Greetings from the deep, dark pit that is the Twilight Saga

I've been offline for quite a while here, but with good reason. (I think, anyway.) I was totally unprepared for how much I would love Twilight, and its sequels by Stephenie Meyer, and have spent hours and hours (and hours) reading them over the past couple of weeks. When I finished Twilight, I ran out and bought New Moon, read it within 24 hours, then ran out and bought Eclipse. Again, I had it finished in a day and a half (I tried to pace myself.) Knowing that the forth installment in the series was coming out on August 2nd, I knew I'd be right there in line with all the teenybopper Twilighters to pick up my copy at midnight. In the meantime, I re-read the first and second books, and got about halfway through the third. I was fifth in line to get my copy of Breaking Dawn at my local Barnes and Noble. I ran into a whole gaggle of girls from my church who were all dressed up in costume for the look alike contest. (One of them won for Rosalie, and was even crowned 'Prom Queen'!) I actually won the trivia contest--thus proving my giant loser status. At that point, my secret was out. Incidentally, one of the actors from the Twilight movie (Solomon Trimble who plays Sam Uley) was there. He should have entered the look alike contest. Once I got my book in my hot little hands, I wanted to go home and read until my eyeballs fell out, but limited myself to the first few chapters, because...

Saturday morning I had to be "on" as mom to Kira who was baptized. We are so proud of her and her decision. It was a very nice ceremony, and Adam's folks, his sister Rachel & her son, and his aunt, uncle, and one of his cousins were there. Most of Kira's Primary classmates came too. She looked so lovely in her white dress that Adam's mom and I made. (Okay, so it was mostly Adam's mom!) We had lunch at Laurelwood afterward, and then spent the rest of the day chilling (ie: I got to go home and curl up with my book!)

I finished Breaking Dawn Sunday night. I really enjoyed it, though there is a whole lot of contraversy surrounding it. Personally, I support the author--it was her story to tell, and the fans can just get over it! Thanks to Sarah & Meegan for encouraging me to get hooked. I can't wait for the movie to come out in December. (BTW--I'm totally Team Edward!) I'm now re-reading Breaking Dawn at my leisure--taking in all the details--of which there are plenty in the 768 page novel.

Kira attended Grace Art Camp for the first time this week and had a BLAST. One of her best friends went too, and they had lots of quality time together. Kira loves performing, and enjoyed playing the role of the fairy queen, Morgana, in the theatrical presentation of The Wild Swans. Next year Ireland will be the focus of the camp, and Kira is definitely on board. She attempted her first sleepover with her friend, but unfortunately it didn't go so well when bedtime rolled around. We got a call at 10:45 (just as we were walking up to the ticket window to see The Dark Knight) and she was in tears. I figured this would probably happen, and was honestly happy to have her home in her own bed. She's such a home body--and is very attached to her mama & daddy, as we are to her.

In other news, our car woes are finally over. Audi called us last week and canceled our appointment for the insanely expensive repairs we needed to have done as they were totally backed up. The few extra days gave us an opportunity to rethink our situation, and long story short: we traded in our beloved Audi Allroad Quattro last Friday. We bought our very first ever brand new car. (It had 7 miles on it!) While at first it seemed like a step down as far as the 'fun to drive' factor is concerned, it was a good choice for us. We chose a Hyundai Santa Fe, and it is totally growing on us. I managed to talk Adam into the color we both liked (platinum sage) with a sun roof, heated seats, and a few other extras. Sigh. I will miss our dear Audi, but won't miss stressing out about repairs. (Adam's attitude is good riddance!) Hooray for Hyundai's 100,000 mile/ten year warranty and the peace of mind that comes with it. Surprisingly enough, we actually enjoyed the car buying process with the very nice guys at Ron Tonkin Hyundai in Gresham. I highly recommend them.

Other than reading into the wee hours for a week, I've been trying to get some stuff done at home. I forced myself to take advantage of my 'mommy time' while Kira was at camp, and worked out four of the five days. Henry and I walked a total of 11.75 miles this week. I am so in love my Nike Plus iPod setup. It really helps get me motivated. Just for fun, here's my favorite playlist from my workouts this week (It's 40 minutes):

Pavement--Cut Your Hair
Pete Yorn--Crystal Village
Built to Spill--Center of the Universe
Muse--Time is Running Out
Breeders--Cannonball
Crowded House--Don't Stop Now
The Dead Trees--Head Trauma
Built to Spill--Sidewalk
Muse--Starlight
Beck--Where It's At
Camper Van Beethoven--Come On Darkness

I think that's all for now. Adam's at work tonight trying to catch up a bit after missing Friday, and in preparation for a very much needed TWO WEEK VACATION starting next week. (Annie & Talon are coming to visit too!) We're super excited to finally have some quality family time together before the back to school madness sets in. I'm going to work on some super secret plans for our 15th anniversary. After he forgot last year, I don't intend to let this one by without some fanfare! Ciao, for now....