Arizona Part 2

This is it!!! The day we had ALL been looking forward too! Well, I guess I should speak for myself! We were all SO EXCITED about Breaking Dawn! All the girls got together on Wednesday, the day before I flew in, and made shirts for the movie. One year we all met up at a t-shirt shop and had shirts made! That was so fun but I'm pretty sure the shop owner was ready to kick us out! Did I mention we brought all of our kids with us when we did that!? Good times! Melissa was nice enough to make a shirt for me. Thanks Melissa!

Melissa and I spent the entire day decorating and preparing food for the party. We decorated the house with quotes from the movies, tissue pompoms (which didn't come out nearly as cute as the Martha Stewart tutorial) and glittery balls, Christmas lights, and we even thought to display the books. It was so fun to be cheesy about it! And if I must say, I thought Melissa's house looked awesome! Especially once all the food and drinks were out. The morning of the movie I had an idea to make a cake for the party. I had seen one online and couldn't get it out of my head! Amazingly it all came together! So yea for last minute ideas!

We met up at the movie theater about 2 hours before the movie was to start. In years passed this was absolutely necessary! From our experience (HA!) the line would be out the door. Because we had such a big group, we wanted to make sure we saved enough seats for everyone coming later. Well, when we got to theater we realized that we would be first in line for our movie time! Getting a good seat and saving seats was no problem at all! Better safe than sorry! Besides, I think the wait in line just adds to the excitement!

Me and Jen. First in Line!

I thought the movie was great! I've heard from a few friends who didn't really like it but our whole group had nothing but good things to say about it! Sure there were some cheesy parts but overall I felt like it was very entertaining and they stayed very close to the book! I'm excited to see it again with Christopher.



After the movie, we headed back to Melissa's house to eat and gab about the movie. I don't think I got in bed until close to 2:30am!










Very fun times! I can't imagine seeing this movie with anyone but my book club! I'm so thankful to Chris for taking over at home and making it so easy for me to take this trip! I love my friends and had so much fun with them

I'm losing it.

2 weeks ago I lost a library book. One minute I was sitting on the couch feeding Evyn and reading my book and then the next minute it was gone. All of last week I turned the house upside down looking for it. When Addysen and I went to the library on Wednesday I asked them to recheck it out for me so 1. I could find it. and 2. I could finish reading it.

At the end of last week I still hadn't found it. The girls were helping me look for it. I begged Chris to look for it. I checked the car, the girls room, under the beds. So much so that every afternoon when I picked Elodie up from school she asked me if I had found my book.

On a last ditch effort I said prayer. I'll confess something for journaling purposes. I haven't felt like my prayers are being answered. There. I said it. For maybe the last year I've felt a little ignored. Childish? Yes. Wearing on me? Most definitely.
But there comes a point sometimes where it's just hard to pray for the same thing over and over and over again. And feel like you aren't being heard.

And I know all the seminary answers. Prayers are answered when you least expect it. Prayers are answered through other people. The Lord has his own timing.

And yes. We are healthy. And yes. My girls are happy and safe. And yes. We have a home. And yes. I am well aware that Christopher got a great job we were both praying for but man did that open up a new can of prayers we weren't seeking answers for. No worries. I'm not going inactive or anything.

So when I decided to say a prayer on Friday my thought process was maybe if I ask for something super small (aka: finding my book) and then when I find it my faith will be restored and I'll feel rejuvenated and at peace that Heavenly Father does in fact listen to my prayers. By small and simple things right?

So I said a prayer. Nothing came to me immediately. I didn't stand up from my prayer and go straight to where the book was hiding. But in keeping up with my end of the deal I kept looking all day friday for the book. And nothing. On Saturday I gave up looking. I felt very "woe-ist me" about it and figured it was a lost cause. At this point I was pretty sure one of the girls had thrown it away and it was long gone by now.

I didn't look at all on Sunday.

And here we are today. While Addysen and Evyn were napping I decided to give it a go again and look for the book. The last place I had put it before I lost it was on top of the microwave. I grabbed it from that spot and sat on the couch with it. So the last place I was when I lost it was on the couch. All of last week I kept going back to the microwave. Under the microwave, behind the microwave, IN the microwave. Nothing. I looked behind the fridge (which is beside the microwave), on top of the fridge. Nothing. Today I did the same thing. I'm not sure if I was just expecting it to pop out after looking in the same spot A MILLION times but I kept going back to it. But today was different. Because today I decided to open the cabinets ABOVE the microwave. And guess what I found? My book. Mixed in with the stack of recipe books I have in the cabinet.

Weird? Absolutely. Why would I do that? I don't remember doing that and it certainly didn't jog my memory once I found it in the cabinet! Like "Oh yeah, I remember now!"

2 things are for sure.

