"Sometimes nice girls do finish first."

My entire family and many friends got bitten this past year by Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga. T-shirts, book club parties, homemade bookmarks, dressing up as the characters, and even a book signing concert at UCLA turned the saga into quite an experience.  The morning after the movie was released a group of nearly twenty gathered for a lunch/movie date. Thanks Kelly for getting us involved in reading this harmless vampire love saga and planning all the fun events to go along with it. 

Time Magazine has named the author Stephanie Meyer as one of the People Who Mattered in 2008.  The following is the commentary that was published along with her picture. 

"Maybe Americans aren't ready for a Mormon presidential nominee yet. But they're more than ready to anoint a Mormon as the best-selling novelist of the year. The hero of Meyer's Twilight series — and hit movie — is a vampire named Edward who doesn't kill people and declines to sleep with, or bite, his girlfriend Bella. Meyer's religious upbringing taught her something few writers grasp, that fantasies can be about restraint as well as excess. Sometimes nice girls do finish first."

—Lev Grossman

Post Christmas Visit to San Diego

The day after Christmas we loaded up the Silver Bullet along with my car and headed to San Diego.  The snow that fell overnight left the roads icy so we drove very carefully over Walker Pass.   Our first stop was my Grandma Whittleton's residence at Sommerford Place.  I think just the sight of all of us overwhelmed her but that didn't keep my Dad from teasing her.   We had her giggling and had a decent visit, considering the situation.  

 We met Tawn and Asha for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.   I was in the mood for Thai food so I ordered the Thai Chicken Pasta and it was delicious.  Tawn just graduated with a degree in Political Science and both he and Asha are working on getting their special education credentials.  Congratulations to both of them for their perseverance!  

Saturday morning we went to visit my Grandmother again but we were a bit smarter.  We went in to see her in pairs of two which seem to work better.  I guess I don't blame anyone who gets overwhelmed when they see us coming.  So when Kelly, my mother and I were done visiting, we left to hit the after Christmas sales at the outlets in Carlsbad.  Now I have adjusted quite well to leaving San Diego but one thing I do miss is the outlets.  And just to make my day, Banana Republic had a 50% off sale.  Yes, everything in the store was 1/2 off!  I don't know how long we spent in BR before we met the rest of the crew for lunch.  Joining us was my mother's sister Diane, her husband Ron, and their twin sons Patrick and Philip.   To finish out the day, we drove to Alpine to visit with my Uncle Mark.  We enjoyed rootbeer floats while visiting in his 100+ year old home.   He is a contractor and he is slowly renovating this old home.  The kitchen is complete and was absolutely gorgeous!

Sunday, we hit the road for home. But a quick,family filled weekend of love was had by all. 

 

Peaceful Christmas Day

Falling snow, waffles topped with raspberries, our favorite cheesy artichoke dip, a round of Texas Hold 'Em, and a delicious dinner served on my Grandma Whittleton's beautiful white and gold china made for another memorable Christmas Day.      

Of course, the gifts I received added to the joy of this special season.   My parents bought me a Bosch mixer which is gift that my mother promised to buy for each of her children when they got married.  I think they have given up on that and decided that it was time I learned how to cook our family's traditional dinner rolls.  I hope this mixer makes all the difference and truly helps my baking skills.

Kelly got my name in the family drawing and got me exactly what I asked for.  It's called a Bedlounger.  I know it sounds like a gift for a lazy person and that I am not.  I just love to do sudoku or read in bed at night.  And no matter how many pillows I use, I still haven't found a comfortable position.  I haven't logged in enough time yet using the Bedlounger to give an accurate evaluation but hopefully in the next few days I will get some serious lounging time. 

 

Hoping you and your loved ones had a peaceful Christmas filled with all that your heart desired.

Kent Family Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve, we gather with our extended family to celebrate the Savior's birth. Howard and Marcia usually host a dinner for about 20-25 people and this year was no different. My Aunt Marcia has a wonderful tradition of starting the meal with shrimp cocktail. She marinates it for many days in her family's secret recipe and it is delicious!! I look forward to it every year. This year the highlight of the gathering was baby Glenn. Kami and her husband David are in town for two weeks and we finally met their adorable six month old son. Visiting with the Kent cousins is always a treat and seeing their children growing older by the minute is amazing and disturbing at the same time. Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve.

Can you guess who Santa was?

An early Christmas with the Tuckers

Unfortunately for the Kent's, the Tucker family will be spending Christmas this year with Dylan's family in Colorado.  We will definitely miss having them around for ten days but are excited for them.  Along with 7 inches of snow today, Santa came early to the Tucker household.  We celebrated tonight together with a delicious rib dinner at my parent's home.  Elle was extremely eager to open her presents and quietly got into a few while we were still eating.  The best gift of the night was from Joe, Nicole, and Kelly to Elle.   It was a pink ballerina outfit.  She LOVED it!   The child-proof digital camera that I got her paled in   comparison.  Kent was most interested in a spiderman plate that my Mom purchased from the dollar store.  He is such a happy baby.  We didn't spoil him as much as we did on Elle's 1st Christmas. I am so grateful that the Tucker's live close by and we can share in the holidays with them.

FARA 3rd Annual 5K/10K for FA

The date has been changed for the FA walk/run to Saturday, March 21st.  Mark your calendars and I will post more details as they become available.