Okay, so I have admitted that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Twilight saga.  I enjoyed it so much so that I read all four books in 8 days, and I am reading them again for the second time.  I say admitted because I was Anti-Twilight because it was so popular and based on vampires (thanks to Melissa's consistant recommendation, and others following, I gave in).  It was like hearing about Harry Potter and it being based on wizards (which by the way I gave into as well and loved those as well).  Anyway, while the books were addicting and intoxicating, I have a major issue with the movie that is "very loosely based" on the books, and not a visual of the actual story.  Here is why I say that....

1.  Most of the actors in the movie do not even come close to the descriptions of the character in the book, such as Jessica, Rosalie, Charlie, Carlise, Emmett.  For example, in the book Rosalie is described as a beatiful statueque blonde that was so utterly breathtaking, all the girls in the room were knocked down in confidence just by having to be in the same room with her and her goddess like figure.  In the movie they have a curvy bleached blonde playing her.  Not even close!  Don't even get me started on Laurent!  They are not even the same nationality!

2.  The descriptions of the surroundings are altered, some more than others like Bella's bedroom, their kitchen, the Cullen's house, and the school.  None of them fit the description provided in the book.  The Cullen's home in the books is a stately three story white mansion with a large porch and stairs leading to the doorway, with a grand staircase adorning the entrance to the very traditionally decorated home done all in white and other neutral colors.  The house in the movie is a contemporary concrete house with nothing screaming wealth and tradition, decorated in vibrant colors and contemporary furniture.  It completely takes away from the character of who the Cullens are and the respect they have for the older finer things in life. 

3.  The relationships in the movie lack the proper building and emphasis created in the book to completely understand the bond between characters.  Edward and Bella the most  neglected, I wouldn't even understand her love for him the movie if I had not read the book first, but also Bella and Alice, Bella and Carlise, Bella and Mike, Billy and Charlie, and many others.  Those relationships are what make the story so great, and you completely miss all of that entirely in the movie. 

4.  The attire.  I was so disappointed that the characters where not even wearing the same thing during certain scenes when the author goes into great detail to describe their wardrobe.  Bella's first attire arriving in Forks, the way Bella and Edward matched when they went to the meadow for the first time, Edwards sweater and leather jacket the night he saved Bella from the group of men, etc.

I could go on and on with little details like Jacob's hair, the prom night, Bella's truck, and so many more that were so obviously inaccrate in the movie, let alone the items they put in the movie that didn't even happen in the book, like Edward jumping down into Bella's truck to scare her, Bella getting a new bedspread, etc.  Why put those scenes in there when they didn't occur in the book, and leave out other scenes that were more applicable to the storyline like Edward's fast driving and Bella's antique truck, Alice playing dress up with Bella for prom, Edward explaining their existence in Carlise's library, etc.  Those stories would have at least added to the building of the relationships.  With such a great book, I was really looking forward to seeing the movie, but so extremely annoyed with the outcome. 

Okay, now that I got that all off my chest I feel better!  Sorry for offending anyone who enjoyed the movie, I don't mean to take that away from them.  This is just my little soapbox to vent from   Here is to hoping New Moon is better than Twilight!

Well, it has been over two months since my last post, and a lot has been going on since then....Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's of course, not to mention a trip to Los Angeles, 11 sicknesses, and my Grandpa Costa's stay in the hospital, and The Extreme Makeover Home Edition!!

So the holidays were wonderful.  We enjoyed all our family time and time away from work.  My family purchased us a family trip to Disneyland for Andilee's birthday in March, so we are really looking forward to that.  I definitely think that as I get older, Christmas is so much more for the children.  Andilee was brimming with excitement every night about getting to see her cousins, opening presents and getting to play all day long.  I was excited about all the food!

New Year's was wonderful too.  We drove down to LA to visit with Nanny and Pop and had a fabulous visit with them both.  We love them so much and love all the time we still have the opportunity to spend with them.  We went shopping, ate, played games, ate, went ice skating, ate, went to church, and ate   All my favorite activities   The skating rink where I took Andilee and Sophia was were the Zamboni was created and originally produced from, so there is a lot of Zamboni history in the area, including a Zamboni park across the street from the rink.  Here are a few pictures.

Since October, Andilee, Raylee, and I have been sick 11 times total.  Mostly colds, (six of which were mine), but Raylee even had the stomach flu last week.  I am totally done with that for quite some time, so I am pumping us all with Mona Vie, vitamins, lots of rest, and hand sanitizer to ward off any future bugs!  Grandpa Costa is in the hospital right now, so please pray for him.  He had a hernia which was causing a blockage that required an operation.  He made it through the operation but during recovery is running into some obstacles like low blood pressure, and not being able to breath on his own.  Please keep him and my grandmother in your prayers.

On a much more positive note, Extreme Makeover Home Edition is in town.  Just two miles from our house and litterally on the other side of the tracks   A disabled women who was born with no legs and only one fully developed arm and her four children are the recipients.  I don't know the full story, but I guess I will see when it airs.  We took the kids down there last night and took some great pictures of the event.

Good times, and very memorable for all of us.  So that is it for now.  Hope all of you have a wonderful winter!

Well, it came and went already....Raylee's 1st birthday.  I cannot believe how time is flying by.  Here are some pictures of the party. 

Grammy holding two of her five granddaughters....please note that while Raylee and Macey appear to be the same size, Raylee at 1 year and Macey at 11 weeks are only two inches, and 5 pounds apart!

Opening some presents....

Eating her birthday cake, and using her sock as her napkin, which apparently needed to clean some frosting out of her hair....