The Return of the King

This is going to be a tough one. There are so many great moments and great shots in this film. It's definitely our favorite to go, "Oh, I love this shot. This is the best shot." It has my favorite musical theme with "The Grey Havens." It's hard to point to what my three favorite scenes are, so I will just go with what my favorites are right now. (Always subject to change).

 

3. The side of Mount Doom- 

Sam: "Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields… and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?" 

Frodo: "No, Sam. I can’t recall the taste of food… Nor the sound of wood or touch of grass… I’m naked in the dark, with nothing. No veil between me and the ring of fire. I can see him with my waking eyes!"
Sam: "Then let us be rid of it! Once and for all! Come on Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you! But I can carry you! Come on!"

Genius!

2. Four Hobbits returning home-There is a brief moment at the end of the film when Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are sitting at Green Dragon in Hobbiton sipping their favorite ale. There are no words spoken, just a glance between these friends that have gone on the most incredible journey. They are changed. They have just saved Middle Earth and the other Hobbits around them have no idea. They are strangers in their own home now. The look and the moment they share is so beautiful and heart-breaking.

1. Frodo receiving a much needed boost-Frodo has sent Sam home, escaped Shelob's lair and has just thrown Gollum off a cliff. He falls to the ground, but finds himself in Lothlorien. Galadriel (so beautiful in every way) tells him, "This task was appointed to you, Frodo of the Shire. If you do not find a way, no one will." She takes Frodo by the hand and lifts him up. He finds himself back in Mordor. It's so short, but so perfect. I think I love it so much because of its link to Fellowship.

The Two Towers

I didn't mention yesterday that Fellowship of the Ring is my favorite of the three films. It's actually my favorite film of all time. My brother in law commented about seeing it for the first time and how it impacted him. Same for me. I was brought to another world. I wish I could have that experience with films all the time. A few have done it for me--Die Hard, Dances With Wolves, Forrest Gump, Titanic... But this was just an absolutely amazing experience! Nothing can top it for me.

Anyway, on to Two Towers. Great film! I love the music of this film. It has some beautiful themes created by Howard Shore. 

My three favorite scenes:

3. Gollum's schizophrenia-I love when Gollum is having a conversation with himself. He allows Smeagol to take over and for a time dismisses his evil side of Gollum. Not only is it a great performance by Andy Serkis, but it so greatly hits on one of the strong themes of LOTR: addiction and the ability to overcome it.

2. The Warg Rider attack-Such a great intense scene to come just at the right time. Two Towers can be a slow-moving film (one word: Treebeard), but this scene comes right at the middle and offers some needed excitement. Legolas is awesome in this scene: firing his arrows across the valley and then hopping up onto Gimli's horse like Tony Hawk on acid.

1. Samwise's Speech-How do you wrap up a movie like this? It has no real beginning and no real ending. So they give Sam one of the best speeches ever put on film! "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.--That there's some good in this world and it's worth fighting for." That's how you end a film.

Three nights of LOTR

We just finished with one of my favorite events of the year: watching Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy three nights in a row. Mom, Dad and Jani join Lindsay, Kam and I. We eat some Indian food, drink far too much Cherry Coke Zero, and eat more dark chocolate and popcorn than the average oompa loompa. But the extra 15-20 pounds I might have gained is very much worth it. I love these films! They are passionate movie making in every aspect. As we watch, we point out parts of the score that we love, actor's performances that no one else could pull off and Jackson's direction that amazes.

Here are my top three favorite scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring. The next two films will follow soon.

3. The Bridge of Khazad-dum--Gandalf facing off with the Balrog is powerful. When the Fellowship try to run to his aid, but have to flee...heart-wrenching. Howard Shore's score at this point is beautiful.

2. Hobbiton--The movies get progressively darker. I love the light and humor of the first part of this film. Bag End is such a great set.

1. The Uruk Hai Battle--I love when Aragorn is tempted by the Ring, but then closes Frodo's hand around it--"I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor." Awesome! And then to take on the entire Uruk army on his own?! Bad a@*! Everything about the ending of Fellowship is just great: Legolas firing about 20 arrows while standing in the same spot, Boromir sacrificing himself for Merry and Pippin, Frodo standing on the shores of Anduin knowing what lies ahead...

Love this quote

Nothing in my life has ever been as important as pressing the elevator floor button is to my 3 year old.
-Jim Gaffigan

Congrats, Emily!

Last week, Lindsay's little sister Emily was married to Brian Smith. I have watched Emily grow up from second grade and the family has always known how much I have loved her. There was a time when I know I was her favorite, but not anymore! The same thing is going to happen with Brynn...

Emily's sisters made crepes for the wedding and they all did a fantastic job!

Maddie and Isabelle

Adam was an awesome busboy! The reception was a success because of him.

Have you ever seen a cuter little man?

More Merry Christmas

We had a really fun day with the kids. For the most part, they did well. Not much fighting at all and they enjoyed the things they got. Here is a run-down of pics:

I love the way our tree and presents look before the kids come down and ruin it all by opening things. Selfish rats.

My friend Chris Young, who is the most amazing artist in the world, did this portrait of Brynn. It is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Come over and take a look. You will not believe your eyes.

This is all Brynn wanted for Christmas. She loves it!

Adam got a Jaseboard and Dad got a RAD longboard. We took them over to the school and rode around the halls. SO much fun! I want to bust into a high school. Those halls are massive.

Max with his Angry Bird and putting together his Avengers LEGO set.

Kam got a Kindle Fire HD. We are trying to get used to the Android setup.

