life in general

some firsts

Scott gave Conner a lesson in "mowing the lawn" on Saturday.  When I looked out the window and saw this I thought, my goodness is he really old enough?!  He did great.  There was a moment of frustration, but we just sat and watched from the patio and he eventually figured it out.  It looks like this will be his chore this summer.

  Payton got to be the catcher!  Later, I asked him what his favorite part of the game was and he said, "I got to wear the get-er-out suit!"  The *get-er-out suit*.  Holy cow.  That was hilarious.

   Anna and I donned our aprons and made cookies.  This was her very first time baking with mom.  As you can see, she was pretty excited about it.  She was very helpful and wanted to be involved in every part of it.  And I'm happy to report that there were no melt-downs -- for either of us. :)  She is a strong-willed little girl and we tend to butt heads.  But this ended up being a very pleasant experience.  We'll have to do it more often!

And I just have to show off the pony tail we were able to pull together that day.    And I promise I moved her away from the oven right away.  I just couldn't resist that expression and her reflection in the glass.

life in fours

tagged by my friend Tamra who has blogged a record 4 times in 2008!  Keep 'em coming Scooter!

Four places I go over and over:  safeway, walmart, the boys' schools, the bathroom

Four people who e-mail me regularly:  mom, Paige, Linda P., the Relief Society

Four places I like to eat:  Burgerville, Chipotle, Red Robin, Cinnabon

Four places I would like to be right now:  in bed, in a nail salon getting a pedicure, no, right now I think I would most like to be sleeping, . . . .

Four tv shows I watch all the time (currently):  The Office, The Bachelor, American Idol, Lost

I added a couple more for fun . . . .

Four famous people I've met/seen:  Pat Sajak, James Brown, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson

Four days ago I was:  grocery shopping, doing laundry, cooking mushrom chicken for dinner, and blogging

Four days from now I will be:  ironing, speaking at new beginnings (it got post-poned).

Four months from now I will be: about to send Payton to Kindergarten.  Yikes!

Four years from now I will be:  32.  With an 11, 9, and 6 year old.  Okay, I'm freakin' out a bit about the 11 year old.  I'm just going to put that one out of my mind right now.

Four songs I listened to today:  You Must Love Me (Brooke White), Billie Jean (David Cook), The Music of the Night (David Cook), Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Conner and Payton). 

Four year old me:

FOURteen year old me: That's right, you're lookin' at crushed velvet.  (1994)

at the Toasted Frog

actually, it was called The Bloated Toad but when "someone" miss-spoke we just couldn't let her live it down. :)

On Twilight's last night of production in our little town I was able to go watch the action.  It was so cool to be so close!  We stood on one side of the street and directly across from us was the restaurant in the Port Angeles scene where Edward & Bella have a big bonding moment / Q&A session.  In the book I believe it was called "Bella Italia", but for the movie they went with "The Bloated Toad".  Not sure why, but it was actually pretty cute.  There was a big sign out front and a big toad statue carved out of wood.  He looked pretty happy.  And bloated.

(I have to apologize for the quality of my photos.  We weren't allowed to use our flash and my camera only has a 3x zoom!)

When I arrived on 1st street it was still light outside so the windows of the "restaurant" were draped with black fabric, as they were filming inside and needed it to look like night-time.  Every once in a while someone would yell "Rolling!" followed by 7 other people repeating the same thing and everyone (the crew and the crowd of people on the sidewalk) would immediately get very very quiet.  Most of the takes seemed pretty long -- obviously because there was quite a bit of dialogue that is exchanged in those scenes.

While we were hanging out we got to talk to Jeff -- he's the guy who shoots the behind-the-scenes footage and bonus features for the DVD.  He was very very very friendly and was very happy to talk to us and answer any of our questions.

Eventually it got dark and the fabric was removed from the windows and pretty twinkling lights were lit all over the front of the restaurant.  Pretty soon Kristen and Rob came outside to shoot a scene with Angela & Jessica.  There was also a large group of extras that were filed onto the sidewalk several times, Catherine would talk to them, and then they'd return to their tent with the propane heaters.  It was sooo cold!

