Father-Daughter Dance!

Last night the girls went to the annual Father-Daughter dance at their school. They love this event! They get to get all dressed up and have a date with their dad. This year Chris got the girls corsages and suprised them by ringing the doorbell and "picking them up" for their date. They do pictures at the dance and everything. Lots of fun. Brianna let me really work on her hair and we had her in all curls. I even had some glitter spray left from Halloween so I glittered up their hair too. Don't they look beautiful?

When the doorbell rang we all went running downstairs. A few minutes later we hear some cute little sounds upstairs and realize that we left Jenna up there! She was calling down to say, "Hey, what about me?" Chris didn't forget Courtney, though, and she was given her own flowers even though she wasn't old enough for the dance yet. After the big guys left we went to Carls Jr to enjoy milkshakes and play at the playland. For her, this was heaven! All afternoon she kept asking, "When are they going to leave for the Father-Daughter dance?"

Final Twilight Analysis

So, I decided to reserve the last two books at the library instead of buying them. I actually got the final book right away (I was 117th on the list for the 3rd) and decided to go ahead and skip the 3rd book and see how the saga ended. I will give the author credit in that she did get me interested enough to want to keep reading and see how it all ended! So, after so many people said how much they hated the 4th book I was REALLY curious how it ended.

Skip this paragraph if you haven't read the 4th book! I will keep to my original thought that it did drag on a bit long in the middle and I ended up speed reading a bit. But, I found myself actually LIKING the 4th book the best. I found that I could relate to her complete love for her daughter (rather than her unhealthy obsession for Edward we saw in the previous books) and that kept me a bit engrossed. However, as much as I was relieved that no one was hurt, the lack of a big battle scene was VERY anticlimactic! Just strange really. However, I guess the unexpected isn't always bad. I did like that Bella ended up being able to help others for a change. I also liked that she kept her relationship with her dad and Jacob.

So, in response to everyone's comments, I can see where you come from in your thoughts about love and forever and such. Tamra's comment got me thinking the most and did influence my opinions as I read the 4th book--it put things in a different perspective. It helped me to see their love in a better light. It did help that the 4th book was less focused on obsessive love.

My last thought is this: LOVE AND OBSESSION ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! I've had friends who were obsessed over a guy and had their life screwed up. (I think this is why this book, even though it is fiction, bothered me.) Their life was defined by the guy they dated, not their individuality. Not only did it affect them, but like Bella, it effected the lives of their friends and family too. Even today, over 10 years later, they are still affected by it. I think that Edward showed love for Bella in that he wanted what was best for her and left because he wanted her to have a normal life. Bella, however, was clearly over the line obsessive. I think I would freak out if my daughter was so crazy over a guy.

Did I read the books? Yes. Do the books get people talking? Definitely. Great book club type book because it leads to lots of discussion. Do I want my daughters reading them? Not until they are beyond the boy crazy years (like maybe happily married or something?)!