Girls Night Out

It is Girls Night Out at Bitner Manor. Tonight I am going out sans kids and husband and meeting up with a few of my close friends. What are we going to do, you ask? Oh, you know, the usual: dinner, dessert, girls' talk--nothing out of the ordinary... unless you think it's weird that--around at the stroke of midnight--we'll transform into these squeeing, love-sick fangirls:


That's right, we're going to see New Moon, the second installment in the Twilight saga.

I know, I know, I can't believe I'm going to go see New Moon either. Ever since I read Breaking Dawn I've become a very out-spoken critic of the series. And I was extremely disappointed in the first movie of the Twilight Saga. I even wrote about it. Despite all my criticism I've always maintained that New Moon is my favorite book in the series. Besides, this movie was directed by Chris Weitz not Catherine Hardwicke, so I figure it cannot possibly be worse then the last movie (knock on wood).

Anyway, I'm excited!  I'm grateful that I have a husband who puts up with my love/hate relationship with the Twilight series and is cool with my going out tonight--a school night.  I'm glad I have an opportunity to go out with my friends.  And even if the movie is the worst thing to ever grace the big screen, I'll still have a great time (though I won't hesitate to post a scathing review here).

Here's to vampires, werewolves, irritating protagonists, Girls Night Out, good friends, and awesome (read: patient) husbands (I love you Duane.  You are My Jacob, which, in my book, is a very very good thing)!

TEAM JACOB!

P.S. Speaking of Duane, he now has his very own blog.  Check it out.

Yea or Nay?

So...Duane has a mustache. A Mustache! This isn't a new development though. No, he's been mustachioed for a few months now. What do I think about the mangy ferret that has taken up residence between his nose and lips? Well, that last sentence says it all, doesn't it?

What do you think? Should Duane get rid of the mustache?

Sooo not in the mood...

Blerg. I am so not in the mood to blog (am I seriously the only one?). At all . I just feel so... blah. I blame the holidays and the freezing cold weather.

But I have so many cute photos from Christmas break and I know I should post them. Because the longer I wait to post them the likelihood of me posting them will go down. Besides, perhaps posting something will get me in the mood to blog again.

So here you go (sorry for the lack of enthusiasm):

Before anyone thinks I'm a bad mom for giving my baby a candy cane, I'll have you know that it's fake. I had to invest in fake candy canes last year when Mayah and Malia ate all the real candy canes in less then a day (Maybe I am a bad mom...).

'Twas the night before Christmas...and the girls got matching jammies.

Matilda got a high chair, finally. She totally loves it too.

Mayah and Malia love playing Rock Band. Sometimes they play instruments and sometimes they dance. Malia is being a dancing girl and Mayah is rockin' out on the guitar. (I just need to mention that Mayah dressed herself that day).

Duane and the girls.

So, a funny (???) thing happened...

Okay, so, Duane and I went out on a (real) date tonight because his parents are in town and wanted to give us a date night before they left (By-the-way, thanks Lee and Marilyn).

So...

We went to the Temple and then we went a restaurant afterward. The former was nice, as it always is. The latter was...hilarious? Maybe?

As you can tell, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about our time at the restaurant. The food wasn't the problem. Actually, the food was quite good as we were at a nice sushi restaurant. It was the insane girl fight that broke out in the middle of the restaurant while we were eating that has me amused/semi-horrified.

First things first: Everyone knows that girl fights are vicious. Because girls are mean. Really, really mean. And, they (we) love pulling hair, scratching, punching, kicking and spitting. They (we) also like to get the last word (read: punch/kick) in edge-wise. So, girl fights can last a while if no one intervenes.

Aaaand, apparently things get worse when alcohol is involved.

Yes, that's right, we witnessed a full-blown drunken cat-fight while we were eating (dinner and a show!!!).



These girls were so loud/wild, everyone in the restaurant watched. Even the kitchen staff came out of the kitchen to gawk. At one point, a server yelled "Call The Police!" at one of her colleagues.

