Charlie Update

It has been awhile since I've blogged about Charlie. Charlie came into our lives in March 2008, at a lovely 10 weeks of age. He wieghed a little under 1 pound. He was (is) so adorable. It's hard to picture him as small as he used to be. I wish I would have taken more photos and videos. Owell.

About nine months later and Charlie has reached his full size (hopefully). He weighs about nine pounds and is still adorable.

This is Charlie in his Christmas coat, my parents gave him for his trip to Utah. Charlie has never seen snow, or experienced cold weather, so it will be interesting bringing him home for Christmas.

North Carolina

I spent last week with my parents in North Carolina, visiting my parents on their mission. It was such a great experience. Tyler asked me if my parents were different as missionaries, and honestly I couldn't tell that much difference. They have always been a great example to me and really lived the gospel, so being missionaries was a very easy transition for them. They are living in Whiteville, NC or as the locals like to pronounce it "why-it-ville". They love their little branch and are having a good time getting to know everyone there.

My parents really planned a fun trip for me. We went all over N. Carolina, and we were able to see so many cool places. Our first day we spent in Raleigh, which was beautiful. We also went to Fort Fisher, Southport, Willmington and of course Whiteville. Below is a picture of the capital, the N. Carolina Temple, the Govenors Mansion, the Bellamy Mansion, Fort Fisher and the battleship N. Carolina.

On Sunday my parents were asked to speak in Church. I was excited to be in town on a Sunday where they would be speaking. I got a nice front row seat and was eagerly awaiting them to begin when the branch president came up and asked if I would mind sharing my testimony as well. How could I say no? I don't care for public speaking, but it actually went okay. Luckily, it is a small branch and everyone was super nice so I wasnt quite as nervous as I normally am to speak in Church. I was kind of grateful for the opportunity to share my testimony and glad that I have one to share. I know I need to more often, so I was happy that they asked me to speak.
Here are just a few pictures from their missionary apartment. All their furniture is from the mission home, including the double beds. Its actually a really cute place, a little old, but nice. The quilt they are holding is one I made for my Pop right before I went out there.

Okay, one of the most amazing things I saw in N. Carolina was the cotton fields. I never really thought much about cotton before and so I was kind of blown away with it. I made my Pop pull over so I could pick some, and it is just amazing. What a blessing from Heaven that we have cotton growing on bushes. Doesn't it look like snow?
I really wanted to find an amazing barn photo to have my mother-in-law paint for me. Below are a few that we found, but I don't know if any of them were really what I had in mind.

We went looking for alligators, which are really popular in the area. Unfortunately, it was too cold so all I saw were turtles! There were so many of them, I couldn't believe it.
Below is a collage of this really cool swamp area near my parents house. I wish I had been there a few weeks earlier when the leaves were changing.

I'm so glad I was able to spend this time with my parents. It is nice being able to picture the people and places my Mom is always telling me about. They are wonderful missionaries and I know that their branch is so happy to have them there.

Twilight: The Movie

If you haven't seen the movie yet, you might not want to read this review.

Tyler and I saw Twilight Wednesday night, finally. I've had mixed feelings about seeing the movie. As most of you know, I absolutely loved the book. I still remember a year ago when my friend Jessica sent me an email telling me that I had to read this book about vampires called "Twilight". I went out that day and bought the book, and finished it that night. Movie's are never as good as the book, and they usually end up changing everything anyway. I haven't been too excited about the casting, and really just thought they would ruin the whole thing.

Luckily, I ended up liking the movie. It reminded me why I originally liked Bella. She is normal, not some angry teenager, despite the fact that her parents are divorced and she is moving to a town she hates. I like that she isn't angry at her Father, and is appreciative of the things that he does for her. It seems like teenagers are always shown as ungrateful, angry and self-absorbed. Also, often times in movies the heroin is just unbelievable, amazing at everything, a fighter, etc. Bella is clumsy but confident. She is a normal girl and easy to relate to. After seeing the movie I really liked the casting of Bella. I think Kristen Stewart was a great a Bella.

I still have mixed feelings about the casting of Edward. Personally, I don't think Robert Pattinson is that attractive. At least, he doesn't match the very handsome Edward that I had pictured. After discussing it with Tyler, who actually really liked the movie, I've decided that Robert did a good job portraying Edward. He and Kristen had good chemistry together and actually look pretty good as a couple.

As for the other casting, for the most part I was happy with everyone else. The only complaint I really had was with Jasper. I felt the casting there was way off, he didn't look like the Jasper I had pictured at all. And, did he even have any lines? I can't remember even hearing him speak? The other thing I will mention is that fact that Edward in the movie seems to like climbing trees. I've read the book a bunch but can't remember that being one of his talents. I thought that was a bit cheesy and should have been left out. He isn't a monkey.

So, overall, I did like the movie and hear it's even better the second time around. If I'm lucky I can talk Tyler into taking me again this weekend. We'll see.

