breaking down

Nope. That's not a typo. I finally broke down and got myself a little copy of Breaking Dawn. I was blog surfing the other day and accidentally read a spoiler of the book. So I appreciate all of you that have let us know that your posts contain spoilers. I was going to wait and buy the entire boxed set in October, but I just couldn't wait any longer.

(http://sweettangerine50.wordpress.com/)

So, I am going to spend my Labor Day weekend cozied up with the book. Luke is hunting and my mom is on her annual canoeing trip with friends, so it's just me and the boy. I have other plans, too! I am going to the zoo with my sister and her kids and going to spend time with Chelsie and Hannah. Noah and Hannah actually played the other day at Grandpa Steve's birthday dinner. Usually Hannah just mows Noah over (even though he is bigger... she's faster). But Noah has figured out her tricks and chases her back. They were so cute, so we are going to take them to the park or something.

And lastly, I am going to work on some sewing projects. More to come on that... I have lots to share!

Amy's Shower

It's always fun to get together with friends! We got together to celebrate the impending arrival of Amy's baby. Any day now!! Thanks to all who came and helped... especially those who just had babies a week earlier. What troopers! We had a great time and I can't wait to get together again soon.

Back row: Whitney (and baby), Karen, Dede, me, Caroline
Middle: Sher and Amy
Front row: Leslie (and baby), Sarah, and Johanna (and baby)

I don't like TED

At my last Dr.'s appt, I decided to point out my very small and what I thought were very insignificant varicose veins. My Dr. didn't seem to think they were so insignificant. She advised me to take a baby aspirin every day and prescribed me these...

(http://www.tedhose.com)

I have to wear them 24/7 to keep my veins from getting worse. Some days I cheat. But aren't they saucy? And super hot. Not as in I'm a hottie, but as in oh so hot I want to cut my legs off. And because they are so super ugly, I can't wear all my cute summer sandals. So, I am stuck in the one pair of shoes I have that are closed toe. Which are green and purple and very flat. I miss my heels!!

So, because I am in flat shoes that don't match anything at all, I feel like I am waddling. I feel like a penguin today. I don't even think that my belly is that big (ha, ha, it's probably huge). But it must be. Yesterday at church a woman said to me, "Oh you just look so miserable and just ready to be done!" Hello! I still have 10 weeks left! I can't look that miserable!

Well, I'll just waddle my way to where the rest of my shoes are stored and hope for cooler weather. Soon.

Quirks - updated

Robyn tagged me to write about six of my quirky traits. So here goes...

1. My feet are very important to the quality of my sleep. I cannot sleep if they are too hot or too cold and will have to use socks accordingly. If I don't have socks on, I usually end up with my big toe crossed over my second toe. Then sleep will easily come.

2. I am very meticulous about how my towels are folded. And sadly, that is pretty much the only housekeeping chore I am meticulous about.

3. Like Robyn, I absolutely cannot stand grammar and spelling mistakes in writing, especially in professional publications! I would love a job where I can proof novels before they head to print. I could do that from home! Any ideas how to get a job like that? P.S. If I make a mistake, it's because I am moving too fast. Please... call me on it.

4. I cannot stand it when people don't use their blinkers. They are there for a reason! Use them!

5. I usually don't admit this. I cry at movies. Most movies make me cry. Movies that I have seen a thousand times and that are probably not worth crying over will still make me cry. When we are trying to pick out a movie, I will often reject a selection of Luke's just on the basis that it will make me cry and I don't feel like crying that day. Some examples... The Little Mermaid and most recently Monsters, Inc. What?! I know. I'm a baby.

6. A two-fer: I can't stand incomplete sets of books. For example, my mom bought Noah a Eric Carle book for his birthday. I thought it was cute and bought another one, only to find out it was part of a set of four! So my mom (she is the same this way) and I went back to the store and finished off the set of four. Good thing they were a bargain... which leads me the second of the two-fer: I can't buy anything that is regular priced. I seriously am a bargain shopper and have a really, really, really hard time paying full price for anything (even a can of tomatoes)! This has saved me some dough over time and so I am thankful for it. And like the incomplete set thing... it runs in the family. You should hear about the deals that my sister gets!

Oh What a Night!

On Tuesday night, I was feeling the need to get out of the house. I asked Luke if he wanted to take a drive. He's always up for a drive, especially if he gets to see an animal or two along the way. And since there are always animals around, we decided to head up towards Guardsman Pass. What a night! It was amazing. I can't believe how lucky we were to see some of our favorite things.

When we got to the top of Guardsman, there was a huge, full double rainbow. You couldn't even see the entire thing without turning your head. Rainbows are one of my favorite sights to see. I love spotting them and being reminded of the miracles that our Heavenly Father works in our lives. Isn't this just breathtaking?

Then, we turn around the bend and I see some dark spots out in a meadow. I asked Luke, "What are those, cows, horses?" Then, it hit me right before it hit him... they were moose. Six moose all together in a meadow. We pulled up closer and discovered that they were all bulls and that there were actually seven! It was so awesome! I have never seen this many moose, let alone bulls, together in one place. We took some great video and will have to share it sometime. This picture is of the five that were closest.

We headed down the hill aways and saw three deer, another bull moose and then a cow and calf moose. They were fun to watch, too. The mother got a little impatient with us after a couple of minutes, so we left them alone and headed back up the hill. It was so amazing. What a great night! I love the outdoors and this beautiful earth we live in.