My thoughts on the NFC Championship Game

I am disappointed that the San Francisco 49ers lost, yes, but I am even more deeply perturbed by the Seattle fans who so blindly support a classless role model who has zero integrity.  

A super bowl ring won't make up for Sherman's lack of integrity.

Niners v. Cardinals

Sunday was our first San Francisco 49er game of the season.  Sam and I brought Jackie and Joe to the game with us, and we had a great time tailgating with the McHones and Oliveros before we headed over to see the Ward Family.  

 We got to celebrate Matt and Whitney's baby boy who will be joining the family in April 2014.

Mike, Carina, Kelly, Dad

 Carina and Mom

 Jackie and I at the game

Lovely ladies and our amazing gentlemen!

Sam and I can't wait to go back in December for the last home game of the regular season.  

49er Faithful Headed 'Home'

Tonight, Sam and I are flying up to San Francisco to spend what we hope will be a beautiful fall weekend in Northern California.  It will be our first trip home since we got engaged in August, and the first time I've seen my Dad and sister, Carina.  As you can imagine, I am really looking forward to being back in my hometown.  

While we're home, we're going to be celebrating Carina passing her nursing examination and being able to look for a job.  She is the first nurse in our family, so obviously we're all overjoyed and incredibly proud of her.  In fact, she's been home since last weekend so Sam and I will be a bit late to her party, but it will be really good to spend time as a family all the same.

While Carina's accomplishment deserves a good deal of attention, we originally planned this vacation so that we could make it home for the 49er game on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.  

Since it's the last season at Candlestick, Sam and I are making an effort to make it up for as many games as we can - which is looking like two so far.  Unfortunately, we're pretty limited in nights that the flight schedule and game schedule line up for us.  

Focusing on the positives, though, we're bringing Jackie and Joe to the game.  I am really excited to see them both and get to share something that means so much to me with a couple that Sam and I are looking forward to sharing lots of future milestones with.  Plus, Carina and Jackie will get a chance to meet again and hopefully bond a little bit over my bachelorette party planning.  Dad is awesome and he's going to sit with the McHones so that Mom, Carina, Sam, Jackie, Joe and I can sit in Papa's seats.  

It will also be really fun to see the whole Tailgate Crew.  Sam has been getting ribbed for years about not proposing to me, so I'm excited to show off my beautiful engagement ring and let him get all the credit.  

In addition to the McHones and Tailgate Crew, we'll get to see Matt, Kelly and Mike Ward along with Chris and Whitney (I hope).  That will be really fun because in addition to celebrating our engagement, Whit and Matt announced that they're expecting their first baby in April 2014 - so we have a LOT to be cheerful and excited about.  I am planning on bringing a couple bottles of champagne to pop in the parking lot. 

View from Papa's seats Jan 12, 2013 (San Francisco v. Green Bay)

Weekend Recap

Sam has taken up soccer and joined a men's league that plays on Sunday afternoons about 10 minutes from our house.

He played a little bit last season (summer) with Ryan Quigley, but this season (fall) he made his own team and recruited two of Ryan's teammates to play with a bunch of the UCI surgical specialty residents.   

It's been interesting, because the surgeons are so back with commitment since they've got call, vacations and really busy schedules in their free time.  Finally, this week, they were able to get together a group of guys who have been at several of the games and are getting used to playing together.  Additionally, Bo brought two of his friends who are pretty good.  

Last week was the first goal of the season, and this week they scored 4 - 2 of which came from MY FUTURE HUBBY!  :-)  I am still super proud of Sammy if you can't tell.  Not only did he score twice, he made a huge save while he was playing goalie at the end of the first half.  It was a great day for him and I know he finally felt like he was getting his touch and endurance back.  

Luckily, next we the team has a bye coming up because we're going to be gone in NorCal this weekend.  The following weekend, they have a double header so I'm going to bring an ice chest of water bottles, gatorade and orange slices.  I haven't done that yet this season because I don't want to be TOO much of the team mom, but I do think they deserve a little pampering if they're going to play two games in one day.

In other news, the Niners looked fantastic against the Houston Texans and I cannot wait to be at Candlestick this Sunday night!

Birthday Week 2013

We kicked off my birthday week with a lot of drinking over the weekend.  In fact, I was actually hung over on Sunday.

