Church of the Grid Iron

Quick pic at the game. We weren't about to let someone take our picture for us with our Nikon D60, Nigel. This was the best we could do holding the camera ourselves!

A gorgeous view of the Seattle skyline. Btw, We actually spent our honeymoon in Seattle over 7 years ago!

Yes, that's the church we attended while in Seattle, Sunday, October 12th. The Green Bay Packers were in town to battle the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field and we were fortunate enough to get tickets! It was the first NFL game Ryan and I have ever attended. It was also our first date out sans ninos since way before Sydnei was born. Gratefully, my Mom and sister, Darci, watched the girls while we spent the day together. (Thanks a million!)

National Anthem

Seahawks enter the field.

Kickoff.

It was awesome to be at a live football game. Ryan's childhood friend and high school teammate, Brady Poppinga, plays for the Packers so it was even more cool to watch him play live. He's a starting linebacker and #51.

The night before, we dined with Brady at an awesome fish house on the pier and it was a lot of fun to watch those two catch up. They joked about old times and we laughed about new times--especially raising young crazy kiddos.

QB Aaron Rodgers #12

I scored a shot of the last touchdown that sealed the deal on the Packers' win.

The game was exciting to watch as we screamed, and ate hot dogs, cotton candy, and popcorn! (So we're fat kids--but hey that's what you do at a football game!) The fans were awesome as the Packers have quite the following (see pics below). We were seated in an area where to the left of us were a bunch of Seahawks fans and to the right were the cheese heads--a.k.a.--Packers fans. Our locale definitely made for an entertaining game!

Diehard Cheese head.

Gotta love the contrast of fans in this pic. Clearly the Packers fan is more dedicated.

My hot hubby. Love you!

The cotton candy hit the spot, it had been YEARS since I had eaten it!

Packers won the game: 27-17.

Swimming in Seattle

The weekend of October 11-12th we took a little road trip to Seattle with my Mom. Conveniently, it's only a 2 1/2 hour drive. My sister, Darci, lives there so we got to hang out with her, enjoy the beautiful weather and stay at a hotel. The first thing we did when we checked in was find the swimming pool. Sofia has been dying to show off her latest kicking skills she's been learning in swimming lessons so off we went. It was fun to put Sydnei in the water for the first time ever. She was pretty tranquil and watched her little sister like a hawk. Good times, good times.

Holding on for dear life, Sofia practices her kicks.

Me and my girls. Sydnei looks half asleep or drunk depending on how you look at it!
I love my girls!

Swimming with Papi for the first time.

Papi and his girls.

Papi y Sydnei. PRECIOUS!

Having fun with Papi.

We made some sweet memories that day. We can't wait to go swimming again!

More Natalie and Sofia Fun

A couple of weeks ago, Natalie came over to play with Sofia for the afternoon. These two can be quite dramatic. They'll pretend play for awhile, change their clothes fifty times, get in a little quarrel over what they're going to do next, make up, and then repeat the same process. At one point, I noticed they were having a hard time getting to the make up stage and it ocurred to me they were probably hungry. So, I went upstairs to tell them they would soon be served and to be ready to dine in Sofia's bedroom. Their eyes immidiately lit up and all they could keep asking was "What are we going to eat?" "Do we really get to eat in my room?!?!" I explained it was a surprise and that they needed to wait patiently at their table. They quickly sat down and even invited their "ponies" to join them in the highchair.


I returned with a half banana for each of them on a pink plate. They quickly scarfed that down, and anxiously awaited the main course. What is every kids' favorite food? Yes, you guessed it, mac n' cheese. When I returned they were over-joyed to see their bowls of mac n' cheese and kept saying how much FUN they were having. Sofia said: "Mom, this is so cool, you know it's my favorite." Natalie added: "Yeah, I love mac n' cheese, we even have matching bowls and plates!"

I left them alone to indulge and returned for some pictures. Here are a few of the sweet shots I captured of their lunch date. Remember, when all else fails, a little mac n' cheese with a change of scenery will go a long way. Works every time!

This is so gooooood!!

