Pictures of You

Best song ever written...

Hobbit

Geeking out again! LOTR does that to me...

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbit/

Merry Christmas

Heading down to the ranch for Christmas! SO excited!

Cannot Wait!!

I have been wishing for this for so long and now my geek has been rewarded. LEGO just announced plans to turn Lord of the Rings into their world. Christmas has come early for me, folks!

Underrated Gem

Lindsay and I get a subscription to Entertainment Weekly and this past week's edition had a great interview with Steven Spielberg. There are a few people that I wish I had the pleasure of knowing in my life. I have mentioned my love of Walt Disney, but another great legend is Spielberg. I could have read his interview all day--I wish it were longer. He seems to be a true gentleman and someone who has a great and deep love for film. I would thoroughly enjoy sitting down and having a long conversation with him.

Anyway, the only disappointment I had in the article was the complete omission of anything related to his film Always. I love this show! I haven't seen it in a few years, but it used to be one of my favorites. The film as a whole was a bit disjointed--it had some truly random things. But it is a classic love story and one that you should not miss. If you have not seen it, please rent or buy it soon. Once again, it featured a beautiful score by John Williams.

Christmas Albums-Final 2

I love these Christmas albums! Again, they are what I grew up with. I can't imagine a Christmas without listening to both of them multiple times. They always bring back such great memories. I hope that my children grow to love them as much as I do.

Christmas Albums Pt. 3

Love this album! It really needs no explanation, since most everyone has a love for it too.

This was an album my mom listened to all the time when I was a kid. I remember the cover of this record and I would look at it all the time while it was playing on the turntable. It's a great album with some very cheesy songs, but some good "classic" ones too.

Christmas Albums Pt. 2

John Williams' talent is amazing! He has written the most memorable music scores of all time: Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, E.T. and many more! Add to this a great Christmas album. My holiday is not complete unless I listen to and watch the first two Home Alone films.

Strange name, but what a crooner! I'm a bit tired of "Christmas in Killarney" and "Mele Kalikimaka" but the rest of the album brings back a lot of good memories of my first Christmases with Lindsay.

Christmas Albums

Merry Christmas, one and all! I will commence a new list of my favorite Christmas albums over the next few days. I will tell you right now, there is no room here for any "modern" albums. I can't stand when a current artist creates a Christmas album. Most of them are crap. I am all about the classics! It's what my mom and dad played in the house and car growing up. My first two albums:

I love both Carpenter's Christmas albums. They have some stuff that really sounds like the 60s, but overall they are pure joy.

Just listen to the album--you'll be converted.

Thanks

There are so many things to be thankful for! Here's a list:

The Hale ranch house in Grover, Utah.
Disneyland and that it connects me to my youth.
Good books.
My job at school and my work at the theater. I love both--I have hard years every now and then with school (having a REALLY hard year right now), but then I get to go to the theater where I feel like I am making a difference.
My home.
Music. I am falling asleep to music lately. I could not live without music.
Good food. I love good food.
Movies--there's little wonder why I have a movie reel tattooed on my butt.
Health. I may not be Thor, but I am so grateful I have use of my faculties.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement of the Savior. No greater blessing.
Ambien. I need to get off it.
My mom and dad, brother and sisters and in-laws. I am where I am today because of the opportunities they blessed me with in my life.
My four wonderful children and that they are all healthy and strong.
And finally, this wonderful woman... How could you not be grateful to have someone like her in your life?

Great Movie

So I watched In Bruges the other night while Lindsay was at yoga. Definitely not a film she would have enjoyed, but I loved it. Nothing like good black humor. Colin Farrell was hilarious (so much funnier than I thought he could ever be) and Brendan Gleeson is great in everything. Bruge is now at the top of my must-visit locations.

More on Kam

On Friday we took Kam and his friends to this extreme air sports park in Provo. He had been there before with his uncle, but Lindsay and I only knew that it was in Provo. So we look up the address on Mapquest and the street number was 1111 W!!!! So weird. All these great 11-11-11 things on Kam's 11th birthday! Loved it.

We also went to the BYU vs. Idaho game Saturday night. Froze our butts off, got a photo with Brian Smith (back-up kicker/boyfriend of Lindsay's sister) and had a great time.

Happy Birthday to Kam!