Eventually I left at about 10:15pm.  We heard that they were going to be filming throughout the night & into the morning.  Yikes!  Because this was their last night in town, and production had been going on for 2 months now, and at some point everyone in the crew had been sick, and it was freezing cold outside . . . .they were all very focused on their work and getting the job done.  It was obvious that there was not going to be any time for the fans.  I got what I needed . . . I got to see some live filming, I got to see Rob in person (see video below!), I got to stalk the trailer camp, I got to walk through Charlie's house! . . . . I thoroughly and totally got the Twilight movie experience that I needed. 

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videos and even more photos

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And you can view a photo album HERE.

see mickey?!

5 nights in Anaheim.  400+ photos.  Where do I begin?  Well I could give a day-to-day play by play, but I think that would get pretty boring.  So I think I'll share the highlights, memorable quotes, and our favorite parts of the trip.

flying

Our kids are great little travelers.  They did so well on all our flights, hopping on shuttle buses (and keeping the other passengers very entertained), trucking through the airport, to the car rental, and through security.  I made sure to fill their backpacks with a few activities to keep them occupied (sticker books, coloring books, a card game, and Sudoku for Kids for Conner - he loved it).

We had just gotten situated on the plan going to California.  The kids are checking everything out, including the safety pamphlets in the seat back pocket.  I notice that Conner is studying his rather intently.  Then he points to this picture and says in a serious tone:

"That does not look like fun." 

That's okay, Conner.  We won't have to do that.  "I hope not."

the story of the week

The last time we went to Disneyland Conner was 4 years old and he went on all the big kid thrill rides that he could and loved them.  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was his favorite ride and he even did the Tower of Terror.

Payton is not so much of a thrill seeker.  He likes to stay on the safe side of things.  Which is okay with me -- I'm much the same way.  But it was the rule going into this trip that he had to try all the rides one time.  On Tuesday Scott took him on Space Mountain (he freaked out), Thunder Mountain (he freaked out), and I took him on Splash Mountain (he really freaked out).  After Splash Mountain and getting to witness his distress first hand (on the other rides he was perfectly fine by the time they got off and met up with me), I felt really bad for him and decided that he had been brave enough and he didn't need to go on anymore "scary" rides.  Really, this kid was amazing.  Before each of these rides he would have a moment of internal panic, then we'd remind him to be brave just this one time, and he'd suck it up and do it. 

Payton soon developed a set of three criteria for rides that he did not like.  1)They went really fast.  2)They go up and down.  3)They get you wet.  Often, when we'd approach a new ride he would ask us if it did any of these things.

On Wednesday morning Scott and Conner went on The Tower of Terror by themselves.

   Conner did just fine on the ride (he says he didn't scream).  But when they got off he said matter-of-factly, "I don't want to go on that again."

Friday afternoon, we're taking the hotel shuttle bus to the park and Payton says "I want to go on the Tower of Terror."  Scott and I immediately look at each other, absolutely stunned.  Are you sure you want to go on that ride?  "Ya!  It will be so much fun!"  We hop out of the bus and he's still going on and on about how much he wants to go on that ride and how brave he's going to be.  We're starting to wonder if this is really our child!  I asked him if he knew what happens on that ride, and then explained that it goes up and down really fast over and over again.  He seemed perfectly fine with that.  And so we made a b-line for California Adventure.

As we broke up into groups (me, Conner, & Anna to the Monsters Inc. ride for the 5th time and Scott & Payton to the tower) I stopped Scott and quietly said to him, "If you go on the ride be sure to buy a picture."  I was so nervous, yet proud of the kid -- this was definitely a moment -- and surprisingly felt myself getting a little choked up.  An hour later (lines were long on Friday) we sat on the curb outside the Tower and watched Scott and Payton come out, purchase a big wand of cotton candy, and walk over to us without a shred of anxiety on Payton's face. 

He did it!  I can't tell you how proud, proud, proud I was of this boy.  Wow. 

