This Just Sucks!

http://stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

* OK, I am feeling such a range of emotions right now. I just finished reading the portion of "Midnight Sun" that Stephenie posted on her site, and it is WONDERFUL. I seriously had the biggest, goofiest smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. Yet, I feel like I want to curl up in a ball and cry myself to sleep that I may never have a copy of the complete story sitting on my shelf next to "Twilight". Maybe there's still hope, though. Time heals all wounds, right?

First Day of Second

Today was Isaac's first day of 2nd grade! Yipee for me! :) He was excited, but also very nervous. On the way in, he told me that his stomach hurt and his legs felt weak. Poor kid! Luckily, I know that he adjusts pretty quickly once he knows what to expect. When I picked him up, he was thrilled to tell me all about his teacher's classroom management system: money (right up Isaac's alley)! They get (fake) money each day. They then can earn extra money for doing good things and lose money for doing bad things. On Fridays they can "spend" their money on prizes or priveleges. He was so excited about it! I'm glad he had a good day.

By the way, he made sure that I took pictures of his new shoes and backpack...

Cousins

I'm so glad my kids have cousins to play with! Emma absolutely adores Haley and loves to play with her! If I say that Haley is coming over, Emma runs to the front door and waits anxiously for her to arrive. They play really well together! And it's so much fun having Julian around so I can get my baby fix (and then give him back and sleep peacefully through the night). Here's to cousins!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Saturday (August 16) was our 11 year Anniversary! Yikes! I feel really old! Stefani and Quentin came over to watch the kids so we could go out to dinner. We went to Saltgrass Steak House and it was SO good! I highly recommend that place!

Thanks for 11 great years, David!

Aunt Michelle's Visit

Michelle came for a visit last week. We enjoyed having her here. The boys enjoyed playing games with her, and Emma wanted to be with her all the time (she wanted Aunt Michelle to sit by her at the table, in the car, etc).

On Monday night, after we picked Michelle up from the airport, we went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Luckily, Emma wasn't scared (unlike last time). Noah didn't like how noisy it was in there, but he got over it. :)

Then we basically sat around doing nothing for 2 days (sorry to bore you to death, Michelle). We decided we needed to get out of the house, so on Thursday we took the kids to the Dallas World Aquarium.


We had fun (for about an hour - I'm trying to forget about the meltdowns that occurred at the end).

Thanks for coming to visit, Michelle! See ya in October!

Mixed Feelings

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1592949/story.jhtml

Well, I'm bummed that Harry Potter isn't coming out until next Summer, but I'm thrilled that Twilight is coming out 3 weeks earlier!

Uncle Matt's Visit

My brother Matt came to visit over the weekend. He brought Smash Bros. Brawl (for the Wii) to play with the boys. They had so much fun playing together! Isaac, especially, loved the game. He wouldn't let poor Uncle Matt do anything but play with him!

Emma, on the other hand, had a hard time warming up to Uncle Matt. If he got too close, she would cry (see picture).

But he did his best to get her to like him, and by the time he was ready to leave, she had finally warmed up to him. She even cried when we dropped him off at the airport.

Thanks for coming, Uncle Matt. We love you! Can't wait to see you in October for your wedding! Hopefully a weekend at the Clark Crazy House didn't make you decide to never have kids. :)

Wonder of Wonders... Miracle of Miracles!

OK, can you tell me what makes this picture so special?? Hint: Look at Emma!

Answer: She has pig tails in!!

If you don't know why this is such a big deal, then you probably don't know me as well as you think you do. When Emma was a baby, I had a headband or clip in her hair EVERY day. I love when little girls have their hair done. For a long time now, she has refused to let me do anything with her hair. On Sunday, David jokingly said that I should try putting pig tails in. Of course, I laughed. She never sits still long enough to let me do her hair, and then she pulls it out the first chance she gets (usually about 1.5 seconds after I'm finished). I made a big deal that she was going to have pretty pig tails, and guess what? She fell for it! For THREE days now, she has had pig tails and she loves them. She calls them her "pretty tails" and insists that I use a pink rubber bands. Of course, she's still a wild child, so they get pretty messed up, but who cares? OK, maybe me, but I'll take anything at this point!! Isn't she cute?

Now, everyone say a little prayer that this new found enthusiasm for "pretty tails" will last!! In a couple days, I might even try putting bows in them, but I'm trying not to push my luck! :)

Nostalgia

-noun
"a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time".

I blame nostalgia for the fact that I couldn't resist Emma's whining for a new baby doll when we were in Costco today. I complain constantly that my kids have more toys than any sane person needs (or at least too many toys for me to remain sane), yet I always end up giving in. Maybe I'm a sucker, or maybe toys just make me nostalgic. Today, at least, I can be pretty sure that was the case. The baby Emma wanted was in a cute little basket with a pink and white checked fabric liner. It reminded me so much of the baby doll baskets my sister and I had when we were little. If I remember correctly (which may not be the case), hers was pink and white checked, and mine was yellow and white checked (am I right Mom?). Anyway, even though Emma has more baby dolls than she can possibly play with, I bought it for her. And she loves it! Even Noah loves it. He carried it across the Costco parking lot (I had already ripped it out of the box), holding it gently and singing "rock-a-bye baby". When we got home, Emma got right to work taking care of her new baby.


Of course, Mr. Jealous #1 and Mr. Jealous #2 couldn't allow me to take pictures of Emma without taking pictures of them, too. And by the way, Noah is not on drugs in the top left picture. I promise there's nothing in his cup but strawberry milk. Really. I didn't drug him (today).

You Know You're Jealous!

Check out what my mom sent me...

She got it at Borders when she was there for the release of Breaking Dawn (she's cooler than me because she had friends who invited her to go with them to the midnight release party). So, since I obviously have nothing better to do with my time than sit at my computer and scan in Twilight pictures (ya know, like clean the house, read, clean the house, scrapbook, clean the house, go grocery shopping, clean the house....), I thought I'd share some of my favorites with y'all! OK, I'm kidding about the "y'all", but I'm not kidding about how lame I am that a Twilight calendar makes me giddy!


And my absolute favorite:


So, those of you who don't think Robert Pattinson is going to make a good Edward. All I have to say is, REALLY???? How can you not be dazzled by this???

Pop Go the Wiggles!

David, Emma, Noah and I had a blast at the Wiggles concert (Isaac decided he was too big for the Wiggles and opted to spend the day at a friend's house rather than join us).


Seriously, they are great performers! They put on such a fun show. David and I enjoy it just as much as the kids!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Done!

I've resurfaced from Breaking Dawn. Loved it, of course. Now I need to get some sleep!


P.S. David did go to Walmart at midnight and get my book for me (and he even picked up a treat for me to enjoy while reading - Twizzlers and soda). Isn't he sweet? I woke up at 3 am and read until about 8:30 am when I needed to get ready for the baptism. After the baptism, Wiggles concert (more to come on that) and dinner, I commenced reading. I HAD to finish it before going to bed. It's so fun being giddy about a book! And it's so gratifying to know how everything turns out! :D

Hee Hee Hee!

I thought my blog needed to be ready for August 2nd! Can't Wait! If you're reading this for the first time - sorry, you missed my Breaking Dawn blog template.

So, here's the plan. I'm going to sleep early (like 8:00). At midnight David is going to our 24 hour Walmart to get me the book. I plan on waking up around 2:00 am to start reading. We've got a busy day tomorrow (Ethan Jensen's baptism, Wiggles Concert), so I want to get in as much reading as I can before we leave the house. Wish me luck!