would head back over the hill, the wolves would come down from the mountain and start eating their dead. Many people have asked over the years, "But why wouldn't the Pioneers have shot the wolves and then use their meat since they were starving?" We were told that this wasn't an option, the Saints couldn't phathom eating a beast that had eating their loved ones.

As we walked along this unmarked graveyard, I couldn't help but think of the pain that the Mother's felt. I imagined my 2 little ones...3 years old and 18 months. If I had lived back then, having to lay their little bodies in those shallow, frozen graves and turn and see the wolves, I wouldn't have been able to handle that. This was the most touching part of the journey to me. Those women were so strong...it is no wonder that they were born during that dispensation. Even though they were devastated, they picked up and continued to go towards Salt Lake.

After Martin's Cove we headed another 10 miles back to camp. We were all wasted but we ate dinner and played games until dark.

Martin's Cove and the Sweet Water River

Day 3

Our final day...this day when we woke up we packed up all our things and cleaned up the campground. We were looking forward to heading home and showering and seeing the kiddies. We headed out for the Women's Pull. This is a handcart pull up a LARGE and steep hill. Before we starting pulling the carts, the missionaries took the men aside as if they were going to war (I can't remember which war?) So, the women all took hold of our carts and headed up the huge hill with giant rocks scattered right in our path. As we pulled our carts up the mountain, our men were standing off to the sides with their hats over their hearts watching us pull, it was pretty touching....and VERY hard.

After the Women's Pull, we made our way over to the Sweet Water River. The leaders told us all to keep the noise down and not to talk at all as we crossed the river. It was quite emotional for some. To think we were crossing the river in 100 degree weather and looking forward to being cooled down. But on the other hand, to think of the Pioneers crossing in the Winter with water up to their necks, no shoes, and freezing conditions.....like the rest of the experience, it gave us just a small taste of what it must've been like.

After the river crossing, we were finishing off the trail over to the busses. We had one last resting spot to get some water and Leo sat down. When our little break was over, he wouldn't get up....he just stared into our eyes looking delirious. So, the trail leader called our Ward Medic and they drove Leo off to safety to take his blood pressure and all that fun stuff. After about 30 minutes, he joined us again...he and I couldn't help but laugh, I was suppossed to be the wimp in all this. He was the one that was so sure of himself (note: coversation at the beginning).

Well, we finally made it to the finish line and we couldn't have been happier. It was a great experience and I am so glad that we were able to participate in such an amazing event. As you can guess, the bus ride home was even worse....it took 9 hours among several stops and busses overheating. The next day at church we were talking to the Bishop, we told him to sign us up for the next Trek in 4 years....as crazy as it sounds. But hey, we are the Crazy Gonzo's!

Mikey turns the big 1-1!

Michael is finally 11! He has been anticipating this day for the past 364 days of this last year.....and I've had to hear about his birthday plans every step of the way.

Those of you who know Mikey know that he is a unique, funny kid who has to contemplate each and every decision he makes, down to what kind of candy he wants to pick out of the gumball machines...this can take at least 10 minutes if we allow him the time.

So, for the past year, he has told me about every idea out there on what kind of B-day party he wanted to have with his friends. From laser tag, to Boondocks...rollerskating, waterparks, balloon fights, pizza parties, treasure hunts...you name it this kid has thought of it. Well thank goodness Harry Potter came out just a couple of days before his B-day...once he found out that, all of the other ideas were put aside and we were going to take him and his friends to see Harry Potter and then have a pizza party. Whew......this was a huge relief to me.

So, we went to the movies (it was awesome if you haven't seen it) and then ate pizza, opened presents, and the kids had a "late night". This is a new term out here with all the kids...A "late night" is just a way of saying that they are going to be out playing with their friends until late...which to them is about 10pm. Another funny term they use is a "eat over"...which is basically, "Can we eat over at Emma's house. " And then a "late over" is a way of saying, "Can our friends stay at our house until late, but not sleep over?" Anyway...the kids played and Leo and I were able to enjoy a relaxing game of Scrabble.

