stupid vampires

So Amanda and I went to the midnight premier of Twilight tonight and yes, it is now 4:20 in the morning and I don't think I'll be sleeping at all tonight because I have to be up by 5:30 anyway to take Tiff to seminary. The movie was good, as true as the director could be to the book without making the movie 4 hours long (not that any of us would have minded seeing another 2 hours of it). I must say, however, that I feel sorry for the boys and men of this generation because those of us of the female persuasion have some pretty high expectations now. There was an audible intake of breath in the theater when Rob Pattinson first came on screen and pretty much every time after that. It's difficult to imagine he was the "dark horse" to get the part. He understood Edward and got his eyes down to...well... Not to mention the other vampires (Jasper..ummm...wow). Kristen Stewart was well cast, she seemed to understand Bella as well. So now I've lost another night to these beautiful, man I wish they were real, vampires. Between the books and the movie... Who needs sleep anyhow?

So my girls and I were looking through my old high school yearbooks the other day, laughing at the 80's hair and clothes (being a little disturbed actually at how back in style some of them are) when we came across my best friend, Steve Hoemann. Steve was my jello buddy, we did everything together, and knowing what I know now about the true nature of friendship I didn't value him nearly enough then. He lost girlfriends over me when I'd show up at his house at 2 in the morning in tears because of some jerk I was dating and because we were pretty much inseparable. He was 100% in love with me but knowing I didn't feel that way about him didn't affect our friendship at all. I didn't realize how much of a toll it really took on him until after I was married and had Amanda and I wanted him to meet her. She was about 6 months old when he came into where I worked, job hunting, and I asked him if he'd come over to see her. We got to my parents' house where he stopped on the front porch and said, with tears in his eyes, "Jess, I can't do this, I just can't, I'm so sorry," and turned around and walked away. That was the last time I saw him or heard from him. After looking through those yearbooks however, I decided 18 years was long enough. I'd had his address for some time and finally had the courage to email him. Thankfully, he wrote back. He's married and teaching high school in Minnesota. He has two little boys who are ADORABLE (I love technology, instant pictures). What took me by surprise was how much I missed him. Like a little piece of me was finally back home. He hasn't changed much, a bit less hair and a few more laugh lines, but his eyes and smile are still my jello.

Some Things Never Change

There are 3 things in life that are forever the same - death, taxes, and high school football. We went to watch Frederick's game tonight in Fort Lupton. They lost (their coach is a moron but that's a whole other issue) but I'm always amazed at how the games and atmosphere never change. I've been out of high school longer than I'd care to think about but the cheerleaders are still doing some of the same cheers we did and the marching band uniforms....well....you know. The hair styles and clothes may be different but that Friday night lights electricity will always be the same.

Family History

I spent a good portion of the morning at the family history library at the stake center learning how to use the PAF software. After going to the temple yesterday I've decided Brent's family has waited long enough and it's time to start doing their work. It's amazing how many Sabecs there are! I'm looking forward to getting them all sorted out and finding who belongs to whom. Now that I've got the family files all set up and organized in my computer I can start really hunting. Many of the names Brent and I won't be able to do for quite a while because of the 50 year rule. But I figure I can get all the information together and keep it so my kids can get it done. But we will be able to start with his great-grandparents. The spirit I feel helping people I don't know is amazing enough. I can't imagine how it will be helping people I do.

Here we go again!

So I'm taking Tiffany to get her driver's permit this afternoon. This one's going to add a few more grey hairs! She actually is a pretty good driver, I'm just not ready to check another one off my list. At least Tiff listens to me. I finally had to hand Amanda over to her dad to drive because the answer to every comment I made was "I know!". We'll see how it goes. If stock in L'oreal hair color goes through the roof we'll know why!

Children of the Corn

I got to take Amber and a few of her friends to try out Miller Farms haunted corn maze tonight. They're opening it to the public tomorrow night and we got to go be part of a guinea pig group to test it out. The tour started with a scary story about abandoned, sunken coal mines, ghosts, Indian spirits and goatsuckers (I never did quite figure out what those were). We then loaded into a hay trailer and drove about a mile out in the middle of the corn field where we had a "guide" waiting for us. The path meandered through the corn where we would hear an occasional rustle or noise. The guide would stop every once in awhile and back track like he was lost and the further we got in the more active the corn got. Finally he sent us forward onto a path saying he would catch up and promptly disappeared at which point the fog machine got cranked up and we were left on our own for about 5 minutes. It was definitely an example that fear of what you can't see is far worse than a zombie right in front of you. Even some of the adults were beginning to freak out a little by the time the owner of the farm rescued us and walked us back out. The "ghosts" continued to follow us all the way back to the farmhouse and the girls were keeping an eye over their shoulders even as we walked back to the car. It was so fun to watch them enjoy being scared. They're still young enough not to need blood and gore to be impressed. Definitely time well spent.

Our Forever Family Day

On July 26, 2008 our family was sealed in the Denver Colorado Temple for time and all eternity. We had so many friends and family who were able to join us in celebrating this amazing time. After close to two months I still can't quite wrap my mind around it. The vision of my children all in white is something I will never forget and I'm thankful they are all old enough to really remember the experience.