Eight Things About Me

8 FAVORITE T.V. SHOWS:
1. The Office
2. Biggest Loser
3. Smallville
4. LOST
5. Heroes
6. Chuck
7. The Bonnie Hunt Show
8. So You Think You Can Dance

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1. Chili’s
2. Olive Garden
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. Blue Plate Diner (Rhode Island)
5. Vinny’s (Virginia)
6. Blue Moose (North Dakota)
7. Claim Jumper
8. Original Pancake House

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY: (Saturday, November 15th)
1. Took a walk with Charlie and Ty
2. Went to The Grubbery for breakfast
3. Went to the library
4. Went to Wal Mart
5. Played Mario Kart
6. Cleaned the kitchen
7. Went to the movie Eagle Eye
8. Ate a hot fudge sundae

8 THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
1.Thanksgiving
2. My trip to North Carolina
3. Trip home to Utah for Christmas
4. Christmas presents (I know its not about the presents, but I do love ‘em)
5. Teaching Charlie to sneeze on command (he is starting to pick it up)
6. The Twilight movie
7. My five year wedding anniversary
8. Baby

8 THING I LOVE ABOUT FALL:
1. The leaves changing color
2. Wearing sweaters
3. Holidays
4. Spending extra time with family
5. School supplies
6. Looking forward to the next year
7. Quilting
8. Hot Chocolate

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST:
1. Baby
2. Seeing family
3. Visiting my Parents, and them having a successful mission
4. Piano
5. New living room set
6. New lense for my D50
7. Baby
8. Travel to Hawaii, Australia, and Alaska

8 PEOPLE I TAGGED:
1. Natalie
2. Christin
3. Jessica
4. Jill
5. Shannon
6. Jamie
7. Stephanie
8. Brittney

Happy Birthday Marines!

Last night we celebrated the 233rd birthday of the United State Marine Corps. We had a lot of fun, and the dinner was great. Brig. General Salinas, the base commander, made a few comments and also the guest of honor a retired Lt. General spoke some encouraging words.

Tyler, Kathy, Patty and Cody

Kathy, Liz and Patty
Medal of Honor winner (I'll get his name later) and Tyler

Greg, John, Mike, James, Dave and Tyler

Me and Ty

It's a bird, It's a plane....It's Superman!

Okay, I'll be the first to admit, I'm a huge nerd. I absolutely love Superman (he could kick Edward's butt). I thought it was about time that I did a post about my all-time favorite superhero. Today, Tyler surprised me with a 4-disc collection of the Superman movies. You see, the past few weeks I have been trying to catch up on the TV show Smallville. It's all I talk about lately, maybe that's because I'm watching so many episodes back-to-back, but I love it. Tyler thought it would be a fun surprised to get me the movies, and he was right. I've only seen the first two, and I know they are cheesy but I still can't wait to watch them.

A couple years ago they released a new movie, "Superman Returns". I thought it was a great movie, except for a few things, I really enjoyed it. It was actually this movie that made me want to re-watch the older ones. From my understanding, "Superman Returns" is suppose to pick up after the fourth movie? Some of you may remember the TV show "Lois and Clark, the Adventures of Superman". Well, I was hooked on that show as well. I admit, I loved curling up at the foot of my parents bed every Sunday night and watching a fun episode of Lois and Clark. I have purchased all four season, much to Tyler's dismay, and still think it was a fun series, a little cheesy, but good clean fun.

And of course, Smallville. My new favorite TV show. One thing I really like about this show is that for the most part it is really clean. Especially the first four seasons while they were in high school. I found that pretty refreshing. It is a fun take on the Superman story, and I think they did a great job with the casting. I love the Clark (Tom Welling) and Lois (Erica Durance). I can't wait for them to get together.

Anyway, here are a few reasons why I love Superman. He has super strength, super hearing, super fast, super breath, super flying, super x-ray vision, and that just naming a few. He is also super sweet, and is suppose to have super values. In most editions he always makes the right choices and is a great role model.

Ward Christmas Party...any suggestions?

Tyler and I are the activity chair-people for our ward. What that means is that we're in charge of the ward Christmas party. Can I tell you how excited we are? Last year, our ward went all out and had a fun Night in Bethlehem. I've heard it was a great success, but a lot of work. Our ward council has let us know that they would like something a little more simple this year. We're thinking of having a traditional Christmas dinner, and maybe a little program or have someone read the Christmas story. Another idea would be to have breakfast with Santa, which would be a little less stressful, but I think would be a lot of fun. Especially if we could get people to dress up in Christmas PJ's. Anyway, I was wondering if you have any good ideas that would help us out. What have you done in the past? And, if you're like me don't you think a breakfast activity would be fun? I know Christmas morning has always been my favorite. Any suggestions will be gratefully received!

Disneyland 2008

It has become somewhat of a tradition to go to Disneyland on Halloween with Tyler's family. His little sister Brooke loves Halloween and they have been going for quite some time. Luckily, she has invited us along the past few years and I love it. My parents took me once when I was about eight years old and I have fun memories from that trip. Whenever I go now I can't help but think about my first time there as a little girl. It was truly amazing! It is such a fun place for kids, and adults. Below are a few fun pictures from our trip:

Laurel has a great picture of Brody, Barry and Tyler on this cannon when they were little boys. Last year Brittney, Brooke and I did our own version, and this year Tyler and I thought it would be fun to get one with just us.

Here are just a few fun pictures of Tyler and I. We love Disneyland, and I am always reminded when I go there that Tyler is my prince charming!
Disneyland is decorated so cute for Halloween, they have the best decorations. I probably should have taken more pictures. Not only are the decorations cute, but you get to see a lot of fun costumes.
I took a ton of pictures, but these are some of my favorites. We tried to see as much as we could at both California Adventures and at Disneyland. They have amazing rides and so many fun activities to do.

We tried to decide which ride was our favorite, but it seemed to change depending on what ride we just finished. So our top three favorites are:

-Indiana Jones

-Pirates

-Space Mountain