2 Joy

Today I got a package in the mail from a wonderful lady who sells on ebay. She & I share a passion for some little dolls from our childhood. We don't know each other, but she generously passes on (for free!) any duplicates she purchases in her attempt to compile a complete set of these treasures. As you can see, over the years my collection of cast-offs has grown. I now have 16 dolls...and that's after I gave each of my sisters one for Christmas last year. (see this old post)

Maren had Cathy, the brunette

Abby had Valerie, the blond
I had Angie, the red head
(can you tell which one was MINE growing up?)

After naps today Allie spied the new dolls. I love that my girls are playing with my old toys!
PS: Maren, I completely forgot about them until the package came today. I wish we had got them out when your girls were here last weekend~!

2 This just in!

So exciting...I was just informed that the
Twilight movie
that so many of us are anticipating
will be released 3 weeks early... 2 days after my birthday
& ON my sister Maren's birthday!!!

This info is on Stephanie Meyer's website:

Movie News Flash!

So, many of you have heard that the release of the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has been moved from this Thanksgiving to next summer. First and foremost, please know that this schedule change has absolutely nothing to do with Twilight, me, or Summit Films (so enough with the imdb death wishes, okay?). This is Warner Bros. decision, and it was not motivated by anything Twilight-related.

Now for the good news! Though we're all sad to have to wait for Harry Potter, this open spot at the theater creates a cool opportunity. The good people at Summit were thrilled to let me know that now Twilight fans are going to get their movie three weeks earlier than scheduled. That's right—Twilight will be released in theaters November 21st! Let the merry-making commence!

--Stephenie

This from www.mugglenet.com:

Alan Horn issues statement regarding HBP delay

Alan Horn, President of Warner Brothers, has issued a statement in response to the large amount of disappointment from their decision to delay Half-Blood Prince until July 17th, 2009:

Many of you have written to me to express your disappointment in our moving “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. Please be assured that we share your love for Harry Potter and would certainly never do anything to hurt any of the films. Over the past 10 years, we have nurtured and protected each film, and the integrity of the books upon which they are based, to the best of our ability. The decision to move “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was not taken lightly, and was never intended to upset our Harry Potter fans. We know you have built this series into what it is, and we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support. If I may offer a silver lining: there would have been a two-year gap between “Half-Blood Prince” and the much-anticipated first part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which opens in November 2010. So although we have to wait a little longer for “Half-Blood Prince,” the wait from that film until “Deathly Hallows” will be less than 18 months. I am sorry to have disappointed you now, but if you hold on a little longer, I believe it will be worth the wait.

Anyone interested in making a weekend out of the Twilight release in November???
Horray!!!

5 Breaking Dawn thoughts

Spoilers contained here... so, don't read on IF you haven't read the book & are planning on it!

The experience: I went with sisters & their friends to wait at the Idaho Falls Barnes & Nobles (I was in Rexburg for the weekend) for the midnight release of Breaking Dawn....and it was silly-fun! (pics to come) We were definitely the minority, most of the fans there were young teen girls decked in prom garb. But we wore our homemade "Bite me Edward" tees with pride and cheered with the rest of them when the clock struck 12. When we finally had our books in hand we raced to the car to devour its contents, Maren and I stayed up till 5 am reading but had to stop for some sleep. Then picked it back up at 8am and finished by dinner. This one is LONG - like nearly 800 pages!!!

The review: The book itself I did like, but had a hard time getting through it. Disappointing, for sure. It seemed that Stephanie Meyers was writing more about action rather than interaction. I always loved the relationships in her books and how she explores them, but this time there was a lot of bizarre situations (even for vampires and werewolves). The characters sort of take on new personalities (2-dimensional at that) and I didn't like it. Some characters were missing almost all together (did Jasper have even one line?). Halfway thought the book Edward sort of becomes invisible, and Bella takes on a new personality. They are still in love, but somehow it is not the same.

The middle portion is written from Jacob's perspective, which I found extremely hard to get through. I was also very disappointed that our heroin eventually gets everything she wants. The whole point of the Twilight saga was that Bella had to choose, that she couldn't have it all and she had to make a choice between family, friends, love, etc.

From the very beginning I was distracted, thinking of all those young (as young as 10 yrs old) girls that were at the release party who were now reading the steamy honeymoon chapters. Yikes! I had heard rumors that the publishers were debating posting an age rating (15 or 16) warning of violence & mature subject matter. I AGREE that this is N-O-T a 'youth' novel. Be aware!

