Um...

I saw the movie early this morning. It was...um...uh...

So, I had a lot of fun with my friends. Really, I did. Plus, we went out to eat at J. Alexanders before going to the theater and the food was really good. I ordered some good chocolate cake and shared it with-

...Okay, I'll stop avoiding the subject.

Truth is, I found it incredibly funny (but only when it wasn't supposed to be funny). I laughed quite a bit - more then is acceptable at a movie about vampires. I did try to keep my giggles under wraps though. Really, I did. Luckily, I had a REALLY bored teenage boy to my right and an equally amused fan (a friend of a friend) to my left, so they didn't mind my giggles. At all.

In fact, they were laughing, too.

My friends liked the movie, though, which I think is cool (I really mean this).

A few things about the movie (don't worry, I don't give away any major details. And if you have read the book you already know whats going to happen anyway, so...):

1. Let's just say it's a lot like Breaking Dawn - either you love it or you hate it.

2. Edward is a bit of a 'close talker'.

3. Jacob Black has incredibly white teeth. Like, REALLY white. It's distracting (Think Ross from that episode of 'Friends' - You know which one I'm talking about).

4. Whoever did the makeup for Carlisle went a little pancake-happy on him. He looks like an albino. It's incredibly distracting. He's almost whiter then Jacob Black's teeth. Almost.

5. My friends said Stephenie Meyer is actually in the movie (but I didn't notice since I was busy laughing), so keep an eye out. Apparently she's in the background somewhere (In the cafe...but there are a few cafe scenes. I think they said it's in the second cafe scene...I can't remember).

6. I think the actor that plays James is far better looking then Robert Pattinson and I'm not the kind of girl that likes long hair on a guy.

7. The actress that plays Victoria is cool. Perfect for the role, actually.

8. Jasper reminds me of Edward Scissor-hands, without the scissor-hands. You'll see what I mean when you see the movie.

9. The cinematography is odd.

10. Special-effects are...um...not so special.

11. The Director didn't know how to direct.

12. Actors didn't know how to act (actually, I think it was the directing, not the acting. I think)

13. The majority of people really seemed to like the movie...

14. ...I was in the minority. : (

(seriously, I am sad about that)

Don't worry. Like I said, a lot of people liked the movie. I'm just incredibly picky when it comes to movies ('Incredibly picky' is an understatement. Let's just say I've seen far too many movies for my own good).

Dang you, Stephenie Meyer!

I have a confession to make. Despite my absolute loathing of Breaking Dawn, I'm still super psyched about the Twilight movie, and...I'm going to the Thursday/Friday midnight showing with my friends. The tickets are purchased, Duane's cool with it so basically everything is set to go (I know, Kristi, I still owe you money and you'll totally get it the second I stop being lazy and actually go to the bank).

Stephenie Meyer isn't a literary genius by any stretch of the imagination, but she still tells a good story. And I am hopelessly addicted to the first three books in the Twilight series, especially New Moon. But Twilight is good, too. Dang Stephenie Meyer! Why are her stories so addictive? I still can't figure it out. I don't even like Edward and Bella (*gasp*).

I'm sorta spazzing out here. Sort of. Really, I'm more excited about the night out more then anything...okay, I'm lying, I'm totally excited about the movie.

Here's to hoping it sucks (pun intended)!

Oh and I just took one of those lame quizzes, just for fun. Guess what?!? I'm Jacob Black. Sa-weeeeet!

(Yeah, I know. There is something wrong with me , but I'm not alone in my excitement. Admit it, you're going to see the movie, too.)

Q & A with Mayah

My friend, Renae K., tagged me a while ago (okay, almost two months ago) to do a Question & Answer session with Mayah. So, without further ado...

1. What is something mom always says to you? "Get you"
(??? - Apparently I'm always threatening to 'get her'.)

2. What makes mom happy? "You can have a pet"
(In Mayah's mind, animals make everything better, so a pet would make me happy...not. Cute answer though.)

Mayah around four months old (The sand is propping her up).

3. What makes mom sad? "problems"
(This is true. Problems do make me sad. I love this answer, by-the-way.)

4. How does your mom make you laugh? "tickle me"

5. What was your mom like as a child? "You were a girl"

6. How old is your mom? "Ummm...I don't know"

Mayah at about eighteen months of age

7. How tall is your mom? "Big"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "Ummm... clean up the toys."
(False. This answer is false. Funny, cuz I'm always saying how much I DON'T like cleaning up her toys when she makes a mess.)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "I don't know."

