For the First Time EVER.

I find myself thinking maybe we shouldn't be living here... Maybe we should still be living in Idaho. What if this happened to us??? Nine years!?!?! Our sweet Tigger disappeared about 10 years ago, while we were living in Pocatello. If a cat can come back 9 years later, don't you think one could come back 10 years later? But even if he did turn back up on Flamingo Dr. and even if someone did take him into the pet clinic there, the microchip we had put in him would give them bogus info on us. There's no way they'd know to contact us here. :(

I miss our Tigger.

Run like the wind! Or at least like a gentle breeze.

So now that school is back in session, I am making a sincere effort to really get back into the routine of going to the gym regularly. I alternate between weights and cardio. Today was cardio.

Keep in mind that last week was the first time I stepped foot in my gym since before summer. *hangs head in shame*

Last week I "ran" (I use this word loosely. It was really a slow jog, 4mph, most people would consider it a quick walk. But I'm short and out of shape and so for me, it was a jog. But "running" sounds better than "jogging" and it's my blog. So there. Besides, I also incline the treadmill to make the resistance more realistic since when you really go running, there's not a treadmill moving itself while you run. So at least if I'm going slow, I'm also facing resistance... that cancels out the slowness, right? lol) 2 miles without stopping and was pleased enough with that since as I mentioned, it was my first time at the gym in months.

So today, I figured I would do the same; I want to go slow and really pace myself. And I really want to have realistic expectations. So, I "ran" for my 2 miles. As I came to the end of the 2 miles, I felt great and I knew I could go further so I just told myself I'd go another 1/2 mile before I slowed it down to a walk. That 1/2 mile went by and I was starting to get tired but I knew I could still go a little further without pushing it so I decided I would just run until I felt like I should stop. As I approached the 3 mile mark, I realized that if I extended it just another tenth of a mile beyond 3 miles, I would have run a 5K. Admittedly, by this time I was definitely reaching my limit but now I was excited that I would actually have "run" a 5K without stopping so I pushed on until that point and then slowed down to walk through the rest of the workout. I have to admit that I'm pretty impressed with myself. Even though it was at a slow pace, lol.

We always try to go to Sacramento for Thanksgiving and while we're there, we usually participate in the Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving morning. Most times, I've just done the 5K, usually walking. Once, I attempted the 10K and ran (fine, jogged) about half of it, walking the rest. I really want to try to do the 10K again this year and to run most, if not all of it. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it! lol

Mini Me, still in training.

I wish that I could have taken a picture of Rori yesterday the first moment I saw her at church.  I had early morning meetings so Ryan and the girls were on their own that morning.  This is not unusual.  We've gotten into the habit of Cadi clearing her outfit with me the night before and me laying out a complete outfit (with shoes, even though last week the shoes I selected were completely ignored and other shoes that did NOT match were worn instead... not that I care or anything... lol) for Rori so that I at least know they will show up to church looking decent.  The only thing I still have to worry about is Rori's hair.  We're seriously lucky if Ryan remembers to brush it.  Needless to say, the members of our ward can always tell which Sundays I have early meetings and which ones I don't.

So yesterday, I was waiting for my family to arrive, hoping that Rori's hair had at least been brushed, when I see this cute little thing running toward me.  Again, I wish I could have taken a picture.  She had a little ponytail sticking up, off to the side, from the top of her head.  It was just one little ponytail and it reminded me of an 80's hairstyle.  (Key word: reminded.  Her hair did not look like this pic, thankfully. lol)



This was Acadia's first attempt at "doing" Rori's hair.  And considering she rarely ever "does" her own hair, I thought she did a pretty good job.  Even if it did make me giggle each time I saw it.  She even selected a bow that was nearly the same color as Rori's dress.  I was slightly tempted to "redo" the "do" but I just couldn't do that to Cadi.  She had given her best effort and it really did look pretty good.  So, I let it stay.  And I bet no one even thought twice about it, if they even noticed at all.

I think I may let Cadi do Rori's hair more often now, to give her "guided" practice.  That way, the next time I'm not there to help, she'll be able to do it by herself without making me want to giggle in the middle of church.