A few things I am eagerly awaiting:

1. Dinner at Gabbi's on Wednesday night
2. My birthday cake from French's
3. Opening all my birthday cards

French's is apparently a great bakery and we've got friends who are going to use them for a wedding cake so I thought I'd give them a shot and order myself my first birthday cake since high school.  I mean honestly, I think my last store-bought, ordered birthday cake was in high school from either Mom or Papa Santi.  Very cool.  This is just one of the designs I really liked, but I went with something else... I will definitely post a photo after the big day.

Sam and I went to the gym tonight, and then he drove me down to the Kaiser hospital so I could pick up a prescription from the pharmacy.  He's got a sty and has been sitting here with a hot compress on his eye all night, and I'm on antibiotics.  Let's just say that we've got the whole "in sickness and in health" thing down tonight.  No worries about the rest of our lives!  

The only downside of my birthday weekend kick off was the atrocious Sunday Night Football performance of the 49ers.  I wanted to throw up after the game last night.  Ugh. 

Football Season 2013

This is going to be a very bittersweet football season for me.  As you (hopefully) know, my family has had season tickets to the 49ers since Kezar Stadium, and at the end of this season, the 49ers current stadium at Candlestick Park will be torn down.  The new stadium will be built in Santa Clara, and it looks to be quite a work of art.  Unfortunately, Papa's seats on the 45 yard line, 15 rows up behind the 49ers bench were going to be $80,000 a piece for the personal seat licenses (PSLs) - that doesn't even include the price of the tickets!

So, Papa gave up his seats.  Dad is going to have one seat in the upper deck with some of his friends from high school, who we tailgate with every Sunday.  The plan is to buy tickets comparable to what we are accustom to when we want to go to games, and even if we were to spend $2,000 for all 6 (now 7, with Sam) of us to go together, it would be significantly cheaper than buying season tickets that we don't even use every week because we only have 4 family members currently living in the Bay Area.

What makes this season especially tough is that we were so close to our 6th Super Bowl victory last February and I was incredibly invested in the season as you can see here, here, here, and especially here in NOLA.  This year we have another great team, and it's going to be really tough to say goodbye to The Stick when it just seems to feel like we're returning to our glory days.

NOLA Photos

Dad, Dominic, Robin & Mom at Pat O'Brien's, our first stop after arriving in Louisiana 

Bourbon Street our first night in town

We met up with Ruby and Tracy

Then we had the whole crew!

The girls

Saturday we met up with my friends, and Carina arrived!

We met Dwight Clark, and Mom's lifelong dream came true!

Dad and his girls on Game Day

49er Faithful K-9

I'm on the plane to New Orleans with Mom & Dad, but I thought I would schedule this little gem for all you 49er faithful out there.  My childhood friend has become quite the seamstress and she has an Etsy store where I special-ordered this doggie bandana for my little guy.  

Here's to hoping we're all very happy campers on the flight back in 3 days!

Too Good To Be True

Our tickets arrived yesterday...

...It's almost too good to be true!!!

People keep asking if I'm getting excited yet, and honestly, I have been so busy working on projects that I want to finish before I leave work on Thursday and trying to organize Hunter's schedule while I am gone that I have hardly had time to think about the weekend ahead.  It feels like weeks ago that Mom texted me we were going to the Super Bowl- and that was just a week ago!

We were referred a dog-sitter by the Grant family, who have been our go-to friends for all things puppy since before we even brought Hunter home.  They really recommended Linzy's company Passionate4Pets, and I know she stays over at their home when they're gone.  

Best laid plans went awry when Sam and I realized we are BOTH gone Thursday night.  Luckily Linzy was free and she came to the rescue- we are now the proud (?) employers of a dog-sitter.  I am sure Sam is still wrapping his head around it, but I am sure that Hunter will be better behaved for Sam.  

Say What?

I woke up to this text this morning... which is possibly the best text I have ever woke up to in my life...

Pinch me, I might still be dreaming!

SF v GB Jan 12

So we all flew home for what could prove to be the last Playoff Game at Candlestick Park since next season is the last one before the new 49er stadium opens.  

Sam and I came up from Orange County before the game and Papa picked us up on the way to the stadium with Dad, Carina (in from CO), Ali (from SB), Mark and Brock (from HI).  It was our first game all together- Papa, his sons and all four grandkids.  What a time we had!

Matt & his wife, Sam & I... the next generation of the Ward-Santi Family

Brent came in from Arizona for the game, we ran into him at the airport the next day

Santi Family at the Tailgate

At our seats

Happy Belated Birthday to Ali