Our Twilight Adventure

Even though I haven't let my girls read the Twilight Books yet, though it is not from a lack of trying (or begging) on their part, I just think they should wait until they are a little bit older! They love the Movies. And when New Moon came out last fall, they really wanted to go to the midnight premier, but it was a school night, so we went the next day after school to see it instead. But, I told them since Eclipse came out in the summer, maybe we could go to that one.

Just a portion of the line!

Well to them of course, that is like signing a contract in blood! They've talked about it for months & months! So, the day the tickets went on sale, I purchased them. For us & their BFF Maddie, who we introduced to the whole Twilight saga when she spent the night once, and watched the first movie, then her mom allowed us to take her to see New Moon. So, it was only fitting that she go with us to this premier too!

This, of course, is how I spent part of my time waiting in line!

Though their is a problem here, you see Maddie is Team Edward, and we are Team Jacob all the way! A friendly rivalry! And some other friends of ours from Church came with us as well, our Youth Pastor's wife Dana, & our friends Angel, Kaylin & Lindsey, all Twihards as well!

Erica & Maddie passing time playing cards!

The girls were so excited to go to their first ever midnight movie! (My girls will turn 13 years old in just three and a half short months! YIKES! And their friend Maddie is 12 as well!) They all had countdowns going on of how many days & hours until Eclipse! Talk about a total Eclipse of the heart! They could hardly talk about anything else! And for preteens, that is saying something!

The girls met some new friends in line,
& starting playing some games together!

They made me buy Eclipse brand chewing gum, and then we had to save it for the big day! :) My friend Tammy (Maddie's Mom, who is a misguided soul, & not a twilight fan! If you can believe it?!) ordered them Eclipse tee shirts on line for them to wear to the premiere! They baked cookies for us to have while we waited in line. I mean this was intense!

Lexi, Maddie & Erica, in their Eclipse Tees!

So yesterday we got to the Theater around 6:45pm. (Remember the movie doesn't start until midnight!) And of course there was a long line already, wrapping around the building! And this is Arizona, the temperature outside here yesterday was 108°, but that didn't stop us, or hundreds of other people for that matter! We did bring water bottles with us of course.

Lexi showing off her "I run with wolves!" Bag.

And I must tell you, my girls who can't stand in line to order at a fast food joint without complaining, never once said they were hot or tired and I'm not joking! They talked, played card games, texted of course, told me what to Tweet about our adventure! :) If you'd like to read all my Tweets from the night, you can here! We had so much fun!

Our group of Twihards:
(Lft. to Rt.) Lindsay, Maddie, Me, Dana, Angel,
Kaylin down front, Erica & Lexi on top!

And let me tell you, if you are a people watcher, this was the place to be! There were all kinds of fanatics out there. The guy right behind us in line had red contacts in his eyes & vampire fangs. And he was so nice to allow me to take his picture for the Blog! I saw a woman wearing a Tee shirt that said "Cougar for Cullen" on it. :0 A very pregnant woman with "Renesmee" written on her belly! It was all quite entertaining!

Our Vampire friend & line buddy!

And the movie was so good! The girls loved it too! I know this was a day they will remember for a long time! I think I was even considered a cool mom, at least until I don't allow them to do something they really want to anyway! By then I'm sure they will have forgotten all about this! But thankfully I have pictures! :)

Almost show time!

It was all fun & games until I had to get up the next morning after only getting five hours of sleep, to open the store! Did I mention I'm a person who loves my sleep & needs a lot of it?! I hope I didn't scare any customers, or answer their questions wrong, but to be honest, I couldn't even remember! I went right to bed when we got home, but the three girls actually stayed up & watched another movie! Oh to be young again!

This is how I left the girls, when I went to work the next morning!
Dead to the world!

But, I have to say it was so worth it! We had so much fun! My baby girls' very first midnight movie premier! They are really growing up too fast! And it's my evil plan to try my hardest to stay as close and as connected to them as possible. And no matter what else you might think about the Twilight Saga, one thing it is great at doing, is bringing Mothers & Daughters together! Cheering on their favorite Werewolf or Vampire! All in good fun!

