blessed.

Being a mom, I'm sure, is great. But being an aunt? The BEST.

I wanted to tell my sisters how blessed I feel to be an aunt to their children. I got to take two of my nephews and a niece to the movies last night. Then we went to the dollar store and each picked something out. They talked to me about Phineas and Ferb (my favorite TV show) and who Hayden should marry because, according to Brianna, "They'd grow up and make a lovely couple." I also got a phone call from another nephew informing me of a new bed at his house and lots of paintings he made for me. "Are we gonna play on the swings?" "Umm, yes!"

And that was just yesterday. I get eternity to be their aunt. Eternity is gonna rock.

I love my nieces and nephews. Being an aunt is the coolest thing in the world. Or at least, the coolest thing I know of.

--Elizabeth

Show Review

I have been watching this tv series on Netflix called "Monarch of the Glen." It is set in Scotland, present day. It is about a son who comes home to find out the family home (a castle plus the village) is in financial trouble. It has been pretty fun to watch. And except for a few "cheeky" comments, it is clean. I am on the 6th season, but it doesn't come on instant netflix so I have to order it. I love the Scotland setting. It isn't really fast paced, but it is fun to watch. It is one of those shows that sucks you in. The first episode is a bit slow, but after that, it moves a bit faster.

"Kight and Day" Movie Review

I wasn't exactly thrilled to be going to see this movie in the first place, but I did because my friend Kelse wanted to see it, and I wanted to get out. I was pleasantly surprised. It was... different to say the least, which was one of the reasons it was surprising. I am not a huge fan of either of the main actors, but the fact that Tom Cruise was acting like such a goof-ball the whole time made it a little bit better. Devon was convinced that it wasn't a chick-flick, but it was. Oh, it so definitely was. Cameron Diaz's character also says the F-word in a completely inappropriate place. It would actually be inappropriate anywhere, but it just sounded stupid...er than it usually does. If you like whimsical, completely unrealistic, romantic comedies, then you should see this. If you embarrass easily, I'd steer clear. It is pretty funny though. I wouldn't mind seeing it again... on dvd.

Yes, these shirts are awesome. And there are a bunch of different colors. I personally own blue, green, pink, gray and 2 of the white. Next up: black.

Favorite shirts.

Elizabeth showed me these t-shirts at Target. They are made by Mossimo. They are only $8 a piece and so comfortable. I love them because I can wear them by themselves without layering which is nice in the Texas heat. Plus I like that the sleeves are longer than the shade shirts and the necks are higher. I am no fashionista. But I thought I'd share this tid-bit of borrowed wisdom. I tried to find a picture but couldn't.
-Kelsey

Movies Deon has recently seen and liked.

Okay so I really liked all of these movies. First, "When in Rome was a cute chick flick and I actually really liked Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. Neither one bugged me, at all!
We also took the boys to see "Despicable Me," this weekend. It was hilarious. My boys sat through the whole movie. I am not a big animated movie person but this one got 2 thumbs up from me.
Then lastly I think my new favorite movie is, "Leap Year." It's so nice to find a clean movie. I really liked the whole plot line and I thought the male actor was so funny, and cute, wink wink!
Anyways if you are looking for a few good movies to watch, those are my picks for the month.
(sorry if my thoughts seem random and spacey, I'm working off of hardly any sleep.)

Catherine's Preferred Manuscripts.

Of course I loved Twilight, but that seems like a ridiculous suggestion, since I know we have all read them, and everyone has heard of them. Ahem,

I would also suggest the Harry Potter series, but they are a little bit younger, though most of my favorite books are, so bear with me. I am currently trying to get into some more adult books. Not "adult" books, but older than teen books. Ya know.

How do you un-underline stuff. This is annoying. Anyway, I also liked "The Chronicles of Narnia", books. My favorite was "The Horse and His Boy". Oddly enough, it is my favorite, though it has a talking horse in it. I guess most of these books do, which makes it all odd because if you know me, I usually hate books with talking animals. In fact sometimes I don't even like the people to talk. Har har.

Here's where the best books come in. I love "The Squire's Tale" books. They are all extremely funny and witty. I love them. It's kind of like when you daydream as a kid and you get to go on these adventures, and you get to make camp in the woods. And of course, just a touch of magic. These are such good books. My favorite is "The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf". I think there are like 7 or 8 books out. Start from the beginning.

And here is the piece of resistance. Har har. "Ella Enchanted". Best book ever. I loved this book so much. I've read it several times. I read the entire thing overnight once. Started it one night, stayed up late, woke up the next morning and finished it. It wasn't even the first time I read it either. It is such a cute story, with characters that you either hate, or love, but don't worry, everything turns out for the best.

