My sister's having a GIRL!

Okay, I've been waiting for Amy to announce this to everyone, so that I could finally share and tell everyone! =)

My sister Amy is having a little girl, #3! Her baby girl will be due in April.

Hooray! Congrats Amelia. Love ya! (even if I was one of the last people to find out you were pregnant--hahaha, fun story for another time)

update on the movie

Okay, I saw Twilight with Amy this afternoon and I enjoyed it A LOT more the 2nd time around. =] I would even see it again. If you haven't see it, or have doubts, go to a matinee for cheaper tickets. =] Did you know they got the green light to start filming the next book, New Moon? Here's a short article from eonline that a friend forwarded to me about opening night.

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Twilight's Monster $35 Mil Debut

Today 10:06 AM PST by Joal Ryan

Bigger than the latest Indiana Jones. Bigger than the biggest James Bond. That's how big Twilight was yesterday. The $37 million vampire flick, expected to have a killer opening day, had a monster opening day, grossing an estimated $35 million, Exhibitor Relations reported. One-fifth of that gross, or $7 million, came from Friday midnight screenings.

The box-office tracking firm said a $75 million Friday-Sunday gross was now a possibility. Going into Friday, $60 million was considered the movie's best-case scenario.

When the counting's done, Twilight's Friday take may rank as the 14th or 15th biggest opener of all time, having surpassed the debuts of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($25 million) and Quantum of Solace ($27 million), to name two recent blockbusters.

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I'm still waiting to hear about what you thought of the movie ;)

Midnight Movie

Honestly, I'm not sure where to start. I'm laying on the floor of my 1 yr old daughters bedroom with my laptop waiting for her to go back to sleep. She is wide awake, singing, while I'm trying to figure how best to put my thoughts onto paper (or in this case type into a post). Even right now I start writing something and then I just end up deleting what I just wrote. Let me start with this. I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't love the movie. I've been looking forward to the movie for awhile, mostly to see how they would interpret the book on film. My expectation were never high, but that was mostly due to who they cast. Overall, I think they did a good job getting the heart of the book on film and I think it could have been better. I'm still not a big fan of who they cast as Bella or Edward, but that's my own opinion. I thought Kristen Stewart stuttered too much to make it believable, and Pattinson pushed it too much that I had to laugh a few times with some of his expressions. seriously...I would have been rolling on the floor laughing if it wasn't covered in popcorn. But the fans love Twilight, so they will probably love the movie too. I'll be very interested to see what everyone else thought of the movie once they see it.

My favorite actors in the movie? Now don't laugh, but I thought the guy that played Mike Newton did a great job at portraying his character, and I also thought that the actors for Charlie, Jacob, and Rosalie were more believable than the rest. They just seemed more comfortable with their roles.

My best advice? If you've read the book, don't try to compare it with movie, you'll take all the fun out of it and may leave disappointed. Just sit back and enjoy the movie. They did a good job staying as close as they could to the book. I already have a 2nd ticket to see Twilight on Saturday with my sister, and I'm looking forward to watching the movie again. 3/5 stars.

Now the theatre itself was a mad house. Every screen was sold out and started at the same time. Out in the halls before the movie started (and after) it was packed like sardines of women (and men) in their twilight shirts, and some even had pj's on. =] You wouldn't believe the lines to get popcorn and snacks. Anyway, go see the movie and make your own opinion on Twilight.

p.s. If you've seen the movie, did you catch Stephenie Meyer, the author, in her short appearance? =]

Lunch and red hair

Okay....so I brought my camera today when my sister and I met up with our cousin Anna for lunch. So now I have some pictures of my red hair. =) Before we get to pictures, lunch was great! If you have kids, then you know how frustrating it can be to take kids with you out to eat with friends. It's no fun for you, or for your friend that you are trying to visit with when your kids get restless. Anyway, so we met at my moms and made a yummy taco soup for lunch. This was definitely a better option. The kids were able to run free and play while we talked. Thanks for meeting us for lunch Anna! love you. we need to do that more often. Ok, here are the pictures!

Pomegranate

I was at a store the other day with my girls and I saw they had Pomegranates $1 each! My girls have never seen one opened before, so I grabbed one, and that afternoon we opened the pomegranate. Have you ever done this before? it's a lot of fun and the little arils are tasty. Here are a few pictures of the "process" in taking apart a Pomegranate. My daughter loved it.

