The First Week of School

...did not go as planned.

I just assumed Cole would love it and it would be smooth sailing. He was so excited and has been talking about being in Kindergarten forever. He couldn't wait to buy his uniforms and be an "older kid". But then the first day of school happened and they told the students there was going to be a fire drill during the first week and Cole was horrified. All week I took my sweet, sobbing, petrified child to school, told him things would be ok and then had to leave him there. It was gut wrenching! I would get out to the car and just bawl, I had never felt so helpless. But when I picked him up everyday he would be smiling which was a good sign that things went well. On top of his fire drill anxieties the whole new routine of Kindergarten didn't sit well with him. He has been so used to just waking up and watching cartoons, playing toys and leisurely eating his breakfast, that all changed. At school there were more rules than pre-school so that was a bummer, the school work is harder and there is homework. But he likes his friends and teachers so that is good. And they never did have that darn fire drill, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

It was nice knowing that a 3 day weekend was on the horizon so we could all recuperate from this stressful week. I'm hoping that after a couple of weeks the routine will become the norm and the anxieties will subside and that Kindergarten will shape up to be a good thing for Cole.

Midnight Sun News

From Stephenie Meyer's website:

As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn't mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here (at the end of this message on the Midnight Sun page). This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.--Stephenie

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Cole's first day of school. He chose french toast for his special 1st day breakfast.

Then he got dressed in his spiffy new uniform and let me take a few photos.

Cute little Carson sat at Cole's feet while I took pics. He will miss his big brother while he is away at school.

When it was time to go Cole grabbed his new Ironman backpack,

And climbed in the car.

He looked so grown-up walking up to the school.

We stopped for a quick photo in front of the building.

Then we headed inside to find his room assignment.

He was so excited to see friends from his Pre-K class and even more excited to find out that they were all in his Kindergarten class.

The boys and I right before Cole headed inside his new classroom.

We met his teachers, found his cubby, he hung up his backpack and looked for his table. And then Carson and I left him there hoping his first day of Kindergarten would be great.

After school when I picked him up he seemed to have had a great day. Then later he told me he didn't want to go back tomorrow. When I asked why he told me that there might be a fire drill and that scares him, so hopefully tomorrow will be ok.

It's Official!

The release of Twilight the movie has been moved up!

One Week From Today

...Alan and I will be here, taking a much needed break from the boys. I can't wait!




Coronado Bay, San Diego, CA

Fire Station 45

Last Friday our playgroup went on a tour of the fire station near our home. Firefighter Mike showed us all around the station; we got to see where the firefighters sleep, shower, eat, watch TV, work out and best of all we got to see the truck! Carson squealed when he saw the truck and wanted to get down and check it out. Believe it or not Cole was a little bit hesitant to climb up inside. I was finally able to coax him up there when I noticed one of the firefighters left their helmet inside and it had a skull and cross bone sticker on it. Wouldn't you know it would take something pirate-y to get him up there. At the end of the visit the kids were given fire chief stickers, a fire helmet and coloring book. Thanks fire station 45 for letting us visit!

Vampires Have More Fun

Warning: Lots of photos ahead, proceed with caution!

Last Friday night was the much anticipated release of Breaking Dawn, the 4th and final installment in the Twilight series. Most of the bookstores in the area were having release parties and my girlfriends and I decided to dress up in our finest prom attire and celebrate with the rest of the Twilight obsessed fans.

Before heading out for the night we met up at Leslie's house for photos. Her hubby was a good sport and humored our silliness (notice the fangs) by acting as our photographer.

L to R: Leslie, Me, Alyson, Lana, Judy, Kim




We headed over to Claim Jumper for appetizers and then walked to Barnes and Noble where we met up with my sister, nieces and cousin. Apparently there are far more crazy Twilight fans than us. We grabbed a few for this photo.

L to R: Gretchen (my sis), Jen (my cousin), Morgan, Ashley and Me

We made our way over to Wal-mart around 11:30 to get in line to pick up our copies of the book. Of course we had to stop for big diet cokes on the way, lol.

We secured our copies of the book and then headed home.

It was such a fun night. Thanks girls!

Anderson Dairy Tour

Our ward's playgroup went on a field trip to Anderson Dairy for a tour last week. Cole was so excited to go and he even got to miss a day of kinder prep. The kids' favorite part of the tour was the giant scoop of free cookies 'n cream ice cream at the end (that was my favorite part too). YUM!

Funny Cole

When I asked Cole if he would like some cereal for breakfast this morning his replay was, "Yes, Lucky Charms, and make it a double"! I laughed so hard I about fell over. Where does he come up with this stuff?

Carson's Boo Boo Nose

Carson is at that age where he always has a bump, bruise or scratch somewhere on his face. The other day he was splashing around in the pool and scraped his nose up pretty bad on the edge. Everywhere I take him I get the asked the question, "What did he do to his nose"? and then the asker turns to Carson and talks baby talk to him, usually saying something like "Oh, poor wittle guy, does your boo boo hurt"? or something equally annoying. The funny thing about Carson and all of his boo boo's is that they never seem to bother him or stop him from doing whatever it was that caused him to get hurt in the first place. Boys will be boys!