On Sunday we had the fam over for another B-day party and Michael got lots of clothes. We gave him a Rock Tumbler...and that was by far his favorite gift. What 11 year old kid wouldn't want a Rock Tumbler? I know I always wanted one...but then I read the instructions and you have to tumble the freaking rocks for 10 WHOLE days straight! No wonder the rocks come out shiny and clean...after almost 2 weeks of tumbling what wouldn't? Anyway...we still haven't started the lenghty process because Michael is working like a mad man to complete his Arrow of Light for Scouts.

So, let me tell you a little about Michael...phonetic style:

M: Michevious Monkey

I: Incredibly Curious

C: Candy Loving, Cookie Crunching, Cracker Chewing Kid

H: Helper to all his Teachers

A: Always willing to help cook

E: Eats anything sweet

L: Lovable

We love our Michael Michael Motorcyle! Happy Birthday!

Haili saves the day...and a bird!

This is posted by none-other-than Haili herself:

The bird got stuck in there through the chimney
and then got stuck in that pipe.

We had an experience that we would never forget. We heard a noise coming from our downstairs. It turned out that it was chirping and scratching. We knew it was a bird and hoped it would find a way out before it died and started to stink up our downstairs. After the first day we found it sitting on one of the pillows in our downstairs. Lulu our dog came down and started barking which scared the bird and it wedged it self between the pipe and stayed there for a while. We tried to call anyone to help but no one could help. Our neighbor came but still know one could get it.We had to run out and deliver a few things and when we got back the bird was out. I was chasing it all around our basement and finally caught it in the hall. We were afraid at first because it was flapping it's wings and chirping but we still caught it. I'm in the picture above and a hero for the day.

When we finally caught it we let it outside and it was fine. It wasn'thurt at all.

Poo-Poo in the Pool at the Patterson's Party on the 4th!

The Gonzo's had a fun, full, family day on July 4th. We had a BBQ at our friends house down the streeet. All the kids had a great time swimming in the pool for hours until... someone discovered little pieces of poo-poo (the little ball kind) all in the pool. Now as most mothers, you HOPE that it wasn't your child, and even though I defended Beezer up and down to the other mothers, I did have a sneaking suspicion it may have been him! Leo assured me it wasn't him, he had taken him #2 a couple of hours before. It if wasn't for the fact that Brandon is very weird about using the bathroom, I probably would've admitted it was him. Most 3 year olds would just pee in the pool, but not this kid. He comes out every 30 minutes to tell me he needs to go potty while holding his thingy, even if he is in the tub having a grand old time. Heck, when I was 3 I would've totally just peed in the pool, but I guess he has a little more tact than his mother.

P.S. There were a lot more little kids there than pictured above...so my money is on one of the other kids and the poo-poo.

So, after the poop was cleaned up, we headed up the street to where David Patterson and Leo were setting up the fireworks. Now, this is our first year participating in the neighborhood gala on the 4th and it is quite a production...well, anything the Patterson's do is a production. Dave and Leo set up a huge church table and laid out all the fireworks from shortest to the tallest. They also set up 2 ladders in the street and put 3 levels of platforms to put the fireworks on. It was quite a show! Don't get me wrong, I love to watch fireworks, but after 90 minutes of it and Mason peeing all over me, I was ready to head home. So, Mason and I headed home and the rest of our pyrotechnic family stayed to finish.


Pic of the ladder thing:

It was so fun to see Leo involved with this "ensemble"..he finally talked me in to buying one of those HUMONGOUS firework packages this year and this was BEFORE the 4th.

I think next year he is going to drag me up to Wyoming to get the good stuff.

What's up with guys always hovering around the grill at a BBQ? Like it takes 5 of them and a baby to get the steak and ribs just right!

Haili had a blast with with her friends swimming and watching the fireworks. She has 2 best friends her same age and they both live a couple of houses down from us...Emma and Aubrey.

