Volume 28

SUNDAY NEWS
October 4, 2009

Fall has arrived in Arizona. Fall is a big deal in Arizona because when you go through a summer of Arizona heat, the fall is a very welcome season. We have already planted the winter grass and gotten out all the fall decorations. We are all happy to be enjoying the cooler temperatures. We broke down and had some professional pest control people come out and treat the house to combat our ant problem. It seems to have worked. We haven’t seen a single ant since they came.



It has been over a month since Lori’s surgery and she is doing well. Lori went back to see the surgeon this past week who lifted her restrictions. Lori can now do whatever she wants as long as she uses common sense and it doesn’t hurt her back. Lori is going to remain off work for one more week and then go back to work with half shifts the week after that before returning to a full day. The doctor said it is not good to wait too long before going back to semi-normal activities. The doctor also said that Lori is not going to be able to go back to lifting heavy things or doing any very back stressing activities for the rest of her life.



Lori took a trip to Target all by herself yesterday and drove for the first time in a long time. She said it was weird to be able to drive and to go some where all by herself.

Very Vayden
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAYDEN!! Our little Vayden has been with us for a whole year. It is hard to believe. It is also hard to remember life without her in our family. She is now a little one year old. Vayden is settling back into her normal routines. She had a couple of really clingy days with Karl and would not let him even set her down. She is walking all over now. She often plays in her own little world moving things around and talking to them. She now gets scared by some loud sounds. For instance both Lori and Karl have called out for Christian when he was in another room and she was startled and ran crying to the nearest parent. A sudden sneeze or other unexpected noise can startle her too. We have started using the DVD player in the Sequoia as means to keep Vayden happy in the car. She seems to really like watching her videos while driving. This is evidenced by her screaming when we have to park and the DVD player goes off. It came in real handy on Friday night when we were returning from going to dinner and doing some Halloween shopping and go stuck on the freeway for over an hour do to a “police situation” up a head of us. That most likely would have been an hour of crying but not for the DVD player since Vayden does not like to hold still in the car. Her father can relate. After an hour of standing still on the freeway, Karl wanted to throw a tantrum too.

Our little Vayden is going to be a bee for Halloween. Vayden shoplifted a refrigerator magnet this week. We were looking at them and Vayden must have pulled one off and it fell into her stroller. We found it the next day in the back of the Sequoia where it must have fallen out of the stroller. We bought her a bunch of animal refrigerator magnets to go on the upstairs refrigerator in the loft. She loves pulling them off an even putting them back sometimes.

Vayden still enjoys going to Chase field. Karl, Christian and Vayden went to a Saturday game to collect some Mark Reynolds bobble head and Vayden went with so Lori could rest. She is a hot dog loving, hand clapping, loud little fan who seems to enjoy and feed off the crowd’s excitement.

Completely Christian
Christian and his Badgers lost last week to the Horsemen 18 to 12, but won this week against the Jr. Devils. While on defense, Christian recovered a fumble and secured a turnover for his team. This week Christian was issued a duffle bag by his team with the team logo and his name on it. He is pretty jazzed about it and wants to take it to Indiana on his upcoming trip. Christian recently got a free puzzle at a Diamondbacks game and now has an interest in puzzles. We bought him a couple puzzles and set up a folding table in the living room to work on one of them. It seems that his parents are now addicted to trying to complete a 1000 piece puzzle and Christian has lost interest.

Family Stories

The Smell
Lori likes to tell this story and finds this one entertaining. Karl has a pretty sensitive nose. Given its size, I am sure no one finds this surprising. Karl is sometimes bothered by cleaning solutions or some of the fragrances Lori uses to make the house or her car smell good that no one else takes offense to. One particular day Karl continued to smell a foul odor that smelled like poop. It was ever so slight and he could only get a wiff of it now and then. Throughout the day Karl continued to smell it. He would smell it in different rooms and it was driving him crazy trying to locate the source. He could not determine where it was coming from. Because he continued to smell the odor wherever he went he thought to check his shoes, he washed his hands and finally took a shower. He went back to work at his desk and the foul scent returned. Because the scent was slight, no one else seemed to be smelling it and Karl though he was going crazy.

