This is one tradition that bites.

Last year my good friend Brianne called me to see if I wanted to go to Twilight with her on opening night.  Of course I said YES!  I love the books and I was so excited to see the movie.  I thought it was pretty good (not as good as the book, but when does that ever happen?) and I was definitely on Team Edward.

We decided to make it a tradition and we're going to go to all the movies on opening night.  New Moon was a whole new experience.  The people were CRAZY this time.  They herded us into a group and it was a free for all.  I guess before I got to the theater they let a huge group in and the lind wound around the entire outside of the theater.  I thought getting there 1 1/2 early was enough time, but apparently it wasn't. 

This is just a little shot of the crowd

When they finally let us in we had to go into a theater that already had Twilight playing beforehand so a lot of the seats were taken.  Luckily we still ended up getting good seats and then only had to wait another hour for the movie to start.

They really catered the previews to the audience they thought was going to New Moon.  Every single preview was some love sappy love story.  One even had Robert Pattinson in, and as soon as the crowd saw him they all screamed.  Wow. 

Finally the movie started and let me say, I was NOT disappointed.  I thought it was waaaaaay better than the first one.  The audience was way more energetic this time, which was fun and annoying at the same time.  Every time Jacob or Edward were on the screen all the girls would scream.  There was actually one point where I swear someone in the front of the theater had a happy ending.

I learned a couple things about myself after seeing New Moon.  First, I'm getting old.  Going to bed at 3:30 definitely does not work for me anymore.  I don't know how I did it all the time in college!  And second, I am definitely on Team Jacob now :)

I can't wait for June 30 for Eclipse to come out!!

Snuggie as a Buggie in a Ruggie

A while back Brent asked me what I thought of the Snuggies.  I told them that I thought that they were ridiculous and not to even think about getting me one for Christmas.  Well, luckily my husband doesn't listen to EVERYTHING I tell him because the other day he gave me an early Christmas present.  A Snuggie!!

I'm one of those people that is cold a lot.  So I love blankets and my onesie PJ's and carry a portable heater around with me to whatever room I'm in.  One thing that's always annoyed me about blankets is how warm you get in them and then when you need something you let all the warm air out and get cold again!  At night when we're watching TV I'm snacking on something.  And it's soooo annoying that all that warm air goes out and my already cold body has to make more warm air.  But along came the Snuggie!!!  Now at night I can snack until my heart's content and not have my upper half freezing and rethawing throughout the evening. 

Not only are Snuggies warm and snuggly, they also make you feel like you are many different things when you wear them.

The very first time I put on my Snuggie I felt like Mickey and the Sorcerer's Apprentice. 

You can also tuck your arms into the sleeves and flail them around like those creepy air dancers they have outside of car dealerships and Sno Cone stands.

If you pull your Snuggie up so your elbow is showing you feel like you have a serious case of Lunch Lady Arms.

Brent tried on my Snuggie last night and the first thing he did was look in the mirror and start chanting like this guy might do.

Not only does my Snuggie bring joy and warmth to me, it also brings it to my puppies as well!  As soon as I put it on and sat in the Love Sac they both jumped up to join me!

Maybe it was just their way of showing that they are hoping that Santa leaves one of these in their stocking this Christmas.

A little tangent for ya...

For 17 months I have been bitter, angry and frustrated about the fact that I'm not pregnant.  It's been hard to see people that have been trying less time than us get pregnant, have the baby and now the baby is almost 6 months old.  Church was hell.  Going and seeing the cute little kids and all the women that are sporting a new belly was torture.  It seems like everyone I know has either had a baby recently or is pregnant.  Except for me.

Then 2 months ago my attitude somehow changed.  Yeah, it sucks that we want something that we feel is a righteous desire and we're not getting it.  But my life is amazing.  I am married to the most wonderful man I have ever met.  We have the 4 most adorable animals I could ever ask for.  My family is extremely supportive and loving.  I live in SEATTLE.  We're financially secure and are even able to go out and do fun things.  For the most part I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.  I can sleep until 10 in the morning if I want to.  And for the first time in a very long time I feel like my relationship with my Heavenly Father is growing.

Every month that I wasn't pregnant I would get upset and came to the conclusion that Heavenly Father thought I was going to be a bad mother and that's why I wasn't getting pregnant.  But I'm learning that's not true.  All of the events that have happened in my life have occured at the perfect time.  When my family moved to Seattle, when I joined the Church, where I went to college, when I met Brent, how he got the job in Seattle when he did (these are just a few) happened at the exact time they were supposed to and everything worked out perfectly.  Heavenly Father knows when the best time for me to get pregnant is.  And when that time is right, it's going to happen.  I KNOW I'm going to be a mom, I just don't know when that exact time is yet.  But I do feel like it's close. 

In the past when I've dealt with trials I've pushed Him away.  My attitude had been if He really loved me He wouldn't make me go through what was happening.  But everyone has trials.  And for the first time in my life I am really learning that when I'm dealing with trials is the time to turn to Him the most.  My heart has been broken for a while now, but I'm betting His is, too.  He wants us to be parents.  He knows the desires of our hearts and knows how important this is to us.  I've always believed that Heavenly Father loves me, but for the first time I actually am feeling His love for ME.  I matter to Him.  I've also learned that it's a lot easier and healthier to have a positive attitude about the fertility struggles we're going through.  I have been happier these last few months than I have been in a long time. 

I've never been a patient person.  When I want something I obsess until I get it.  This has forced me to learn patience.  And I've also realized that if I had gotten pregnant after a few months like most people seem to do, then I wouldn't appreciate it like I'm going to.  When this trial ends and we are blessed with a little baby, it's going to be that much more special because we had to work and fight for this.  I'm going to appreciate the morning sickness and the stretch marks because it means that we're going to get a baby out of this.  I'm going to be a little more grateful for the sleepless nights and the poopy diapers. 

I don't know when this problem with fertility is going to end, but it will.  It's so much nicer to go to church and enjoy the cute kids and then go home with my amazing husband to our cute critters.  I still might want to scowl at all the pregnant women, but hey, no one's perfect.  After all of this ends I'm not only going to get a precious little baby, but I'm also going to have a better, stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father.  And that sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Halloween '09

This was Chipper's first Halloween with us and we made sure he felt like he was part of the family :)  I got cute scarves at Aquafest a couple months ago so I had the pups wear them the day before Halloween.

Macie was so proud of hers!

Halloween day we dressed the dogs in their costumes and took pictures.  At first Chip wasn't moving around much and I thought I finally found something to slow him down.  But as soon as the first kid rang the door bell he took off for the front door and was oblivious to the fact that he looked like a giant hot dog.

Macie didn't like her costume as much as she liked her scarf.  In fact, when I put it on her she didn't move for 2 minutes.  Just stood there frozen in fear.  You would think she would be used to it by now, it's her third year dressing up.  Funny how she doesn't seem to forget she gets vanilla ice cream on her birthday...

We had an awesome day and I am already thinking of ideas for next year!  Maybe we'll get the kitties in on the fun, too!