Janet and Rick's Big Adventure!

Janet and Rick came out for another visit. On their "tour de Arizona" they stopped and stayed with us for a weekend. We had a ton of fun, as usual. We visited the Wildlife Zoo which was amazing because you can get so close to the animals. We went to SEVERAL different restaurants and ate our butts off... or on. We didn't skip dessert! Yum, thanks for splurging on us. Janet and I took a trip to Marshalls and got some really cute baby girl outfits. We couldn't help ourselves, the clothes are just so sweet and cute. We also went and picked out our carseats at Babiesrus. What a wonderful grandma, she bought us both the best carseat models. Chad had to have the Hot Pink Flowered one, I went with the more neutral Beige Stripes. We actually are excited to get them in our cars. Excitement comes from a whole new place now. Anyway, we really had a blast and just love having our family here. Wish we could just get you to stay!

This pic. is at Bella Restaurante, I think I squished the baby

that night with all the food in my belly.



Me and C at the Zoo looking fly.

The infamous WHITE GATOR (super small).

Zoo Pic. We all had our sun hats on and spf because it was HOT.

Feeding the giraffes was definately a highlight of the zoo trip!

Check out our living room!

I recently found this sectional on Craigslist and decided to get it before the baby so we have more sofa space. We are selling our set and will pretty much break even. As most of you know, I love Craigslist. This couch was from a very wealthy family and it was a steal! I was so excited about our deal and new look that I had to share. See you all soon!

UPDATE: Here is my belly pic. and baby pic.

Here are some ultrasound pics. The babys right arm is up by her face. You can see her little nose and sweet little belly. I can't wait until she is here. She has been kicking like crazy and I love seeing her move in my belly, its most surreal. These pics. are from May 2008.

Hot Mama right?!

Tiffany's Trip Home to Cleveland!

Ah ha Erin! You look so pretty...

Loved the cheese plate!

Nuevo....yum.

The in-laws:)

I had so little time and so many people to see. I stayed with Alitia and her 3 boys, they were very gracious having me. A little chaotic, but I guess that is what I have to look forward to next! I loved being able to see most everyone and spend time catching up. Cleveland hasn't changed much, so needless to say, I miss the the people not the place.

I got to eat with my in-laws at the Hunter house, shop and chow down again later at one of our favorite places (Brio), love their lobster bisc! Thank you Janet and family for such a wonderful day.

I got to shop for maternity clothes with my fabulous Mom, and of course she went crazy at the store with me watching me try on everything. It was super fun. Nancy Twingstrom met us at the mall that day and had her first Starbucks, she loved it. We also managed to slip in some thrifting time and a trip to the Olive Garden to finally use her gift certificate. Just spending time relaxing at the Twingstom house was very comforting and I loved hanging out with Mom/Dad and all the kids (dogs).

Me and the girls had a traditional Nuevo fiesta and it was a blast. We celebrated Kerry's birthday and got to have the best mexican food ever. Crissy always seemed super entertained by our antics and gets sucked in for extra drinks every time. Everyone ate and of course drank up the Margaritas. I wasn't able to have my tequila shots, but it was still a party. I wish I could move everyone out here so we could do that once a week. Tammy and Trish visited me at Alitias and it was great catching up with them. Tammy had some motherly advice since she has been at it the longest. Mandy, Erin and Jessisca managed to make it over too and we had a fabulous wine & cheese plate night. Good thing I stopped Alitia from throwing bananas in the kitchen ceiling fan....

Anyway, many wonderful memories made and I love you all! Thanks for the good times and I cant' wait to see everyone at the baby shower.

Back to Cleveland

I had to go to beautiful Detroit for work in early April, so I was able to arrange a weekend trip to good old Cleveland. It was awesome to see everyone again, at least for the short time I was there. Not only did I get to see the whole family and spend some time relaxing with everyone, but Craig Folger's wedding reception was also the same weekend. So it worked out well for being there only 2 nights. Even better, I was upgraded to First Class for free on the trip home....and I was originally in a middle seat...not fun for a 4.5 hr flight. I have to say First Class is the way to go.....warm towels, lasagna for dinner, free liquor, ice cream sundaes made to order.

Madison, Trevor, and Joshua have grown so much, and they have discovered the excitement of video games. It was definitely fun to spend some quality time with them for the weekend!


The weather in Cleveland was terrible, but whats new...it was either freezing rain or snow for the entire weekend. I actually did not see the sun the entire time I was there.

Madison's Riding Lesson

While I was in Cleveland for the weekend, I had a chance to see Madison ride for the first time. Here is a clip of her riding at the stable. It was great to finally get a chance to see her

Beautiful AZ

Here are some new views of our backyard from this past weekend. Not too much changes (since its always sunny in our backyard), but Tiffany is always looking for new flowers to plant around the yard. Since it looks like we may be in this home for awhile, we may look at planting a nice sized palm tree too!

