KIRA'S BLOG

First off, I have to start by letting everyone know that Kira's blog is down, but not out! We WILL recover it, somehow! If anyone has tips, let us know, but we think we have it down. It accidentally got deleted, and now we are working to recover all the hard work that she put into it, so she doesn't have to start over. That would be so sad, but I am sure her blogs only get better and better, so we will be sure that she isn't done!

That being said, I have to let everyone know that so far, Kira is throwing me the coolest birthday ever! Its like an all day party, with just us for now. But we have more to do and people coming over later, so it only gets better from here! I am way excited! I love Kira and I will post more details after the birthday is over.

SO TONIGHT I TRIED SOMETHING A LITTLE NEW. I MADE SOME PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE FUDGE FOR KIRA. IT HAS TO BE FOR KIRA CAUSE I HATE CHOCOLATE AND ANNA CAN'T EAT PEANUT BUTTER YET. HOPEFULLY IT TURNS OUT OK. SOMEONE COMMENT AND SAY WHETHER THEY WOULD LIKE THEM OR NOT. I HAD TO IMPROVISE A LOT. I MADE UP HALF MY OWN RECIPE AND USED TWO OTHERS AND COMBINED THEM ALL. (I HAD TO MAKE MARSHMALLOW CREAM FROM MARSHMALLOWS, WHICH NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO DO. I THINK IT WORKED OUT AWESOME, BUT WE WILL SEE WHEN SHE TASTES IT.
OH, ALSO, I TOOK A PICTURE OF ANNA BY THE CHRISTMAS TREE WE PUT UP YESTERDAY. SHE IS THE BEST! AND SHE TAKES ALMOST AS CUTE OF PICTURES AS HER MOTHER!
AND THERE IN THE END, I JUST GOT A LITTLE CRAZY WITH THE CAMERA.

So, yesterday I was having kind fo one of those blah days. Not a good feeling. I hate being blah. The cool thing about it? Kira knows! She is a genius. I mean, I have studied and studied and I know the best ways to get people out of blah days, I have heard everything that is statistically the best for the general population and all that. Well, its one thing to know, and I was thinking about it even, but it is a whole 'nother thing to actually put it all into effect. I guess all I needed was a little support in that vector.

That is why Kira is the coolest! I love her. As soon as i opened up about my blahness, she started plotting. Kira knew what I needed and she took care of it. She knew the exact therapy for me. I was sitting there, being blah and she came into the room and just said "What shorts do you work out in?" So, I told her, and she got my outfit together and sent me to the treadmill. I rocked it. It was awesome! She is so cool. Then, to cool down, I took a bath and steched. Now I am sore, and that is totally a good thing! Just what I needed! Thanks Kira! I love you!

MY GIRLS!

(Kira, you look so good in this picture!)
I was thinking today about all the things that I used to ask for in my prayers. The one thing that was always the most important to me was my family. I wanted to have an amazing wife. Beautiful, of course, and someone that loved me and supported me through everything that happens. And I always asked to make sure that I could be a good Dad, to raise my kids right, the way my parents did.

Well, the whole Dad thing will have to work its way out, but I wanted to talk about the first thing on my list.

I have been talking a lot lately with Kira about what we are going to be doing after I graduate in August and we are working to make a good decision. We know that everything will work out, but I am so appreciative to Kira for her great advice and especially her support, even when I seem so indecicive about some things. She really is great, to go into everything with me, never knowing what will happen with us. And she does so much to help me to get where I want to be. She gives up a lot for this little family, and I love her. And as for the beautiful part, just look at the picture. The Lord could not have blessed me with two more beautiful girls! They are both GORGEOUS! Thanks be to the Lord for my blessings! Life is great!

Have you ever read a book, and the thing that you wanted to happen at the end did not happen. Thats how this book was for me. However, I have decided that that is ok. Finally, Bella did not bug me throughout the entire book. Just part. Breaking Dawn was, by far, the best book of this series. Does that mean that something finally happened? Well, no. But the build up to nothing was much more enjoyable. In fact, had the other books of the series been written as well as this one, the lack of action might not have bothered me so badly throughout the series. Though I was slightly disappointed that the promised action was again skirted, I actually think that I like the way the book ended. I can't say that it was unexpected, because this is just exactly the kind of trick that Stephenie Meyer would pull, spending the entire book making me think that it will be a good "Guy" ending, and then tearing out the rug (AKA- nothing happens... again.) But I am very happy with the way things turned out for Bella. In fact, I think that in the end, I was cheering for her. Finally, Bella is no longer being a baby! Yay! If only there was a book five so that I could enjoy her maturity longer. I think I would like that.

Book Review - Eclipse

So, after the second book of the series was slightly better than the first, my wife assured m that the third was better than them all... so does that mean that I won't continue to the fourth? We will see... But to the matter at hand. Was my wife's description accurate? I must say that I got a lot of info about the story that seemed to be inacurate. For instance, I was under the impression that the entire third book would center around Victoria, talking about her troubles and describing her pain, somehow proving reasons to help the reader love her and feel for her. However, I found this was not the case. More so, the book seemed centered around Jacob vs. Edward, and this is a story that I can feel some emotion for, as I would like to have qualities of both. Again, though, the book tended to spend a bit too much time with ooos and aahhhhs for the male physique and less action, until the end. At first, I was disappointed, but I decided that most of that was hype that I expected action throughout. With that in consideration, I put this book as an equal to the second, and better than the first. Good, but not the blockbuster that I would expet from such a blockbuster... You know what I mean. I suppose its on to the fourth book, after all.

Book Review! Pillars of the Earth

Warning: EXPLICIT material in this book.
All I have to say about Pillars of the Earth is WOW. And not necessarily in a good way, but its hard to say that it was in a bad way either. This kind of reading is fascinating to me, like reading the Horatio Hornblower series and learning all about sailing and all that goodness. After being in a few cathedrals and temples and seeing how beautiful the architecture could be, and learning about the way people lived back in those days, it was all just fascinating to me.
That being said, there was a great deal about the book that totally turned me off. Reviews proclaim the book as a tale of lust, treachery, backstabbing, murder, and many other kinds of things that certainly turned out to be true. However, I found that mostly the focus was on lust. (Warning: Graphic Content, not for children and probably not suitable for adults.) Also, as the book rolled on, I found myself being dragged through a muddy swamp of depression, unable to escape. Expect a thousand pages with no reprieve. Overall, I was happy that I read the book, though I could never recommend others to read it, and most people I would talk to about it would never finish it. In other words, I can understand why Oprah loved it, but I would never add it to my own book club list.