Cheers! (gotta love Sofia's milk mustache)

Mmmmmm

BFF Natalie Espino's 5th B-day

We have some stellar friends, the Espinos. Their daughter, Natalie is one of Sofia's BFF's. These two are two peas-in-a-pod. They are both independent, humorous, crazy, and dramatic. So much personality you don't know what to do with it all. September 25th, Natalie turned 5. Her mom Amy and I, took the girls on a movie date to see Wall-e (the only g-rated flick in the theatre). It happened to be canned food festival day so we got in by each taking 3 cans of food for the Oregon food bank. The girls got a kick out of handing over the food for their tickets. It was a very cute movie. The girls kept cracking up and each enjoyed their OWN bag of popcorn AND drink (compliments of the canned food festival). Afterwards, we took some pics of these two. They are hilarious and so entertaining when they're together.

So excited, they were literally climbing the walls.

Little sissy, Sophia, Natalie, and Sofia

Since Wall-e has been out since summer, the poster is no longer up. So the girls chose the Chihuahua poster to pose in front of. Silly girls.

Sydnei chillin' in her car seat after the movie. She sat in my lap the ENTIRE time watching the movie with us.

What a fun movie date. The following day, Friday, we made pizza at the Espino's house and decorated an orange butterfly cake to celebrate with Natalie and her family. Fun memories. Yumm-o food. Happy Birthday, Natalie! Thanks, Espinos!

Sydnei Nicole at 3-months Old

Yes, everyone, Sydnei turned three months old almost one month ago! So yeah, a bit behind but that's ok, really. I can't even express how much fun we have with this little baby girl. The biggest highlight in her third month of life was our discovery of her natural attraction to elephants. Yes, elephants. She lights up at the sight of any elephant she sees. Her eyes get super big and she makes little coos and gurgles at them. She has a gymini play mat that she's been playing on and insists (we can tell by her sudden cries) that she must be underneath the elephant. She'll play with this purple little guy for 45 minutes reaching for him and talking to him. Precious.

I can't wait to take her to the circus when she's older and watch her experience her very first elephant ride. Awesome.

Little Miss Independent

Sofia is just that. She was born independent, a natural born leader, and ready to conquer the world. Juggling dos bambinos is a challenge and requires every ounce of multi-tasking talents I can muster. So when our Miss Independence picks her own clothes, gets herself dressed, and does her own hair, it really helps the process of getting everyone dressed and ready to start our day. At 4 years old she's seen here blow drying and styling her own hair all-by-herself!!!

"Papi, I can blow my hair all by myself!"

"here's this side"

"and this side..."

All done. Check me out!

Tagged...Random Stuff!

My cousin, Meredith, tagged me to share 7 random things about myself. I think ya'll are going to get a kick out of a few of these!

1. I can never EVER find my keys. I literally throw them where-ever when I walk into the house or someone else's house for that matter!

2. I hardly ever wear a coat even when it's really cold. I did this when we lived in Utah and it snowed there! I'm just hot-natured, I guess.

3. I can pretty much quote the entire movie, Tommy Boy.

4. I pluck my eyebrows while driving. Lindy has hated this about me since we were missionary companions 9 1/2 years ago! Some things never change.

5. I'm addicted to the white noise of a fan when I sleep at night.

6. I have to have all clothes and towels folded and stowed PERFECTLY and facing the same direction or I will un-do and re-fold it all! Just ask anyone who has ever helped me do laundry.

7. I HATE to iron. I'd rather scrub a toilet. My husband is the King of "Ironing" but since he has 25+ dress shirts and slacks we use our local environmentally-friendly dry cleaners. Some conveniences are truly worth every penny.


I tag: Lindy, Tori, Lori, Rach, Michelle, and Amy. Thanks, Meredith--this was fun!!!!

Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer

In the midst of our morning rush to get dressed, have breakfast, and pile into the car to go to school, I just had to take a picture(s) of Miss Sofia. That's right, for the first time this year she is actually wearing PANTS! And when I say this year, I mean 2008!