Toy Story

When my boys were little they loved the Toy Story movies! All kids have a special relationship to their toys. Some just become part of the family. I talked a little about my Mrs. Beasley Doll in my last post. Another one of my favorites was my Chrissy Doll. She had red hair, that got long when you pulled her pony tail out & short when you pulled the string on her back. And you know how much I love my Barbies! :) But it was Raggedy Ann that I slept with every night until she got so thread bare, that she was beyond repair. That was a sad day in this girls life! My oldest son, Kyle, had Baseball Bear that he slept with, and Zach had Golden the Bunny Rabbit! (I think we still have both of those somewhere in the back of a closet)

The Baby Chrissy Doll

We went to see the new Toy Story Movie. And someone should have warned me that it was about Andy going off to college. And having to decide to take his toys with him, box them up in storage, donate them, or throw them away! I have one son who just finished his freshman year of college & another one who will be starting college this year as well. So, needless to say I cried like a baby during this movie! (or like the mommy of a baby) :)

As we left the theater that night, I told both my boys they were no longer allowed to go to college! That they had to stay home & play with their toys, with me! Now, isn't that such a brilliant parenting strategy?! To ground your children from college?! Makes perfect since to me! Feel free to take my great idea & incorporate it into your own family! After this movie, colleges everywhere will be empty!

My Little Woody: Zach
Taking on his big brother the Ninja: Kyle

That little Cowboy & Ninja have now turned into this:Young Men!

I've really loved every stage of all my kids' lives. Watching these two go from fun little boys into adults that I can have meaningful conversations with. But, sometimes you just wanna keep them little, and go back in time. If you haven't seen Toy Story 3 yet, you really need to. It's fun for every age viewer! But if your a Mom of kids that are growing up way too fast, be sure to bring Kleenex with you!

I would love it if you left a comment on this post & told me what some of your favorite toys were when you were little, or what some of your kids' favorite toys are! And we can all miss our toys together.

Is It Me? Or Is It Just Me?

I just finished reading the book Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah for our Book Club. And I must say it was like a look into the past. (Literally & Figuratively!) It is about 2 girls who become friends in Jr. High School in the 70's. I was in Jr. High school in the 70's. One of these girls mentions having a Mrs. Beasley Doll. I had a Mrs. Beasley Doll! Remember that old T.V. show Family Affair, about the single dad & the kids named Buffy & Jody?! Buffy's favorite doll she carried with her at all times was Mrs. Beasley! Well that all hooked me right away. A girl loves her dolls!

(The Family Affair cast, including the Mrs. Beasley Doll)

It goes through the friendship of these two girls/women through many decades. The 70's, the 80's, the 90's, & into the present. The music of the times, the events that happened. I loved that part of the book. And I couldn't over look some other similarities to myself I found. Although she is a few years older than me, one of the girls gets married in 1987. I got married in 1987! She ends up having her first child in 1990. I too became a mother for the first time in 1990! Then she goes on to have twins in about 1997. (I'm not kidding!) I had twins in 1997! Do I have a stalker out there?

Then this past Sunday morning in Church we were watching a message by Pastor Ray Johnston from Bayside Church in Roseville, Ca. He opens with an introduction to himself. And he tells about his wife & how they had two sons, and then thought they were done having children, when they found out they were expecting again & that they were having twin girls! Pretty much everyone who knows me turned to look at me. That is our story exactly! Friends came up to me after church telling me how unusual that was, that someone else had our same story. (I didn't even tell them about this book I was reading!) What is going on here?

They say we all have a twin out there somewhere. Maybe it's not just someone that looks like us, but someone with a similar story to ours. Still I believe we are all unique. And that there really isn't anyone just quite like us! Though with these two experiences in my own life, I'm starting to question that theory! Is it me? Or is it just me?

Happy Fathers Day!

The kids playing with Daddy!

I want to wish a very Happy Fathers Day to the best father I could ask for for my children. Since our first child was born he has been active in their lives. Never afraid to change diapers, or get dirty playing with them. Taking off of work to go to school events, sports games, band, dance & choir concerts. Patiently helping them with their homework, or to learn about music or computers. Always willing to listen or help!