(I believe this photo is taken after the first drop, when they take you back up to the top.  Scott tried to get him to turn around and look, but I guess he was a little perplexed by the crazy screaming people behind him.)

He says he didn't scream and he didn't cry.  Scott said he did just great. 

Next he wanted to go on Space Mountain & Thunder Mountain so we hopped over to Disneyland and hit Space Mountain once and Thunder Mountain three times. 

Space Mountain

Conner's favorite ride was Space Mountain.  I think he went on it 6 times.  When we came in 2005 this ride was closed for the big remodel so it was fun to go on it this time.

disney princesses

One of the things I knew I wanted to do on this trip was get Anna a princess dress and have her wear it one day in the park to meet the Disney princesses.  Wednesday night we picked up a Cinderella dress in Downtown Disney after dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.  Anna also tried on 3 pairs of glass slippers in the process.

Thursday morning I got her dressed, did her hair, and she proceeded to twirl around the hotel room the rest of the morning.  You could just tell that she felt so special.  After a few minutes she came up to me and totally out of the blue said, "Thank you mommy."  Can I just tell you that my heart melted right there on the spot?  A total puddle of goo.  Immediately Elder Ballard's quote ran through my head, "the joy of motherhood comes in moments."  This was a big moment.

And how about this moment.  The kids plopped down for scriptures and I could not resist snapping this photo with the billows of Anna's dress all about her.

So now all the Disney Princesses are gathered together at the Princess Fantasy Faire.  No wandering around the park, hoping you'll run into a princess.  You just wait in line and get some one on one time with 3 princesses (they rotate in and out).  Fantastic idea.  We were in line at 9:30am when the gates opened and although the line didn't look so long, I asked an attendant how long the wait was and she said . . . . 2 hours.  Holy cow.  I sat and contemplated.  Do I really need to do this -- she's only 2.  But we had the dress, and I think I would've regretted walking away.  The boys were fine -- they were busy in Tomorrowland with Star Tours and the Jedi Training Academy and building their own light sabers.  We stuck it out. Anna was surprisingly really, really good in line -- I think she was really excited to see the princesses.  Start to finish:  1.5 hours.  And it was so so so worth it.

Anna was absolutely adorable, sweet, gentle, and just angelic with each of the princesses.

 

I don't know what it was but she instantly warmed up to each of them in a big way.  It was so touching to watch how soft-spoken she was with each of them.  I wouldn't say she was shy.  It's like they each brought out the dainty little princess in her and magnified it times 10.

And these princesses know what they are doing.  Ariel greeted Anna and instantly took her hand and spun her around to create this scene.  I love it!  I felt like I was in a storybook. 

And now a priceless photo series:

  Doesn't she just look like she is in heaven?! 

As we stepped away the Disney photographer said he got some really great shots.  Really?  "Yep.  I think I got the picture of the day."  It was definitely one precious moment.

build your own light-sabers

  The finished, customized product.  Scott got the purple light saber he'd been hoping for.

They also provide great entertainment while waiting for the shuttle.

magic morning

On Thursday we were able to get into the park an hour earlier with our Magic Morning pass.  One hour, and smaller crowds equaled 8 rides for our family!  Star Tours, Space Mountain, Astro Blasters (twice), Astro Orbiters, Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad's wild ride.

pool breaks

On Wednesday and Thursday we only stayed in the park until 2pm and then headed back to the hotel for a pool break.  The kids loved swimming and it was a great way to break up the days and refresh & re-energize.

disney hats

Each of the kids got to pick out a hat.  I love how each of the hats fit their personalities so well.

beach

Friday morning we decided to go out on a little adventure and find ourselves a beach.  We went to Newport Beach and staked a spot on the Corona Del Mar State Beach.  It started out a little foggy (we were there pretty early), but soon the sun came out and it was a perfect day at the beach!

