The Crafts

And a very happy 4 year anniversary to Matt and me!

Twilight movie mania hit the world this weekend and I have fallen victim. I LOVE THE MOVIE! In fact I hope to see it again. And even more, I'm thinking I may reread the series. I can't explain the fascination with the books and movie...you just need to check it out for yourself. You may hear whiners say the movie didn't follow the book but, in my opinion, that is a good thing. I have each scene from the book pictured perfectly in my head and if the movie would have tried to follow the book exactly then I would have been disappointed. Why? Because the movie could in no way match my inner visions. Instead the movie moved things around, added new little pieces and ta-da, it was like reading Twilight 2.0. Although some of the forest action scenes were a little odd, I still give this movie 5 out of 5 stars. And to those friends out there still planning to see the movie, you better invite me. You know who you are!!

Each and every year I complain about this topic to Matt but now that I have a blog I can whine to all of you too. Why doesn't anyone remember November? Each year on November 1st at 12:01 a.m. the world (i.e. America) forgets Halloween and moves directly to Christmas. No one remembers Thanksgiving and all of the other great things November has to offer. It is as if November is a thorn in our happy holidays side; a speed bump in the rush to Christmas. Many of our neighbors have already put up their santas and reindeer. They aren't thinking of the true meaning of Christmas. They aren't thinking of a Happy Thanksgiving. People don't even wish each a Happy Thanksgiving anymore. But I think I will stop here because I'm starting to sound like grumpy ol' Ed Rooney from 60 minutes. I think my eyebrows just grew into long white waves of ugly. (Look up Ed Rooney's pic if you are confused.) On a happy note, my friend, Jennie, and I are going to see the movie ...

Well I am finishing up my last full day here in sunny Marco Island. Good bye green landscape, good bye Gulf of Mexico, good bye lazy days in the sand, good bye sunshine and happiness. Ok, so maybe the sunshine and happiness part will also be found in Iowa but any warmth will be replaced with cold, cold snow, ice and wind. All of us had a lot of fun on vacation and I think we may actually be ready to go home. Kate hasn't been the best sleeper. She wakes up whining several times in the night and never slept past 6:45 a.m. Florida time. Yep, that is 5:45 Iowa time. Sunday morning she was up at 5:40 a.m....or 4:40 a.m. central time. We may have a rough transition back into our normal life. The only other pitfall to our vacation was my dad coming down with the stomach flu. He fell sick Thursday and was still a little queasy when he left on Sunday. What a bummer for him to get sick on vacation. I wished there was something I could do for him. But despite any troubles, overall I have had ...

Instead of playing Marco Polo in the pool, we've been playing Marco Island. Get it? Aren't we so creative? Ummm...maybe not. We have however been swimming a lot. Each morning my mom and I take a walk along the beach which is usually followed up with a swim in either the Gulf of Mexico or the pool. It seems odd to take a dip in the pool with the beach just a few feet away but we've received a thorough exfoliation from all the sand and sometimes need a break. Matt and I are picking up Matt's brother, Mike, at the Fort Myers airport tonight. Mike will be staying with us through Sunday morning. We're hoping to either para-sail or fish. We'll see what happens. The days are honestly flying by. I can't believe we are almost through Wednesday. I feel like we just arrived. Thankfully Matt, Kate and I don't have to leave until Tuesday of next week. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! (That is the sound of me having a lot of fun!) We have taken a lot more pictur...

We have had one full day in Florida so far and we are having a great time. Kate literally ran into the Gulf of Mexico when she saw it. Didn't care one bit that she was wearing sweatpants and shoes. While we were wading we also watched a dolphin swim 10 yards from shore. It got so close to us that for a minute there we were concerned it was heading straight for the beach. Below are a few pics my mom took of us this morning. I'll add more as the days roll on. Hope everyone is well. The weather is gorgeous here. But I guess it is pretty darn nice back in Iowa. Sorry, but I was hoping you would all suffer in some blistering cold while we were soaking up rays on our white little legs. That is all for now...