Hello Springfield!

OK, so this is a total rip off from Annie's blog. But anyone who knows me will understand that I had to take advantage of the chance to create myself as a Simpson. I wouldn't say that I'm obsessed with the show (I hardly ever watch it on Sunday nights - reruns may be another story), but I absolutely love the characters. Homer is a classic figure on TV and he really seems to get better with age. The fact that The Simpsons is still going strong after 19 years - it debuted when I was in Jr. High - is a testament to it's ability to provide us with a sense of ourselves. I'm sure I'll provide a movie review in a few weeks (I hope I get to see it by then), but without further ado, Jared as a Simpson.

A Fish and a Pig

With all of the recent events we cracked out the video camera and filmed the kids. Here's the setup: Kennedy has been enjoying her swimming lessons and Alex has been reveling in his birthday celebration. And now, for your Saturday matinée we are pleased to bring you a double feature: Kennedy the Fish and Alex the Pig.

Kennedy the Fish

Alex the Pig

When it Rains, it Pours

Even though I'm glad we've had several recent thunderstorms to save us from the summer heat, it seems as though we have a black cloud hanging over our home for the past week. It started last week when we learned that the air conditioning on the Xterra had gone out while we were on vacation. With the temperatures in the 100's for most of July there's no way we were going without air in the SUV. A mere $250 dollars and we were back in the cool.

On Monday our basement sink suddenly filled with water mixed with a mysterious black sludge. As much as we tried to plunge out the clog nothing seemed to work. Wednesday (no way I'd call on a holiday) we hired a plummer and for 10 minutes of work we paid $130. Problem solved.

Yesterday, Tara was catching up on the laundry when the dryer stopped working. We knew we were living on borrowed time, since the appliance was 30 years old. But now we're down another major household item and we've already spent our emergency money for the month. Good thing there's 12 months no interest, no payments. I know, I know - we hate doing it too.

The other little gem from last night was a problem we've had since the spring. The main water line to our house has enough of a gap around the pipe that water can get into the basement. I've tried to seal the gap with caulk, tar, and some kind of foam, but with the torrential downpour last night we had a little river in our laundry room for an hour or so. I know I need to patch the foundation where the pipe enters the house, but it means digging a four foot hole in the front yard and I'm not in a big hurry considering the summer temps.

I hope I'm not tempting fate by writing about our week of home repair/problems. Still, there's not much more that home ownership can bring our way for the rest of the month....Is there?

Banned

With a statewide ban on fireworks in Utah this year, we decided to spark up our own fun and spent the day geocaching. I know it's been a while since you've read of our exploits with this minor obsession, but now is the time to share. Rather than staying close to home we headed North and into Davis County. I figured it was the best way to get some company on our hunt since both Jared and Ross live in Kaysville. Splitting the difference in our trip was the most gas conscious way to make everyone happy.

Caching was relatively easy today. It could be due the fact that I only entered in waypoints for simple caches that were all normal containers. When you have 7 kids with you it really helps if they can find some treasure to trade. It also helps when you schedule a few caches near a park so the kids can go play. I think this was the real highlight of the morning, either that or the Happy Meals at McDonald's for lunch. Oh well, I guess there have to be concessions when you're dragging the kids around to look for hidden boxes in the 98 degree heat!

The Little Munchkin is one year old

I can't believe that the little guy is actually one year old. Alex is such a shrimp but he is growing so fast. We celebrated his first birthday with some swimming at Murray pool on Saturday and a small family party on Sunday. Alex was as charming as ever and seemed to have fun at his little party. After dinner, we had cake and ice cream. The best part of the night was letting Alex dig into a huge piece of cake. He was pretty tentative at first, but as soon as he got a taste of the frosting, he went for it. I was surprised at how much he actually ate. The little guy threw it down like a pro. His Nana made the cute baseball cake and it was delicious! After cake and ice cream, we opened presents with help from Kennedy and Liam. He got lots of clothes and toys and was spoiled by everyone. After a quick bath to remove the frosting and cake from his hair, he hit the sack. A fun birthday for a special little guy.

With Alex turning one, I have been a little sappy, thinking about how much we love him and how he has changed our lives for the better. From the beginning, he has been a blessing. He is such a good kid, always happy (well, almost always), smiling at everyone and melting hearts with his big blue eyes and long eyelashes.

