do you love it?

Don't you love my new blog look? My amazing, fabulous, incredible, talented, awesome sister Emily just hooked me up with my new look. Emily can do the same thing for you too!! If you are in need of a new look and don't have time or skills (I'm lacking both really) to do that yourself then just call on the blog fairy. All your blog dreams WILL come true.

I wanted sooooo much to LOVE LOVE LOVE Twilight the movie. I loved my evening, spending time with my friends, the silliness with a midnight premiere, and all of the excitement. I really thought that Bella and Edward had great chemistry their first kiss was OH MY GOSH OFF THE HOOK. Sadly I think the script writer kind of dropped the ball though. I know it's hard to take a huge novel and whittle it down to a two hour movie. My BFF Brooke is right though. The whole magic of Twilight is the relationship between Bella and Edward. The uniqueness and intensity of their love. In my opinion the movie version did not do a good job of establishing this love for their audience. Of course pretty much everyone in the movie theater had already read the book so they already knew how much Bella and Edward loved each other. After it was all over I couldn't help but think that a person who had not read the books might question how the books are so popular. Bottom line for me was I had a wonderful time with my friends, getting all dressed up and acting like a silly teenager with hundreds of die hard fans.

I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I will also watch it again with Brooke next weekend and maybe I can focus more on the movie and a little less on the atmosphere like on opening night.

We had a great time before the movie even started, hanging out and eating at TGIFridays we couldn't hardly keep a straidght face to get a picture. Torrie and Danielle got together and made their shirts for the night. If you can't read them they say, "why am I covered in feathers?" For all you fans out there you will understand the book four reference. I thought their shirts were adorable. They even wore boas at the movie theater and brought Hope and I a feather to wear in our hair.

it's here!!!!

Tonight is the big night people. Twilight the movie is officially here and I for one am ready. I will be attending one big midnight releases and I can't wait. It is now 8:24 pm and sadly I have been dressed and ready for the big event since 6:30. I sure hope the movie doesn't disappoint, in my heart I don't think it will. Steph and I are in sync with most opinions and she really hasn't disappointed me in the past in her judgement. She has said many times that watching the filming of this movie literally took her breath away. And that the main actors, Kristen and Robert, were "channeling Bella and Edward". We shall see. I am of course am wearing my Bitten shirt and my friends all have their own homemade Twilight t-shirts. I know we will be mild in comparison to those that dress as vampires or come in prom dresses. I'll bring my camera and document later. Have a great night all!!

By the way I wore this outfit to school today and when I picked up Brooke from her after school group one of the other little twerps... I mean kiddos asked me if I was Brooke's grandma. When I mentioned this to the other kids Jake said, "you really don't look very much like a grandma mom, I wouldn't worry about it." VERY MUCH?!?!?! I guess in this neighborhood some of the kindergartner kids might have a grandma that IS in her early 30's but still I was slightly offended.

*** no offense to any of you awesome grandmas out there ***

happy anniversary

Happy anniversary to:

my sweatheart

the other half of my apple

the father of our children

my best friend

my better half

the one who keeps me calm

my comic relief

the smartest person I know

my teddy bear

I love you babe

bunk beds might have been a bad idea

A couple months ago we bought the girls bunk beds for their rooms. There was some playing in the beds for the first week or so but I think the novelty of it all has worn off and everything had been running smoothly, until last night. Around 11 I heard a huge crash and ran to the girls room where I found Riley (who went to bed on the top bunk) face down on the floor. She was crying so I picked her up and tried to comfort her. I thought she was just scared but as I moved into the hall I could see she was bleeding from her face. I called for Jeremy and ran to get some paper towels. We were trying to figure out where all the blood was coming from and found that she was bleeding from her nose and mouth. We moved her to the couch and started talking to her. We told her she fell from her bed and asked her where she was hurt. She looked at us and answered that her lip was hurting the worse. We had her open her mouth up wider and I found that one of her baby teeth (that was not loose) was hanging by a thread and two of her grown up teeth seemed to be jammed up into her gums. There also seemed to be some damage to her gums. We kept cleaning her up and talking to her when she asked us, "how did I get hurt?" We had just gone over how she got hurt but we explained to her again what happened. I called my mom to see what she had done with my sister Clare when she had some bad injuries to her teeth as a little girl. While I was on the phone Riley asked Jeremy again, "What happened to me? Why am I hurt?" We decided to take her in because her pupils were dilated huge and she seemed to be a little disoriented. After waiting at the ER for 4.5 hours and after having a CT scan her list of injuries amounted to; tooth and gum trauma, two huge goose eggs on her forehead, some bruising around her eyes and nose, a busted up lip, and a small concussion.

We were grateful that there were no facial fractures or swelling of the brain. Who would have thought that falling out of bed could have been so dangerous. Riley was a real trooper and did lots of coloring and a little napping during the whole hospital visit. We both stayed home from school today so we could catch up on sleep and to monitor Riley and make sure she was ok from her concussion. It looks like we will both be going back to school tomorrow. I am so grateful that everything worked out and that Jeremy was worthy and able to give our little girl a father's blessing before we went to the hospital. Riley often likes to comment that she's "not lucky" I would say that last night she was very lucky that her injuries were mostly cosmetic and nothing worse came from her tumble. She did however say that she does not want to sleep on the top bunk anymore... I guess she and Brooke will both have to share that bottom bunk for a while.

