Home.

This past weekend, I flew home to California and visited my parents. I don't come home very often, but each time I do, I'm reminded why I loved living in this little town. And boy, do I mean little. Like, as in, my graduating class was 54 students. Gustine is a small but beautiful Portuguese dairy town with tree-lined streets, historic old houses with well-manicured yards. The people are friendly, and life is simple. I miss simple. Well, maybe not totally. I don't think there's an eyelash lady within close proximity, the closest mall is 45 minutes away (no Nordstrom either), and I don't think there's even 1 Sonic in the whole entire state of California. But a visit every now and then? That, I think I can manage.

**I need to thank this lovely lady for taking these pictures below for me. It's no secret how much I suck at taking pictures, I needed a little help in that department.**

It was also a very bittersweet weekend. We got word that our dear friend, Ben had finally been found after having been missing for almost 4 years. It wasn't quite the outcome we were hoping for because he is no longer with us, but finally some closure. And for that, we are very, very grateful.

Meeting Barbosa...

A few nights ago, Tag and his basketball buddies had a special treat when Leandro Barbosa came to practice. Tag's coach trained Barbosa in Brazil this past summer, and Barbosa's 2 nephews practice under Coach Joe. Barbosa was so nice to give autographs and took pictures with the boys. I think Tag brought just about everything but the kitchen sink to have him sign. I'm so bummed I missed him, I was having such good hair that day too.

Oh Boy....

It seems as though Tag has a not-so-secret admirer. You'll have to click on the picture below to enlarge the card below. Pretty hilarious. I'm scared for the teenage years.

Happy Wife/Happy Life.

I know it may seem like I'm always making suggestions, but to all the husbands out there that insist on paying the monthly bills, let me be really firm in saying that paying the utility bill ON TIME is quite crucial in the Stapes' household. Our bills tend to get thrown on the dining room table and unnoticed until, let's say, the power gets shut off. Maybe I should be embarrassed to say that this has happend not 1, not 2, but 3 times! And not because we can't afford to pay it. We're not broke. Yet. It just tends to get neglected. On a monthly basis.

Anyhoo, I got one of these pretty little pink papers from a very nice, older gentleman on my door the other day. Might I add, getting these on my door does not promote a happy, healthy marriage, especially while I'm in the middle of putting my makeup on. I'm also not one who was blessed with hair that air dries well. I was not a happy camper.

I certainly don't want to come across as being a nagging wife. I'm not. Tommy's a lucky little booger to have me around, but COME ON!! Enough's enough! Please... I'm begging, AUTOPAY HONEY!! So.....

Payback can be a real beast. In the future, I will be making a shoe purchase for every unpaid electricity bill, water bill (yes, the water was turned off once while I was showering, mid conditioner application in my hair) and speeding ticket.

Eleven.

My boy is eleven. Wowzers. Time flies by. My sister-in-law asked me the other day if I was sad they're growing up so fast. I said, "Not really." I've really enjoyed seeing this boy grow. How did I get SO lucky to be his mom? I figure it's because Heavenly Father was planning on sending me 2 very strong-willed daughters next.

Tag's been saving his money for a go kart and wanted one for his birthday, but Tommy, being the cheapskate (as always), said he'd have to pay for the majority of the go kart and we'd pitch in the rest. My BRILLIANT solution for earning some quick cash?? A birthday party, of course! We had a last-minute party at the lake with a bunch of his buddies. 14 to be exact. I figured it would be great father/son bonding time, so I loaded them up with drinks and snacks and sent Tommy and Craig off. You wouldn't believe the crusties I got from those two. Tommy's words (almost) exactly. "You've GOT to be (synonym of pooping) me!"

The best group of buddies, EVER!

What's a lake trip with the Stapes' family without anyone getting hurt? Maybe we should've had each kid sign a waiver prior.

Cliff jumping.

Tag has the greatest (and in Tag's opinion, one of the hottest) Primary teachers.

The naughty girls blowing out his candles. We had to re-light 3 times.

The Shmamily.

This CanNOT Be Good...

The other day, Keagan had a friend over and they were playing on my computer, listening to music. Somehow, they got onto my gym playlist and the next thing I hear is all 3 girls singing (in perfect tune, I might add), "It's gettin' hot in here - so take off all your clothes. I am gettin' too hot, I wanna take my clothes off!" (good 'ol Nelly). I mean, for real, how did they memorize this song in like 3.2 seconds? I took me 4 months! Luckily, knock on wood, I haven't gotten a phone call from the neighbor mommy, which might or might not be the Primary President. Sheesh! But just in case, I'm trying to think of a way to pin this one on Tommy.

I Love A Good Blackmail Every Now And Then.