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "Ummm...for things."

Mayah loves wearing goggles. A lot.

11. What is your mom really good at? "Uh...making hot cereal."
(I make her malt-o-meal - 'hot cereal' - for breakfast, a lot, but only because she always asks for it. It's good to hear that there are no complaints.)

12. What is your mom not very good at? "Sleeping."
(This is completely true. If I have to choose between sleeping and 'me time' - any time after the kids go to sleep - I always pick 'me time'. Always.)

13. What does your mom do for her job? "Clean."
(*Sigh* I do clean. A lot. My girls are like tornadoes - tiny, adorable, silly, lovable tornadoes with the ability to devastate everything in their path(s). Good thing I love them.)

14. What is your mom's favorite food? "Cake."

15. What makes you proud of your mom? "When she makes breakfast."

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "A princess."

She's almost four in this picture

17. What do you and your mom do together? "Um...to go to school."
(I think she means, I help get her ready for school.)

18. How are you and your mom the same? "Both girls"

19. How are you and your mom different? "I am small."
(And I am not.)

20. How do you know your mom loves you? "You take me to the park."
(Unfortunately I don't do that often enough. I'll have to do that more, especially if she really thinks park trips equal love, which they do, in a way.)

This is my absolute favorite picture of Mayah. She's such a beach girl.

As I was asking Mayah these questions, I realized I don't talk to her enough, nor do I spend enough quality time with her, which is incredibly sad. I don't know how it got this way. I'm going to put extra effort into doing special things with Mayah from now on.

Okay, so, I tag Sarah G. (and Abby), Kristi H. (and Bradyn), aaaaaand Morgan W. (Gracey). Actually, I tag everyone who sees this, so if you're reading this now, consider yourself tagged.

Feeling Inspired

I was going to write an elaborate story about why I'm feeling inspired but I really can't say it in words, at least not my words.

Visit adailyscoop.blogspot.com and read what has been inspiring me (you really must skip back to this post and go from there. Warning: You will cry).

All I will say is, I feel inspired to take pleasure in all the little things; to not take anything for granted. I feel inspired to be a better mother to my daughters.

Note: The blog I linked you to belongs to a friend of a friend.

Living in a van down by the river...

Don't worry, we haven't moved into a van (yet). We're still living in an apartment complex by a forested area. I got your attention though (Hee).

After my election night posts, I thought I'd lighten things up by doing another short update:

Duane is losing weight and looking great. In fact, he's lost so much weight he had to have his suit taken in and purchase new clothing because his old stuff was falling off of him. Lucky guy. As soon as I purchase a battery charger for our camera battery, I'll take some pictures and post them here. Until then, you'll just have to take my word for it.

After watching October Sky a few weeks ago, Duane thought it would be fun to purchase a rocket kit so he and the girls could build one and launch it. They haven't built it yet, but they will soon. Don't worry, it's just one of those little ones, nothing dangerous.

Our three girls keep me busy. Mayah and Malia are best friends and mortal enemies - They're 'frenemies' sisters. Needless to say, I play referee quite a bit, which is so fun. During the month of October, when I wasn't putting a stop to all the sisterly violence (seriously, they're worse then little boys), I was sewing Halloween costumes for the girls. I made Mayah a Princess Jasmine costume and Malia an Ariel costume (Ariel the Mermaid, not big sister Ariel) using this pattern. Matilda was a flower, but I didn't sew her costume.

I just finished reading, Letter To My Daughter by Maya Angelou. It's a quick read, just a collection of short essays and poems. It's quite good. If anyone wants to borrow it, let me know.

Ariel is keeping herself busy at BYU. She has a boyfriend, she really likes her roommates and, from what I can tell, she seems to be having a lot of fun in Provo. Apparently she's going to be tutoring kids at Provo High, which I just found out about (I hope she's getting paid for it).

Mayah is no longer obsessed with fire safety, although she still prays that we will 'be safe and not play with fires'. Her current worry is about stranger danger, which is fine with me - I want her to stay away from strangers. Mayah's favorite thing to do these days is make cards and give them to us. She also makes wrapping paper and wraps gifts (various toys of hers) and gives them to me. She really is a sweetheart (despite all the fighting she does with Malia). Oh, and Duane taught her who Barak Obama is so whenever he's on TV, she stops everything and watches. She likes watching Obama (sigh).