I don't know if the cops were called because they didn't show up. At all.

Eventually the fight traveled to the lobby/waiting area and that's when things escalated (read: got more ridiculous). You see, that's when one of the girls got her hands on a long (-ish) bamboo pole and started beating the other girl with it. I don't know if that would actually hurt since bamboo is hollow, but the girl was swinging with all her might, so...yeah.

Just so you all know, this was a proper girl-fight. There was screaming, biting, punching, kicking, hair-pulling, and name calling.

It was...AWESOME!

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?).

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).

Alive and Well (the musical)

Hey friends and family that still check here from time to time. Sorry I haven't done anything with this for a long time. I have no valid excuse for all the slackin', heck its not even like there was anything good on TV to distract me (which is funny because I'm getting going on the blogging thing again just as the new fall season starts up).

Anyway, this isn't going to be all that neat of an update. I just wanted everyone to know that we're all alive and well.

Duane's busy at work, like always but I am not complaining. We're just grateful that he has a good job and a steady paycheck. He's been getting in shape and is looking great. He's lost about 30 lbs in the last year (go Duane)

I'm not doing much these days. I've been reading a lot about politics but I hate thinking about it afterward because I tend to get all angry about it. I especially don't bring up politics with Duane because we do not agree about much these days (politically speaking). I'll let you guess who's the crazy conservative and who's the glue-sniffin' liberal (without all the glue-sniffin', of course).

Ariel is attending fall semester at BYU, playing the field (NOT! She says there is no one to date and I laughed hysterically because she's a BYU, but whatever). Ariel does keep herself busy doing whatever it is that zoobies do. She's also working at hogi yogi and at the stadium during football games as an usher. GO COUGARS!!!

Mayah's in kindergarten and she loves it. When she's not learning about firesafety at school (her current obsession is telling me how we'll get out of the house in case of a fire. Poor thing is sort of traumatized by all the firesafety talk. She had a nightmare about one the other night. So sad! but I digress...), she's spending time playing with Malia. They get along pretty well but they also love hurting eachother because...well, I don't know why, but they love beating up on eachother.

Malia cut her hair (yes, her beautiful curls are now messed up) the other day and I just about cried. She is obsessed with dogs and horses. Her favorite thing to do is pull Mayah's hair (I'm trying to put a stop to that). She loves dressing up in 'dancing dresses' and dancing. The girl has got some serious rhythm, too.

Matilda is up on all fours, scooting herself around but not yet crawling. She plays quite well by herself and is a good baby. She's such a happy baby and is always smiling at everyone. We call her 'Matilda Joy' because she is so happy and often joke about changing her middle name to 'Joy' (but we won't because we're lazy).

So that's our news. Nothing awsome, no pictures (because I lost our battery charger...I have the worst luck with cameras and their accesories) or anything but I did change the background and I added a new playlist (which is what makes this post 'musical'). The music is less mainstream but I love it because it's not being played on the radio or in stores or even on television shows. It's mostly mellow music but some is a little more upbeat. I hope all my readers enjoy listening to my playlist.

Fourth of July

I realize that the 4th was a while ago, but I still wanted to share these darling photos of the occasion. We spent Independence day in Utah this year. We kicked the day off in Provo, watching their parade. We ended up in Park City at Bitner Ranch. It was such a fun day!

Watching the parade in Provo

Matilda and Grandma Bitner

Mayah and cousin Morgan watching Underdog float by.

Me and my beautiful niece, Kelsey

Malia and her favorite cousin, Christopher (aka, Sha-shaw)

The Galan Grandchildren (those that were in attendence)

Eating s'mores in the back country of Bitner Ranch

Happy (very late) Father's Day

I had Mayah sing for Duane on Fathers day. Duane was still in Europe at the time and I knew he was disappointed about not being able to have Mayah sing to him that day. I tried hard to get the following clip posted on Fathers Day but I just could not make it work. Sorry Duane (he's back in Michigan this week and still has not had the privilage of viewing it).
Anyway, Happy Belated Fathers Day. We love you! You are the best Dad (and husband) ever! We miss you! Get here soon!!!

