The Day (er..Night) Finally Came

I thought about posting this right after I got home from the movie, but I chose to make sleep a priority (since I only had an hour from the time I got home to the time I had to start the morning routine).

I REALLY liked the movie this time! It followed the book very well (that was my main beef with "Twilight" - that and the "cheese" factor) and the parts that were variations from the book actually worked better than they did in the book (lots of funny little one-liners...more humor in this one). Annie and I both remarked on how much better a movie is when they have a budget to make it well.

I must say I am firmly on "Team Jacob" now. I kind of wished Edward would have stayed away because Jacob was so .. ahem .. charming (among his other attributes - see below) and his chemistry with Bella was quite intriguing. It was a little disconcerting listening to all the "cougars" in the audience expressing their "pleasure" at seeing his scantily clad body on the screen. He is only 17 after all.

At least when I go back to the theater repeatedly to see this one, I will at least like the movie (and maybe Annie won't be so annoyed with me because there aren't as many cheesy parts to giggle at). What did you guys think of it?

PS - only 222 days until Eclipse comes out!

Gettin' close!!!

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One other thing that's getting close... check out the progress on our In N Out! I must have been neglecting my old friends Target & Sonic (right behind the In N Out) because I was shocked when Austin & I went to Sonic & Target and we saw that they were close to done!

Denver... Part 1

So we were off to Denver last weekend and had a FABULOUS time! We went with our friends and their two kids so our kids were kept busy the ENTIRE time! Within minutes of arriving at the hotel, the kids were off to .... the pool of course. We took off in the S.S. Goodship (a.k.a. the "Super Steeler Goodship" which was the mini-van our friends rented - these are the "Ferrari" friends so you KNOW driving a mini-van was painful!). Here are Mia and Catie playing on the i-Touch in the "stern."

Bowling was on the itinerary that first night. I will now publicly admit that Brian beat me by 3 pins in the second game. I didn't want to crush his dreams, so I went easy on him (it had NOTHING to do with the fact that I hadn't bowled in who knows how long and DANG that ball was getting heavy).

Denver... Part 2

Our hotel was pretty close to the zoo, so we thought that might be a good idea. Well... after trolling the parking lots and the neighboring park for 30 minutes without being able to find a parking place, we started to question our decision. Fortunately, Sean was piloting the SS Goodship and he managed to find a spot (beating out several other cars in the process). When we finally got to the front gate of the zoo, there was a sign that said "FREE DAY" which was why it was body to body masses of humanity there. We turned around and left.

Fortunately, we parked in the parking lot of the Museum of Nature and Science, so we thought, "why not"? We had a fun and educational afternoon. We're still getting used to Austin with braces!

Mia and Caitlin were inseperable.
Mia's brother Davis discovered our family moth.
Um... Austin & Caitlin...don't look behind you.
PS... We were thinking of Logan in this room full of dinosaurs! It was then time for the girl's night out!!! We hit up downtown Denver for a lovely dinner at Maggiano's (SOOO glad we made reservations).
Our apres-dinner transportation was a horse drawn carriage. I think the girls were just a little excited! They got up close and personal with the horse after the ride (the horse started to nuzzle Caitlin's shoulder so she moved to the other side).
And then... for the piece de resistance... it was time for "Wicked"! Without getting all ferklempt, can I just say that there is absolutely NOTHING that compares with seeing pure joy in your child's face. Caitlin literally split her lips smiling so much. When the music started, Caitlin and Mia grabbed each other's hands and didn't let go for half of the first act. It was priceless!

Worth EVERY penny!!!

Denver ... Part 3

While we waited and waited and waited for our table for breakfast ($9.00 French Toast for the kids - what?!), the kids kept themselves entertained with a spirited round of "rock paper scissors." While we were waiting, I noticed that one of our fellow diners looked eerily familiar. I finally realized that she looked like the choreographer Mandy Moore from "So You Think You Can Dance" - seriously - spitting image! Well, when one of the waiters went to her table and immediately fell to the ground all enraptured, I thought I might just be right. As we were leaving, I took Caitlin and Mia to her table and asked if it was indeed her, she said yes and proceeded to be so cute with the girls asking their names and if they like to dance. She happened to choreograph the very first dance I ever saw on SYTYCD... this little (Emmy nominated) number below.

On our second attempt at the zoo, we had it all to ourselves. This gibbon took a particular liking to Brian - he was quite entertaining. We had a fabulous day - the weather was perfect. Who would have thought it would be in the 60's in Denver during November.

This photo is courtesy of Stu the limo driver. He had the unenviable task of transporting us to and from the game (the children were quite rowdy while doing their "limo dance" ... not to be confused with the "elevator dance.") Here's our motley crew before Monday Night Football.

At the game, we were completely surrounded by Steeler fans (they do travel well), but Brian and Austin still managed some smiles. Of course, this was in the first half. There was nothing to smile about in the second half. The Broncos didn't get the memo that they have to win every time we come to town.

(Heavy sigh)... at least we got to see the stadium lit up at night and some of the cast members of "Wicked" sang the national anthem and we didn't freeze like we thought we would and we didn't have to do the driving back to the hotel and our Steeler friends didn't rub it in and the hamburger joint across the street from our hotel was still open when we got back for the 11:30 cheeseburger run. Indeed, much to be thankful for.

Good times!!!

Today was the day!!!

B E F O R E . . .A F T E R . . .

If you can't tell the difference, please note the blue and orange BRACES Austin is now sporting. The balloons were from the Orthodontist's office (so sweet!). Let the new nicknames begin!

Tinsel Teeth...Metal Head...Brace Face... does anybody have any others?

Halloween '09

May I present "Roadkill" (Austin's new nickname) and Elphaba. I was impressed (and disturbed) at Austin's request for authenticity - but we opted not to actually run over him (JK). We didn't manage to get any songs out of Caitlin - maybe that's a good thing. Grandma Jessie dropped by after work (that Macy's dress code is getting freaky). I must say... she was rockin' the pink wig & stockings. PS - her earrings were blinking spiders.
The pumpkins that actually managed to get carved BEFORE Halloween (3 were carved the day after and 3 were carved the week before at a pumpkin party, so we did manage to get to all 9 pumpkins after our pathetic display last year). The "Bronco Pumpkin Curse" was in full effect as it resulted in a Denver loss yesterday (yes Brian, I DO affect the outcomes of sporting events with my actions).
Both kids managed over 10 pounds of candy (which will translate to 20 pounds on Mom's backside).
After Caitlin de-greenified, I found her categorizing and bagging up her candy (based on candy size, packaging, candy type, etc.). Oh crap - what have we done to her?! We'll be enrolling her in therapy sometime soon.

After all the festivities, Austin was frantic to return to his "farm" and do his harvesting. He'll never know how many pieces of candy I swiped while he was farming (he he he).