Holy Twilight Batman!

I am still stunned at all the crazy controversy that Twilight has accumulated.

From being written poorly, to teaching young girls bad morals, to saying Eddy is a stalker, to saying blah blah blah blah blah.

Truth is, it is a FANTASY NOVEL. It isn't true. *GASP* She didnt write this book to say he was gallant because sleeping with her would kill her, so he didnt. She didnt write this book to win an award for the best writing ever. She wrote this book for F-U-N. It got published, sweet! Fans wanted more, go figure! She made a lot of money... a LOT of money.

You can read books for several reasons. You can read them for edification, spiritual or intellectual. You can read them for instruction, How To's. You can even read them for PLEASURE, aka FUN.

FUN. Meaning, you realize it is 1. NOT TRUE 2. MADE UP 3. COULD NEVER HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE. Yup... I think that pretty much covers it. It is supposed to get you out of your own world, forgetting anything you are going through or just take you to a fun place where things could, here it comes again, NEVER REALLY HAPPEN.

It really just drives me nuts how much people harp on these books. You want to get upset about something? As cliche has it is, look up 3rd world countries and their health systems. Heck, look at OUR health system!

Bottom line, other movies have been good and awful before. Bottom line, other books have people that DO sleep together, Bottom line... it is a book.

Ten Months

Chloe turned ten months old yesterday. Ten months! She has been alive longer than she was conceptualized (I mean that both ways...she was a surprise). Just a little check in with what she's doing at this point in time:

-She climbs. Everything. She'll hang from the piano and swing her legs, she'll climb the TV stand (we had to take out the middle shelves to prevent it being a ladder) and last week she climbed up the side of a chair only to have it topple on top of her on the tile. She must be part monkey.
-Bringing us to our next point, she's tough as nails. My goal is to raise a girl who can stand on her own, and she is following that plan beautifully. She cut open her mouth and we didn't know until the bloody smile.
-She babbles. A lot. She's always been more of a mover than a talker, but she's coming along. She used to say mama and dada, but now it's almost all just kind of da-da-da-da-da. Unless I'm holding her.
-She can stand up really well now. Just pushes herself up.
-She's taken a few shaky steps. She's not the biggest fan because it's hard and she'd rather crawl, but she can do it.
-She's starting to show some stranger anxiety, but nothing too big.
-Opening and closing doors and cupboards are one of her favorite things to do.

She also loves the instruments in our house. Becky starts playing piano and she'll come right over and pound on the keys from the floor. Sometimes she'll just play with it all on her own. She also loves the guitar and isn't quite sure what it is...I have teeth marks on the neck now unfortunately.

And there you have it! She's still a tiny one. As of last month she was in the 5th percentile of pretty much everything, and she goes in on Wednesday to get her final flu shot. Not sure how those are really related, but hey.

Anyway, here's the reason you really read this: pictures of the child!

Ranck Q&A

Well, we all know that everyone who reads this blog knows either Becky or I in some fashion. Some are family, some have lived with one of us, and the rest wish they had. But there's always more that you can learn, right? Right. So someone recently approached us and asked for an exclusive, behind the scenes interview with us while we share our deepest, darkest secrets for the whole internet. We were lucky enough to gain a hold of this transcript and we are now posting it straight to your personal computer for your entertainment and enlightenment. Bolded statements are from the interviewer, in case you can't figure it out.

So first off, we need to know: are you really as awesome as you seem?
Jameson: Well, Becky is. I'm not.
Becky: Don't believe a word he says. Like attracts like.
Jameson: I mean everything I ever say. Ever.

Okay, now that the burning question is out of the way. So, what do you two do together?
Becky: I guess it depends on what you define as together. If you ask me, we go on walks or play games. If you ask Jameson, he plays games while I do something unrelated next to him.
Jameson: We're cuddling, so it's almost quality time together. Besides, she takes breaks to read the story and watch the cutscenes.

Your most ideal meal?
Jameson: Well this one honestly depends on my mood. The other day we went to Pizza Pie Cafe and I had several slices of Hillbilly pizza (imagine every kind of meat you can think of on a slice) and cookie dough pizza and that was pretty heavenly. On the other hand, Becky can make the most amazing chicken parmesan I've ever had. And even still the chinese chicken salad that her and my mother make is ambrosia.
Becky: I have to agree with Jameson; it depends on my mood. But what always sounds good is anything mexican and gooey.
Jameson: If she had her way when she was pregnant she would have eaten at either Cafe Rio or Chipotle every meal of every day.
Becky: Yeah, wouldn't you?

That does sound amazing. What about your ideal vacation?
Becky: My ideal vacation...only really needs three things: a beach, a book, and sun.
Jameson: It also only needs the absence of two things: her husband and daughter.
Becky: Hey!
Jameson: Eh. I would probably have to agree. I very much enjoy beaches. I'm not big into travel vacations, you know, go here and see that. I like relaxing ones. A book, some movies, my DS. It all works.

What's your most prized accomplishment?
Jameson: Well, I am a father...that pretty much takes the cake. On the other hand though, it didn't take much to become one other than to not kill my best friend. I have a B.S. degree...I painted a picture once in high school. It was pretty awesome. It was a ninja sloth with a pagoda in the background. My mom loved it.
Becky: Spiritually, of course, it would be that I'm a mother and a wife. Some people questioned whether that was something I could ever do (laughs). Materially speaking, I'm really proud of my varsity swimming status in high school, my budding ability to knit, and my first real portrait: a sketch of my nephew as a baby.