Camera is fixed (and other news)

We finally got our camera back from the repair shop. I am glad because Matilda is growing like a weed and it would be a shame to miss out on anymore photo opportunities.

Matilda is now a little over 2 months old and at her last 'well baby' visit, she weighed 10 lbs, 11 oz. Matilda is quite healthy and happy. She started smiling at us a while ago but this is probably the first photo of her smiling. She enjoys attention. If it were up to her, we would hold her all the time. She is such a good baby and we all love her so very much.

Duane will be going to Europe again. He will spend some time in London and then finish his trip up in Spain. He has been quite busy with work and just recently had a surgery for his deviated septum. He is recovering quite well.

Ariel is finishing up her senior year of high school and preparing for BYU. We are all very excited for her.

Mayah is finishing up preschool and we have just been informed that she will be able to attend Kindergarten next year. She is reading a lot these days. She is very good at it. She is also quite good at spelling and her writing is quite good for someone her age. We are so proud of her.

Malia is still as silly as ever. She has started mocking me lately and as irritating as it is, she is quite cute. I find it difficult to keep a straight face when she is talking back to me. She spends a lot of time on the pink chair these days (the pink chair is our 'time out' chair). I don't think she minds being on the chair so long as she gets her chance to tell me what she thinks about being punished. I know I am in for it when she reaches her teen years.

I am still keeping myself busy by taking care of everyone but I read a lot during my spare time. I would appreciate some book suggestions as I will be doing some traveling this summer and I would like to have a long list of books to read. Anyway, leave your suggestions in the comments section! Thanks!

Matilda

Hello Friends and Family! As you can see from my last post, we have a new baby in our home. Sorry about not posting more then just one picture and NO information about our new little angel. I would have gotten to it sooner but I've been feeling a little under the weather since we welcomed our new little one into the world.

Matilda made her appearance nearly three weeks early on March 13, weighing in at 6 lbs. She has a head full of dark hair and looks like Duane. Matilda was born via c-section because her amniotic fluid was quite low and she was also frank breech (feet to face). Not to worry though because she is very healthy and strong. In fact, the nurses that cleaned her up commented on how big and strong she is. Her APGAR scores were 8 & 9.

It took us a while to decide on a name. Once we heard Mayah call her Baby Matilda we knew that we had to name her Matilda. The name Matilda means 'Strength in Battle'. Duane especially loves the meaning.

Mayah and Malia really love their new little sister. Mayah not only loves Matilda, she is especially concerned about Matilda's welfare. She keeps telling me what I need to do ("pick her up mom", "change her diaper", "pat her back"), and it is quite cute. Malia loves holding Matilda and would do so all day if I let her.

We have felt very blessed by Matilda's presence in our home. It's not just the fact that she is a very pleasant and content baby, it's as if the windows of heaven have been opened. All sorts of little miracles keep happening around here. We are so very blessed.

Never a dull moment.

Just when I thought we were all getting back to feeling healthy, Mayah surprises me.

Last night we got the girls to sleep at a decent time and we were feeling quite good about it. Duane decided to take the child free time and play some Halo 3 and I caught up on my friends blogs. While we were happily doing our thing, we heard a suspicious cough come from the girls room. The coughing soon became a gagging sound so Duane and I ran into their bedroom in time to find Mayah projectile vomiting all over herself, the pillows, the sheets, the blankets and even a tiny bit on Malia's pajamas.

Luckily Duane was thinking on his feet and he grabbed Mayah and rushed her into the bathroom in time for the next round of vomiting. I followed them and tried to help clean up but I started gagging as soon as the smell hit my nose. Seeing the vomit didn't help matters, either. Curse my pregnant gag reflexes!