Dream Fast Pass

Coming through Cinderella's castle on Tuesday morning we were each awarded with a Dream Fast Pass.  Basically, it was a fast pass for every big ride at Disneyland and California Adventure for that day.  (Usually there are restrictions on the quantity and timing of fast passes that you can receive at individual rides).  But we were just handed fast passes for everything!  All a part of their "Year of a Million Dreams" giveaway. We felt pretty special walking around the park with those hanging around our necks. :)

Disneyland strollers

love 'em.  love 'em.  love 'em.

the map

We went through at least 10 maps during the week.  The kids love maps and and I loved witnessing their planning sessions each morning when we'd enter the park (usually done while Scott picked up a stroller rental).

mormon disneyland

I swear, everyday, everywhere we went we spotted people wearing BYU or U of U shirts, hats, sweatshirts.  Everywhere.  Luckily Scott brought his BYU t-shirt and wore it one day so we didn't feel left out. 

conclusion

We had a fantastic time.  The whole vacation just worked out really really well.  The kids were well-behaved (aside from Anna's occasional tantrums due to no naps and being 2), the weather was nice (70-84 degrees), the lines were pretty quick (except for Friday, but we were expecting that), and just lots of family togetherness.  I say that any family vacation that has Conner listing all the things that Payton is really good at, or generates spontaneous "thank-you's" from your children, or ensures that the kids are zonked exactly 1 minute after hitting their pillows, or that produces a sight like this . . . . is a success.

 

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Later I'll post a few short videos and hope to put together a photo album with more fun photos, including lots of shots with Disney characters and some of the kids' favorite rides.

the ultimate tease

I'm working on my Disneyland post, but in the mean-time I am freaking out over this!

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1585900&vid=226476

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

the crazy moving walkway, heads being ripped off, kissing her forehead in the hospital (awww), his intense stare in Biology class, James, "you better hold on tight spider monkey". . . . I could go on and on.

Do we really have to wait until December 12th?!  Ackkk!

And while I was out of town this last week the Twilight production came back to do some more filming (including the Port Angeles scene where Edward rescues Bella from the bad guys).  Well it looks like several of my friends got the amazing opportunity to get very close to the action.  Read about it on Rochelle's (the big winner), Paige's, and Nicole's blogs.

I think I'll be watching that movie clip about 10 more times tonight.  :)

year of a million dreams

• temperature in Anaheim on Friday:  80 degrees
• temperature at 4pm today as we drove into town:  36 degrees
• temperature inside our house after having the heater turned off for a week:  53 degrees

and a few things on my weekend to-do list

• google reader:  136
• e-mail inbox:  83
• 5-6 loads of laundry sitting in my laundry room
• pull together Primary music for tomorrow
• clean up my hard-drive and burn some DVDs to make space for the 396 pictures and 7 videos that I took this week.
• pull notes/thoughts together for New Beginnings talk on tuesday
• catch-up, catch-up, catch-up
• blog about our week-long trip to Disneyland!

So bear with me, I will get to it when I can.  We had a blast!  And hearing Payton say multiple times, "Wow, this is such a great vacation" made it all worth it.

twelve on the 12th

morning t-ball game * watching Scott coach * Payton loves to bat, but gets a little bored in the outfield * Anna picks her usual dandelion bouquet, finds a little friend among the spectators, and they dump grass in each other's hair and compare belly buttons * Candyland * my new pink sweater * loads and loads of laundry * an adorable diaper cake * Sheila's baby shower * Conner was determined to finish all his vacation homework * banana splits for dinner * banana splits on Anna's face

In the Jan/Feb issue of Simple Scrapbooks magazine I came across the most ingenious idea for scrapbooking everyday life.  "Take 12 on the 12th".  (the scan is a little wonky).  The idea is, on the 12th of the month keep your camera with you and take pictures of what you do that day and other random everyday stuff. I thought it was a great approach and I think I might be circling the 12th on my calendars to remind myself to do this each month. 

Then all you do is print up or order one 4x6 and eleven 2x2 photos, slap them on some patterned paper or cardstock, add some list-style journaling and finished.  A cool snapshot of your family's day-to-day life.

I plan for these photos to end up on a scrapbook page, but I can see how you could easily translate it into a blog routine.

thank you

anna says, "thank you!" to my aunt Pam for the adorable little apron.  We put it on her and she skipped, frolicked, and twirled around the house, admiring her ruffles all along the way.  Such a girl.

and here's the story on the little bag.