Christmas at G & G Rad's. Brynn got more horses. The small ones are heirlooms from Jani. Such a sweet gift.

Chilin'

Max has some talent in there. We expect him to be playing our Christmas carols this next year.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

Forgiveness

Out shopping today and on my way home from all the craziness when a very random thought popped into my head. I began thinking about the Connecticut shootings and these children up in Heaven. I don't know what they first saw or if the Savior was the first to welcome them in. Those things will be learned in time. But what I began to think about was Adam Lanza. Why did he do what he did? Was he crazy? Did he understand what he was doing? He understood enough to take his own life--he knew that he would have to answer for his actions. The scripture from Doctrine and Covenants section 64 went through my mind: "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." Will the Lord forgive Lanza? He doesn't have to. Is this something past His forgiveness, or will He in time? I've never had a hard time with forgiveness. If I let something, or someone, offend me and get into my psyche then I go crazy. I begin to feel guilty and I can't progress, so I need to just... let it go. With these children around Him, will He be able to let this go? I have no answer to any of these questions. I just found them running around in my little head today.

The Hobbit

I have been waiting for this film for a long time, so there was a lot of anticipation that it rock just as much as The Lord of the Rings. I try to stay away from reviews, but I couldn't help but see that The Hobbit has been getting mixed reviews. We saw it with the family last night and I LOVED IT! I was so happy with the movie and left feeling elated!

The dwarves were hilarious and I can't wait to get more of each of their stories. Thorin Oakenshield was perfectly cast. He reminded me a lot of Boromir, but soon took on a character of his own.

I love Martin Freeman from Sherlock and he was so great as Bilbo! His first scene with Gandalf set up his character just beautifully. His comic timing is genius and his dramatic work was spot on. Can't wait for more!

The penultimate scene was, of course, the encounter between Bilbo and Gollum. I think it might be the best scene from the entire set of films! I couldn't have been happier. I only saw the film yesterday and I'm ready to see it again. I am so happy that the Tolkien universe is in good hands.

Lights at Thanksgiving Point

The other night we drove through the lights at Thanksgiving Point, walked around and saw the reindeer and then checked out the new outlet mall at Traverse Mountain. Though, not really a whole lot of outlet prices if you ask me.

Emotional Day

I had a great day at school today. Kam is in my class this year and I have been having a really fun time. I've got some great boys and some of the best girls I have had in years. We had a couple moments in class today where we couldn't stop laughing. I was on an emotional high. I look around at the guys and I just really love them.

Then news came of the Conneticut attacks and it brought my emotions to the surface. I know it's hard for all to hear about and make sense of, but when it involves a school, it just hits something in me as a teacher.

Tonight we attended the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert with Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw. The spirit felt there and the power and majesty of the music and stories they shared strengthened my testimony of the Gospel and my love for my Savior. Sometimes this free agency thing sucks when you see people abuse it like they did today. We came home and Lindsay woke each of our children one on one and told them how much she loves them.

Christmas Carol 2012

We just finished with our run of A Youth Christmas Carol. I had a fabulous cast and we received some great comments about the show. Many said that it was just as enjoyable and professional as the adult version! I am proud of the work these kids do and I still love the experience of being their director.

My awesome boys. Adam played "Boy Scrooge" and Max was his best mate "Samuel." They had such a fun time and made a lot of new friends.

My production assistant Jenna King. She has been with me since our first production in 2007. I only have her for one more year before she leaves for school. I will miss her and all she does for our program. Plus a rare photo of me on my blog. I realize that I am not pictured very often--mostly just my family. My forehead looks lengthy, but I like my hair.

The cast.

Thanksgiving 2012

At the ranch again and we love it! The entire Rad clan was down, plus a bonus visit from Cody and Linda (aunt and uncle). We played some games, ate a TON of great food, visited with the Brians, celebrated Dad Rad's 69th birthday, got a Christmas tree on Boulder, had a flat tire and outlined our Radebaugh Apocalypse Survival Plan (Step 1-get out of Orem/Provo as quickly as possible).

Hanging out in the kitchen

Making a turkey

Sophie and Brynn

It's not in focus, but it's one of things I love about this photo. A classic ranch photo.

Hours and hours on electronic devices--my mom hates it!

Getting our tree on Boulder Mountain

Skyfall

Saw it. Loved it!

D@8*?>!

Friggin' Obama.

3 weeks, 3 albums

I usually get 6-7 new albums a year. Some of them are duds, some of them are absolute gems! I've gone a bit crazy the past three weeks in getting three new albums. . . and I am in love with all of them!

I saw the movie and had to get the soundtrack. Great 80's throwback songs and fantastic score.

I love Mumford and Sons. Such great passion for their music. It gets better every time I listen to it. They just released a music video for "Lover of the Light." So good.

I saw a preview the other day for the movie Rust and Bone. Watch it on apple.com. The music made the trailer. I looked it up and purchased the whole album. It's made my life better. One of the best albums I've purchased in years.

Ranch in the Fall = Perfection

We went down to the ranch earlier in October and hit an almost perfect 3 days! Sunshine and warmth for a day so we could hike and go for walks--Rain and even some light snow for a couple days to bring out the smell of sagebrush and mountain air. So beautiful, so perfect.

Drive

Holy crap, this film. Lindsay teases me about my Ryan Gosling man crush. Great movie, awesome soundtrack.

Happy Halloween!

At the Haunted Train in PG. First timers and we loved it!

Max had some of the greatest poses for his pictures as Iron Man.

Chim Chim Cher-ee

Barkdull grandkids-family night fright with caramel apples

Collin as Dr. Who fighting off zombies