Baby Room Before...

These are the "Before" pictures of our new baby's room.

After

It took a couple hours on Friday night and then another 2 on Saturday, but the room was fairly easy to paint. No wallpaper to remove, no sanding. And its always fun to use colors that we would never put anywhere else in the house beside a baby's room.

The crib set and changing table/hutch we bought from Craigslist. It is a nice cherry wood set and was very expensive when bought new. But it is several years old, so we were able to get a great deal for the set. Tiffany bought the rocking chair new off the internet.

Tomorrow is our 3rd visit to the doctor. It is possible they will be able to tell us whether we are having a boy or girl, but Tiffany is only 4 months along. So if not, we must wait a full month.

Vegas - Hoover Dam

In the weekend of St. Patrick's day, a few of my friends and I went to Vegas for the weekend. We stayed at the Red Rock which is a new off strip spa and casino resort. Its more for weekend getaways and more locals. A different feel from the typical strip casinos. I had absolutely no luck at any of the casinos that weekend. Lost mostly playing Blackjack and a little Roulette. It was my first time driving out to Vegas which was nice for a change. About 5 hrs door to door. Driving across the Hoover dam adds about an hour to the trip....would only be about 4 if we didn't have to sit in traffic. I don't have pictures from Vegas, but here are some from the dam.

This is of the construction for the new bypass bridge that is about 1/2 mile up from the dam. The bridge is extremely high and probably built too close to the dam. Traffic will most likely be a little faster going over the bridge, but people will probably slow down just to see the view from the bridge anyway. From the looks of it...not so sure I'd want to drive across that anyway. Its a long way down and this picture really doesn't do it justice.

I was told the white rock face in this picture below is from where the water line used to be. Not sure if that is true.

Expecting

Most of you already know, Tiffany and I are expecting our first child and are very, very excited!!! We found out in January and Tiffany will be about 4 months along at our next trip to the doctor. She is doing very good, and is much happier now that she has some more energy back. Our next doctor's visit is in about a week or so and we may be able to find out if we are having a boy or girl. If not, we will have to wait until the next visit.

We have already started picking out things for the baby's room and have bought a very nice crib set and matching changing dresser. Tiffany has spent many of her evenings making her own decorations and other artsy things for the room. We picked out some more neutral paint colors for the room the other weekend and will probably get started on painting this weekend or the next.

Tiffany was able to book a flight to Cleveland for a weekend in June for a baby shower which will be nice. Everyone will have the opportunity to see her and spend some time with her before she has the baby in September...26th is the expected due date. Hopefully we will have lots of visitors this coming winter since it will be cold in Cleveland and the new addition to our family will be here!

Tombstone

Dad and Lorrie came out to visit in March and had a chance to go to Tombstone. We weren't able to make it, but we did get to spend some time with the two of them. Love when the family comes out to visit. We went out to dinner at Firebirds (a steakhouse that Tiffany and I go to frequently). Then we took a day to hang out in Scottsdale at the Kierland shopping area. Very nice, unique stores. It was nice to visit with them both.

Here are some of Dad's pictures from Tombstone:

Interactive Exhibits at the Super Bowl

There were tons of exhibits around the stadium at the NFL Experience. Most of them were geared up for kids so we didn't participate. The lines were long as well. You could attempt real field goals from 15 yards, 25, and 35 yards out. A lot of quarterback drills and passing exercises, strength exercises, etc. This video below is from one of the wide receiver route-running exhibits.

Drummers

These guys were drummin' all around the Westgate area making money from all the fans....

Super Bowl XLII

Some pictures from our Super Bowl here in Glendale:


Giants fans partyin' Saturday before the game:

Clint, Me, and Brad:

Clint, Zach, and Brad:

Super Bowl Pictures

Some pictures from the big game and the NFL Experience setup all around the stadium.


This is in a collector's tent where they were selling all sorts of autographed memorabilia:

The Lombardi Trophy:

The NFL Experience and the stadium:

Barrett Jackson Auto Auction

On Saturday, Tiffany and I went to the Barrett Jackson Auction in Scottsdale. This is the most renowned car show in the country every year. Last year we weren't able to go because we were moving from our rental home that day. They showcase some of the highest valued collector cars anywhere. The highest priced car went for $1.6 million, while most cars that night were auctioned for about $3-500,000. Last year a record was set for a car selling at a price of $5.5 million.

The auction runs for 7 days straight, but Saturday night is when they show the best of the best. They also auction a few other rareties, such as Robosaurus-the giant robotic dinosaur that crushes cars at monster truck competitions was auctioned off for about $500,000. They also sold the speed boat from the Miami Vice movie along with a Miami Vice Hummer. It was a pretty cool event, but extremely crowded which made it hard to get up in front of the stage. Once we found seats, it was better.

This Mustang looks brand new. I believe it was a '67.