Well those are my favorite books. There is actually one more book that I absolutely loved, unfortunately I only read it once, and then returned it to the library, where my brain forgot the name forever. I will try to find it again and maybe someday I will.

One more thing, we need to write who is posting at the end of each post. This could get confusing.

~Catherine

Kelsey's Favorite Books

Okay, so I'm a little late in the game. My favorite books are:
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery- The front cover looks like a romance novel, but it is by the author of the Anne of Green Gables books, so you know it is completely appropriate. I love it because it is a happy, fairytale tyope book, but realisitic. It isn't a thriller, but it is such a good story that you don't miss all the excitment of the Twilight Books.

Which brings me to my next favorite:
I have to admit that the Twiligh books are so fun to read.

I also love the Hunger Games series. The third book is supposed to some out in a month! They are a little gory, but really exciting. If you liked the Twilight books, you'll like these.

I also love Tuesdays With Morrie if you are looking for a deeper read. I love reading it with a highlighter because there are so many life lessons that he consolidates down to a few sentences. It is really insightful and makes you realize the blessings you have in your life.

I love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice because it is a classic and I love the complex relationships. But really, I just can't helping craving a good love story with a happy ending. Especially with so few out there in reality.

Nothing too deep. But all fun.

Help! Easy lunch ideas

Okay so I am always looking for easy lunch ideas for my kids, since they will not eat sandwiches (I know crazy right?). There are the obvious things such as macaroni and Cheese, Chicken nuggets, soup etc. but I am in desperate need of some new ideas for snacks and easy lunches.
We did make small pizza's out of bagels and mini pepperoni's but I really need some new ideas.

Elizabeth's Favorite Books

The Book of Mormon. The Bible. The Doctrine and Covenants. And, of course, The Pearl of Great Price.

I win.

Ha ha ha, I'm so funny. But seriously now, those are great books. But I see that we're talking about novels, most likely fiction. So here you go.

My favorite books are:

Peter Pan -- As much as I like the play and movies that have been made from this, the book is 100 times better. J.M. Barrie tells a fantastical story while making the reader think about his or her own life and mind and imagination. It's a short book and not hard to read, which is another reason why it's amazing how it makes me ponder so much. Plus, it's funny. Humor is always appreciated. (And while we on the topic of Peter Pan, the series written by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry called, "Peter and the Starcatchers" is awesome. And again, hilarious.)

Little Women -- If I lived 150 years ago, I would be Jo. Living in 2010, I want to be Jo (especially the getting to marry Fredric part). The book is a great story, to be sure, but it offers more than just a good plot; there are words of wisdom sprinkled throughout, and you get attached to the characters like you do your own sisters (even Amy, who's basically a snob the whole time).

Pride & Prejudice [& Zombies] -- The original Jane Austen novel is really my favorite because without reading and loving it first, I wouldn't have enjoyed the Zombies edition nearly as much. The original (and the zombies one too) is witty and complex without being overbearing. There are slow parts, as is true with most books, but it makes the good parts that much better.

All three of these novels have also been made into good movies. So if you're more into watching then reading, there ya go.

Deon's Favorite Book Picks

These books are my ultimate favorites, but I love to read so I have many books I really enjoy. Some other notable books to mention are, "Children of the Promise," by Dean Hughes, All of the Jane Austen books I have enjoyed, and I recently read "To Kill A Mockingbird," again. Also My sister in law Sara gave me a book called, "Goose Girl," that I really enjoyed.

Great books

So I guess I will be the first to post, mostly because I love to tell people about good books. I work at the library now- so I actually have time to read- and access to a lot of books. I really enjoy the books by Shannon Hale. She won a Newberry for her book "Princess Academy," but actually my favorites are the Books of Bayern, a series that begins with "Goose Girl." They are very good. I also really like Gail Carson Levine. She writes fairy tale stories as well. Her most famous is Ella Enchanted, but I enjoy her others as well. I just ordered some fairy books by her for younger readers- I will let you know how they are.
I am excited about this blog. I hope you all post lots of great ideas!
By the way, Devon wants me to mention his new favorite movie "Inception." It was excellent! I thought the plot would be thin- but it was amazing. The special effects were really cool too. You should all go see it. I think Thomas saw it 3 times opening weekend. Below is a link to the trailer, although I don't think it does it justice.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/inception/

Here we are!

Okay so my sisters and I have decided to start a blog. Okay I decided and forced them to do it. I absolutely love my sisters and we all have some creative level to us, so I think this blog will be fun to read. I thought that with this blog we would be able to share ideas on good (clean) books to read, good movies to watch, inventive ideas on how to entertain our children, and maybe just somewhere to talk about our accomplishments, (you know, other than our wonderful children and handsome husbands.)