That morning Karl had taken Roxy for a walk. Roxy did what she always does on a walk, she pooped. Roxy can have just pooped right before we leave on a walk and regardless she always takes the opportunity to poop again on a walk. Karl was wearing cargo shorts that particular day and pulled out the zip lock bag and paper towel that he carries for just such and event. There was nowhere to throw the poop away at the time so he put it in the side pocket of his cargo shorts. He then carried the zip lock bag with him all day. After he showered he put back on the same pair of cargo shorts. It was not until Karl had been pestered by that slight stink the entire day that he finally realized where the smell was coming from.

Note from the Editors
Be sure to check out the photo addendums attached to this week’s edition.

Volume 28 - Photo Addendum 1

SUNDAY NEWS
October 4, 2009

Our little Vaydy Bug turns 1 Year !!

Volume 28 - Photo Addendum 2

SUNDAY NEWS
Ocotber 4, 200

Our Camera-Shy Little Witch . . .


Fun with Birthday Balloons . . .




Vayden's Trip to the Zoo . . .


Post Card Perfect shot taken of a Mountian Lion by Grandma Phyllis

Volume 27

SUNDAY NEWS
September 20, 2009

Karl and Christian have been battling ants all week. Every year there is some pestilence that presents itself. First it was crickets. They crawled into the house by the dozens. They were annoying mostly because of the noise they make. They just disappeared and were replaced the following year by little black earwigs. They disappeared and were replaced the following year by moths. Our ceilings were dotted by moths. You couldn’t walk into a room without a flutter somewhere. The moths were easy to kill but always left dust smudges on the ceilings and walls.

This year it is ants. They started in the kitchen but have now found their way into both upstairs bathrooms feasting on Lori’s bath products. We have now found these little pests in every room of the house except Christian’s room and Vayden’s room. We would rather have crickets, earwigs or moths over ants. These little buggers bite. The good news is that although the war has waged for over a week now, Karl and Christian are now winning


Karl’s birthday was yesterday. For his birthday, his long time friend Mark and his wife Julie took him to a restaurant they knew he would love. Karl is a long time supporter of the cattle industry. He is a walking me
at lover’s poster boy. When Karl orders breakfast as Denny’s he gets the Meat Lover’s Scramble. When he gets a pizza it is the Meat-Lovers Special. When Karl goes to barbeque place he is always happy to see Just Meat by the Pound on the menu. Karl has been taken to many a restaurant by co-workers and former bosses just to see him eat a 64 ounce Prime Rib or a 72 ounce steak. Karl
has extensive conversations with butchers. When Karl is purchasing meat, Karl must look at every single cut before he selects the perfect one. Are you getting the picture? Karl especially loves beef.



Karl served his mission in Brazil where he was introduced and immediately fell in love with the Churrascaria. A Churrascaria is a Brazilian Steakhouse. You pay one All-You-Can-Eat price and several waiters bring a multitude of different cuts of meat hot off the flames to your table on wooden handled spits and carve desired pieces of the cut onto your plate.

You may request certain cuts, pass on cuts and point to the section of the cut you would like. There many, many, many different cuts of beef sometimes seasoned with things like pepper, garlic or parmesan. Most of the time however, the cuts are just rubbed in rock salt and thrown into the fire. There is also Linguica (sausage) Frango (chicken) Peru (turkey – usually wrapped in bacon), Lombo (pork loin) Cordeiro (lamb) etc.

There are many side dishes always available also. Lori is a big fan of the fried bananas. Both Karl and Lori love Pao de Quejo (Cheese Bread) These little hot balls of bread are so good. They are absolutely a marriage made in heaven when it comes to sopping up meat juice on your plate. Lori also loves pao de quejo. This next picture is for you Lori.

So if you like meat, a Churrascaria is pretty close to heaven. Whether you want it or not this edition will provide you with a brief education on Brazilian Churrasco and the most common meats served at a Churrascaria along with their Portuguese names and their English pronunciations.
1.Cupim
4. Lombo
5. Filet Mignon
6. Picanha
7. Alcatra
15. Faraldinha
16. Costela

Ancho - Pronounced AN-cho (Rib Eye) Anyone who knows Karl very well knows of his love for this particular cut. He even joined a fan club on Facebook for Ribeye. Ancho is cut from the prime part of the rib eye. This cut has extensive marbling that provides it with superb flavor, texture and juiciness. The fat in a good cut of this meat is unparalleled. Although some find it disgusting, Karl will eat large bites of just fat from this cut of meat.