Today...well today's been interesting. I wanted a change in my hair color, so I got one of those do-it-yourself boxes at the store. I've only ever done this twice before in the last 10 years. When I was a little girl I was as blonde as you could get, but by the time I reached college my hair went to a light brown. I've dyed it strawberry blonde, then a dark brown, and today I tried an auburn red. =) Here are the before and after shots. I'm still undecided if I really like it or not, but it's just fun and temporary.

Looking out my window it's snowing. Snow really is beautiful, I just don't like driving in it. =) Now for the rest of the day (or days), I'll be watching Lord of the Rings, special extended versions. I just haven't seen them in so long, and I love the movies. With 2 high strung girls I'm not sure how far I'm going to get, but it'll mostly be background noise.

Today is an important day. Have you voted yet?!

Vote!

My sister Lisa has these video's on her blog and I wanted to share them too. I chose early voting and have already sent in my ballot. Don't Forget To Vote!!! Here's a song while you wait in line. =)

Trick or Treat

Here's a few pictures from our Halloween night. My girls had a lot of fun! and thought that free candy was the best thing ever. =) I even dressed up a bit to pass out candy. I found a fun wig at the store, put on my husbands hawaiian shirt and flip flops. Not sure who I was pretending to be, but I wanted to wear something last night. We had a lot of trick or treaters, and the kids had some really fun costumes. Most were super heroes, princesses, fairies, HSM, witches, and anything you can think of. Even some of the parents taking their kids around dressed up, which I thought was GREAT! Not many, but some. =) My biggest problem right now is to remind myself...do not eat your kids candy. yummm.

Here's the pictures of my daughter in her pirate outfit and me in my wig. =) Sorry if some of the pics are a little dark.

and my little tulip fairy with my husband.

The group ready to go trick or treating

and the first house to get some candy!!! trick or treat!

Pumpkins and class

I love the month of October. I just wish the weather was more like October. =) About a week ago we went to a local pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkins. The girls had so much fun! This place had a lot of "scenes" set up for those that were looking for family pictures. I tried...but my girls just did not want to be in front of a camera. I have one that turned out cute, but they were looking in the wrong direction. =)

So last night we finally carved our pumpkins! I cut them open, scooped them out, and got them ready for my daughter to help me this year. She was in charge of poking the holes on 2 pumpkins and she did a GREAT job. Then I got to work on carving 3 pumpkins (I saved one for my husband to carve when he got home from work. hehe) They turned out great. My daughter is loving all the Halloween things to do and has asked me everyday when it is going to be Halloween so she can go trick or treating with her dad. =)

I remembered to take my daughter to school!! How could I forget? It was her Halloween party today. I did forget the candy, but we left a little early for class and stopped and got some on the way. hehehe. My daughter is the pirate, and she HAD to have the eye patch. Cute huh. That's her teacher Ms. Amy and some of her friends.

school, time, tickets, and party!

I really do try to post at least once a week, but that's not always possible. You know how busy life can get and you just forget. For example!!!!! Thursday I FORGOT to take my daughter to school. I do not know what I was thinking. Maybe it was lack of sleep. I haven't gone to bed before midnight all week. Anyway, it was kinda funny. My sister Amy called after taking her son Braden to school and was like, "um..Em, why isn't your daughter in school?" Then it hit me! crap..I can't believe I forgot. I ended up keeping her home anyway since she is still getting over a cold, but I'm still dumbfounded (and laughing) that I forgot. =] I know it happens...right? lol.

Did I mention that I had 2 nights off this week?! loved it. Nights off for me are when I leave the kids with my husband and I take off.....kid free. Anyone with kids should have these nights every now and then. They should be required for sanity. These nights are my adult time, since I'm in kid world 24/7. I can not remember the last time I had time just for me. Nights off will happen more often. =) The only other "me" time is when I'm either playing my piano or reading a good book. Both are great ways for me to wind down after a full day of 2 little girls emotional energy. My husband says I go into my own little bubble and tune everything else out. =) isn't that the definition of me time!?

I know you're probably sick of hearing about Twilight, but the midnight tickets went on sale Friday! I have seriously been checking everyday waiting cause I knew they would go fast. The one day I don't check and they go on sale..go figure. The only reason I knew was I heard it on KSL radio driving home from the grocery store Friday morning. They were talking about the Megaplex theatres and how they have 50 screens ready across the Wasatch front and most were almost sold out. Then they were talking about how they were going to add another 20 screens to meet demand. How fun is that! The first thing I did when I got home was check the theatre closest to me and buy 1 solitary ticket. So easy to get one good seat in a theatre. =] Then my neighbor told me she wanted to go too...oops, already got a ticket. BUT she did find a seat behind me in the same screen, which I think is pretty lucky. Anyway, to make a long story short, I'm going to the midnight showing of Twilight, and I already have my ticket in hand! (did I mention I love megaplex theatres for reserved seating?)