Today is a pretty special day: my boy Kam turns 11 on 11/11/11. Now how many times does something like that happen in life? Everyone kept telling us to call KSL or Daily Herald to let them know, but we didn't want to be one of those parents. And lo and behold, today there is a cover story in Daily Herald of a boy who turns 11! Seriously?! Oh well.

I love my boy! He is a great kid--very smart, good to other people, doesn't like girls yet, is obsessed with Social Empires, has dreams for his future, loves his aunts and uncles, mostly loves his brothers and parents, athletic, funny and wants to do what's right. I'm so glad he is my oldest and the one who is setting the example to his younger brothers and sister.

I love this photo of Kam! His face and laughter is absolutely genuine.

Halloween Costumes

Lindsay had some great ideas for costumes this year: Kam was a fruit ninja (best app ever!), Adam and I were minions from Despicable Me, Max was a werewolf, and Brynn was the cutest little bee ever. We had a great night trick-or-treating! This is Max's favorite holiday and he was so sad to see it end.

I was a bit bummed because I didn't get the chance to watch any new horror movies this year. I just never got the time to.

More Brynn

Sorry I haven't posted more of my other children lately, but we just got these photos of Brynn in. They were taken by our good friend Chris Young.

I think you might be able to see why we love this girl so much...

Brynn

Not that I want her to grow, but I love this photo, and Brynn looks so much older than she really is. She doesn't look like a baby in this--she looks more like a young girl.

Great Friends

Last night Lindsay and I were taken to P712 for my birthday. Our wonderful friends Jon and Tanya Keller treated us (big bill--thanks, guys!) and we had a great time! It's so good to have devoted friends that you can talk to about anything (leaving babies in cars, wanting to smack disrespectful kids, "Viva la Little Bear!"). We have known Jon and Tanya for many years. And even though months might go by without seeing each other (stupid raising of children and having a life) we love the time we are together to catch up!

Last Halloween. I wish we had a better picture with the four of us together!

Favorite Night of the Year

I love the first Monday of October! Our Halloween decorations are up, the air is turning chilly, and Fall is on! For family night we always go get a pumpkin from "The Pumpkin Man" on 1600 North and then to Kneaders to choose a Halloween treat. This year I got a pumpkin, chocolate chip, cream cheese cake. Holy Crap! Wow! Then we come back to the house, pop some popcorn, spread out some blankets and watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I love this night! I hope we do this until my boys leave on a mission--and that they love it each time.

Attacked By Rodents (of smaller size)

Last week we discovered a pack of baby racoons that live in our irrigation tunnel. We have seen 6 at a time coming out and eating the grapes between our property and Old Man Walker's. Cute little buggers--but, yes, I'm sure they carry rabies.

Final Day of Sequels

These last two are greats! There are many more, but I reserved this list for some of my favorites.

I LOVE HARRY POTTER! The books and the movies are so fantastic! Film one and two are decent, but it isn't until the third that the film series starts to become its own. Everyone talks about the third film being the best and its not hard to see why. Go back and watch it. The performances are much better and the directing and storyline are more focused. I loved these last two, but this third film is just great!

Most say The Bourne Ultimatum is the best film, but I disagree. Supremacy has more emotion--he's avenging the death of Marie. Great performances and great all-around film making.

More Sequels

I used to be such a huge fan of the Superman movies. I even did my hair with a little bit of a curl in the front--I wanted to be just like Superman. The first film is such a great show, but this one raises the stakes. Just a side note, the Twin Towers in the background really makes this poster more ominous than it was when the film first came out.

Love these films! The quintessential buddy-cop films. Lethal 2 gives deeper backstory to the characters, gives us great villains (from South Africa), and adds much more emotion. Some people hated Joe Pesci's character, but I love "Leo Ghetz."

Back to my list

Here's a couple more sequels you should check out if you haven't already had the pleasure:

More Han Solo, better Han Solo, Han Solo finally making his moves on Leia, and the all-time classic response when Leia tells Han she loves him--"I know." Everything about this film is better than the original.

Spider-Man 2 came out before the onslaught of everything comic book, so it still seemed fresh. It followed a similar pattern of Superman 2 (look for it on my list coming soon)--the hero is conflicted and wants to give up his heroic destiny because of a dame. What a sap! Some people didn't like Tobey McGuire in these films, but I thought he was perfect. By the way, end your Spider-Man watching with this film--don't even bother with 3.