Filet Mignon - Pronounced fil-AY min-YON (same name in English – well actually both languages use French) Filet mignon is cut from the tenderloin and is the tenderest of all cuts. This meat is so tender and tasty it is considered an international crime to cook it past medium rare. A crime often perpetrated by Americans. Karl cringes when he hears people order filet well done or butterflyed. Why even order filet if you are going to do that to it? There are actually chefs who refuse to do that. This is equivalent to giving someone a dozen roses with the flower portion cut off. It is no longer a dozen roses! It is stems and thorns! At a Churrascaria Filet Mignon often comes in a wrapped in bacon version also.

Picanha - Pronounced pea-CAN-ya (Top Sirloin) This is what people think of when they think of a Churrascaria. While this cut is not one of Karl’s favorites normally, the Brazilians somehow cook this just right and it jumps out in front in rank at a Churrascaria. This cut is Lori’s favorite when she visits a Churrascaria. Picanha is a prime cut of top sirloin specially carved just as the gauchos (Brazilian cowboys) have done for hundreds of years.



Alcatra - Pronounced al-CAT-ra (Top Sirloin) Alcatra is a special cut of top sirloin originating in the steakhouses of Southern Brazil. Like picanha, alcatra is a popular cut in Brazil. It is a soft cut particularly good with extra salt in Karl’s opinion.










Fraldinha - fral-DIN-ya (Bottom Sirloin) This cut has strong marbling characteristics and a distinct robust flavor. It is a delicious change of pace in the Churrascaria’s line-up. That is the beauty of a Churrascaria. You never get tired of eating the same piece of meat. You get to float between different cuts with all their wonderful different flavors keeping your taste buds alive with pleasure.






Costela - co-STELL-a (Beef Ribs) The ribs are grilled for several hours to capture their rich natural flavor. They are really good with no barbeque sauce and taste like prime rib.













Costela de Porco - co-STELL-a gee POer-co (Pork Ribs) Also called Costelinha, co-STELL-leen-ya which means little ribs, these are pork baby back pork ribs skillfully roasted with a blend of wet and dry rubs that keep the ribs tender and enhance their natural flavor. They are very good. Karl still prefers these with good old Western-American barbeque sauce.

Cordeiro - cor-DAY-roo (Lamb) These are fire roasted lamb chops. Karl & Lori both do not care for lamb this way. Karl likes it in a stew or something.













Coracao de Galinha - cor-A-sown gee Ga-LEE-na (Chicken Hearts) Don’t knock them until you try them. Karl had many an American companion who resisted the idea and ended up with these salty little guys as their absolute favorites.












Cupim - coo-PEE-ing (not sure what we call this in English) Karl was always told that in Brazil that this was part of the fatty hump on the Brahma bulls. But it seems too meaty to be a hump. It is really good. Very fatty and tasty. Similar to prime rib.


Completely Christian
Christian had an away game this week against the Buckhorns. Christian and his Badgers were victorious 31 to 12. Christian's team has played more teams and has the best winning record in his division. Christian also gave a talk in church. He did a great job.

Family Stories

Churrasco and the Church
While on his mission in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Karl visited many churrascarias. He was originally trained in the art of eating churrasco by Elder Penman (a hunter from Alaska) and Elder Shultz (the son of a cattle farmer from Oregon) While assigned to the southern-most part of Karl’s mission in Volta Redonda, Karl and his trainers often frequented an authentic gaucho churrascaria. Karl continued to visit various churracarias during the years he spent in Brazil. He became well known for both his love and knowledge of these wonderful restaurants. In fact Karl was once invited to an invitation only churrascaria in Ipanema. Karl came to the rescue of a Brazilin waiter who was being verbally abused by an ignorant American Texas tycoon type at Mario’s in Copacabana. Karl defended the waiter and his Brazilian culture and told the Texas ignoramous that he was being rude and ignorant. The manger was so thankful that he gave Karl the special invitation. That churrascaria will live in Karl’s dreams for the rest of his life.

Towards the end of Karl’s mission, Karl’s received a telegram to contact his Mission President about churrascarias. Karl thought he was going in big trouble. He thought the mission President had found out he had visited churrascarias out of his assigned area. Just for the record Karl only did that on the way to or from a mission meeting or transfer. A very nervous Elder Mueller made the trek to find a pay phone and called the Mission President. As it turned out, the Mission President had heard about Karl’s churracaria expertise and wanted some advice. Three apostles of the church, Neal A. Maxwell, former President of the Church Gordon B. Hinkley and current President Thomas S. Monson were scheduled to visit the Rio de Janeiro mission and the Mission President wanted Karl’s recommendation on where to take them to eat Churrasco. Karl later had the privilege of meeting all three.