Today was a lot of fun. Every year my mom has a little Halloween party for our kids. They decorate cookies, we cut out pumpkins, dress up, have a little dinner and then go home. Our kids LOVE going to Nana's house. My sister Amy took these cute pictures my kids. My girls...so cute!! My little one is a tulip fairy, and oldest wanted to be a pirate. =] I'll have halloween pictures next weekend, but we dress up so my mom can see them in their costumes. The other picture is to show that my baby girl doesn't always give "crusty" looks (and cause she's cute in Mylee's witch hat). =] She is known for her many looks. I swear she can change her expressions 20 times in 20 seconds.

Below is a picture of the pumpkin Amy and I both worked on. I did the tracing and the poking. She has this really cool pumpkin cutter, so she had that honor. It turned out really cute, all the pumpkins did. We only carved 3 tonight, and next week we'll do a few more the night before halloween. The last picture is of my baby girl and Amy's daughter Mylee. She let me hold her!! and she's smiling while I'm holding her. amazing. You would think that since I kinda look like her mom she would be somewhat comfortable with me, but nope, not until recently has she allowed me to hold her and be happy! =] happy days. Thanks for a great night mom!

The Zoo

Well it has been a while since I've been to the zoo, but my neighbor convinced me to tag along. And what a perfect day to go! It was busy since most of the kids are on school break, but the weather couldn't have been better. And before you say anything....yes both my girls and myself wore pink...completely by accident. =] We all had a great time and for the most part, all the kids were good. Fun pictures to share! The first one is how my girls traveled the zoo most of the time. My oldest wasn't feeling great, so she got to sit on top of the stroller. It worked just fine. The Elephants were out and eating! My daughter and her friend love to see the elephants. Here are my girls checking them out. Oh and the Rhinos were out, but the little cave was crowded with kids that I didn't get a good picture of them. What's a Zoo without monkeys! I swear that 75% of the animals at this zoo are monkeys, but that's ok, my daughter LOVES to see monkeys. The picture below shows a mom and her baby monkey (on her belly). After I took the picture the baby monkey was swinging all over the place. And we were able to see 2 black bears. The last few times we've gone to the zoo, the bears have been taking naps or just hiding, so it was nice to see them. I still miss our polar bear.

Oh, and I also missed the Red Panda. I don't know why, but it's one my favorite animals at the zoo. I couldn't find it in the trees or in it's little house near the penguins, so instead I took a pictures of the board that has all the info on the red panda. lol. My friend thought I was crazy. =] The giraffe's are always out and looking good. Still amazes me how tall they get.

Did you know that they have a carousel at the zoo now? It was being built the last time I was there. They really are making some nice improvements to the zoo. Anyway, the carousel was cute. We were at the end of the line, so we had slim pickin' for which animal to ride. BUT my daughter found the eagle and jumped on. Right in front of her I was able to put my other daughter on the black bear. (If you look closely in the 2nd photo, you'll see my other daughter in the background lol.) My 4 yr old has always LOVED carousels. This was my baby's first experience. At first she did great, but towards the end she was ready to get off and was begging for me to hold her.

How many of you venture into the smelly bug/reptile house? I usually avoid it cause I can not stand the smell, but then I realized that you have to experience it at least once, and my daughters have never been in there. Soo stinky, but then you get used to it. I forgot how many animals they put in there. Had to be at least 50 different kinds of snakes. And I forgot about the bug box, where they have pinned MANY different varieties of butterflies, spiders, and other bugs. They not only showed the variety in colors but SIZE. Wow, I do not like bugs and some of those cockroaches were massive. *shudder* But the turtles were really cool, and the crocodiles. (side note: the albino alligator is no longer at the zoo) On the way out, we were going to take the train ride, but the line was SO LONG. We'll save those tickets for the next time we come, which I hope will be before the snow falls again.

The last couple of pictures are on the bronze statues they have around the park! The kids LOVED these. We found the rhino, the tigers, and the gorilla. On the rhino is my daughter with her two best friends from our neighborhood.