My Plea to Stephenie Meyer.

After reading Millie's plea and Klin's plea, I decided to join ranks and post my own plea as well.  For anyone not entirely sure of what I'm referring to, read this.

Dear Stephenie,

I was one of those reluctant readers.  My friends all raved about your books and I knew, I just KNEW, that if I so much as looked at one of them, I would become completely addicted, just as they were.  I really didn't have the time for another obsession and I was pretty pleased with myself for not giving into peer pressure.  Then my husband read an article about you in Time Magazine and decided that he wanted to read your books.  The next day, he brought home our first copy (yes, I say first because we do now own two copies) of Twilight.  He took that beautiful book out of the bookstore bag to show me, not realizing that he would not see that book again for 24 hours, unless it was in my hands with my nose buried deep in it.  The next day we rushed back to the bookstore to buy New Moon and Eclipse and reserved our copy of The Host as it was being released the following week.  Again, I took about 24 hours on each book and finally emerged two days later absolutely and completely in love with a vampire.  So many times that weekend, and since, I have lovingly told my husband that he is my Edward.  Thankfully, my husband has also read each book and realizes this is one of the best compliments that I can give him.

When I first heard of Midnight Sun, I was ECSTATIC!!!  Finally, we get to hear his thoughts!  We get to learn his side of the story!  I read the first chapter and just could not wait for Midnight Sun to be completed.  I began to look forward to Midnight Sun as much as Breaking Dawn and far more than the Twilight movie.  And now that we have read Breaking Dawn (which I personally enjoyed - as did my husband -  and I especially have enjoyed your answers to the FAQs; they helped me to understand more so that when rereading BD just recently, I found it even more enjoyable), Midnight Sun is by far the one thing I'm looking forward to most.

I was so disappointed to hear that someone in whom you had placed your trust had violated that confidence and leaked your partially finished manuscript.  I felt awful for you, for how that must make you feel.  I have never been in your situation but I can imagine that I would feel very hurt, offended, and betrayed.  I can understand why you have decided to put this project on hold.  I imagine (and I'm guessing here, so I could be totally off) that this may have totally thrown you off, making it more than a little difficult to really "get back into it".  I know you've said that when you're writing, you just write what the characters tell you.  And I can imagine that Edward's voice is not very easy to find right now. 

My plea is not for you to pick Midnight Sun back up and finish it right now.  (Though, that would be fine too. lol)  My hope is that you are able to take a break and spend your time with family and true friends, relaxing, loving, enjoying, and doing things that bring you happiness.  And then, my plea is for you to consider the many thousands of TRUE fans who respect you and your work, who have fallen in love with your characters, who support you completely, and who are dying to hear more of Edward's thoughts!  We are so sorry you have been hurt and we hope that you can heal quickly.  We honestly don't care about a paritally finished draft, we want Midnight Sun - the polished, finished book that you started.  We can wait but please don't make us wait too long!

Thank you for bringing these characters to life for us.  And thank you for providing us with good, clean books that entertain as well as any other series I've read. 

Sincerely,
Sariah

P.S.  And please, please, please consider writing New Moon from Jacob's point of view.  I would be just as interested in that story as I am in Midnight Sun! :)

*Gasp* Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me make one thing perfectly clear:  My household's number one team is the Patriots and we LOVE Tom Brady!!!



Granted, in this pic Ryan is wearing his Welcker jersey because Wes Welcker is probably our second favorite Patriot.  But rest assured, we EACH have our own Brady jersey and each wear our jerseys more often than you'd think.  (Cadi was just wearing her's on Saturday.)

So imagine our great distress when we learned Tom Brady is out for the season, down with a torn ACL.  Ryan's had a torn ACL... they're not fun.  We feel awful that our fearless leader is going through this!
So, where does that leave our team?  Well, we're not sure yet.  Cassel did pretty well, they did win the game yesterday even though Brady went out in the first quarter.  But then, they weren't exactly playing a very challenging team.  :S

I really hope they do well this season, even without Brady.  And I think they can.  Let me tell you why...
Everyone (myself included) makes a big deal about Brady.  They act as if the Patriots are only the amazing team they are because of him.  Don't get me wrong, like I mentioned before, we love Brady and yes, he is "da bomb".  He is the heart and soul of the team and he is a terrific leader.  But the Patriots are made up of MANY excellent players.  And they are capable of winning without him.  Can they go all the way?  I am not sure.  But I'm going to be cheering them on as they try.

