Forget Team Edward {and} Team Jacob!

OK - So I am entirely disappointed and therefore boycotting any team that is lead by bad-acting, less than attractive vampires or wolves. Honestly and truly the ONLY attractive actor in the movie is the guy who plays Tyler . . . and THIS is the only photo I could find with him - and I can't find his name on the cast list . . . whatever!

Last night at the 12:01 viewing of "Twilight" I had high hopes and even little giddy butterflies while waiting to be entertained and a little enchanted - NOPE! I felt like I was watching a Jr. High flick, you know the ones where they show horrible home-made movies with terrible line delivery and timing, the ones that promote self-esteem or proper hygiene. I kept looking at my friend Amber and had to stop halfway through because every time I looked at here, we'd start busting up and find it hard to stop. 

It's just so sad to me that they had the opportunity to make this a REALLY good film. What happened? You don't need the budget to make the lines decent and the delivery believeable. So - first I'm annoyed and disgusted with the ending to the saga in book 4 and now I find the movie so laughable it does NOT live up to it's promotions. 

I think I'm going to stop reading. And maybe going to movies, too. 

Guest Blogger

Hi my name is Harrison,you might already know that if you came to my house. Anyway, it's exiting to be writing on my Mom's blog for the very first time! First I would like to thank her for telling everyone about my Birthday,it was a little letdown because it only lasted an hour and a half,but I'll get over it.My Mom and Dad just got back from Hawii. I got 4 presents. Shark teeth,a turttle key chain,a shirt and 15 peces of REAL coral! What else?...oh I like to help my Mom at the skrapbook store. Well thats all,bye!

What's The Craziest Thing You've Ever Done?

Me . . . and I have to include my husband . . . buying a scrapbook store!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am! How nervous, how scared, how thrilled, how energized, how worried, how anxious, how happy I am. 

It's been over 3 months since I first entertained the thought of buying this store - and now that it's happened, I can hardly believe it, but I also can't wait to jump into implementing all the ideas that have been swirling around in my head for all this time.

So . . . if you're here in Anchorage . . . just wait . . . big things are coming!!! 

7 Quirky things no one knows about me . . .

Tagged by my cute sister Taisley . . . 

1. When I load the dishwasher, I'm particular and consistent where I put the utensils . . . first & second compartment are for sippy lids, then kids' utensils handle-side up, then all spoons (lg and sm) handle side down, then all forks (lg and sm)  handle side down, then knives handle side down, then other serving and cooking utensils in the last two. Makes it so much easier when emptying the dishwasher.

2. I cannot leave the volume number in the car on an odd number. Doesn't matter if 12 is too loud and 10 is too soft . . . I just cannot go for the odd number. Unless it's 15 - then it's OK - seems like a solid odd number to me.

3. (Kinda similar to Taisley's, but a little different) - if there is a silky type fabric around a blanket or even part of the blanket, I rub them together. Dunno - just like the feel of the fabric sliding yet having a bit of friction. I think it was more prominent when I was a kid - I don't have a blankie with a silky border anymore. 

4. I never dip my cookies in milk. I think it's disgusting. All that soggy cookie (what a waste!) and that lumpy milk (gross!!!!). But I love to have a glass of milk that I drink while eating a cookie. But I never have the two in my mouth at the same time.

5. I keep my kids' closets more organized than my own. Church pants then sweaters then shirts then vests. Long sleeve polos, long sleeve tee's, short sleeve button downs, short sleeve polos, short sleeve tee's. My clothing isn't nearly so organized.

6. It may not seem quirky to all of you in the lower 48, but I tend to keep my shoes on all day long. Custom here is that you take your shoes off at the door. I don't like to walk around without something on my feet. In summer it's my flip flops, in winter it's socks and shoes. I hate taking them off at other people's homes (but I do - don't want to go against custom!)

7. My husband thinks it's ridiculous - I wear CHURCH SHOES to church. Yes, slippery, wobbly heals. I just can't go all practical to church. It's not often that I get to dress up and I want to feel feminine at church. So regardless of rain, snow or ice, I still wear my heals. 

I TAG: Ronalyn, Dulce, Teri C., and Rachel R.

I'm allergic to paradise!

Aloooooooooooooooooooha!

Ahhhhh - the weather was beautiful - the pineapple was amazing - the relaxation was needed - the company was fabulous - the beach was beautiful - and my allergies flared up so bad I couldn't breathe! It took a day and a half for me to be full-on miserable, but despite the itchy throat, coughing and sinus pressure, I pushed through and enjoyed it as much as possible!

*We got to Oahu on Saturday evening and enjoyed what we call the Hawaiian Denny's - Zippy's to be exact. It was great food - and we were the ONLY white people there.
*Sunday we found a married student ward (at BYU-HI) and attended their Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meeting. It'd be hard for me to get used to the interactive testimonies - everyone that stood gave a greeting and the audience responded - ALOHA! It was a great meeting with a lot of diversity - and I was able to really enjoy it as I watched everyone else deal with their children and know that my 4 kids were at church with a babysitter. Ah the simple things!
After church we took a leisure drive around the island. It's beautiful - absolutely beautiful!
*Monday we went to a water park - LOTS of fun - LOTS of re-application of sunscreen - and on the way back to the condo we visited the Dole plantation. Did you know you can grow your own pineapple??? Pretty cool to learn that in just 20 months (if you keep it warm) you could have your very own pineapple! Can you believe it takes that long???
*Tuesday we spent the entire day at the Polynesian Cultural Center - we decided this was our big splurge and we got the biggest package deal which meant we had our own tour guide with us the entire day. It was amazing to be there. I went to Hawaii when I was 6 and throughout the day I realized that most of my scattered memories of Hawaii were made there at the PCC. Kinda wild!
*Wednesday we walked the entire stadium swap meet & found some fun souvenirs for ourselves and our children. Then we went to the beach. That evening we attended a session at the temple.
*Thursday I got my first ever round of golf in - I'm pathetic and probably won't be getting a season pass, but it was fun despite the extreme heat. We went to the beach again and had dinner overlooking the ocean at Turtle Bay Resort.
*Friday we checked out and drove to Honolulu. We went to Pearl Harbor - what a great experience. That evening we walked the street shops at Waikiki and ate at the Cheesecake factory (highly recommend it!). Then got on a late night plane and {tried} to sleep all night home. We arrived an hour early due to a medical emergency and got home around 5 a.m.

