Great Leg Workout

Required:
Trampoline
Kids

So, this weekend I spent many great hours of playing "Rocket" with my nephews and niece. What that is, is you hop in the trampoline, hold hands with another person, and jump together counting: one, two, three.... then on three you lock down giving the other person all the bounce you possess and let them fly to the moon! This was the highlight of our weekend! And it was a killer workout for my legs!

Penelope, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion

So, last weekend was super fun!

Friday:
Had my cousin Kim come over to watch 'Northanger Abbey' before I had to go to our Relief Society Sleepover. I liked it all except for the end. I watched the PBS version and it was TOO short. They crammed in the love part of it all in 2 minutes. BLAH! We had a great time though. I need to see if I can find another version to watch... one that is preferably longer than and hour and a half.I was super worried about the sleepover. A) I am 30, and most of our sisters are younger... so I was worried that I wouldn't really fit in. B) We were sleeping on a hard floor. C) I was pretty sure I would be in bed by 10:30p. So I was pretty nervous, but hey, I had to support our decision to have this "Back-to-School Sleepover! Ok, I was up until 3:00a (there were only 3 of us up that late), I clicked SO well with everyone there~ making some enduring friendships, and I didn't sleep comfortably at all, but I didn't care! We watched 'Penelope', which has now become one of my favorite movies. Why? It teaches people that it's not what is on the outside that matters (meaning looks... I mean come on, some of us were not blessed with hottness), and that it's what is on the inside that matters! LOVE that movie! Plus, James McAvoy gives a skip in the 'ol heart in the kiss scene at the end. mmmmm!

Saturday:
Nap
Kim came back over... this time wearing a Jane Austen dress she made herself and all dazzled up as if she lived in that time period. She was GORGEOUS!! We all decided (me, Tricia, and mom) that we need to make a dress for ourselves and all dress up one night... wouldn't that be fun?! We watched 'Persuasion' and was not as impressed with the version we saw either. Don't get me wrong, the main guy was nice looking... but it was too short (an hour and a half). Then I suggested we watched 'Penelope' so that they could see how cute it was. (NOTE: Yes, I went out and bought it that morning because I liked it so much!) We all loved it, and yes, we watched the kiss scene twice! ;o)

Tasks:
Need to check out different versions of 'Persuasion' and 'Northanger Abbey' (any suggestions?)
Make Jane Austen dress to hang out in with Kim.
Remind myself that it's not what I look like on the outside that is important... it's what's on the inside that matters most!Watch kiss scene in 'Penelope' again ;o)

Happy 3rd Birthday Abbey!

I looked outside today, and my song for you fits perfect on this stormy day! "I got sunshine, on a cloudy day... when it's cold outside, I got the month of may... I guess you say, what can make me feel this way? MY GIRL! You are so dear to me Abbey! I love you so much! Have a super fun Birthday today!
Here are some things I love about you:
I love your smile whenever you see me
I love dancing with you in your room
I love playing in your doll house
I love jumping on the trampoline with you
I just love you and being with you!
Happy 3rd Birthday!
Love
Missi ;o)

"MY GOSH"

Last night I heard Abbey in the backyard talking to Oakley (in her puppy voice - you know, that high pitched voice), so I decided to go see my princess! Every time she see's me, she gets a huge smile and asks if I want to play with her. That night she wanted to know if I wanted to jump on the trampoline with her. Of course I did, so we walked towards the trampoline. Every Tuesday we get our lawn mowed, so I put the little step ladder on the trampoline so it is out of the way. I could see what was going to happen, but I was just waiting for her response. She pranced over to the trampoline.... stopped.... turned to me and said "MY GOSH!" That is her new word. I started laughing, because she was SO serious and you can't jump on the trampoline without a ladder to crawl up on. She threw her hands down to her side, and I asked her what the matter was. She said, "there's no wadder!" I took it off the trampoline and set it on the ground.... and you would have thought I was a super hero in her eyes. We had a great time jumping! ;o)

Jane Eyre

My cousin (Kim) came over the other night and brought with her Jane Eyre (the 2006 version). That was my favorite version yet, because it was almost 4 hours long, and you get a real feel for the characters, etc. I thought Georgie Henley (young Jane) did a fantastic job! She has such a sweet innocence about her which she brings to the character of Jane. I always feel so bad for Jane. But that is why I love her. She had such a horrible childhood, but she didn't let that get her down. She became a confident, smart, loving person. They did a fantastic job casting Ruth Wilson (Jane). We all commented on how both she and Georgie Henley look so much alike, you would have thought it was Georgie all grown up. Ruth's performance was superb. She wasn't as personality-less as I have seen in other versions. I liked when she would smile and tease with Mr. Rochester.... showing a tiny bit of her emotions. Toby Stephens (Edward Rochester) did a fantastic job. He grows on you. All the characters do. Poor man! He has finally found the woman of his dreams, and cannot have it because of a cruel trick. I will not say more, I don't want to spoil this movie for those who have never seen any versions of Jane Eyre. Something I felt about Rochester though... he is quite the manipulator! He is not the most romantic character ever written, but considering his past, why should he be? All in all, this is a great movie. I'd recommend it to everyone! ;o)

Happy 6th Birthday Parker

Parker, you are getting so tall!! I hope you had a fun birthday. You got so many cool toys, and had all those that love you more than anything else surrounding you! Happy Birthday Dude~
I love you so much. Here are some things I love about you:
I LOVE your laugh (it's super contagious)
I love how you like to build things
I love going to the moon with you
I love playing with you
I love seeing you become a terrific young man
I just love you!
Happy Birthday Dude!
Love,
Missi ;o)

Grateful

It's amazing what you don't know about people. I have a co-worker/friend that I have worked with now for 4-5 years, and she was telling me about how her father lost his leg. He was a bus driver for like a Greyhound bus in Mexico when a semi carrying logs tried to pass him going up a hill. The semi realized that another bus was coming and swerved into her dad's bus, causing them to roll. She was telling me how people died, and her father was critically injured as well. Then she told me how at that time, in Mexico, people would pay money to get out of things. The semi truck did just this to the policeman, bribing him to say that it was my friends, dad's fault. Her dad was sent to the jail infirmity to heal, but was in jail for 6 months. She told me that at that time, her oldest brother was 4, she was 2, and they had just had a baby. Others that survived the crash fought and told what really happened, and an investigation was done. In the meantime, my friends dad's leg was broken in so many parts. They had to amputate pretty much the whole leg. At the end of our conversation, and after sharing how grateful she is to God for her dad living, she said to me that they didn't have everything they wanted growing up, but that they had everything they needed. Her dad is her hero.

That struck a cord inside of me today. What really matters most to me? My family. I think of each of them individually and to me, they are my hero's. Each one of them. My parents, siblings, and nieces/nephews. We may not have everything we want, but we have each other, and that is all I need! I love my family!