The child is convinced that princesses only wear dresses. In fact, we didn't even have to buy one pair of shorts this summer, she wore a dress every day. Might I add Sofia has at least 20 dresses. Luckily, she has a Great Grandma Holgate that supplies her princess craving with the cutest handmade dresses and does so in style. If only I had the talents of Great Grandma Holgate. When she attended soccer camp this summer, she only had shorts to wear because Auntie Syd (a BIG thank you!) sent her them for her birthday! They were pink and with flowers, so she managed. :)

Sofia is attending preschool at the Westside Dance Academy here in Tigard. They incorporate tap dance and gymnastics into the curriculum and so she has to wear a leotard to school each day (under every dress). This morning, when we were getting dressed her leotard's were all
dirty (I'm so behind on laundry) and consequently she couldn't wear a dress. The skirts she owns that have shorts built in would suffice but since we couldn't find any, pants were the only option. It took about 15 minutes to convince her to wear the pants. I followed her all around upstairs with the PINK pants in hand saying they were her only option while she frantically looked in her closet, dresser, under her bed and in even in her toy bins for a leotard or skirt but to no avail. She turned to me and said: "Well, Mom, they're pink. I guess princesses can wear pink pants and they'll look so cute with my new pink and black shoes!" WOW. Could you get anymore girly than that? I love my Sofia, she cracks me up!

It was her idea to take some pictures because and I quote: "We need to send a picture to Papi at work, he isn't going to believe it!" Yes, her words exactly. And well, these pictures will always serve as a memory of the day Sofia actually wore pants. Check out the proof below:

Showing off the pink pants and the pink and black shoes.
She is holding the fresh dandilions she just picked for me. Cuteness.

"Let me pose like this, Mom!

"See, Mami, I can stand on one leg, I learned that in gymnastics!"

The Staley's Do a 5k

Sofia, Stormy, Ryan, y Sydnei

We live in one of the cutest towns, Tigard, OR. Yes, it's a suburb of the Portland Metroplitan area yet it maintains a pretty cozy feel. Having lived in Beaverton just next door it's a "small town" compared to that place! Not really, but that gives you an idea of the proportions.

Satuday, September 13th, Tigard hosted its' 4th annual Family Fest. There were activities at the library, a treasure hunt, CAKE, a family/dog 5k walk, and fireworks....did I mention cake? LOL. Anyway, we chose to participate in the 5k walk (3.1 miles) and had loads of fun. A 5k walk is 3.1 miles. So we woke up (late, of course) threw everyone, the double jogger, and a bunch of water into the Vue and off we went. We arrived at City Hall, checked in, put on our Family Fest t-shirts and off we went. We had a blast and even though we were almost dead last (since we got off to a late start) we completed the course. Sofia would ride and then walk and actually mastered getting on and off the stroller while it was moving quite well. Sydnei looked around at all of the great views her front row stroller seat had to offer. We talked, laughed, and did a little jogging per Sofia's encouragement. It was a lot of fun to do as a family and get some exercise all at the same time.

We arrived at the finish line excited for what awaited us there: a full breakfast spread. Yes, I know, the food wasn't what one would typically expect to find at the finish line but we weren't complaining. Especially since we hadn't eaten before we left. At least we burned off the calories before we consumed them all over again! Here are some of the highlights!

Nearing the finish line, Sofia makes one last dash.

There I am in all my chunky-ness and glory!

Ryan, all smiles. Go #540!!!!

Enjoying breakfast.

The school bus ride back to city hall.

I think the bus ride was probably Sofia's favorite part!

Sydnei's Baby Blessing

Sunday, August 17, 2008, we blessed our Sweet Sydnei. It was a very special day for our family. We had many family members and friends in attendance to share this special moment with us. We can't thank each of you enough for traveling distances and making the sacrifice to be here on this special day. As a mother, I was overhwhelmed with joy and love for our sweet Sydnei. We love you, Sydnei!

Here is a slideshow of Sydnei in her GORGEOUS blessing dress. This dress was handmade by Sydnei's Nana, Ryan's mom. It's nothing short of breathtaking and will definitely be a special heirloom for Sydnei as she gets older. You just can't buy something this beautiful. It exudes purity and beauty. Just looking at it one can see all of the love and effort Clarissa put into making it. Thank you, Nana.




A few family pics of all that joined us for Sydnei's special day.

Ryan, Great Gpa & Gma Holgate, Sydnei, Stormy

Auntie Darci, Sofia, Stormy, Sydnei, Ryan, Cousin Careese, Uncle Bub, Cousin Josh, Auntie Maria, Cousin Allison, and MaMa

Gpa and Gma Great Staley with Sydnei

Gpa Staley, Auntie Tristyn, Cousin Jordan, Uncle Kristopher, Nana, Gma Great Staley, Sydnei, Auntie Carlee Sofia, Papi, Mami, Gpa Great Staley, and Sofia

Daddy-Daughter Love

BFF's For-EVA! Mami, Sydnei, and Tia Tori

Stormy, Sydnei, and Super Awesome Friend, Rebecca

CAKE! Some things never change...