- I'm losing it. I mean, who does that? It's pretty laughable now that I did find the book.

and

-Heavenly Father answered my prayer. I did find my book afterall. And it wasn't immediate. And I had to work for it. And I got super frustrated. But I found it. And I may have smiled just a little when I looked up and saw that book!

It's small. But it means a whole lot to me. And I'm thankful for the little nudge that maybe I'm not being ignored after all.

And now I will go sit in the 30 minute carpool line waiting for Ms. Second Grader and will read my book while my 2 littles are strapped in their carseats! Bliss.


Interested in what book I'm reading?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. It's this months book club pick. Moment of silence.

The side effects of reading too much Twilight...

Your daughter becomes a vampire! (You may need to click on the picture to get a better look.)

Good Read

I just finished reading this book for March's Book Club. Holy Cow! It was AWESOME!

And I was so excited to find out there was second book in this series! Immedietely after finishing The Hunger Games last night I went to the computer to see if I could request it from the library. I was surprised to find that it wasn't available at the library so I went to Amazon.Com. Sadly, the second book in the series won't be out until September of this year! UGH! It's the Twilight Series all over again!

So if your looking for a good book to read, try The Hunger Games! It was REALLY good and I can't wait for our book discussion in March! Depending on how many finish the book, we may not be able to wait that long!

Another one bites the dust!

My sister in law just called to tell me that she finally broke down and read all 4 books in the Twilight Series. After having read the first book 3 years ago and bugging everyone I could get my hands on to do the same, she felt I needed to be the first to know that she FINALLY caved and is on Team Edward! Woo Hoo!



We can still be friends! Love you Alexis

DONE!

I finshed Breaking Dawn tonight..I know what your thinking...well, atleast what Chris said out loud...all that hoop lah and just a mere 24 hours later your DONE!!
I just couldn't put it down!!!

If you haven't finished the book, or even started the book, in no way is this post a spoiler..you just may or may not want to here my own thoughts! Just a warning!!

I loved it, I hated it, I was annoyed at parts and sad in others. I hated Bella,loved Bella, was annoyed by Jacob, loved Jacob, and loved Edward from page 1 to 754! I was excited, happy, angry, couldn't put it down, had to walk away from it for a few minutes, confused, anxious, and my stomach was in knots!!

Overall, I guess that's the make of a great book when you can feel all those emotions in one story!!

AHHH! Now I'm off to read it again!

Breaking Dawn- AHHHHHH!!!

It's finally here!!! I am SO EXCITED!! We had our girls night out tonight. Those of us who could, all met up at AppleBee's for dessert and then headed STRAIGHT to Wal-Mart to buy our books! You should have seen the 5 of us!! We were all so excited we were practically running to grab our copy!! Well, I'll speak for myself...I WAS running!!

Our girls night didn't last long..we were all anxious to get home and start reading!!! And would you know that the minute I got home, into my pajamas, and ready to start reading....Addysen woke up to be fed!! Little stinker!!

I loved our girls night! I have a great set of friends!

Sarah, Katie, Jen, Melissa, and Me at AppleBee's...

The best sight in the whole world...

I love this picture!! It's my favorite from the whole night because it caught just how EXCITED we were to get this book in our hands! No posing just the hugest, cheesiest grins ever!!

Melissa, Me, and Jen..love you girls!

Jen, this picture cracks me up!! Your suppose to "Bite Me", not the book!!

Sarah and Katie....Katie you have to start coming to our book club!

Down a sunny dirt road, deep in bear country...

Before Addysen was born Elodie started enjoying the Berenstain Books. She had gotten one for her birthday and after really loving the one, we started checking them out at the library.

Rewind 20 years (yikes again!) to my childhood. I don't know if my brothers were really into Berentain Bears or not but I loved them! Every chance we got to get a new one was so exciting for me! My mom must have collected 30 or more Berenstain Bear books through the years.

Knowing that my mom still had them, I called her up and asked her to bring a few of them with her when she came to Arizona for Addysen's birth. Well, she didn't disappoint! She brought more than a few....like 15!! Every night while my mom was here and before Elodie's bedtime, she would curl up with her and read a new Berenstain Bear book. Elodie was in heaven! When my mom left, she surprised us all and left all of the Berenstain Bear books for Elodie to keep! I thought it was so sweet of her because I know how much she loved those books and enjoyed the memories they had collected!

Since my mom left, every few weeks, Elodie gets a package in the mail with 2 new (well, new to us) Berenstain Bear books from Maw Maw's collection. Elodie gets so excited and can't wait to call Maw Maw and thank her for the new Berenstain Bear books!

It's really fun for me to read these books with Elodie. All of them I can remember reading as a child. Some even have my name written on the inside cover, written in my handwriting. Others still have the price sticker on the front cover...guess how much my mom use to pay for a Berenstain Bear book? 95 cents!! Now they are 3 dollars a piece at Wal-Mart. Crazy!!


