I've been "SUCKED" in

Yes, I have been sucked into the Twilight Saga by my best friend, Annaliese. About a month ago I was as oblivious as I could be about the whole thing. Of course I knew it existed because I am a human living on this earth, but I purposefully did not read the books or see the movies. Actually the two main stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (do they have one of those combined names like Brangelina or Bennifer?) REALLY REALLY annoy me. But Annaliese asked me if I wanted to go see the midnight showing of Eclipse with her and some other friends. After probably scoffing at first, I agreed, mainly as a way to spend time with her, especially since she will be moving to CA soon. :(

So I thought I should as least attempt to get caught up with what has gone on in the first two books/movies. She gave me all 4 books, which I didn't get around to starting for a little while, but I do have to admit that once I started reading Twilight, I got "sucked" in immediately. I actually even liked Bella and Edward, which I totally didn't expect to. My only problem was that I constantly pictured Kristen and Robert in my head, which drove me crazy. I didn't want that preconceived image of the characters--I guess a downfall of reading books after they've been made into a movie even if you haven't actually seen the movie, especially if you don't like the actors that played the characters. I watched the first movie with Annaliese two Mondays ago and it definitely was kinda hokey, but what I did like about it was the local scenery since much of it was shot in this area. I recognized the famous view of the Columbia River Gorge just east of where I've lived most of my life and they even held a prom at the Columbia Gorge hotel. It took me a lot longer to get into the 2nd book. Then I didn't have a lot of time to read over the past week, so I actually hadn't quite finished the book when we watched "New Moon" last Monday. This movie did get a little better and starting setting up the battle between Team Edward and Team Sharkboy, err, uh, I mean Jacob. I really wasn't sure where my allegiance was. Unfortunately I wasn't really able to read hardly any of Eclipse before going into the movie last night, but I actually think that ended up being better. Had I read the whole book, with it all so fresh in my mind, I would've been so super-critical of every aspect of the movie rather than just be able to sit and enjoy the movie. I will definitely finish the books and go on to the final book.

As for the Eclipse movie, it was a fun experience. I have never in my life gone to a midnight opening of any movie. When Annaliese originally asked me, she said it was on June 30th, which I automatically took as Wednesday night. I didn't find out until Monday afternoon when talking with Annaliese, that it actually was Tuesday night at midnight--techically June 30th. DOH! I was actually supposed to teach aerobics at 5:35 am Wed. morning but that wasn't going to happen when I wouldn't be out of the movie until after 2:00 am. Thankfully I was able to get a sub at the last minute. Annaliese's daughter and her friend got there at 2:00 in the afternoon to get in line and they were really close to the front. I wasn't able to get there until around 10:00 pm but just joined them in line. We did get good seats and then just had to wait an hour and a half for the movie.

Here's a photo of Annaliese and I waiting for the movie with her daughter, Shelly, behind her and Shelly's friend, Maria behind me. Maria, by the way did enough research prior to the movie to know the outfits that Bella would wear in the movie and actually purchased and wore the sweater that Bella wore in the final scene of the movie. Now, that's some dedication, or crazy obsession. She did the same thing for "New Moon."

I definitely feel like I was one of the oldest people in the crowd filled with crazy teenage girls. Despite all the raging hormones in the theater, I did enjoy the movie. It was by far the best of the three, and I will actually be looking forward to the next one. Agghhhh! I've turned to the dark side. As far as whether I am on Team Edward or Team Jacob (and yes, I know who wins in the end), I would have to say neither.

I am on Team

When I first saw Jasper (played by Jackson Rathbone) in the first movie, I just thought he was really weird--by far the strangest looking of all the Cullen clan and really not attractive. But in Eclipse they showed a scene of his origin as a vampire (I loved those scenes by the way) and I fell in love with that southern boy.

All in all, it was very fun, and I'm very glad Annaliese asked me to join in. Now, if I could just come up with some idea for a story that I could drag out into 4 books and then have them made into movies. Hmmm

Okay, now I do want to go back and post some photos that I had previously promised. Last I posted, Owen hadn't done his end of preschool program, and we weren't sure if he would. Well, he wasn't thrilled about it at first, but with a little bribery, he did great. :)

Then at the beginning of June, Hannah had her hip hop dance recital. It was a fabulous show and Hannah's class did great. It was wonderful because Grandma Sharon and 4 of her sisters were even able to be there to see it since they were at the end of their trip around Oregon. They had just driven from the Oregon Coast that morning to spend the last two days in Portland. Grandma Judi and Grandpa Mike and Grandma Carol were also there, so Hannah had lots of fans and they all thought she did fabulous. She and her friend Maya, had a great time.

So the kids have been out of school for two weeks now and we have finally been getting some actual summer weather after weeks on end of rain and cold. We haven't done anything too exciting but have just enjoyed not really having anywhere we've had to go. I can't believe that it is 11:59 PM on June 30th and that half of 2010 is over. Before I know it, we will be heading back into school and into the fall, but hopefully we can have a couple good months of summer to come.