New Blogs I Follow

This weekend I discovered some new Disney blogs! I love learning about Disney history. I have always been fascinated by "Uncle Walt" and how he built what he did. If you get a second, take a look at the blogs under my "Blogs I Follow" section. Fun stuff.

More movie sequels

Alright, on to day two! Here are a couple more gems!

Now I know this is the third installment in the franchise, but it was the best. J.J. Abrams is a genius! This came out shortly after Lindsay and I had finished the "Alias" series and it had such a similar vibe. Too bad it also came out when everyone thought Tom Cruise was a psycho. I don't think the movie was given enough of a chance.

One of my favorites ever! I watched this so many times in high school--I even collected Terminator 2 trading cards. Seriously. Again, James Cameron pulled through on another amazing sequel. I can't wait to see what he does with "Titanic 2."

Returning to my roots

When I started this blog I had "pop culture" in mind. I wanted to share my thoughts and views on movies, books, music, etc. I've realized that since my surgery, my blog has started to sound more like a teenage girl, all feelings and musings (no offense Carlee and BreAnn). SO I'm going to try and get back to my roots: over the next few days I would like to make a list of movie sequels that were better than the original. There are many--and I will give you some of my favorites!

The original was very fun, but Toy Story 2 took the story so much farther! I loved that Woody had a backstory and a past. I loved the introduction of Jessie and Bullseye. Everything about this story took the creativity and heart of Pixar to another level.

The original is scarier, but this sequel by James Cameron was so freaking awesome! The characters are still some of the best ever written (Newt, Ripley, Hicks, Hudson), the action was great, and there are so many quotable lines--"Game over, man! Game over!"

Getting Back to Normal

I ran out of the Percocet this past weekend and my body is going through some serious withdrawls. I think I consumed over a hundred pills in the past month and a half--man, I miss the euphoria. My bum is still felling pretty bad. I can sit, but not for too long--and some positions are just killer. I have been stretching out my body this week and next week I plan on returning to cardio and weight training. I hate surgery and getting myself back to normal, but if I was told I had to go back in for another infection cleaning and that I would be prescribed more pain killers... I wouldn't even hesitate! :)

Love My Job

Sometimes I don't quite think I'm cutting it as a teacher. I have bad experiences and disagreements with students or parents. It is often times a very difficult job. Yes, I wish I was paid more, but it's never deterred me from this profession. I loved it the moment I started my internship and I still love it! I hate the pressure of performing for tests, I hate the vice I often feel on what I can and can't do, but overall I am so happy with the life I have created for myself and my family.

There is nothing better than to run into former students and find out that I had some kind of impact on their life. This morning I ran into a young man I taught 9 years ago. He came to my classroom to see me and tell me about his life. He is successful and wants to start his schooling to become a teacher. I started the day off really well!

Then this afternoon I ran into a student from a few years back while she was out running. This young lady had a huge impact on me as a teacher during a very pivotal year in my profession. It was so great to see her! She is happy and successful and it's things like this that make it all worth it to me. I love my students!

Park City Fun

We took a quick Park City trip this weekend. We stayed in the Marriot Mountainside (so nice), did some swimming, strolled Main St. and rode the Alpine Slides. Here are some fun photos:

Riding the Alpine Slides

Cutest girls in the whole world

Chillin' on Main St.

Riding the Main St. Trolley

A Gem!

It's been a few years since I've seen Say Anything, and I gotta tell you, this movie is an absolute gem! Lindsay and I watched it the other night. So well written and performed. I used to love this movie growing up. It came out while I was in junior high and I thought it was speaking volumes to me. Cameron Crowe's first film--it has an amazing soundtrack! "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel is still one of the best songs ever written. If you haven't seen this movie recently, please watch it again or for the first time. Many quotable quotes! One of my favorites--
Diane: Nobody thinks it (their relationship) will work, do they?
Lloyd: No. You just described every great success story.

Old Photos

A few years ago my computer crashed and we lost all of our early digital photos. Sucked so bad! I've wised up since then and all of our photos are now protected. I've been going through the ones we lost (we have them as thumbnails, but can't make them any bigger) and found some old gems that didn't get lost somehow...

Kam and Adam's first trip to Disneyland! Adam was such a chunk!

One of our favorite Disneyland photos.

Carlee, Paisley and Kourtney--a few kids from my favorite class ever! They all just started college. I'm old.

BreAnn, Kourtney, and Caitie, also from the best class ever!