Breaking Dawn ties loose ends up, but in an over the top way...makeing "happily ever after" an understatement. All-in-all I did like the book, mostly because it finally put an end to the anticipation. My favorite parts were the chapters comprising Bella's transformation, the beginning wedding scene, and the closing moment. Also, I liked that she had powers, but I thought Stephanie would work Bella's weird and constant 'nightmares' into her vampness somehow. Maybe I missed something. There is so much more I could say, but won't...but I will say this: I am going to read it again in a week to see if my opinion changes. I give it 3 of 5 stars...Twilight will always outshine the others in my opinion.

Those of you who have read the book, comment and let me know what you thought of the book!

2 Too busy playing

Just wanted to let you know we are still alive and kicking...in fact we are playing about as hard as we can. Many posts are soon to come, but for now I'll just say we've spent 7 of the last 10 days at a lake. Ah, summer!

0 Pumpkin Irrigation

This years pumpkins are growing, growing like weeds. It has been great to have Nate's new tiller on his tractor this year. Weeding hasn't been such a struggle.

2 A pair of Layouts

Its been months since I've scrapbook, but I finally made it to Brandi's ward scrap night yesterday. It took me a long time to get into the groove, so I only finished 2 layouts. I did get to use my new Cricut cart (Stretch your Imagination).

2 My NEW camera came today!!!

WOW! My order didn't get placed till mid-morning Tuesday and it was delivered early-afternoon Thursday. I like that 3-day shipping! Of course I've been playing with it, trying to see what I've been missing out, so it came as no big surprise that there were 55 pictures on my memory card. And those were all taken in the past few hours. And I deleted most shots right when I took them. Crazy! So, "Buckle Up' here come some phot-o-graphs.

BACKYARD: Kylie was quite entertained with the garden sprinkler. I'm sure the cool water felt great on such a hot day.

GOT MILK? : Its now been 11 days since I took away Kylie's bottles and she still hasn't drank any milk. I took these pictures while trying to get her to drink from a milk box. I've also tried every type of sipper cup, but as soon as she tastes that its milk she screws up her face and throws the cup. Water, juice, soda...that's all okay, but milk - NO WAY! Even though she's happy, active, and seems content, I've been concerned. She's been eating like a horse to make up for the lack of milk calories and her diapers are mostly dry. Tonight I gave in and let Nate give Kylie a bottle to take to bed. Funny, but she didn't seem that excited. When I checked back she was asleep holding the bottle, still FULL of milk. Hum, maybe she doesn't like milk now?

WWW.PBSKIDS.ORG: It is amazing how fast Allie is honing her mouse-ing skills. Her favorite game at the moment is a Cliford the Big Red Dog hide-and-seek. It shows 3 toys (firetruck, rocking horse, bell, ect.), behind one Clifford is hiding. She has to click on the right one after hearing a corresponding sound. When she's right the toy flies into the toy box. I love the theme of cleaning up ;). She also like to play the games on www.strawberryshortcake.com, but they are a bit more advanced and needs my help.

SOFTBALL GAME: Ah, there nothing like relaxing on the shady grass in the summer evening. For the girls this means treats and running free. Allie picked up a few home run balls and turned them in for bubble gums.

2 Chocolate for your ears

Today I was working during the girls afternoon naps when I felt my whole body relax. I realized one of my favorite artists was on the radio playing one of my favorite songs. Anyone else Michael Buble fans?

1 Four

Over the past few years Nate has really gotten into golf. He usually goes with his brother at least one a week, as long as there isn't snow on the ground. Well, after years of threatening, I finally managed to go with him. We doubled with Layne & Julie for 9 holes at Birch Creek last evening.

How did I do you ask, well I don't know since we didn't keep score & I don't think it fair to compare my play to that of the professionals on TV, which is all I've ever seen. My drives were straight, just not very long. Putting was the reverse; too long and not straight.

Next time, yes I think there will be a next time, I will go prepared with a few diet wild cherry pepsi's in an iced cooler. Because the heat was the only thing that kept this date with my husband from perfection.

1 Water Lovers

I just got these pictures from Grandma & scanned them in.Earlier this spring we took the girls to the Sky View High School pool for Family Home Evening. Grandma JoAnne took these pictures for us from the sidelines. Uncle Paul & Aunt Maho also came with Keiko, Kai, Koji, & Mika.