Some of the things that I love about Alex:
-the way he giggles when his sister does something silly
-his eyes
-the way he spits out his food when he is done eating
-his very fast crawl, especially when he knows I am trying to catch him
-his very healthy appetite (the kid never stops eating and he is a stick)
-the way his eyes light up when daddy gets home
-how he says "mamamamama" and every once in a while "mommy"
-the way he knocks everything over and makes sure that if isn't on the floor and he can reach it, it will be within seconds
-his great smile
-the way he chases a ball across the room and tackles it
-his bear growl
-the spitting contests he has with Kennedy in the car
-how he hangs on to my shirt when I hold him
-did I mention his eyes?

Anyway, I could go on and on. I love this little guy and am so thankful to be a mom to two great kids. Happy first birthday, Alex. I love you.



Check out this slideshow for all the action of Alex's birthday.

On your Birthday

Alex,

I can't believe it's been almost a year since you burst upon the scene and entered our lives. As surprised as we were to bring you home, I can't imagine a day in our family without you. It's been amazing to see how you've grown and developed from a shaky start to a healthy childhood. We knew you were a fighter who wanted a chance and we're so happy to be part of your story.

When you first came into this world you were so peaceful and seemed to sleep for days at a time. Now, sleep is the furthest thing from your mind as you race around exploring the world around you. You have such a fun and adventurous spirit which brings a joy to our home. Your mom, big sister, and I thought we had a pretty good thing going, but it's so much better now that you're part of the mix.

As your dad, I'm looking forward to many great adventures with you over the years. I hope you'll like spending time with me as much as I do with you. You truly are my "Big Guy" and I love you very much. I hope your second year is as exciting as the first. Happy Birthday!

Daddy

Book Review: The Culture Code

About the only good thing our recent airport adventure was the time it gave me to read. A few weeks ago my friend Annie reviewed The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille in her blog. After reading her review I was ready to go out and buy the book. Fortunately, she lent it to me so I took it along to Boston. What a great read! I am a huge fan of book dealing with sociology or psychology and the reasons people do the things they do. In this book Rapaille explores the codes, or the hidden messages, behind a particular culture's view of different aspects of life. This information is then used by companies to market their goods to consumers using the codes to sell more products.

Rather than simply interviewing people and using their responses Rapaille goes to an emotional response. He gets at what people feel about a specific idea or event. Based upon their emotional responses he can develop a code for advertisers. For example, Jeep Wranglers weren't selling in the late 90's so Rapaille was brought in to find out why. The company's research was telling them that people wanted Wranglers to become more like other SUV's (larger, smoother ride, more features), but when Rapaille started to get at people's emotional connects to Jeeps he found that they connected with the vehicle as a tool to explore the open terrain. Most people had a memory of Jeep being the only vehicle that could rescue someone in a remote location. The code for Jeep was "HORSE"; people thought of Jeeps like a cowboy's horse. It was the way for the good guy to save the day. The solution wasn't to change the entire vehicle, rather Rapaille suggested that Jeep make the headlights round, instead of square, thus resembling a horse's eyes. That simple solution changed everything. Take a look at Jeep's new logo.

I loved this book! It talked so much about why Americans think the way we do. Some of the codes scared me a bit (Sex = "VIOLENCE" and Alcohol = "GUN") but most of the codes really helped me think about our culture and the thinks Americans value. The Culture Code should be on your short list of books to read. It's a quick read and it will really help you examine parts of your own way of thinking.

JFK Nightmare

I wanted to save money on the trip, so we found a one hour layover at JFK International Airport in NYC. We saved $120 and yet I feel as thought we lost $500 because of our experience. JFK has got to be the worst airport in the county. They are overcrowded, unorganized, unfriendly, and inept. We arrived at the airport at 6:50 with a connecting flight to SLC scheduled for 7:10. There was to be a slight delay which would have us leaving around 7:40. No big deal, we'll still be home before midnight right? Wrong!

Truth is they had no idea how long they were delaying flights on Sunday. Everything was more of a guess that a program. Each gate had people waiting for at least 2 flights and sometimes 3 different groups were waiting for a plane. Gates were also up for grabs. In the 3 hours we were in the airport we switch from Gate 16 to 22, and then again to Gate 11 - each time being forced to cross the entire terminal. Gate 11 was finally a winner, except for the fact that they couldn't get a plane there, so everyone was forced to load onto buses and travel out to the airplane. After an hour just to get everyone on the plane it was another 1.5 hours before we finally left the ground. It was now 11 pm EST, so our plane wouldn't touch down in Utah until after 1 am MST.