To Tom Brady:  We wish you the best as you recover and hope that it's a speedy and healthy process.  We will miss you on the field this season but anxiously look forward to seeing you back, strong and healthy, next season!  Go Pats!

What the NorthWest is REALLY like.

After a great day at Mt. St. Helens, the next thing on the list of things to experience in our area was the rain the Columbia River Gorge.   Well, they got both.

We attended church, then changed, loaded up the cars with kids and lunch and headed into the gorge.  Just as the raindrops began to fall.  Welcome to Washington. ;)

But fortunately, as is often the case, the showers came and went and we actually enjoyed a fairly rain free lunch when we arrived at LaTourell falls.





After we ate, we took the short walk down to the Lower Falls.








Next we headed to Oregon's number one tourist attraction: Multnomah Falls.  And wow, were there tourists!  Despite the drizzly, rainy day, it was PACKED!  The whole gorge was full of hikers/campers/observers, but Multnomah was definitely the busiest place.





We walked the 1/4 mile up to the bridge and I took this pic, it's an angle I haven't shot before.



Proof that I carried Rori during part of our walk.  I just won't tell you which part (uphill or down). ;)





After Multnomah, the rain really started to pick up.  We continued driving up the scenic highway and stopped at HorseTail Falls, where we had originally planned on hiking a couple of miles.  The rain wasn't going to let up and we had three young'uns with us so we decided to call it a day.  But before we headed back, some of us took a few minutes to check out HorseTail Falls.



The rest of the day was spent at home.  We played games, mostly the Wii, and had dinner together.  Don't tell the kids, but as soon as they were in bed, Tom, Laura, Ryan and I fired up the BBQ and roasted marshmellows for S'mores! lol  It was silly but fun!  I really can't wait until we finish our backyard and have our firepit. ;)

Early the next morning, the Davis family headed back to Idaho.  It was a great visit, I wish it could have been longer, hopefully they liked it enough to consider coming back for a longer visit next time.  :)

A real live volcano!

Last weekend, our good friends, the Davis's came to visit us!  It was their first time to the area and we were very excited to show them around our "neck of the woods". 

They arrived Friday morning and we mostly "hung out" that day while Ryan was at work.  We took the boys up the hill to the neighborhood park.  They loved the tall trees and everyone had fun on the playground.  That night my cousin agreed to babysit all the kiddos for us so the grown ups could go out to dinner together.  Sweet!  Thankfully, the kids were all well behaved for Sami. :)

One of the things they wanted to see most while here, was Mount St. Helens; the boys were excited to go to a "real volcano"!  It was cute. lol  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't perfect for seeing Mt. St. Helens.  But it wasn't bad, either.  There was a large cloud that had planted itself at the top of the crater.  We could see into the crater, just not the top rim.  It could have been worse, I've been there when you couldn't see the mountain at all.  It was a bit breezier than they expected but we brought a lot of extra sweatshirts for kids to "swim" in, and I think everyone ended up having a really good time!

Here are some pics from Mt. St. Helens:

This was taken at a lookout over the Toutle River.


Bundled up, arriving at Johnston Ridge.


I am always humbled whenever we visit Mt. St. Helens, no matter how many times I go.  These images just move me with the awesomeness of what nature can do.




Inside, Laura shows Ariana (in her arms), Riley, Cadi, Nate, and Timmy the display demonstrating the chain of events that took place when Mt. St. Helens errupted in 1980.


Checking out the seismographs which show all earthquake activity on the mountain - live!


Acadia tries to make her own earthquake. lol


Braving the wind and chilly temps to get a view of the mountain.




The first time I visited Mt. St. Helens, I was struck by the devastation and how vast it was.  Now, each time I return, I see more and more signs of life, the mountain rebuilding herself, and beauty returning.