Got myself a little sewing fever and quickly made a few runners to adorn the tables at Sheila's baby shower.  Gotta love the $1/yard fabric at Walmart!

I'm still giggling over this diaper cake. Nicole and I put it together (sorry for stabbing you, Nicole) as a centerpiece/gift for the diaper-themed shower (Sheila is about to have girl #4).  Sheila says she plans to use it as a centerpiece on their dining table until the baby comes.  I would do the same thing!

bite me, er . . . pinch me please - day three

Back on the scene.

But this morning I actually did something productive.  Got my oil changed, went to Wal-mart, and laundry later in the day.

Watched a lot of this going on

The Volvo would drive half-way down the hill and stop.  Then back up, and do it again.  Billy's truck was doing something similar too.  Over and over.  Apparently it was the scene where Edward is at Bella's house and Billy shows up so Edward leaves in a hurry.

Not much to see so we ditched the set for the afternoon.  I went home and read on TwilightMOMS.com that today was Kristen Stewart's 18th birthday.  The idea ran through my head that it would be so fun to bring her something for her birthday.  Paige agreed.  So I whipped up a card, purchased a few black and red helium balloons and ran down there.

Can I just tell you that I felt . . . oh, a teeny tiny bit like a psycho fan walking up to the trailer camp with those balloons in hand.  Just a little.  I asked some crew guys if they could deliver it to her or leave it by her trailer.  He took the balloons, but he had to check with the production assistant first.  Then he returned to say, "they're delivered."  Yay! 

We took the fam to dinner at Subway & met Scott there on his way home from work.  But I have to admit I had ulterior motives.  As dinner was winding down I suggested that we go on a field trip.  He protested and then finally gave in.  I just had to show him where I'd been hanging out these last few days!  It was 6:15pm and it looked like they were still shooting.

So I decided it might be my best bet if I returned again, after the kids went to bed, while it was still light so I could have a chance to see something.  I made it back there shortly after 7pm and started chatting with a couple girls who were down from Seattle - spending the week in town to check out the movie making.  We talked to a group of Native American guys walking by (I'd seen them several times already, and assumed they were Jacob's friends).  Turns out one of the guys is Jacob's stand-in. 

Then another guy crosses the street with very Edward-esque physical traits and we ask what he's doing on the movie -- he's Edward's stand-in.  And he broke the news that Robert was long gone for the day.  We asked if we could take his picture but he said he didn't really want to, his contacts were hurting him.  Sidenote: Edward and all the other vampires are wearing contacts in the film to make their eyes appear the golden topaz color that is described in the books.  How cool!  But he lingered a bit as we chatted, and I think he warmed up to us a bit so I snapped one photo.  Look, he's even posing.   We asked him if they did anything to celebrate Kristen's birthday.  He said they got a big cake, but that she's not really into the big birthday thing.  Although she was excited to be turning 18 because that meant she would be able to work more.  Being a minor, there are rules on how many hours she can work.  I bet the director is happy she turned 18 too. :)

At some point Paige arrived.  And at some point we started to realize that they were clearing out the set.  One by one the cars are being driven down the hill, groups of people are walking down, shuttle vans are making their way up the hill.  An SUV that is known to transport the actors makes it's way up the hill as well.  So we're getting very anxious, knowing that at any moment a car is going to come down with Kristen Stewart in it.  Sure enough, the SUV made it's way down and Kristen was in the passenger seat!  We waved! and she waved back!  And then we ran to the other side of the trailer camp where she was being dropped off to go to her trailer.  But we weren't fast enough.

It's okay, though, because we knew that eventually she had to get back into that SUV to go to her hotel and we were just going to wait.

While we waited Catherine Hardwicke (the director) came out and started walking toward a van.  We asked her for pictures and she kindly agreed.  She came running over to us with a smile on her face.  She seemed very nice. The picture is kinda blurry. Paige's shot is better -- but I look like funny, making eye contact with my camera.