We have started quite the collection and everyday Elodie request for me to read to her. She loves the Berenstain Bear books so much that she even calls herself Sister Bear, me MaMa Bear, Chris PaPa Bear, and Addysen Honey Bear. She also reminds me that we don't have a real Brother bear yet so he is her pretend friend for right now...which, all of Elodie's pretend friends is a post all it's own! It's so cute to hear her call Addysen Honey Bear and if you call her Sister Bear she literally beams!! We love it! I had told one of her primary teachers about "Sister Bear" and her teacher called her Sister Bear and Elodie about died! She is too funny!

We also found that The Berenstain Bear cartoon comes on PBS on Sunday mornings. Tivo records it for us and it's one of Elodie's favorite shows to watch during afternoon quiet time.

So thanks mom for the books, Elodie loves them! I know it was probably a little hard to give them up but I promise we take great care of them and hope to keep passing them on!

What's a good book without a good book club....

I love our book club. We have been meeting every month for the last 3 years (give or take a few months)...a few of us have moved away (Lara, Tina, and now Mariley),we've added a few new members here and there and it's been so fun to get together and grow lasting friendships through books. I love these girls and consider them my closest!
You'll also find me with these girls at the swimming pool, Barro's Pizza, and walking in the evenings.

Sometimes we meet at each other's houses. Sometimes we go out to eat. It doesn't matter which because there is always good food when we get together! We talk a little about the book we are reading and ALOT about life and family. All around 3 hours of pure girl time is found when we get together.


This picture was just taken last weekend when we got together to discuss the book "The Host". This was the last book club with our sweet friend Mariley (green cardigan) who is moving with her little family to Texas. We will miss you!

My summer reading list...

All this book talk has got me thinking about my own reading list for the summer...

I'm currently obsessing over the Harry Potter Series..I KNOW, I'm totally behind with the times! I know Harry Potter fans feel the same way I feel about the Twilight Series...WHAT? You've never read these books?!? For the last couple of weeks, my friends Melissa and Jen have been hounding me to read the Harry Potter books. I don't know why I never jumped on this band wagon...probably because I saw the movies before I read the books and that usually turns me off. Normally, I enjoy reading the book first. So, with a lot of coaxing and nothing pressing to read until the 4th book of the Twilight Series comes out in August...I gave in. I've been reading these Harry Potter books so fast! I think it's been a little over 3 weeks and I'm already half way through the 5th book. Their amazing and I am really enjoying them. I'm especially excited to read the 6th and 7th books as those movies haven't come out yet. Thanks Jen and Melissa...now we can truely be friends right?

Other books on my reading list for this summer include

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
The Goose Girl also by Shannon Hale
Al Copone does my shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Ella Minnow Pea a novel in letters by Mark Dunn (July's Book Club)
Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner
The Star Garden by Nancy E. Turner
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (August Book Club)
Atonement by Ian McEwen

That should keep me busy for the next couple of months!!!

Summer Reading

When I was a kid, I loved to read...and still do. I remember clear as day always participating in summer reading programs. We always did the ones from Pizza Hut with the huge button pin. When you got 5 gold stars on your button, you got a free personal sized pizza from Pizza Hut. Good times!

Fast forward...uh...20 years (yikes!)...Elodie, Addysen, and I took our weekly trip to the library today. They had a booth set up for a summer reading program for kids. There was one available for 3 and under and one available for 3yrs to 6th grade! I was so excited to see that this was available (which, I'm sure it was available last year but I must have missed it) and Elodie was super excited to get involved. There was no sign-up required, we left with a summer reading bag and a chart to keep track of Elodie's progress. After 6 days of reading 20 minutes, we can take our chart to the library and Elodie will get a prize! This continues on so she can earn up to 6 prizes through the 26th of July. She is overly excited about keeping track of her reading and wanted to read her library books as soon as we got home. She got her first sticker today!

I'm so happy to pass on my love of reading to my girls. I really hope that they enjoy it as much as I do. It's such a fun hobby for me!

Tradition...

This is the second year in a row that Melissa and I have gone to the book store to read the first chapter of the next book in the Twilight Series.

Last year, Stephenie Meyer reprinted New Moon with the first chapter of Eclipse in it. This year, she reprinted Eclipse with the first chapter of Breaking Dawn in it. Personally, I think it's a little rude to expect your fans to go BUY the book...so we don't! Especially since we already own the books! Why would I want two copies...except to get the "I love Edward", "I love Jacob" decals, right Melissa?

Anyway, it's a fun little tradition...we were all giddy in the bookstore and spent the rest of the day speculating, and getting ourselves all worked up for August 2nd.
We felt 16 again!

Quality girl time for sure!

FINISHED!