Anyway, Duane sent me packing because he didn't want me to throw up as well. So I crawled out of there (there was no way I could walk at that point), I let my stomach settle for a moment and I got to work on finding clean pajamas for Mayah. I threw those into the bathroom for Duane to put on poor Mayah. I then started working on Malia and I stripped off her pajamas and moved her to the toddler bed (the girls have been sharing the big girl bed). I was thankful the Malia slept through everything and continued to sleep while I cleaned her up.

I then began stripping the bed, all the while holding my breath and trying not to look at or touch the vomit. I was quite proud of myself because I was able to do so without losing my dinner. I then made the bed with clean sheets and blankets and got it ready for Mayah to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, Mayah had other plans. She didn't want to go to sleep as she was wide awake at that point. I brought her to our room so she could lay down and watch her favorite Planet Earth episode (Ice World) and I could go to sleep. I soon passed out but that didn't last long since Mayah started crying and coughing again! I bolted out of the bed and yanked Mayah out with me. I was able to get her to the bathroom in time for her to start vomiting again. Duane came running in the room (he was still up playing Halo or something) and helped Mayah while I started cleaning up the bathroom floor. At that point, Mayah's first set of pajamas were already washed and dried so I went and got them while Duane stripped the other pajamas off of Mayah.

We got her cleaned up again and she was very tired at this point so we put her back into our bed (after we covered it with very thick towels, just in case). Duane decided he would sleep on the couch because he said he didn't want to be thrown up on (yeah, like I wanted to be thrown up on). Anyway, Mayah passed out and I did too all the while hoping the morning wouldn't come too soon.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep for a very long time because a sneaky little kitty (Malia) woke up and crawled into bed with Mayah and me. I use the word 'kitty' because Malia was literally in kitty mode. She was crawling and pouncing like a playful kitty would. She also was not speaking; just making kitty noises. I have no idea why she was so wide awake and being so playful since all the lights were out and everyone was asleep at that point. I forgot to mention, it was around 2 AM.

Lucky me, I got to stay up with 'kitty' for a while. I don't know what time it was before she finally curled up and passed out. I may have passed out before she did, I am not sure.

All in all, it was a very odd, sleepless night. We still don't know why Mayah was vomiting as there was no temperature and who knows why Malia woke up and decided it was time to be a kitty.

But yeah, never a dull moment at our place. Just imagine how much more "fun" it will be around here once I have this baby.

We Thank Thee Oh God For OUR Prophet.

I just wanted to post a little something regarding the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley and the new president of our church, Thomas S. Monson.

First off, I just want to say that President Hinckley's passing was a bitter-sweet thing for Duane and I. President Hinckley was our prophet in the sense that he was so special to both Duane and myself, for different reasons. President Hinckley is the first prophet I had a testimony of and Duane is fortunate enough to be related to President Hinckley so he had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions.

When I was 16 years old, President Hinckley came to speak at my Stake Center to all the youth (14-18) in the region. It is an experience that I will never forget. Upon his entrance to the chapel, we all rose and sang 'We thank Thee oh God for a Prophet'. I was brought to tears because of the spirit that filled the chapel (and overflow) upon his arrival. When I saw him, I just knew that he was a true prophet of God. I remember taking extensive notes that night but the only thing that is totally stuck in my memory is the feeling I recieved, confirming that he is a true prophet and I belong to a true church. I will forever love President Hinckley and I am sad that he has passed away.

I know that Duane feels the same. Like I said earlier, he was able to meet President Hinckley at family reunions and other occasions. President Hinckley always reminded him of his own father, in the sense that they had a lot of personality traits in common (his father is first cousins with President Hinckley. President Hinckley had some cute Bitner family traits).

At the same time, we are happy for President Hinckley. Everyone in the Church knows how much he missed his Marjorie. I know that their reunion was beautiful. President Hinckley wore his body out, traveling around the world, dedicating Temples and speaking to large congregations . I can only imagine how tired he must have been.