Kylie loved the water, but got tired and cold after a while. Allie was a fish and swam from end to end of the pool without any help. The cousins were big into going off the diving board. Kai was even doing front flips! Allie was brave and wanted to go off of it too, but would chicken out at the last second everytime (I wonder where she gets that from? ME!), so Nate would drop her down to me. I guess she was okay with that since she kept asking to go again.

5 Foiled again by Techology...but glad of it

Last night we went to town to get a new camera. I've been shopping for several months, so it didn't take long. My requirements included:

• use the 2 GB SD card I got for Christmas
• take 2 AA bateries
• medium size (not too tiny)
• price range $150-$200
  

My family and others have been raving about Canons, so I was leaning that way. I'd pretty much settled on the Canon A590 & Best Buy had it, so I got it. With tax it came to $198.


There is a 15% restocking fee if you open the package, so before I played with my new toy, I jumped online and did some price checking. My Mom likes NewEgg and when I checked they in fact had the same camera for less. With 3-day shipping it came to $162. What's a girl to do? ORDER ANOTHER ONE!

Problem is, the transaction wouldn't go through. My loving husband Nate suggested that the credit card company had blocked the purchase, but I was skeptical. Why? I don't know because he seems to always be right.

When I checked with Citi Bank I found they had indeed tried to call us, but they still have our old, disconnected home phone number. Their system had tripped when I tried to buy the 2nd camera last night. Customer service at Citi & NewEgg were both super helpful getting the transaction cleared and resubmitted. Instead of being annoyed, I am actually reassured by the holdup. It is great to know that the credit card companies are watching our for us (okay, for themselves, too). It makes me more inclined to shop online.

I still have to return the original, unopened camera to Best Buy, but I should have my NewEgg one by the first of next week...in plenty of time for our Twin Lakes boating camp out. YEAH!

UPDATE: as of noon Tuesday, my camera was shipped. 3 buisness days now seems a lot longer than it did yesterday.

UPDATE: as of 9am Wednesday, my camera is in transit between Vegas & SLC!!!

0 Some relief

I did a bit of online research and I'm fairly sure my eye infection is viral. The good news, I don't need to go to the doctor. The bad news, I pretty much have to let it just run its course. Usually I am very skeptical of homeopathic 'cures' but last night I was willing to try about anything. Between some ibuprofen, a hot shower, and a few of these drops I was able to sleep fairly well last night. My eye still looks awful, but the pain, burning, and gritty feeling are manageable today. YEAH!

1 UGH!

My eye (singular) is killing me. It started Sunday and has just gotten worse. My first thought was pink eye, so I started myself on some leftover antibiotic eye drops. Today I don't think it is a bacterial infection because it has just gotten worse. Last night I woke up several time from the pain and had to wash the goobers out of it. My eye lid is now so swollen I can only open it half way. I HATE to spend $100 on another doctor appointment, but now I'm scared I might actually have something stuck under my eyelid that is scratching and irritating it. On the other hand, it could be yet another stupid viral infection. Oh, we've been over this same debate too many times this week. WHY? Nate says it's Murphy's law: when we had good insurance we hardly ever used it, but now that we have a crappy individual plan the viruses are descending on our home.

3 going downhill fast

Do not adjust your monitor, the photo above really does look that crazy.

So, I know I've been complaining about my camera for months, but just when I'm ready to pay for a new one, it starts working. Well, its becoming less and less dependable. Most days it is hit and miss - working for a few min at least - but I tried for a half hour to get a decent shot of the girls today; no luck. I think the time has really come to bit the bullet and get a new camera.

3 Growing Pains

Kylie isn't feeling her best lately. Not only is the poor girl teething, but I decided no more bottles as of July 1. Kylie was been drinking from sipper cups for months, but the stinker will NOT drink milk out of anything but a bottle. We've tried cups, straws, and a million different sipper cuts with all kinds of soft & hard nozzles. Nothing doing!

0 Kung Fu Panda

Today Nate & I took Allie to her first movie: a date. We saw 'Kung Fu Panda' and it was funny. Allie did well, although she wasn't as tunned into this show as she is to her favorites: Strawberry Shortcake, Curious George, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. ect. We will definitely take her to more movies in the future.