The flight was relatively uneventful, two bad movies and bad snacks. Tara and I both tried to get a little sleep, but mostly just did a little head nodding. At 1:15 we landed in Utah, finally. The last part of our exciting trip was luggage pickup, which never happened. We made it to Salt Lake, our luggage did not. Of course we didn't realized this until after 2 am. After leaving our information, we waited for the shuttle into long term parking and headed off to - work? That's right I was scheduled to train today in Spanish Fork so we headed up to the U for me to pick up a van and my class materials. We finally arrived at home a little after 3 am, tired and weary, for a couple of hours of sleep before the new day started.

Sweet Caroline

One of my favorite Fenway traditions takes place after the visitor half of the 8th inning. Everyone who's been there knows exactly what I'm talking about: Sweet Caroline. Sure there's the National Anthem, yes - there's Take me Out to the Ballgame, but nothing compares to a little Neil Diamond at Fenway. It's actually pretty funny to hear 35,000 tipsy fans croon this familiar tune. During tonight's game I actually recorded the festivities in a little podcast. Enjoy!


Gabcast! Sweet Caroline at Fenway

A Night at Fenway

After almost a week in New England, we were finally able to see a Red Sox game. Every time I come out to Fenway I think about how awful it is to follow a team that plays over 2000 miles away from home. It is such a fun place to go and the games, win or lose - I'll get to that in a minute, are always entertaining.

The Sawx (I've been in Boston for almost a week) are playing the Blue Jays this weekend, so it's the second time I've been to Fenway and the second time I've seen Toronto. I can't believe the bad luck. I say that because I've seen three games against the Jays and Boston has only won once. That wasn't last night's game. In spite a a two run 1st inning lead, courtesy of a Manny Ramirez home run, the Sox gave it back and Toronto entered the 9th inning with a 6-5 lead.

Everything was set up for a Sox comeback when they had 1st and 2nd with one out and Papi coming to the plate. A weak fly ball to center, followed by another fly out from Manny and the game was over. It was great drama, but still everyone left disappointed that our big guns couldn't deliver. Still, it was better than the 15-2 drubbing we saw in 2005.

The real excitement started after the game ended. The Chapmans left the game after the 8th inning, so it was up to us to navigate through town and out to Stow, MA. One thing about the Mass Pike (freeway) is that everything looks the same, so good luck finding an exit in the dark. I think the hardest thing about the freeway was actually finding out how to get on. Boston is full of one way streets and a lack of signs. It only took a couple of U turns and some nifty maneuvers by Tara, but we made it on the 90. Fortunately, Chappo had his GPS in the car so we were able to make it to Shore Dr., the only problem is that we were look for Shore Ave. It only took a few minutes to realize we were headed the wrong way and we fixed our course. After a fun filled evening we pulled in around 1AM and it was time to call it a night.

Hall of Fame

Last night we were debating about whether to go to Maine and enjoy the Atlantic Ocean or to Springfield and the NBA Hall of Fame. Ever since Larry Bird was inducted in 1998 I've wanted to go and see #33 immortalized. I know it sounds dumb, but it was some good closure to a big part of my childhood. Even though I was the only one who really wanted to go, everyone else cut me some slack and off we went.

The HOF is about 75 miles or so from Chappo's house, so it took a little over an hour to get there. Once we were there it was wall to wall hoops. It really took me back to a time when I was way more into basketball and the NBA. As a kid I watched the Celtics religiously, so to see Bird, McHale, and Parish up there among the other greats was really special. I only wish that Stockton and Malone were already in so we could enjoy seeing some Utah Jazz players in the hall. We did find a picture of Hot Rod though!


I know everyone else was getting kind of bored with the bios and pictures of old players so we headed to the second level where all the interactive exhibits were. We tested our vertical jump (Chappo tried to recreate his "slam dunk" wedding), wingspan, reaction time, and height with the NBA's best. There was even a challenge zone where you shoot a few j's and Grace could play in the kiddie area.


I'm really glad we went to Springfield today. The HOF helped me remember a great time in my childhood/teenage life and now I can move on. When I was 14 I went to the HOF and still hoped to be enshrined one day, now I'm just glad I got the chance to visit a few of my childhood heroes.

FREEDOM!

Could you feel the William Wallace vibe in the title?! Yesterday Tara and I finished up our stay in Boston with a walk down the Freedom Trail. Of course, several hundred others had the same idea, so we had plenty of company. It made it easy to stay on the trail, just follow the crowd (and the red line on the ground didn't hurt). Rather than paying for a tour guide, we took a guided tour through the use of downloaded mp3 and our iPods. It had it's advantages and disadvantages: not traveling with a group - plus, not knowing when to turn off the tour and walk - minus, hearing lots of locals and actors discuss and reenact the history - plus, listening to Ted Kennedy go on and on about his history - minus.