Then at 8:01pm our wish was granted.  Kristen came out and approached her ride.  We very politely, and loudly asked if we could get a picture . . . . and she said yes!!!! She is sooo little - like skinny toothpick little.  It was cool to get a picture with her because I haven't seen any fan photos of her on any of the Twilight websites.  Everybody says that she seems pretty timid and shy and quiet.  She even told us that she doesn't really like getting her picture taken.  When she saw us approach her she pointed and said, "hey, you're the ones from the card."  So she did get the card, and she looked at it, and now she thinks we're total stalkers!  Score!

In the midst of the Kristen photo confusion, Billy Burke (Charlie) was also there donning a thick mustache.  It made him very unrecognizable to me.  Paige got a photo with him and then I think he quietly slipped away.

and these cute girls got their picture with Kristen too.

The evening was a success!  I left feeling happy and very satisfied.  Even if I don't see Robert again (which could be nice) I will be just fine.  I think this was just the thing I needed to start putting the stalker phase behind me and to move on to real life.  Now, that doesn't mean I won't be driving by the set from time to time . . . . :)   

bite me, er . . . pinch me please - day two

Okay, today it's business time.

I dropped Conner off at school and headed towards the set.  When I saw this   I knew it was going to be a good day.

I pulled into our designated creeper parking lot and recognized a few cars there.

Emmett's Jeep -- there are two of them

Charlie's police cruiser -- also two of these

and the shiny silver Volvo hatchback   not exactly what I pictured from the books, but I guess it works.

This morning we had all the kids, so that made things a little more difficult.  We did a bit of juggling of kids and for a short time I dropped my kids off at Paige's so I could do some investigating on foot with Nicole.  We talked to the security guard at the bottom of the street who told us we couldn't go any further.  He was nice though, and we chatted with him for a while.  You can kind of see the action going on at the top of the hill -- this was the best view we could get.

I left and grabbed my kids.  Did a few quick errands and headed back to the set to meet Paige who was going to be down to just 1 child.  I came down a different way and spotted this

  Bella's truck - very cool!

Back over to our creeper parking lot I met up with Paige and offered to hold Jaren while she ran to the other side of "camp" to see the truck.  Next thing I know she comes running back, "Shannon, get your camera.  I just got a picture with Edward!"  You can believe that I high-tailed it over there!  I ran back and forth through around the perimeter of the camp but didn't see him anywhere!  He was gone.  Oh the tragedy!

So we repositioned ourselves with kids in the strollers where we could see both Edward's trailer and the make-up trailer -- a tip from one of the crew guys.  This crew guy also suggested that I just walk back to the trailer, but I was pretty sure that was not allowed.  I don't think he was very high on the totem pole -- in fact, he quickly put his arm down (while pointing out the trailers to me) when the grumpy Director's Assistant appeared (more on him later).  At one point we saw Robert come out of his trailer, wearing a baseball jersey from the baseball game.  Ahh!  He's coming!  Get your camera out, quick!  But as quickly as he appeared he disappeared into the hair/make-up trailer.

The kids were trying to be good.  Actually, Jaren was really good and my kids were something else.  Eventually someone came over and asked us to move off the sidewalk.  Okay, we'll follow the rules.

Rochelle showed up to the scene as well.  Walking back to my car I spotted none other than Jacob Black getting into his trailer! He went in and out several times, but this was the best shot I could get of him.  Several other people were in and out as well.  Turns out they were working on wardrobe in there.  And we also found out that this was Jacob's first day on the set.  He's a real cutie -- and just 16 years old.

Once we got that little Jacob-tease we were just dying to see more -- especially knowing that he was sitting right there.   There was a little hootin' and hollerin' that followed -- the perpetrator there shall remain nameless. :)  And then here comes Billy out of the trailer doing a little of this  It was pretty hilarious!  He talked to us for a second.  They were working on wardrobe with him and he asked us how his outfit looked.  We told him it looked great, definitely go with that jacket, and lots of other positive compliments.  He seemed like a friendly guy.