I finished The Host today...kept me guessing till the very end! I really liked it! Although the whole idea of an alien taking over a girl's body is kinda weird...then again, the idea of a girl falling in love with a vampire is pretty weird too! Overall, good. I'm not throwing myself all over the book but I would read the sequels if she made them.

Lookie what I got!!

The Host by Stephenie Meyer came out this past Tuesday! I'm still shocked it has taken me until today to go buy it!

I'm so excited to jump into this book! All the reviews say it's just as good as the Twilight series! As if that is possible right? Hopefully this will tie us all over until the 4th book Breaking Dawn comes out on August 2nd! CAN'T WAIT! I'm sure Melissa is the only one that can truely appreciate my excitment! Our book club is reading The Host for this month so I need to get crackin'! It's a little over 600 pages! Maybe Christopher having a guys night isn't such a bad thing after all! Happy Reading!

Mark your calendars!!

All you Twilight fans...the final book to the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, will be released on Saturday, August 2nd!! How exciting!

When Eclipse came out, my good friend Melissa and I went together to buy our books and then went and got pedicures afterwards....I really hope your still here Melissa because my pedicure just wouldn't be the same without you!

Mark your calendars!!!

Book Suggestion

I've been reading "Into the Wild" by John Krakauer. It's a true story about a kid who ventures out into the wilderness of Alaska to live off the land. Christopher listened to it on cd and really raved about it. It's 200 pages long and I've got about 60 pages left. Really a great read so if your interested, pick it up the next time your at the library. Or in my case, put your name on a list and wait 4 weeks to get it! The movie is PG-13 so be forewarned of a few unnecessary words here and there.

Something about the holidays always makes me want to curl up with a good book and a blanket!

Girls Night Out Recap....

{Disclaimer: Sorry the pictures are so small..I don't know why you can't click on them to make them bigger- any idea why?}


So we had a GREAT girls night out..I hate myself for never wanting to leave Chris and Elodie..but once I'm gone, I have no curfew. As mothers, we should all do it more often! I am so grateful for the friendships I have in my ward! These girls totally rock and I love them all so much! It's so great to be able to relate to someone your age, in a similar circumstance (husbands in school, small children), and who can totally understand where your coming from! I'm just blessed!

So I followed through with my challenge to take more pictures of me and my friends!

We started our girls night out at AppleBee's (where else right?). There is a AppleBee's seriously up the street from our subdivision...everyone loves it, it's cheap, and the food is pretty good! It's been a favorite of mine since High School and since my taste in food doesn't waver I was all for the suggestion of AppleBee's.

This is a picture of the four of us. Audrey was at some Law Picnic with her family so since the Book Reading was on campus, she decided to meet us there...

I always feel so awkward wanting someone to take a picture or even wanting someone else to be in a picture....some people aren't as nazi about pictures as I am so I never want to bug anyone..but for posterity purposes everyone was up for the picture night..and our waitress was a girl so she was totally up for taking the picture!

After dinner we headed up to ASU where the reading and "Prom" was taking place. We figured that the reading wouldn't happen first off so we thought we would show up around 6:30-7pm....we were wrong..apparently Stephenie did the reading within the first 15 minutes of the prom so around 6:15pm....we barely missed it. The funny thing is we stood around forever waiting for her to do the reading..she just kept signing books....finally someone announced that the prom was going to be over in like 15 minutes. That's when we got the smarts to ask someone and that's when they told us we had missed it! We didn't miss much though, apparently Stephenie only read a paragraph and the sound system wasn't that great so hardly anyone could hear her. It created this big stink on one of her fan message boards but no bother for me and Melissa seeing as we spoiled it at the beginning of last week! ;) We were bummed we stood around forever but we spent that time standing in line..once to get our book signed, and they were so anal about the whole thing...you couldn't take a picture with Stephenie and you had to have your name written on a post it so she didn't have to ask you how to spell your name..it was totally like a prison line (Step forward, slide to the right..."NO SOUP FOR YOU!") Stephenie had body guards and the only way you could take a picture of her (not with her) was a bunch of steps backs! Good thing my camera had good zoom!


Stephenie was really sweet and she did say a few sentences to me and Melissa when we went through the line.



Then we stood in another line to get our "Prom Pictures" taken with Edward and Jacob...the 2 main male characters in the book.....they were pretty hot...atleast Jacob was...Edward not so much. I'd much rather keep my imaginary Edward alive than picture that guy. The bummer was we could only have 2 people in a picture and you couldn't go twice. Me and Melissa got ours done together, Audrey and Tina went together with their 2 babies, but Jen had to do one alone..she didn't seem to mind! We thought it was so funny and even Chris got a kick out of our pictures!



And then we took a picture in front of the poster of the cover of "Eclipse"



Overall, we had a great time! Nothing like spending your Saturday night in a gym with a bunch of high school girls....;) We showed them a thing or 2 on the dance floor! We had a great time and I love hanging out with these girls! We definitely need nights like these more often!