Seeing as how it is around that time of year: what's your favorite holiday?
Becky: Hands down, it has to be Christmas. It has the best food, the best spices, quilts, sweaters, baking, music, family. Can't really beat that. And of course it celebrates the most important person in our life, Jesus Christ.
Jameson: We're a big Christmas household. I've always been a huge fan. It just has that feeling you know? You really can't beat it. I always get it at least. Besides, it had wassail. Honestly, you can't top wassail. Especially Becky's.

Alright alright, we've taken enough time. Any last words?
Jameson: Just remember to floss and eat your vegetables. I rarely do either.
Becky: The only piece of wisdom I can think of to compete with Jameson's was given by a general authority, and that is to always to remember to tuck the shower curtain into the tub before you shower.

Well there you have it! A look into our incredible lives. I hope you enjoyed reading this portion of the interview, and who knows? Maybe someday we'll release the rest for public view.

Good News

The world needs more good news. So, let me tell you a good news story.

The evening before daylight savings Jameson was sitting down to a game and we were just relaxing. And let me tell you what time it was, 8:20. I put my head down for a second and next thing I know, Jameson is putting me in bed.
"What are you doing?"
"We're going to bed"
"What time is it?"
"10:48"
"Oh... okay..."
Next thing I know, it is 7am. It was a super awesome night.
Thank you day light savings for adding an hour to my night!
Thank you Jameson for letting me sleep!
Thank you Chloe for not waking me up and sleeping in a little!
Ah.... sleep.
I hope you all get some soon :)

The Hap-Happiest Season

It snowed Friday night.

I would like you all to just sit and think about that statement for a moment. In fact, I'll once again iterate:

It snowed Friday night.

Now, this isn't technically the First Snow Of The Season. That happened at work sometime this week. It didn't reach home, however, and melted before I left the hospital. So this is what I am holding to be the first.

I hate, hate, hate snow.

Everyone I know thinks it's magic and that it looks pretty. And...that's true to be honest. I actually enjoyed snow back in the day when it was a rare occasion in Seattle and I was too young to really understand what it meant to have to drive in it. Then I moved to Utah for school and it snowed and I thought it was awesome because I got to see people slip and fall on the ice and I stayed inside writing papers and only went out to play in it.

Then I went on my mission to the North Pole. Or Cleveland. It was hard to tell sometimes. I remember my first winter there: awful. It didn't start snowing until January or so in my area of downtown Cleveland, but once it did it hit hard. How hard you ask? I remember cheering when the temperature reached positive degrees. I remember my friend serving in Sweden writing telling me that it was negative something Celsius and me freaking out about how cold it was and then realizing that negative 30 Fahrenheit was actually colder, and that was the temperature I was walking in. Yes, I said negative 30. Cleveland is lovingly referred to as the "mistake on the lake" due to the high speed winds lake effect.

It was cold.

I actually got frostbite on my mission. My nose and the part of my cheeks under my eyes actually froze to a mild degree. To this day, when I transition from cold to hot my cheeks turn a nice brilliant red. It's fun.

Last year was a first for me when I had to drive to work in our convertible. In the snow. I actually had to call off work once or twice because I just couldn't make it there. That year began an even greater dislike for the icy white, and I am a complete scrooge when it comes to being out in snow at all. I hate being cold, I hate being wet, and the white stuff has the tendency to grant me both blessings at once with the inevitable avalanche off of tree branches that somehow always happens right when I walk beneath them.

Today, the snow is melting. Mostly. But I have an even bigger problem: I'm sitting here on my couch and cold wind is blowing in through my giant closed window behind me.

We're going out to buy some plastic wrap soon to seal this baby closed. I refuse to be in the great white north in my own living room while I watch TV.

Oddly enough, throughout two years in Ohio and coming on to my third year here in Utah, I haven't had a white Christmas since I was a little kid and don't remember.

I'm coming out

Some of you know, some of you dont. But it is time to shout it out and let the chips fall where they may.
I have been going to a group now for about a month. It has been incredible and exactly what the doctor ordered. My group is...

KNITTING!

Duh duh duhhhhhhhh

I was waiting until I was finished with my first project to make sure this stuck and that I really loved it. But yesterday as I was waiting to go I had finished my scarf, Chloe was asleep and I didnt know what to do. I missed working on something. I am so grateful to have found this. For those of you who dont know how this started, when I found out that I was pregnant with Chloe I wanted to learn some crafty thing. I guess I felt like to be a mom I had to do something mom-ish and knitting was it I guess. We bought me "I Taught Myself to Knit" and I started out pretty strong. I had a real desire to do it. Then I started pulling it out only for General Conference. I wasn't getting anywhere.

A few weeks ago I went on a really awesome Relief Society activity where a woman pulled out a knitting project and worked on it the whole ride. I told her that I had tried and it didnt stick and that I would like some help. She JUMPED on that opportunity. She had me over, GAVE me yarn she wasn't using, let me borrow her needles and gave me a pattern. Last night I finished it! Scarf number 1! I started on the matching hat last night.

I am really loving this not only cause I'm learning a new craft but because I am getting a night out with amazing women all in different walks of life in different stages of projects and enjoying conversations I never would have thought I'd have. I'm so grateful for my new ward and how open they are and willing to teach and befriend me.