Volume 26

SUNDAY NEWS
September 13, 2009

Lori and Vayden flew to Indiana this week. Melissa flew back and accompanied them. Lori had previously scheduled a trip back to visit for a week and has now extended her stay for several weeks so family can help her with Vayden while she recovers from her back surgery. Karl and Lori celebrated their 3rd Anniversary this week. Well actually there wasn’t much celebrating due to being 1,000 miles apart.

Karl’s brother Erik and his two boys Skyler and Kaden flew down from Utah for a boys/professional sports weekend.

Friday September 11 – MLB Baseball
Erik, Skyler, Kaden and Christian started the Diamondback experience by Going to Front Row for lunch while Karl had to go to court for an n hour or so in downtown Phoenix. Front Row is a restaurant inside the Chase Field that overlooks the field. After lunch Karl met up with the boys for a Pre-Game tour which was a great experience. We were all by ourselves on the tour except for one other guy. Part of the tour involved watching the Diamondback’s batting Practice. All three boys got some autographs. Christian got of all people his absolute favorite player, Stephen Drew to sign his glove. Needless to say that glove is not going to be used anymore. Karl wouldn’t let him use it if he wanted to. Skyler and Kaden also got Stephen Drew’s autograph on their hats. The boys got several other autographs, and Skyler got a ball. The boys spent the entire Milwaukee Brewer’s batting practice in the bleachers trying to get their hands on a homerun ball.

Stephen Drew signed here:

It was good to be at the ballpark on September 11th. There were lots of special things going on. The game didn’t go our way as the Brewer’s beat the Diamondbacks 6 to 3. After the game we stayed for a Post-Game Fireworks show.


Saturday September 12 – MLB Baseball
Everyone returned to Chase Field for a rematch with the Brewers. But this time Karl’s best friend Mark and one of his boys, Jorgen also came along. Jorgen is around the same age as Christian and Erik’s boys. Unfortunately the Diamondbacks lost again. This time the score was 9 to 2. Skyler really enjoyed the All-You- Can- Eat section. Kaden almost lost his Stephen Drew baseball hat. Erik had to talk his way back into the Stadium after the game to search for it. Found it though.

Sunday September 13 – NFL Football
Today was the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers for the Cardinals. The game was sold out, although there were some empty seats.
Karl and his brother grew up with a friend who lived around the block named Pat. Pat now lives in the Phoenix area also. Pat and his two boys game to the game with Erik and Karl. It was good to have everyone together again. There were 8 of us all together piled into the Sequoia for the game. It was a tense game. Karl has lost most of his voice. The Cardinals ended up falling to the 49ers 16 to 20. Unfortunately Erik and his boys came into town for 3 losses, 4 if you count Christian’s football game. They still had a good time.

Very Vayden
Little Vayden is cutting teeth and trying to adjust to being away from home and her normal routines. She is also cutting teeth. Apparently Indiana doesn’t seem to agree with Vayden’s health. Poor little girl is also sick. The last time she got sick was also the last time she went to Indiana.

Completely Christian
This week Christian had an early game which required us to get up at 5:30 a.m. This was a little difficult due to being up late with cousins at the Diamondback game and Post-Game Firework show the night before. It was and away in Queen Creek and the directions that were e-mailed made it impossible to find. Karl had to drive all the way back home and get on Map Quest in order to find accurate directions. Christian was late, but made it there just in time for weigh in.

Christian and his Badgers undefeated season came to an end at the hands of the Queen Creek Knights. It was a very close game until one of the Knights slipped a couple tackles and scored a touchdown. The Badgers lost 6 to 0. The coaches got enthralled in a very heated exchange. Apparently the Knights were cheating by not substituting any or their second string players which is required by the rules. Every player must play at least 10 plays in the game.

Really Roxy
Roxy is enjoying all the boys to play with in the house. Everyone is impressed with her seal imitation.

Note from the Editors
Don’t forget to look below at Volume 26 Photo Addendums 1 and 2 and 3. Photo Addendums 1 is pictures form the Diamondback games. Photo Addendum 2 is the Cardinals game, and Addendum 3 is some crazy hair pictures of Vayden before she left for Indiana on Tuesday.