decisions

Everyday we get the opportunity to made decisions. These decisions range from simple to complex and sometimes even life altering. This weekend I had heard through a series of text messages that three Caprock students were involved in an accident. I heard that one of these students was killed and another one was in serious condition at the hospital. I did not have any names but once I got to work this morning it was clear to me that the young man who died was in my second period class. I was not particularly close to this student. I did see him everyday but other than an occasional smile we had little to do with each other. He was a bit of a class clown so often times he only lasted in class for about ten minutes before the teacher threw him out and sent him down to the office. I think the only real conversation we had was actually about the Rubik's Cube. I saw him working on one and I mentioned that my son loves to play with his. He then asked me if he has solved it and I said yes he can solve it but it takes him a while to finish it (this was a while back). Despite not knowing this young man very well I was still very effected by his sudden passing. Today most of the kids in my second period class were very upset. There were lots of tears and no one was able to focus on anything. The school district brought in a trauma team to help the students and staff deal with their grief and all the principals were seen comforting students. It was such an emotional day for everyone. I had several students come up to me and make comments to the effect of, "If it happened to him it could happen to anyone." I agreed with them that no one knows how much time they have on this Earth however often times tragic deaths are partly to blame to individual choices. The students involved in the accident over the weekend were racing another car at two in the morning. I don't know if alcohol was involved but regardless there were choices that lead to their horrible tragic accident. I know that many young people have the attitude that they are invincible or that nothing wrong or bad will happen to them. Many times they make decisions based on these feelings. After explaining this idea to several students through out the day I started thinking about my own decisions. Some good and some not so good. I may not have put my physical life at risk with my decisions but did I risk my eternal life? Have I put my own or my families eternal life in jeopardy? Can I do better? Can I make better decisions? Of course I can. I know a huge reason for our mortal existence is to learn and grow. I want nothing but the best for me and my family. As the mother of my family I feel much responsibility for making the best choices for all of us. I never want to assume that I am doing ok when I know I can do better. I am not invincible or immune to spiritual danger. None of us are. We need to always strive to do better. It was a sad day but I have personally been grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow from this experience and pain.

a special message from Jake

***I'm Jacob Clement and I approve of this message***

blog homework

I have really fallen behind on my blogging (thanks to Em and facebook) I thought I would try to catch up on a blog tag I received from Tenille (my favorite pretend sister-in-law) a while ago. Here's the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. List the rules
3. Tag six fellow bloggers
4. Leave them a comment so they know they've been tagged
5. List 6 random facts on your blog

This will be a challenge for me. Random seems to be my middle name and I feel like I'm an open book so it might be hard to come up with things people haven't already heard.

1. My actual middle name is not Random it's Florence. Making my maiden name Eliza Florence Reed. Like all my other siblings I was named after ancestors. When I was little I use to feel like my name was really old fashion and weird. I can remember wishing I was named Jennifer or Amber or something like that. For a while I use to tell kids my real first name was Elizabeth and that I only went by Eliza for short. Everyone pretty much bought it and left it at that until one girl said, "If I was you I would go by Beth instead of Eliza..." I was sort of crushed that she confirmed all the feelings I had about my name, so for a very brief time I would respond to Beth by a couple kids in my class.

2. I am horrible at most things domestic. I am average at best with my cooking skills and much lower than average with cleaning, organizing, laundry etc...

3. I arranged Jeremy and my first "date" with his sister Amanda. It involved lots of luck and a fair amount of sneakiness. Jeremy still denies that I asked him out first.

4. There are very few vegetables that I will eat.

5. In my opinion a new outfit is soooo much better than any kind of happy pill doctors can prescribe. I seriously think that doctors should just prescribe a new outfit to all the woman out there that need a little extra help. I'm sure it ends up being much cheaper than all the co pays and doctor visits.

6. I really HATE Barak Obama... he scares me. Mitt was robbed!!

Now I get to "tag" six fellow bloggers: Let's see I will tag Jocelyn, Shaunna, Sarah, Carl, Heather W., and Vicki Good luck everyone!!

So I scored a 40 on this how ever there were a couple that I left black even though I may have done them. If I did do them then they weren't memorable. Looks like I have a lot of living left to do...

So here’s a list of 100 things. All the things I’ve done are highlighted in red. Copy this list on your own blog and come clean on everything you’ve done. Do it. You know you want to.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100.Visited Italy

halloween 2008

Thanks to Mom and her amazing sewing skills we were able to pull off another awesome theme inspired Halloween. The girls all LOVED their costumes (and really what's not to love). They commented all night on how "puffy" they were. They really want to wear their skirts to church this Sunday. Jake had many funny comments about his costume this year. First let me explain that I have their weird obsession with having all the kids dress in a theme. Last year we were blessed with our fourth child and were finally able to make my dreams come true of a complete Wizard of Oz cast (Dorthy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, AND lion). This year the girls have been very obsessed with Hairspray. I thought that they would love to dress either in 50's or 60's style clothing. After a few phone calls with my mother we came up with poodle skirts white shirts and scarfs. This of course meant that Jake would have to play along and dress as a 50's style little boy. I bought him a pair of very snug fitting jeans, a crisp white t-shirt, and I searched for two months for an inexpensive leather/pleather jacket. The jacket was never found so come Halloween night Jake's first comments was, "This isn't much of a costume mom, I think I would rather just stay home and pass out candy this year." I tried to tell him in the big picture he is totally in a costume. He just has to stick with his sisters so everyone knows what he "suppose to be". As the night went on Jake really warmed up to his costume and the theme.

When we finally ended the night and got back to the house Jake asked me, "When will I be old enough to pick my own costume?" I started thinking about this and as sad as it is to think about Jake probably only has about two or three more years of Trick or Treating in him, so I am considering letting everyone just have free range next year on costume choices. I'm not going to lie the thought of totally random costumes makes me a little ill. The other thought that keeps creeping into my thoughts is, the movie Twilight is coming out this year and it's really suppose to be a huge hit... doesn't a family of attractive, kind "vegetarian" vampires sound cute? I'll keep you all posted.