President Hinckley is getting the rest he needed after working so very hard. I know all members of our church are happy for him even though we will miss him. He truly was a great man and will be remembered in a great light. I am so grateful for all he did during his Presidency. His legacy will carry on.

Today the official announcement of the 16th President of the Church was made. Thomas S. Monson is our new Prophet. I am so excited to learn more about him and to see what his legacy as our Prophet will be. I have always loved hearing him speak at General Conference.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Greetings again this Christmas season. It’s been a great year for the Bitners and we hope it’s been a great one for you as well. Here’s our 2007 news, youngest to oldest.

On Mommy’s birthday our youngest gave us a great big surprise by making a pink line appear on a pregnancy test. (Actually 3 pregnancy tests so Mommy & Daddy were sure they weren’t hallucinating.). We’re excited for her arrival this Spring.

Little Malia turned 2 in July. She’s kept her head of curls and is our little fireball of energy & muscles. There’s no middle ground with her spunky personality, every experience of each day is either the worst trial anyone has ever gone through or the most fun activity anyone could possibly be having. She’s a blast.

Mayah has had quite a year with school at Perrinville in the mornings and during summer school. She also was accepted for Head Start this fall and has had a great time participating in things with all the other kids and learning to be a big person. She’s doing great, she has come so far in her ability to speak and interact with friends and family. She’s got a lot of spunk as well.

We have lots of fun with the girls. We did our garden again this year and the girls enjoy it as true tomboys should. Mayah especially enjoyed collecting worms and holding snakes this year. She and Malia learned how to make a mudhole and swim in it up to their necks. We spent a lot of time with cousins this year in Oregon, Ohio, Illinois, Utah and Indiana. All the cousins are so good with our girls. We are so grateful to have such great nieces & nephews.

Ariel went to an A Cappella competition at Disneyland with her choir and won 1^st place gold. She spent two months with us this summer. She also went to Youth Conference and Pioneer Trek and made some new friends. She also moved to Spokane in August. Senior year at a new school wasn’t the plan but as always she’s made friends and is having fun. In November she was admitted to BYU. She hasn’t decided on a major yet but Dad hopes she does something with her great writing skills. We’re so proud of her.

Besides the surprise birthday present, Penny’s year has been full of daily surprises from our girls. Mayah & Malia keep her hopping. Penny has been a consultant for clothing retailer Modbe and has spent a lot of time at the gym, we all make the goal each year but she’s kept it up pretty well. Penny put this blog together earlier this year, made dresses for the girls for Christmas and shares her talent & love with us in a hundred other ways each day. She is so good to us all.

Duane’s career is progressing with some new opportunities at Ford Motor Company. He is now a global commodity manager buying throttles and EGR systems for all engines manufactured by Ford in North America. He visited Hitachi in Japan and made two separate trips to Europe to visit several other suppliers. The highlight of his year was returning to Madeira where he served his mission 20 (yes, 20) years ago. He was able to visit there in May and again in November. He spent both visits with the Faria family and had a blast.

We are so grateful for our many blessings, our family and friends. Best wishes to you this Christmas season. Please view our 2007 slideshow below.

Love, the Bitners

Seasons change

It is finally cooling down here in Michigan. As of yesterday (Wednesday, October 10), we are finally getting the weather one would expect for this time of year. There were days last week that we were getting 89 degree weather. YIKES!!!

Since the weather has finally changed, I have been putting the girls summer clothing away. I couldn't help but get a little teary eyed when I realized that most of the stuff won't fit them ever again. I wish my kids would age a little slower so I can enjoy this precious time a little longer. I swear it doesn't seem that long ago that they were both babies. They have changed so much in such a short time.

Thinking about my girls and how quickly they have grown got me thinking about how quickly time passes. I also started thinking about how life unexpectedly changes. Looking back at the past 7 years made me realize that most of what has happened in my married life was not exactly planned by Duane or myself.