What is a LDS (Mormon) Baby Blessing?
For those of you not familiar with a Baby Blessing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I will explain. The precedent for blessing children was set forth by the Savior, Jesus Christ, in Palestine: see Mark 10:16 and the new world, see the Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 17:21. The blessing of a child is not an infant baptism. It's a special blessing that first gives a name to the child to be recorded in the records of the church and then pronounces special blessings and promises for the child as revealed through revelation. The blessing is given by a man who holds the Melchizek Priesthood.

Tagged...

I've been tagged many a' times and finally need to do this! Here goes:

10 Years ago:

I had just finished my first two years of college and moved back to Portland, Or, temporarily. There, I worked at the Warner Brothers Television station in Portland, Oregon as a National Sales assistant, the Portland Opera selling season tickets, and Lane Bryant for the holiday season. I had three jobs because I had decided 3 months earlier to serve a mission and needed to pull together some funds to go. I hung out a lot with my stellar friend, Michelle. We even worked at the Opera together and had a lot of fun laughing at our boss, Christopher HYink. I was getting pretty pumped for my 21st birthday only a few months away. Life was good and busy. I talked incessantly about where would I be sent on a mission. I had a standing date with my parents to watch Law & Order every week!


5 Things on my To-Do List today:

1. Make Pancakes for Sofia's First day of School/Take Sofia to School
2. Set up my new hot red Shuffle with some sweet workout playlists
3. Hit the gym
4. Play with my girls, read them a story, and teach Sofia a primary song.
5. Laundry, laundry, laundry...this is an eternal to-do list item.


5 Places I have lived:

1. Portland, OR
2. Houston, TX
3. Taragual, (a tiny town in Honduras)
4. East L.A., Californ-I-A
5. Salt Lake City, UT


5 Jobs I have had:

1. Grants and Contract Officer
2. President of a Non-Profit Organization/Chapter
3. Assistant Bank Manager
4. Admin Officer
5. Lifeguard/Swim Instructor


3 of My Bad Habits

1. Procrastination
2. Not going to sleep when I should.
3. Worrying about things I can't control. (Amy-this is one of the many areas we align :D )


Things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:

I'm not a materialistic person at all...so I wouldn't naturally go out and buy a bazillion new things. There are a few key items I'd happily use the money for: a new house, probably a bigger car, pay off student loans, I'd invest a lot, and help anyone in my family go to college. Oh, and we'd go on a sweet vacation touring Latin America...and then Europe!

Things people don't really know about me:

1. I fractured my hip doing the cabbage patch dance when I was 15. Yes, it is possible to do, I'm living proof!
2. I'm pretty self-conscious when I speak Spanish even though I'm fluent. (probably because Ryan speaks the language perfectly!...not really, I was this way before I met him. I guess I just hate the idea of speaking incorrectly)
3. I won Champion at the County Fair and then went onto "State" (Oregon State Fair that is) with an award-winning eggplant I grew when I was 10.
4. I can do long multiplication and fractions in my head pretty dang fast.
5. My favorite musician growing up was Kenny G and my favorite pop-star was Debbie Gibson.

Warm and Fuzzy Baby Giveaway: Lavender Beanie

Here is another one of Vermillion Rules' great giveaways this week. It's an adorable lavender beanie by Warm and Fuzzy Baby. Click here to enter. Check out all of their adorable items!

Lovey Duds Giveaway: Awesome Baby Wraps, Slings, and Nursing Covers

Vermillion Rules is featuring some awesome giveaways. This week she's giving away a Lovey Duds wrap. The wrap is worth $40! Click here to enter. Hurry, deadline for all entries is Saturday, September 6th, midnight--pacific time.

Vermillion Rules: Custom Baby Clothes Memory Quilt

Thanks to all of the NieNie supporters, I've linked to some stellar blogs and shops. One in particular is Vermillion Rules. The first thing that caught my eye about her blog was an item she auctioned for the NieNie recovery fund. It's a custom one of a kind baby quilt made of your favorite childs' baby clothes. I love the idea of being able to preserve the memory of your little one in such a unique way. They're being sold in two sizes. Click here to view the larger sized quilt for $150 and here for a description of the smaller sized quilt for $70. Super Christmas gift idea; check it out!!