No, I'm not talking about the David Letterman scandal. Since my dad's surgery, he hasn't been able to wash his hair or shave for 2 weeks until he had his staples removed, which, by the way, I'm hoping my mom saved. I'd love to whip up some necklace or something with those staples. Kidding. Anyhoo, my dad was quite anxious to get shaved and his hair did. These lovely ladies below apparently make house calls (my dad aka, Ricardo has always been quite the ladykiller and can always talk them into anything).

Pre cut and shave.

Call me weird, but I would LOVE to be a guy for an hour and have my face shaved. I said ONE HOUR. Guys don't get to wear makeup and sexy shoes. Or get to have a period once a month. That's the awesomest part. Again, kidding. Every time I take Tag to the barber, I'm always a teensy bit jealous of the old buzzers that get the hot shave.

I recall a certain "someone" (pictured above), making a stink about me dating a guy with a goatee.

The flavor saver, Tommy's personal fave.

Seriously, could he be more handsome?? (I love the cute little puke bucket in the background).

"I Left My Heart In San Francisco..."

I've been a little M.I.A. lately. We got some not-so-good news a week and a half ago. My dad had been quite sick for a while and my mom finally decided to take him to the hospital in Merced. They found a tumor the size of a lemon in his brain. Not good. They then transported him to UC San Francisco because they have a great neurological team. Kim, Andi and I all decided to fly up and see him. It was a great visit (under crummy circumstances) nonetheless. My dad talked a lot about his regret as a father. He regretted working so much. Not playing as much. All the coulda-shoulda-woulda's. I have NO regrets. None.

Now, it wasn't all tears last week. We had some pretty fun laughs, often at Kim's expense. My dad was on some heavy painkillers and we got to see a different side of him. He told me all about castrating horses with a pocket knife and some turpentine. We played the campout game and somehow my dad got out of alphabetical order and when it got to his turn (which was the letter D), he said he was going to take "Wong-Dong Tommy." Not quite the typical answer you'd hear from a Branch President, but it worked. It got a little raucous after that, you can only imagine all the nicknames for one body part, going down the row alphabetically. I thought Kim was going to pass out (she's the more angelic of the 3 sisters).

One of the evenings got a little too quiet for me, so I texted my mom (who was sitting right next to me) that we needed to pull a little prank on Kim. She was busy blog-stalking on the computer, so we sent my dad in to "go #2 in the bathroom" and my mom was going to "tell the nurse something out in the hall" while I was "going to get a phone call and take it out in the hall." You catchin' my drift? So Kim's all alone in the room with my dad, when he calls out for her and says he needs her help. He needs her to help him wipe. AND SHE DID IT! Well, not totally. She said, "Do you mind if I use a little more toilet paper than you normally use?" She really is the golden child, I tell you. She was actually going to wipe his butt! My mom and I were dying laughing out in the hall, when Kim comes out with a wad of toilet paper with a big brown schmear on it (from my leftover Oreo chocolate pudding surprise) and asked us, "Where should I put this?"

Ok, let's get back on track here. I couldn't have asked for a better father. I love his great example. I love the way he loves my mom. The doctors found a melanoma in his left eye, and have been toying with the idea of taking his eye. He said taking his eye is not even an option, because he needs to have both eyes to see my mom. How sweet it that?

I know it will be a very difficult road ahead for our family. I'm so grateful, more than ever for the gift of eternal families and am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that listens to my prayers. I know he is very mindful of us.

Thank you for all your notes, visits, texts, flowers and phone calls. I love you all.

Can't Get Enough Of This Place!

Ok, so I'm not calling it an "annual" trip because there's always that possibility Tommy may have pulled one-too-many stunts to get us kicked off and never invited back. EVER. But we got to tag along with the Fishbecks and their posse a few weeks back. Once again, we had a great time.

The Crew

The Loverboys

Randall, always the ladies' man.

The blasted sandhill. I can't say enough how much I hate this part of Lake Powell. Why, on this beautiful earth does everyone think it's Powell tradition to climb it?! No joke, I was still tasting blood a week later.

It would take waaaayyy too long to explain this crazy game Kevin made up, but it involved eating dog food, cat food, 2 homophobes zipped up in a sleeping bag, public speaking/singing and other shenanigans.

Now if only Jason would pony up and be a real man and buy into this sweet pad, I might take back my "Douchebeck" comment. I said 'might Jason, 'might.

1000 Warriors Race

About a month ago, Tommy and the guys rode a craz-nasty race up in Utah. Without going into to details, a fellow friend/rider crashed during the race. Miraculously, he is alive, home and doing much better. There is no doubt in my mind that there was divine intervention that day, and that there are angels here on earth that helped save his life as well.

I'm so proud of these guys that decided to go ahead and finish the race. It was a long, hot, and very emotional day for them, but they knew that Dave would have wanted them to keep riding. I get a little teary each time I see Tommy finish each race, he works so hard at it, even though "Miss Cervelo" has become his "other" girlfriend lately.