Malia really loves taking care of Matilda. It's quite cute actually, she is constantly handing me a bottle and telling me to feed the baby or change her diaper (even if she isn't hungry or stinky). Duane and I were really worried that Malia would have a difficult time with Matilda but she isn't (she never has).

Matilda started crawling soon after the last family update (you know, the 'musical' one). She's all over the place and is almost able to pull herself up to the standing position. She loves the vacuum especially when it's on, which makes it difficult for me to vacuum because she crawls after me (or rather, the vacuum) until she's able to climb on it. Matilda is a complete Daddy's girl. When Duane gets home from work, she crawls to him, giggling the whole time. When he's holding her, she's got an 'I just won the lottery' grin plastered on her face. It's really quite adorable.

Um...I suppose that is all the news we have for now. Please keep us (and Ford Motor Company, heck, the US economy) in your prayers because I really don't want to be living in a van down by the river (who would?).

Whatever (I'm not surprised).

Barak Obama is the next President. Fine. Whatever. I'll live (I think).

I was not a huge fan of McCain, but I voted for McCain because I couldn't in good conscience vote for Obama (no matter how much Duane was campaigning for him). No, I'm not racist, so please don't go there. Heck, I'm hardly even a Republican. I just don't believe Obama has it in him to lead this country in the right direction (quite frankly, I'm frightened about what he plans on doing) and there is so much about Obama's background that SCARES me.

I guess I can be happy for the African American community. They're super excited. That's cool (I'm not being sarcastic here).

It's too bad that McCain didn't win. I was looking forward to seeing him go 'Double Maverick' on everyone. Oh well...

My Brother Is Awesome

I have five older brothers, all of which are awesome and I love them equally. This post is about the brother that is one year older then me. His name is Perry. When we were growing up, we weren't super close (okay, we didn't really talk much), but we're family which is why we were always loyal to each other. Now that we're adults, we get along.

Anyway (getting to the point), Perry is in the army. He and one of my other brothers, Paul, enlisted about five (six?) years ago. Currently, Perry is in the Middle East and he just posted something thought provoking at our family website. I liked it so much, I'm posting an excerpt of it here:

"Random thought...I watched The Freedom Writers last night and was very touched and recommend it. There is nothing inappropriate (language etc) but it deals with gangs and the Holocaust. It has Hillary Swank in it and that caused hesitation, but in the desert beggars can't be choosers. I think I enjoyed it so much because it really helps to remind the audience that we are all people with hopes, dreams and our own personal trials. Since being deployed I have thought a great deal about the Iraqi, Afghan and other people out here...I am grateful for the gospel and teaching me that they are all children of our Father in Heaven with their own hopes, dreams and challenges. They are good people and deserve the chance to have the same freedoms that we enjoy. This war isn't a war about oil, money or anything other then a corridor for the gospel to enter the Middle East. Every base and country that I have been to has a service members group with Sunday Sacrament Meeting, home teachers, and the priesthood. It is an amazing sight to behold the Gospel of Jesus Christ move forward to all corners of the Earth.

I'm not sure how the election this Tuesday will turn out, though I have a pretty good guess, but it really will not change the course of where this world is headed or the progression of the Church.

Time away from family, friends and the "conveniences" of life always help me to appreciate all that I have been given. Have a good Sunday and week!"

My brother is awesome.

Perry and his wife Sarah

Election 2008: Pick Your Poison

Happy Election Day! I hope everyone got out to vote. I voted...yesterday (by absentee ballot).

I went to the city clerks office, got my ballot and voted. It really was as simple as that. Okay, not totally because we couldn't leave the building with our ballots, which makes sense, but we were all crammed into a tiny room with limited chairs and no writing surfaces. I ended up sitting on the ground and filling my ballot out on my knee while trying to control Malia (P.S. We named her Malia before we even heard of Barack Obama. So please, don't think we named her after that man's daughter, because we didn't).

Anyway, I can't wait until it's over (because I am sick of hearing about Obama from Duane. Ugh...he is almost as bad as 'Obama girl'. He never reads this blog, HA! Oh, and I'm bitter for obvious reasons).