TTFN--Ta Ta For Now!!

Programs, Track Meets & Recitals. Oh My!

This is the time of year when the kids have school programs, dance recitals and other events before school lets out for summer. Two weeks ago started the beginning of a very busy month with Hannah and Justin both having school programs, Hannah having a track meet today, Owen having a program Wednesday, and Hannah's hip hop recital in two weeks.

Hannah had her 3rd grade program just over a week ago and they taught us all about the science of sound. For the 2nd year, Hannah had a speaking part and a part in a dance done by a group of girls. She finished the dance with her trademark wide splits.

Last week, despite coming down with strep throat at the beginning of the week, Justin made it to his 1st grade program. They didn't have a particular theme but sang some great songs. This is a picture of him with one of his best friends, Trevor.



And here is a photo of them with their younger brothers, Owen and Trenton, who are also in class together in preschool.



Today, we went to one of our first school sports events. The 3rd-5th graders can choose to do track, which Hannah did this year. They had 4 practices and then there was a meet at the large local high school stadium with Riverview and 3 other elementary schools. Despite being very excited about it, Hannah got very anxious about it this weekend and said she didn't want to do it. I wasn't sure how it would end up, but here she is sitting with all her friends, laughing and having fun. She said the bus ride over was the best part.


Her first event, was the 100m dash. When she passed us she was in 4th or 5th, but she crossed the finish line in 3rd and earned a 3rd place ribbon. So proud of her. Her next event was the softball throw, which she didn't earn a ribbon in but wasn't last in either.


Here she is in her 3rd and final event, the standing long jump. Again, she didn't place in this, but overall, she did fantastic, and we are such proud parents.

Here she is when it's over with her 3rd place ribbon. You go girl!

Next, up is Owen's year end preschool program. We are told that he is participating much more in music and doing better in that, but we will see if he actually goes up there to perform. Hopefully there will be more pictures to share in a few days.

Other than all the year-end school stuff, another typical thing for this time of year is all the tv shows wrapping up their seasons. For the most part, this usually just brings a bit of frustration when the show ends in some cliffhanger that we have to wait until the fall to see the outcome for. But last night, brought about the entire series finale of a show that I have devoted 6 years to. While that definitely wasn't even near the longest run of a show, it was long enough to become highly attached to and invested in these characters and to not want them to leave just yet. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that this show is:

Overall, I was very happy with the finale. It left many unanswered questions, but it also tied up most of the loose ends with the characters, and I was happy with how they ended up. I'm not sure what is going to come along to replace this show, but I am somewhat in mourning over it being over. On the plus side, a hour each week is now freed up.

Happy Birthday Brookie Sue!!!!

This is a bit late since it is after 11:00 PM Indiana time, but I wanted to send a quick birthday wish to cousin Brooke who turned 2 today.

Happy Birthday Brooke!!!

Hope you had a super fun day. Wish we could've been there to celebrate with you.

Mommy Rhapsody

Well tailing on my Mother's Day message, here is a video that shows exactly what it's like to be a mom. If you are one, you will totally relate to this. If not, then maybe you'll have a little better understanding. ;)

Mommy Rhapsody from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Just want to say Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there that work so hard each and every day. Hope you take a little bit of time for yourself today.

Blog Catch-up

Well with my normal crazy homelife and then adding to that a new business, blogging has slipped even further down the list if that's possible. I know I promised photos of our Spring Break beach trip and wanted to post Easter pics.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our Spring Break trip to Cannon Beach was quite stormy. The first day we took a little walk along the beach in the rain and WIND!!!! That didn't deter the kids at all. We were in a nice little cabin very close to the beach and had a relaxing evening on Sunday night and then woke up Monday morning to NO power. Not sure whether it was just us or what was going on, we walked downtown to try to go to the Pig N' Pancake where the kids had been talking about going for days. All we saw was a sign on the door saying CLOSED-NO POWER. Obviously the power outage was more widespread. So we drove to the nearby town of Seaside to see what was going on there. We found the Pig N' Pancake there and it had power. We got our breakfast, but the power did go off and on the whole time we were in Seaside. We did head back to Cannon Beach to see if power was back and it wasn't. Thankfully, it wasn't pouring rain the whole time, and we could spend time out on the beach. We managed to get dinner at a pizza place that had a generator. Finally, at 5:30 pm, the power returned. I was getting worried that we were going to go into the evening with no light, and even worse, no movie. Agghhh!!! It was a fun trip. Here is a slideshow of some photos.

And, finally, even with all the storminess, here is a photo that sums up what the coast, and more specifically Cannon Beach, means to me.

PEACE and SERENITY

Okay, I still need to get to Easter, but it's past 11:00, and I teach cycling at 5:30 am, so I need to go to bed. :)

TTFN - Ta Ta For Now

He Is Risen!!!

He Is Risen Indeed!!!!

Hope you all have a blessed Easter holiday with your family and friends. Thank you Lord for sacrificing yourself for all of us sinners.