The Host

I have started reading "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. She is the author of the Twilight Saga. I read "Twilight," the first book in the Twilight Saga, last Summer when one of my cute neighbors knocked on my door and asked if I had read it. I said "No," and she said, "Will you read it? I need someone to talk to about it." And I gladly accepted. Little did I know that for the next month or so I would read all three books in the saga consecutively and would live in my own little Twilight world for a while...I loved it, but I was not a social person for that month or so, which is unusual for me. All I wanted to do was go home and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. Then I would wake up, go to work, drive home, and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open again, and repeat the cycle daily. Anyway, the fourth and final book of the Twilight Saga comes out this Fall and I can't wait! Though I don't want it to be over.

Book 1 of the Twilight Saga: "Twilight"

Book 2 of the Twilight Saga: "New Moon"

Book 3 of the Twilight Saga: "Eclipse"

Book 4 of the Twilight Saga: "Breaking Dawn" (Coming this Fall!!!)

Anyway, I was talking about the fact that I am reading "The Host" right now...I get so distracted and off track sometimes...anyway, I am about 10 chapters in and I am loving it! I am not letting myself get anti-social and obsessed with this book, I am just taking my time and limiting the amount that I can read everyday. Supposedly this is going to be an individual novel and will not continue on into a trilogy or a saga, so I need to take my time and enjoy it.

If you have not read "Twilight" yet, read it. And when you are done tell me what you think (but be aware that the 2nd book is not necessarily a happy one).

I really need to start a book club...I love to read.

This was kind of a boring blog, but I felt like chatting about the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and the fun stories she's brought into my life. Oh, and I love EDWARD CULLEN!

General Conference

We have a little tradition in our family where we go to my Dad's house for every General Conference. I love traditions. I just love having things to look forward to. And I love going to my Dad's house in Heber. Even if I am just there for a few hours it feels like a vacation. I have always felt more safe when I am with my Dad than I do at any other time in my life. It's not like I am a stress case ALL of the time, though I am awfully anxious about many things, I try not to be, but I just feel so comfortable with my Dad. He just makes me feel like a safe little girl who has no worries because her Dad is taking care of everything. You know what I mean? I hope that everyone out there has that sort of a relationship with their Dad. I really do. It's so nice.

Anyway, we have such a blast after conference. Conference itself is wonderful and amazing, but I love the food and the party afterward. My Dad makes the BEST food. He is at his best when cooking with a dutch oven, and that's what we got on Sunday. BBQ Ribs, and Baked Beans (the best baked beans in the world...well, his and my Mom's are very close, who knows whose is better...) and then we had BUBBLE GUM ICE CREAM for dessert! I LOVE BUBBLE GUM ICE CREAM!!!! Anything that has to do with bubble gum is Meg and my favorite. It's always been that way. Since our days as kids at Leatherby's. We just want bubble gum ice cream and nothing else. I have branched out since then and tried other things, but if there is an option of bubble gum ice cream that's what we'll chose.

So, this is a very random and weird post. I shall end now. But here are some pictures from our Conference Day at my Dad's...

Marissa and Ashley being crazy...

My steph-nephew Braxton (they call him Bubba) scarfing down ice cream...this picture is the greatest...

Me and Meg just chillin'...Meg has remnants of the Bubble Gum Ice Cream left in her mouth, obviously...and I had a MASSIVE zit on my chin on this current day, which my brother-in-law Ryan kindly photo-shopped out...I am so glad Marissa married him, and not ONLY because he can take pictures and make me look prettier than I actually did in the original picture...heheheh

This is a picture of some of us who were in attendance on this fine evening...

This is Colin and Ben. Ryan, who I spoke of above, has triplets. Two boys and a girl. Abby, Ben and Colin, or A, B, and C. They are so much dang fun! The three of them live in their own world most of the time. I am so jealous of them. It is so much fun to be part of a set of mulitples and to have your best friends with you all the time. They are so cute! I am so glad they are part of our family!

This is Abby. Isn't she the cutest? She is SO SERIOUS about her dessert...as am I, so I can appreciate the intensity on her face...

Woody the Cat

This is my cat Woody...

