Da Doc Dash

This weekend, Ethan ran (rode) his first race! As a family, we ran the 5k "Doc Dash" the med school puts on each year. I can't say Brian and I did that great, but Ethan got 1st place in the baby category! Way to go ya little chunk!

Les Miserables

We spent the weekend in Kansas City, visiting Brian's aunt and family, and got to go see Les Miserables while it was playing there. It was such a great weekend!

Our big surprise was that the Starlight Theatre was aptly named--it was an outdoors! It was really a beautiful amphitheater, unfortunately the tornados from the night before still left us with a lot of rain the night of the performance. But with panchos, we were fine (don't worry, the actors were also fine--the stage was covered). The performance was SO good, I've always loved the storyline, book, and music to this play, but this was my first to actually see the musical.
Ethan had so much fun playing with his second cousin, the gorgeous Ainsley. She is just a few months older and it was so cute to see them interact.

We can't wait to go back to visit the Hamricks!

Aww... That's Better

Two full weeks later, and we're back. It was a pain to clean every dish, crack, and surface, but it is SO great to be able to live in a home again, complete with a new ceiling. Our management was good about working to get our apartment back in action, and suprise! -- we even got an added bonus-- Popcorn Ceiling! Woo hoo! (cough cough).

The Sky is Falling Down!

We had quite the adventure yesterday. I was babysitting a little girl at our apartment and right after lunch I heard a lot of cracking sounds coming from the kitchen cabinets hanging above our kitchen sink and bar. I could tell the cabinets were coming loose from the wall, but were still hanging by the ceiling. Apparently the ceiling wasn't strong enough because within a few minutes, the whole cabinet unit FELL on our counter, taking the kitchen (and part of the living room) CEILING with it! It was a HUGE noise and I thought the whole apartment was caving in. Luckily I had made sure the little girl was in the living room because I was worried something might happen when I heard the cracking, and I was barely able to grab Ethan out of his highchair before we were buried under rubble of cabinets, plaster, and insulation. We ran outside and the kids were screaming and I was shaking like crazy.
Apparently fell because of a pipe leak in the ceiling that had dried and weakened everything. I'm SO glad no one was hurt. We are kitchenless for a week and half-homeless since there's so much construction going on, but thanks to good friends and family, we've been well taken care of.
Here are some pictures, although they don't do any of it justice, I thought we were in the middle of a building demolition at the time! Insulation is Everywhere and I don't know how we'll ever get rid of all the dirt and dust.

Hmm, maybe not so much

So I'd like to formally rescind my former complaints against the characters of the Twilight series. Jacob's not a Total jerk, Bella's not an unfaithful wife, and Edward picked a good mate. I really enjoyed Breaking Dawn, although I still stand by my complaints against the inappropriateness of the passion directed toward young adult readers. Harrumph.

Breaking Dawn: A Blood-Sucking Debate

I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, so if you haven't finished these books, or are planning to read them in the future, Beware, this post may contain spoilers (though I'll try to avoid it).

I've loved reading the Twilight series for the past few years and have recommended it to countless people. It's got everything: action, adventure, romance, great character development, issues you can debate for hours over. It's not Harry Potter, but this young adult fiction series is a great story to "sink your teeth into."

I'm currently reading Breaking Dawn (about half way through), and really, just have to pose a few questions I'm currently having issues with (regarding the whole series, but mostly Breaking Dawn). I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on these.

1. How do you feel about the details of the sexual tension between Jacob, Bella, and Edward?
2. Has the author put too much detail in about "honeymoon" aspects of the book?
3. What age groups would you recommend this series to?
4. Is there a difference between married adults reading this vs. the young adult audience this book is geared towards?
5. The Host is considered Meyer's first "Adult" book. In what ways is that story more adult than Breaking Dawn?

I have to admit I'm disappointed in Stephenie Meyers. She is a wonderful author, and I am so glad that she has chosen to have the characters avoid any premarital sex. But, considering that this is a young adult book, WHY did she need to write so much about the issues to be dealt with during the honeymoon. Yes, I know it wasn't terribly graphic or detailed, but I'm not sure I approve of these 10-18 year olds reading about the lingerie, headboard, bruises, etc, etc, etc. I had expected Meyers to use her knowledge of the sanctity of marriage to skip over any unneeded private details. If what was written had been acted out in a movie, it would be too much of a sex scene for me to be comfortable with, why should it be different in a book? And I wish she hadn't felt the need to add in those few less offensive swear words. Not all teenagers swear and I think it'd be a good example to have characters who don't swear.
On another note, why does Bella have to act so stupid and stubborn all the time? Hasn't she learned to trust Edward's wisdom? WHY can't she just get Jacob out of her mind and heart if she's so in love with Edward? Why doesn't Jacob just give up and accept it once Bella's married? And why is Edward so in love with Bella--full of faults (it seems like an unequally yoked relationship to me)?

Ok, obviously despite all these quips, I'm still so into the books that I will take the time to get into this, I love reading the story, overall it's a GREAT series, there are just a few parts I'm having problems with.

What do you think? Feel free to totally disagree with me, I'm interested in what everyone else thinks!

Our State Fair is the Best State Fair

Yes, so good that there was even a musical made after the Iowa State Fair.
Okay, so it wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever done, but we had a great time this weekend with Brian's parents.


Here's the traditional butter cow and honorary butter sculpture of Des Moines native Shawn Johnson (not a very accurate likeness--and her backside was huge, but cool none the less).

Apparently Iowa's into super-sizing everything for the fair. We pigged out (haha, get it, see the winning big pig--1200 pounds! and the big old bull--over 3000 pounds--I thought it was a hippo!) on all the greasy carnie food we could get our hands on--kettle corn, Italian sausages, fresh lemonade, homemade root beer, and yes, even a FRIED TWINKIE (as pictured below). Despite its slightly banana-y taste, it wasn't that special, but it was amazing how FAT it got from soaking up the grease :)

There was a pumpkin so big that our chubby little E could live in it! By the time we left, I felt like I was super-sized like the hog, hippo-bull, pumpkin, and butter girl. Blah, but it still makes me want to experiment with frying everything I didn't get to try at the fair--fried Snickers, Oreos, pineapple, etc, etc, etc, --anyone up for a fry party (forget the fondue pots, let's go with the fry daddies and make ourselves sick!) ?