But soon, our party ended when the Grumpy Director's Assistant came over and pretty much asked us to leave.  He said they were working right now and maybe if we came back at the end of the day we could get better access to the actors.  Really.  He told us to come back at 8 or 8:30, we could take pictures, but anything we take would need to be cleared by the publicist.  Sounds good to us -- we are happy to oblige.

So we took a picture of us in our smokin' fan t-shirts and called it a day.

I came back to the set at 8:15pm and the crew parking lot was empty, the set was dead, and according to Jason the security guard everybody was finished and gone for the day.  Grrrrr.  Makes me wonder if the GDA was just trying to blow us off.

My mission continues . . .

certified stalker?

*****SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A DETAILED POST OF DAY 1 OF MY STALKER TRAINING *****

or vampire-crazed fan

Jacob, just missed him.

Billy - He was a friendly guy.

Still hoping for the money shot with "you know who!"

Many more pictures (cars, house, and other really cool stuff), along with a detailed account to come later.

the best cornbread

this is the best, most delicious, sweet, moist cornbread you will ever eat. 

• 1 Tbsp Oil
• 1 cup milk (warm)
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1.  Mix all ingredients.  Batter will be thin.

2.  Pour into 8x8 pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

*Can be easily doubled and cooked in a 9x13 pan.

conference notes

Are we creating traditions or is life just happening to us?  -Cheryl C. Lant

We must teach children to define themselves by their growing testimonies -- not just other accomplishments.  -Dallin H. Oaks

The condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to spiritual things.  Let us make it a part of our everyday striving to open our hearts to the spirit.  -Gerald N. Lund

Our homes should be a place where the storm stops at the door.  -Thomas S. Monson

All of us can improve the consistency and efficacy of our personal and family prayers.  -David A. Bednar

Missionaries are full-time teachers.  You and I are full-time finders.  -David A. Bednar

And everything Elder Ballard said.

bite me, er . . . pinch me, please

This is going to be a long post.  You are now fore-warned.  But I believe for Twilight fans, the content is going to be well worth it.

Some background information in case you are new:  I love the book Twilight.  They are making it into a movie.  It is being filmed in Oregon and Washington. 

You can imagine my shock when I discovered that they are filming in my area {panic attack begins}, and get this . . . . the set is literally across the street from a place I visit several times a week!!!!!!!!!  {eyes buggin' out of my head}  Just a few days ago I heard vague rumors about them filming here, but no real details (apparently I need to start subscribing to the local paper - because it was all in there).  I thought no way, no way . . . they cannot be coming to our little po-dunk town.  So imagine my shock (once again) as I'm standing outside this "location" and Paige points out the semi-truck and crew people just across the street!  That's when the eyes started buggin'.  And the mind starts racing -- I've gotta get up there and somehow I've gotta ditch my kids.  Luckily, Scott was working from home (he got a flat tire on the way to work) so he was able to lend a most appreciated helping hand.  Paige found a place to ditch her kids too.  She swung by my house and picked me up and we began our Twilight adventure.

Here's the semi truck that was parked on the road

We started walking up the hill, a small secluded little street, and there are crew members here and there laying cable all over the place.  One man working off to the right says, "There will be more to see tomorrow."  Really.  He informs us that they are going to be filming the next day starting at 7am and going for 12-14 hours.  You can guarantee that we will be back.  So we make it to the end of the road and there it is . . . . Charlie's house.

How they ever found this house in this little town and decided it would be perfect for the movie is just amazing to me.  And I agree, it's pretty perfect.

There was a truckload of evergreen trees that they set up around the yard -- I guess to make it look more lush.  There were also guys up on a lift trimming the trees in the front of the house.

How totally cool!  We sighed and made our way back home to relieve the sitters and feed our kids lunch.

Scott was still home and I was getting the itch to go back.  But there are responsibilities to take care of.  So I made lunch, folded laundry, ironed, cleaned the playroom, and put Anna down for a nap.  And got his approval to jet out again. 