So - we're back with lots of fabulous memories and desires to return. I'm still dealing with the effects of allergies and wonder if there's a way to prevent that next time - cuz it's just not fair if I'm allergic to paradise!

Happy {late} Halloween!

It was a very chilly Halloween this year. Fortunately we all survived.

Harrison went as Calvin with his side-kick Hobbes. I thought for sure he'd be Indiana Jones what with his new fedora and all . . . but there's quite a bit of Calvin in this kid so it wasn't much of a stretch! So I started googling around to find a Hobbes plush buddy for him, but found out that the creator and artist of the comic strip won't do any merchandising. But I stumbled upon some photos of a Hobbes that a girl had made for her husband - and with only a few photos as a guide, I made Harrison's favorite mischievous partner in crime. It only took me a couple of days - but the stress was acute! I honestly don't know how it came together. I just had the pictures spread out and started cutting different colors of fleece hoping that I could find some way to assemble them in a picaso-esque version of Hobbes. With each step I just kept telling myself, "there's no way that I can keep this up - it's starting to look like it's supposed to and I'm just sure it's going to fall apart any minute!" But fortunately for me and the little Calvin-wanna-be, it came together better than I'd hoped. I woke Harrison up past midnight to give it to him since I couldn't wait to see his reaction. Funny thing is that in the morning he didn't have Hobbes with him so I asked if he was just going to leave him on his bed for the day - he had NO idea what I was talking about - he didn't remember me waking him up at all, so I got the joy of his reaction twice. Heaven knows I probably needed it - what we do for our kids!!!

So Emery went as - you guessed it - Hannah Montana. This is the second year in a row that she's had a long blonde wig - and the second year in a row we have decided she'll never have a long blonde wig for a costume again! Aside from the fact that they are not at all reminiscent of real hair and have a mind of their own . . . she just doesn't look quite right as a blonde! Next year we'll have to think up something not quite so blonde - and not quite so drafty in the Alaska weather!

Jackson helped me choose a cute Monkey online from Old Navy.com and adored it once it got here . . . dressing up half a dozen times - then announced to me he'd repeat the lion he dressed up as last year. THEN when I pulled out the trick or treat bags and other costumes, he wanted to be the dinosaur. I was going to save it for next year since it's a bit big - but with his protesting and my justification for thicker layers, the dino won out!

Aidan was the cutest little furry monster . . . all photos of him are blurry . . . you can imagine a cute little furry monster does NOT want to stay still in terrible lighting for a crisp, clear photo - so just imagine a Sesame Street-like green furry thing with ears and three eyes on the top of his head. He was adorable.

We did the trunk-or-treat at church then Harrison went out with his friend Sam and I took Emery and Jackson out while Dad held down the fort for one group of teens that graced us with their candy requests. I don't blame all the kids and parents - we did the same thing - we went to Kempton HIlls - a neighborhood a few blocks away - the homes are close together and the gamble for getting something larger than bite size usually pays off, if you know what I mean . . . people come from all over Anchorage to trick-or-treat in that neighborhood - big candy bars, cans of soda, among other things - they should just get sponsors and be the city's designated trick-or-treat area!

Surprisingly enough - there was still A LOT of candy in their bags after we spent a week in Hawaii - so kudos to our babysitter for not giving in!

I was going to dress up as Sarah Palin - but I didn't want to get cornered into giving an interview that would be picked apart, edited and misrepresented. Maybe next year!

Happy {late} Birthday Harrison!

So our Harrison is now {9} ! ! !
I, for one can hardly believe it! He had a really fun "Indiana Jones" theme birthday party. Harrison planned it for weeks. He had sketches of obstacle courses he wanted to create and with some reality and help from Dad, the big obstacle they pulled off was a sliding wall constructed of cardboard and duct tape. It was manually closed by Dad, but it was a lot of fun for the kids to try and slide under it without getting scathed. At the very end of the party they had to pick up their gift bag and replace it (like the idol Indy had to switch) and slide under the wall before it closed down on them. We found some printable invitations online. There was a "whipping" contest to see who could whip down the most plastic cups with Harrison's home-made whip. They had a treasure hunt to find little Lego Indiana Jones guys hiding around the living room - and these became the decorations for his home-made cake.

It was a lot of fun and I think since he was in on all the planning and decisions, he'll remember it for a long time! Happy birthday my little adventure man!

Updates:

Dan and I are home from Hawaii {sigh!} and trying to get back in the swing of things - for the next couple days I'll post updates of what has happened the past few weeks . . . there's a lot to cram into one post so I'll spread it out for your reading enjoyment!

Things are going well and we're glad {mostly} to be home . . . we missed the kids terribly - it was our first vacation without children and although we had a fabulous time . . . we were happy to come home and see them.

So from the low 90's and high 80's to low-high 20's . . . we're adjusting back to reality! More on that later . . . and halloween, and birthday etc etc etc!