Woody is 5 years old. Jesse gave him to me the Easter after we got married (2003) because his school schedule was so crazy and I was always alone...and it would be like that for 3 more years. He was the greatest gift ever! I love kittens, but especially orange Tabbies. For some reason they have always just been my favorite. So when I saw little tiny 1.5 pound Woody I just couldn't believe it. He has always been so smart. He loves to open the cupboards and play with the pots and pans (especially in the middle of the night when I'm at home alone...he wakes me up out of a dead sleep and scares me to death)...he also loves to turn on and off the lights...there's a good story about the first time he turned the lights on when Jesse was home alone and asleep, but it's better told in person than on a blog, so I won't go into it. Meg also taught him to drink from the tap, so he refuses to drink from his bowl now...he is such a brat...thanks to Meg...she's a brat too...hahahah...Meg and Woody love each other so much. Whenever I take a picture of the two of them they just look so happy together...(Woody is the size of Meg's whole torso. He is 18 pounds of cat...)

They are just weird together.

Speaking of weird, Woody looks like he's sniffing the glue in this picture...

He also loves to sit on his behind like a human...

Jesse took Woody outside to walk in the snow during a huge snow storm. Woody walked right inside and looked out to watch Jesse...he is NOT an outdoor cat...he is a spoiled kid who loves to keep his toes warm...and I like him that way...

This is Woody's angry face...he looks like a little bear...he is de-clawed and loves to smack people with his soft paws when he's upset...it obviously doesn't hurt, it's just a little shocking whenever he does it.

Thanks for indulging me and reading my thoughts about my brilliant and eccentric cat Woody!

Grams

I was looking through these pictures on my brother-in-law Ryan's website and thought I'd talk about my cutest Grams. Most people call her Grandma Thomas, but to me and Meg she is just Grams. When we were little and we had to stay home because we were sick, my Grams would take the day off from work (she was the TLC teacher at Cyprus High for a very long time) and take care of us. She would always make us "special shakes" and make sure that we were comfortable and well taken care of.


Also, Meg and I can chat a lot, if you didn't know that already, but when we were little it was seriously non-stop. I'm sure it got old after a while, but she was always so attentive. She always made us feel so very important...and I love her for that.


She served a mission in Denver when Meg and I were in 1st Grade, and Meg and I were devastated. She was our very best friend, and life without her was just no fun. Cute Grams. I love her so much.


She also loves to tell me and Meg, very lovingly, that we each only have half of a brain. And we are Dingbats. Good word, if I do say so myself.


Well, there's a little reminiscing for you. And here are some pictures from her Birthday Party August of 2007. I LOVE MY GRAMS! (Oh, and my children will call her "Hilda the Great" as she will be their Great Grandma and her name is Hilda)

Grams and the cute cake my Mom got her!

Grams and Isaac (my cousin's son) blowing out the lone candle

Meg and I cutting the cake

(we just wanted to make sure we got first dibs on the cupcakes...)

Too Little Too Late...

I was so pumped to have a blog and then I just lost the momentum...but I will be better now, I promise. I think about posting all the time, but I am not very good at taking pictures, and it's no fun to have a posting with no pictures. So, this time I'm going to put in a picture of my sister Ashley...this is her baptism picture...it was taken in 1989...oh man, I am laughing so hard I could pee my pants...this is the greatest picture...especially if you know Ashley now. She is perfect and gorgeous. She works out 2-3 hours a day and is very girly. This picture does NOT do her justice, but it's good to remember where you came from, right? Right. She cant' be too mad at me either because her fiance has seen this, and saw it before he proposed, so there's no one else she should worry about. I love you Ash! You are so much fun! I hope you are proud to have such an amazing and original picture on my blog :)




To make things a little better I am going to post the greatest picture of Ashley on Christmas Eve 2007. She had just gotten her ring from Nater and was so very proud...as she should be!

Oh, and I can't mention Nater without puting my favorite picture of him up:

And here's a picture of the two of them together...in which Nate is awake...

Ashley and Nate...aren't they just so cute together?! They really were made for each other. And hopefully they will get a puppy soon so I can play with it and post a picture of it too!