Recently I had seen photos of this house on a message board AND pics of the interior of the house.  During my break at home I started wondering, what's keeping ME out of the house?  Why don't I just ask?  So I arrived at the location and in phone tag discovered that I had just missed Paige (she had also come back).  With a little pep talk to "be brave for the both of us" I headed up the hill.  Took a few pictures.  There were a few more crew members unloading boxes from the back of a truck and taking them into the garage.

Can I just say that this is a very weird thing to do?  To walk into an area where you know you don't necessarily belong, everyone knows you must be some crazed-fan so they are looking at you, and just plain feeling a little awkward and self-conscious.  Anyways, there were two men standing in front of the house so I decided to just ask them: "Would it be okay to take a peek around the house or is that not allowed?"  The guy looked at the other guy who kinda shrugged his shoulders, "I guess it's okay."  Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I walked oh so carefully up the stairs, feeling like I might damage something, and just wanting to be inconspicuous.  As I went through the door and left into the kitchen I had my phone in hand, almost whispering, "Paige, guess what?  I'm in the house!"  It didn't take long for her to decide that she needed to be there too.  So I walked through the entire house which was pretty much completely furnished and staged for the movie.

As I said, the house was staged but there was quite a big of mess & clutter around as they were doing the final touches -- paint and stuff.  It looks like the movie people really spent some work to fix up the house for the film -- new paint in every room, repainted kitchen cabinets, etc.  And I assume the homeowners just had to move out for a while.  I think I spotted the homeowner outside by her car, leaving.  She called to me, "You brought your camera today?"  I talked to a man doing touch-ups upstairs and he said that this was a good day to be visiting the house because tomorrow when they start filming everything was going to be closed off.

{Okay, so later in the day we found out that they beefed up security around the house because supposedly some people had gotten in, taken pictures, posted them on the internet, and the homeowner was feeling her privacy was being violated.  I swear it wasn't us.  We asked permission, everyone we talked to said it was okay, and no one tried to stop us.  But in respect to her concerns I won't post pictures of the rooms in the house, the layout, etc.  What I will post are some pictures of the set details -- things that obviously do not belong to the homeowner and are meant just for the movie.}

When Paige arrived I did a second go through of the house.  One of the coolest things was seeing all the details that were specific to Charlie and Bella.  Lots of childhood and baby pictures of Bella in picture frames through out the house.    

Lots of fishing paraphernalia on the walls. 

Police certificates and badges in Charlie's room. 

Bella's childhood artwork in places (a set designer, I assume, was painting a clay piece while we were there that said "I love you daddy".      

An Auto Trader type magazine open on the dining table (because Charlie was looking for a car for Bella), bills scattered everywhere, and giant black police boots sitting on some newspaper having just received a new shine and buff. And there was this mug by the recliner in the family room that said "I left to P - don't move this" (or something like that) and I swear, I vaguely remember that specific detail from the book!  Please tell me if you remember it too.

On the front steps

See the smidgen of the guy on the right?  And the black and white cooker thing on the step? He had about 3 of these and was stirring a thick white goo.  He told us that he was the special effects guy and he was working on creating patches of ice for the sidewalk.  This was going to be for a scene during the freak snow/ice storm.  If you remember, the next morning there is black ice on the high school parking lot and Bella almost gets crushed by a van and Edward saves her.  They already shot the crash scene somewhere else.

While there we also spotted 2 pages of the script laying on Bella's bed!  I took a photo, but I'm not sure that it would be appropriate to post it.  The scene it describes doesn't even take place at the house.  It's at First Beach where Jacob is telling her about the treaty with the "pale faces".  Nothing surprising or revealing in it -- pretty much straight from the book.

We left with a spring in our step and plans to return the next day.

Around 6:30pm I learn that a semi trailer hauling a beat up 50's red truck and a silver Volvo has been spotted on the highway.

At 9:15pm I got a call from Paige who has made another visit to the set, where the trailers are all set up now, and she has made friends with Jason the security guard.  He gave her the okay to bring a friend down.  So he escorted us through the aisles of trailers as we oogled over the character names written on masking tape and stuck on the doors.

We asked him if maybe he could arrange to be the guard on the set area the following night.  We'll see if we're so lucky.

And while we were there the wardrobe trailer pulled in