Haili, Aubrey and Emma

F-O-U-R-T-E-E-N

Steph & Liz are FINALLY 14! We had a b-day party on Sunday with the whole fam (minus the Tuna's). We ran out of candles and used matches, but Steph got the giggles and accidentally blew the matches out before we sang! So, there were only 2 lit.

I can't believe our twinnies are actually 14! When I first met Leo they were only 3 years old and so little! I remember the first time Leo and I went out on a date, we took all the kids to Jungle Jim's and the twins were wearing these cute outfits with onsies on....they needed to go to the bathroom, so Leo asked me to take them. They were so sweet...they held my hand and from that moment on I fell in love with them! Infact, I fell in love with them months before I fell in love with their dad.

Stephanie:

Stephanie is the older twinnie and definitely plays the part of the responsible, older sister. She is smart,loving, sweet, protective, kind, honest and is MORE than anyone could hope for a daughter to be. She loves to sing, read her LDS "romance" novels and enjoys watching Lost and CSI. She talks about being an FBI agent when she is older and is very, very mature. Ever since she was little, she has always been a "daddy's girl" and still enjoys cuddling with Leo. Oh, did I mention how beautiful she is? Seriously, we totally lucked out...not only are are twins perfect, they are the most beautiful brown-eyed girls in town! Everyone always tells us how pretty our girls are......and they are so humble about it. We love our Snufalupagus (Snuffy)!

Elizabeth:

Elizabeth is the younger twinnie, but she doesn't act like it. She is just as much involved with things as Steph. She packs a mean suitcase, and is very particular about how things are folded and done. I would dare guess to say that she is a perfectionist. Liz loves the same things as Steph...she also has a beautiful voice and a great sense of style. She is very loyal and kind, and seems to be the only sister to get through a day without fighting with Michael. She loves giving "juicies" to Beezer (and he better be the only boy she does this to) and has a great sense of humor. She is always making us laugh and is known to talk to her different body parts...hmmm, is that normal? She also is a daddy's girl but only when it is convenient for her. We love our Lizard Breath!

I am so thankful to be the mother of these 2 very special girls...I never imagined what wonderful young women they would turn out to be. I can only hope for them the best and dream of the very special women I know they will becom in the future.

P.S. The picture above is the twins with their favorite cousin Junior...isn't he cute?


WE LOVE YOU STEPH & LIZ!

Gonzo's visit Chicago!

Here's the low down on Chicago...Leo and I told the twinners that if they got straight A's all year that we would send them on a trip to visit Cheechers and Ryan in Chicago. Well call me crazy...but I like to set the standard HIGH, we know how smart our twinners are, but we wanted to see if they would step up to the challenge to accomplish this and thought that the reward would help push them even more. It worked, they did it...they finished their 8th grade year as best as any parents could hope for.

So, not only did they get their long awaited trip to Chicano....I mean Chicago, they both got an early b-day present which included some MUCHO$DINERO and got to go shopping with Cheech in downtown Chicago. They also caught up on ALL 3 seasons of LOST and CSI.

Leo and I flew out with Beezer a couple days after the girls left and spent the weekend with the Ray's (aka Tuna's) and had a great time with both sets of twinnies. We played our favorite game Settlers... the Gonzo's lost every time....and of course no game of Settlers is complete without a family fight between Tio Leo and Ryan....

Rachie and I got to practice some songs from our upcoming CD ...we also added a few Spanish songs as a marketing ploy...we figure we can sell a lot more CD's if we become bilingual. Look for our CD sometime this fall.

Our favorite event was spending time with our favorite mini-twins. This always leaves Tio Leo dazed and confused. Leo has always had this struggle within about the mini's. For some odd reason, he feels like he needs to have a favorite between Holland and Ethan. As much as he tries to favor Ethan, his heart belongs to Holland.

Any ideas of what we can bribe Steph and Liz for next year? How do we top off a shopping trip to Chicago?