Seven years ago Duane and I were newly wed, super happy, inseparable and disgustingly in-love with each other. Both of us were happily employed and living in Colorado at the time. Duane and I had all sorts of plans for our future.

Five years ago, Duane and I had just moved from New Mexico (after living there one year) to Utah so Duane could attend BYU to get his MBA, I was 4 months pregnant with Mayah, I was only working 20 hours a week, Duane wasn't allowed to work (per BYU's request) and we were really struggling financially. Duane and I decided that graduate school was the best option as no one was hiring just one year after 9/11. We had no idea what we would do after Duane graduated.

Exactly three years ago, we had just moved to Michigan 3 months previously, Duane was working for Ford and was called to be the Elders Quorum President in our ward and I was 2 weeks pregnant with Malia and didn't even suspect as we weren't trying to have another baby at that time. Mayah was finally old enough to attend nursery at church but she kept me on my toes the rest of the week.

Just last year, Duane and I were seriously discussing the prospect of not adding to our family ever again. There were several reasons as to why we were discussing that possibility, all of which were valid reasons, most of which I will not go into now. At the time, I was feeling very overwhelmed with the girls. Mayah had recently been diagnosed with high-functioning, mild autism and Malia was a force to be reckoned with--a very stubborn and determined little toddler. Both children demanded a lot of time and attention from both Duane and myself, so we felt like it might be best to keep our family from expanding.

Now Duane is still employed at Ford, I am 15 weeks pregnant with our third child, Mayah is attending a wonderful preschool that has a program for autistic children and Malia is our fun little two year old. We are also very happy with the life we have.

Duane and I had no idea what life had in store when we first got married seven short years ago but our Heavenly Father sure did. It wasn't by chance that we ended up in Michigan. I know that Heavenly Father has guided us down this specific path for a reason. He knew what our family would need to pass through in order to be happy.

I know that Heavenly Father is aware of me and my family. I know that he loves us. I know that he only wants the best for us. I know he will do what he can so we might return to him some day. These thoughts are what keep me from giving up when life throws another surprise our way. These thoughts also keep me from running outside to shake my fist at the sky--and yell--when life takes yet another unexpected turn. ;)

'Halo 3' Widow

On September 25, 2007 the world was apparently forever changed when Halo 3 finally hit stores. Since my husband is a "gamer" I know all about Halo 3 and its effect on the Universe. Unfortunately for Duane he was not able to get his copy of Halo 3 until today--September 29. Anyway, he got it in the mail today but was really good about not cracking it open until the girls were put to sleep.

Right now Duane is busy "bonding" with his brothers through a healthy session of killing each other. Xbox Live is a wonderful thing if it has the ability to draw families closer together, and in this case it has.

I am glad that Duane feels like "one of the guys" now but I wonder if it comes at a price. I mean yeah, there is the obvious price of the xbox 360 system, subscription to xbox live, and the price of the games but I am talking about the price our marriage pays. Okay just kidding our marriage is fine but is his xbox date worth all the Saturday nights that we don't spend together?

I have to admit that Duane works hard and he deserves to play hard in return so I really shouldn't complain. I also should mention that I get my girls night out at least once a month and Duane totally doesn't complain about it.

I suppose I am sort of jealous because I totally don't have the hand/eye coordination needed to be a successful gamer. I sort of want to join in but I totally suck and even if I didn't, I don't want to be playing with just a bunch of guys. I already suggested that my sisters-in-law and I have a "powder puff" Halo match, just for fun, and they weren't interested. I sort of felt stupid afterward.

Xbox is not all bad. I actually can play Lego Star Wars. It is a very fun and EASY game to play. I really like playing Lego Star Wars with Duane. We really get a kick out of it. I sort of wish there was a Lego version of all the games so people like me--coordinationally challenged--can actually play and not die all the time.