Happy Fathers Day John. I love you so much & have loved watching you being a dad these past 20 years! You Rock!

John with all his Girls! :)

Father & Sons!

My kids have also been blessed to have two great men to Grandfather them. My dad, John Fink, who is now in heaven, & Johns dad Robert Forbis. Both have added humor & love to our kids' lives. And for that we are grateful. Happy Fathers Day Dad/Grandpa. We love you.

My Kids with my Dad!
We still miss Papa!

The kids with John's Dad!

Happy Fathers Day!
Take the time to tell the men in your life how much you appreciate them!

My Little Starlet

Last week my 12 year old Daughter, Erica was watching Camp Rock (for probably about the hundredth time!) We'll she decided because she loves to sing so much, that she wanted to go to some sort of Music camp like that too. She has decided to give up playing the French Horn in the school band next year when she starts Jr. High, & to take Drama and/or Choir instead. Her twin sister Lexi, as you know, loves playing the Flute & will continue doing band. Even since school has been out this summer Lexi will be in her room practicing her Flute, without us ever having to ask her too. Just like her older brother Zach, who just the other day said to me "My friends want me to go swimming, but I really wanted to play the Guitar! I only got in 3 hours yesterday!"

Yes, everyone of my 4 kids & my husband are all very musical. If we were playing the old Sesame Street game of which one of these things doesn't belong here, it would be me! I am basically musically illiterate! But, as someone said to me just today: "Everyone needs a Fan!" And that is my job in life, to be my husbands & my kids biggest fan! And I'm really good at it! (If I do say so myself, and I do!) :)

So, Erica, all on her own, got on line & searched out local music camps she could possible attend. She sat us down & told us all about it. Giving her dad the website of the one she really wanted to go to, to check it out & make sure it was on the up & up! She REPEATEDLY told us how if we registered her by this certain date we would save 30%! She really wanted this! How could we say no?!

Doing the group performance of the song Happiness,
from Your A Good Man Charlie Brown.

The camp she chose was through Premiere Performing Arts Academy, right here in Gilbert, AZ. You can check out their website here. The camp she wanted to take was called Vocal Intensive. So, she went every night for a week, two hours each day. She was giving a solo & a group number to perform. She worked on it everyday. And on the last day of camp they did a performance for the family members. And of course she did great!

Erica singing her solo of A Change In Me,
from Beauty And The Beast.

The first day of her camp, I was giving her tips to try to help her not to be too shy & to make new friends, & her twin sister asked her "are you gonna tell people your a twin?" I thought that was cute. They do most things together, but definitely not everything! Lexi didn't act jealous at all that Erica got to do this, and was doing it alone. She was really supportive of her sister! I was proud of both my girls! And then, as we were leaving Erica's performance one of the schools owners, said to Lexi "You Rocked It Girlfriend! Great job tonight!" Lexi, like most twins learn to do, just simply said Thanks! Without taking the time to explain it was her sister, not her, who indeed had Rocked it! :)

Broadway Here We Come!

Senior Year II - Graduation

My Baby Boy has Graduated from High School!
Our High School is so large we hold our Graduation
at Arizona State University.
There were 777 Graduating students.
That's a lot of names to call!

Here he is receiving his diploma!


Zach sang with his Choir sang during the ceremony. . .


He made it up on the Mega Tron!

After the Ceremony:

Brothers!
I am NOT old enough to be the parent of two college age young men!
You can read here about Kyle's graduation last year.
It's both exciting & heart breaking watching
your little boys growing into men.

The Proud Parents!

Zach with Aunt Pat & Grandma!
(John's sister & Mom)

We Are Family!

With the little sisters!

Lexi trying on the cap.

Erica seeing how it fits!

And Kyle's girlfriend of over two and a half years,
Olivia, Graduated from High School as well.

Kyle with The graduate.

Congratulations Olivia, We're so proud of you!

And guess who will be next? . .

It's official, the girls are now officially in Jr. High!
Say it ain't so!
You can help me prepare them for it here.