1 Happy Fourth of July

We choose to celebrate a day early, to avoid the crowds. Thursday morning we pulled out bright and early to drop Kylie off at Grandma JoAnne's house on the way to Newton reservoir. Allie choose to stay behind too when she saw cousin Mika was there, so it was just Nate & I on the boat for a few hours. (the rest of our family is still at Lake Powell)

The lake was PERFECT!!! The water in our favorite puddle might not qualify as 'clean', but it sure warm and smooth. In fact, the water was 78 degrees (same as Lake Powell). There were only a couple fishing boats along the edges all morning. GLASS! No, the water was a mirror! We each took a long wakeboard run, driving for each other, and then just hung out on the boat, waiting for some buddies to show up. When they came, everyone took another run. I love my girls, but it was so relaxing being with Nate. Refreshing for sure. By 2pm we were all worn out and pulled out of the lake just as the holiday boaters were pouring in. I brought my camera, but I was so relaxed I completely forgot to get it out of the bag. Oh, well. Next time I'll have to get some pictures.

On the Fourth we took it easy, sleeping in and puttering around the house. We did get the blazer and truck clean. Midday we meandered into town for ice cream, but not before I talked Nate into dropping me off at Boarders to read a certain chapter while he took the girls next door to PetSmart. {The first chapter of 'Breaking Dawn' was just released in the special edition of 'Eclipse'}

I was amazed as Kylie downed her entire not-so-'small' ice cream, cone and all!

In the evening Grandma JoAnne & Grandpa Eldon brought Mika over to play in the pool. Brett & Brit joined us for BBQ pulled pork dinner, complete with their dog, Kasa, and a puppy they were dogsitting. Uncle Brooke even made it, too.

4th of July activities we did NOT do this year:

• parades
• fireworks
• 'Cruise-in' car show
  

0 Fresh Fruit Fun

One night this week we had cantaloupe & watermelon for dinner, served on a backyard blanket. Now if that isn't summer, I don't know what is.




Kylie is really getting the walking thing down. Every time I see her Frankenstein steps I am amazed. Last week at this time she was still crawling. Now she is an old pro.


It is such a relief that Allie is feeling better. She was sick for so long!

3 a SAD day

This past week Allie cycled between being a hot limp noodle and a medication induced energy ball. Every time her temperature came down she wanted to ride her bike and play with friends. I repeatedly explained that even if she was feeling better for a minute, she was still sick. Sure enough, as the medication wore off, her energy would melt away.

Then, in the middle of the week I discovered Allie's bike across the street, on the sidewalk, SMASHED! I know I put the bike in the garage the night before when Allie wanted to ride it and we hadn't been outside all day. How sad! THANK GOODNESS there wasn't a kid on it when it got hit. Allie's first reaction was that daddy could fix it, but the back wheel is beyond repair. We are greatfull that Hanne offered to let Allie use Lexi's old bike until we get Allie a replacement.

note: yesterday I found Allie had not only put her loner bike away in our garage, but another one too. Sorry Addy.

2 Adventures in Pressure Cooking

Earlier in the week I attempted cooking a lemon zest cheese cake in my pressure cooker. The recipe was easy enough and it only took 8 minutes to cook. I topped it with sliced strawberries and it tasted great, even it it was a bit on the soft side. I definitely want to try it again.

Yesterday I made BBQ pulled pork in it. A winner for sure! I just put 1 sliced onion and a cup of water in with the roast and set it for an hour. Next time I think I'll try cutting the meat in pieces first to make it easier to pull apart with forks. I stirred a bottle of Famous Dave's sauce and put it on buns. YUM! What a great alternative to burgers, especially since we don't have a BBQ grill.

2 Popsicles

Our summer might have taken its time getting here, but the heat is on now! Everyday has been in the mid to high ninety's. We've been spending our afternoons, after naps, sitting in the shady backyard, enjoying cold Popsicles. We went threw an entire bag this week.

We each have out own way of eating them:

• Mom: small bites
  
• Allie: lick, lick, lick
  
• Kylie: suck like a bottle
  

0 5 days and nights

Allie's fever just didn't give up easy. Every dose of Ibuprofen and Tylenol seemed to bring it down, but it was 5 days before it went away for good. I haven't posted much because we haven't done much. I am happy to report that other than a runny nose, our girl #1 is on the mend.