The trail was pretty cool. There were several historic spots that I didn't know much about and it brought the Revolution to life. It was great to spend time in the local cemeteries and see where some of the framers were buried. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock were all buried along the tour. It was interesting to see who had headstones and who had monuments. Not surprising that John Hancock had a monument, is it?

The information around Paul Revere's ride was great! I was surprised that Revere's house is now in the heart of Little Italy, the two don't really seem to mix. The Old North Church was fun to see and it truly is a landmark of the Revolution. It's no wonder that the tower was the way they signaled the troops, that bell tower is high! I can't believe how small the bricks were in the church and other buildings on the tour - it would take forever to build around that time.

After we finished the trail it was back to the hotel to wait for Chappo and our trip to Stow, MA. It's great that David and Michelle live in Massachusetts, as it gives us another excuse to head east. After a long week in Beantown, it was nice to relax last night at home. A trip to Erikson's Dairy was about the only agenda item.

Blackboard in Boston

I feel compelled to write a final post about Blackboard World 2007. I have really enjoyed attending a new conference. Having gone to NECC the past 3 years, I felt like it was time for a change and I’m glad I made it. I think one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed with this conference is the lack of K-12 influence. There are some public schools and districts around the conference, but Blackboard certainly makes their market share in higher ed. I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to use my connections with the University of Utah, than as a state wide public ed technology trainer.

The presentations haven’t been that much different from the kind you’d find at any educational technology conference. Certainly the focus has been on distance and online learning, but the topics relate to any area of education. Right now I’m in a session about great online discussions, but that could just as easily relate to creating a good classroom environment. With so much of my current interest centering around the changing web, I attended sessions on Blogging, Wikis, Podcasting, Social Bookmarking, Mashing, and others. Regardless of the conference, I could have attended sessions on any of these topics. Still, it was fun to see how instructors are using these new applications in Blackboard/WebCT. I feel that this conference has opened my eyes to the ways instructors are using Blackboard/WebCT. Sometimes I get stuck in a pretty boring rut with my courses. With so many innovations in the new versions of WebCT I think it’s time I step up my courses and make them something to truly engage my students.

A thought I that won’t leave my mind: I always love talking about education and teaching with people from all around the country. It’s a great community of people to be a part of and I’m amazed how friendly everyone is. You can’ t sit by someone without finding out who they are and how they’re involved in education. It makes coming to a conference alone a lot less daunting. Another great thing about Blackboard has been connecting with some of WebCT community from Utah. I’ve bumped into Jared from Dixie, Scott from Weber, and Kevin from USU throughout my time here and it’s been fun to get to know these guys a lot better. We have some great things going on in our state and it’s awesome that Utah is on the map in distance learning (the “kick butt” session by Kevin yesterday was absolutely packed!).


I would attend the Blackboard conference again in the future (certainly not next year, since it’s in Vegas). It’s been great to see a different side of technology and education. Who’s knows where next year’s conference schedule will take me, but one thing I know for sure – every conference charges my batteries and makes me want to be a better teacher.

Guess who came for Dinner?

So, the big news for yesterday was that Tara finally arrived! Her flight was supposed to end around 6 pm or so, but due to a 3 hour delay leaving JFK airport she didn’t actually get to the hotel until after 9 pm. I knew she was in trouble when I received a broken up cell message from NY saying that she was already being delayed due to weather and that it would be another hour until her flight would be cleared to depart. Another reason to love NY!

Although she was tired and hungry, I forced Tara to head out of the hotel and into town to go to a restaurant for dinner. After eating take out the previous two nights I was ready to sit down and talk to someone. Chappo told me about an Italian restaurant called Maggiano’s (also on Annie’s list), so we walked through Boston and ended up at the heart of Little Italy. I think the main reason I picked Maggiano’s was the online menu said they had “generous portion sizes” and I knew that we both hadn’t eaten much yesterday. The server confirmed the large meals, but was shocked when she came back to the table and we had each cleared our plates! It was good food and a nice change of pace to dine in, instead of take out. We took in a bit of Boston on our walk back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Alone in the City

After a long day attending stirring conference sessions like: Mashing Web 2.0, Online Learning Best Practices, Using Blogs and Wikis, and Making it All Work, let's say that I was ready to get out and see some of Boston. The only problem is that I'm not much of a sightseer, especially when I'm alone. Some plans fell through to go with some friends up to Harvard, so it was all up to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I ended up walking over to Fenway Park to see what was going on. Since, baseball is on their All-Star break it was eerily silent as I strolled around the grounds. It was kind of nice to be alone. Normally it is so crowded that you don't have time to look around. I had heard about the Ted Williams statue somewhere around the park, but it was fun to have a chance to see it, as well as the banners, retired numbers, and other historic Red Sox flavor. I thought about popping into RemDawg's to grab a bite, but it was way too crowded.