Ugh!!! As I type this my husband is ARGUING with some random guys that he and his brothers are playing against. It sort of reminds me of that scene in 'The Break-up' when Vince Vaughn is fighting with a little kid while playing some game over the internet. This would be much more hysterical if it wasn't my husband fighting with strangers over a round of Halo 3.

One thing I need to remember is if Duane wasn't busy killing his brothers right now, he would be in here harassing me to get off the computer so he can go to ESPN.com and check out today's scores. Once he gets on ESPN.com there is no getting him off the computer.

In the end, I am glad the Xbox 360 and Halo 3 make Duane happy. Plus, while he is playing Xbox I get to do/watch all the stuff I want to do and/or watch. So I guess it is sort of a win/win situation. : )

Oh and by the way, I just wanted to post a little tidbit for all the xbox widows out there. I thought you might enjoy it since it seems pretty accurate.

As summer officially draws to a close... *sigh*

As the summer comes to an end I can't help but feel sad that it is already over. Fall is a beautiful time of year but it only reminds me of the looming winter ahead and how I am going to freeze to death. Michigan is known for its winter temperatures as it is often described as "bone chilling".

In order to get my mind off the upcoming Fall and Winter, I've decided to reminisce about this past summer. This summer was wonderful and is filled with great memories.

Originally we didn't plan on much traveling but somehow ended up going to Nauvoo, I also went to Ohio with the girls to visit the Morrison Family and we also found ourselves in Utah--twice.

Our garden has grown beautifully and we all enjoyed spending time in it, especially the girls. Mayah was/is quite a fan of snakes/bugs and Malia was our little piglet--playing in the mud while Duane and I weeded and watered the garden.

Ariel came to visit us twice, during the month of June and again in August. Ariel did some dating, made some friends, went to Kirtland, Ohio with our stake for youth conference, did some babysitting and also made us clean out our trash-hole of an apartment helped us get our house in order.

Duane traveled to Europe on a business trip this past May/June. He was there 2 1/2 weeks total. He spent some time in Germany, Spain, Portugal, and England. Obviously Duane was usually quite busy doing business-y things but he did get the chance to stay in a castle--all the while shoving his face full of paella--during his stay in Spain, drive over 120 mph (or was that kilometers per hour? hmm...I'll have to ask him about that) on the German autobahn and also ate some very bland food during his short stay in England--ApparentlyEngland isn't fascinating and/or exciting for the business traveler. While in Portugal, Duane was able to visit some families that he helped teach/baptize during his mission. He hadn't been back to Portugal since he left 20 years ago. It was a wonderful experience for him.

While Duane was in Europe I was at home holding down the fort. The girls and I did quite well on our own for the first week and a half. We kept busy by going to the park, did some shopping, went to the garden, and we went swimming quite a bit. It was the last week that just about killed me. Single parenthood sucks and I don't ever want to do that again--EVER!!!

The Fourth of July was quite fun. Ariel was still with us during that time and she invited her friend, Anderson to our ward picnic. Duane and I went to see Transformers while they babysat the kids and that evening we all went to see the fireworks display near our apartment. The city of Westland didn't start the fireworks until 10-ish at night so the little girls were passed out by the time the fireworks were going off. Too bad they missed it because it was a great show.

One of my favorite things I did this summer was go swimming with the girls 2-3 times a week. As a result I upped my chances of getting skin cancer got a really great tan. The girls also turned into little mermaids as their swimming skills improved. While neither of them really know how to swim all that well as of yet, Mayah did learn how to tread water, jump into the pool, and hold her breath under water. Malia can sort of hold her breath, is great at blowing bubbles, and is quite good at throwing rocks/pebbles into the pool when I am not looking. The girls and I really did love going to the pool and we are really sad that the outdoor pool at our gym is closed until Memorial Day 2008.

We did quite a bit more over this past summer but I just listed my favorite memories. I plan on reliving these memories while the leaves start falling off the trees.

Needless to say, I can hardly wait for summer 2008.