After worshipping at the Park, I ventured back into town in search of something to eat. I saw a ton of different dives, but none that looked too promising. I ended up going to the California Pizza Kitchen for take out and then back to the hotel room to watch the All Star game. It's weird to watch sports so much later out here than at home. The game started about 8:30 and didn't end until almost midnight.


I think the highlight of the evening was skyping Tara and the kids. They had a full day and were ready to talk to me about it, sort of. Kennedy gave me a full report on her potty experiences, I guess there was a poop incident. Alex tried his best to eat the computer screen while attempting to get closer to me. Tara showed off her handiwork for Alex's birthday invitation. It was fun to see everyone and it made me a bit homesick. Fortunately, Tara is headed out here today and we'll be together through the weekend. I wish the whole family could come, but it's too hard and the kids won't enjoy much of what we want to do (baseball, et al) out here.

Freakonomics

Freakonomics is a classic book that I failed to review a few months ago. Dr. Steven Levitt, an Economist from the University of Chicago, began exploring obscure trends that he noticed in society. Cheating within Sumo Wrestling meets, What selling drugs in Chicago and selling hamburgers at McDonalds have in common, How Roe vs. Wade helped cut violent crime in the 90’s – you know all the things you’d expect an economist to explore.

So, why am I bringing up a book I finished months ago while I’m at a conference in Boston? Dr. Levitt was the keynote speaker this morning and he gave a wonderful talk where he discussed some of the new things he’s been researching. I can’t wait to read his next book where he’ll discuss how adding social security numbers for dependants to the 1040 form saved the government 3 billion dollars a year, and what an ex-computer programmer turned call girl can teach CEO’s about having a solid business plan.

First Night in Beantown

I've decided to make this conference/trip a blogging experience. After I left you yesterday I headed out into town to see the sights, and to look for a few geocaches. Chappo has told me about the lackluster caching in Massachusetts and I have to agree with him. I spent about 15 minutes walking to the one cache that was within 1/2 mile of the hotel. After searching for 30 minutes I gave up and headed back towards the Sheraton.

Since I still hadn't eaten anything yet, I spent a while looking for a fine establishment like Taco Bell or Wendy's. Since the only thing I found was a Dunkin Dounuts, I went back to the hotel and an online list of Boston's Best restaurants that Annie sent to me. Chappo had mentioned a burger joint that was nearby and I found it on the list, so off to Bukoswski's I went in search of some local flavor.

The first thing you'll notice from the image is that Bukowski's is first and foremost a tavern. They sell food, but they mostly sell beer. They claim to have 170 different beers available and during the 15 minutes I was there, they offered me at least 20 of them. After scrounging up a menu, I settled on the Chili Cheese burger (even though the Peanut Butter burger caught my eye). After dinner I went back to the room, enjoyed the last hour of the home run derby, skyped the family, and went to bed.

Destination Boston

Well, I guess I've finally made it back to Boston. It was a full day of travel, but I'm now looking out over the Charles River from my hotel room at the Sheraton. I was actually surprised how much cooler it is here than I expected. All the weather reports said that it would be near 90 degrees today, but it can't be out of the 70's right now. We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings.

For those of you who don't know I'm back east attending the Blackboard Conference (it's a web based course management system) for the week. I know a lot of you are thinking that I just came out to watch the Sox, but I'll have you know that the Red Sox aren't even in town right now, so I'm really here to learn. Of course, I will be staying through the weekend to visit with Chappo and the fam, and there might be a couple of nights where I end up in Fenway - you never know...

Since the only thing I've had to eat today is airlines snacks, it's about time to head out and see what I can find nearby. Anyone know where I can get some Chowder?!

Memoirs of an Ex-English Teacher

This is an oldie, but a goodie. I guess it speaks as to why I'm no longer a high school English teacher. From this week's inbox:

Analogies, similes & metaphors found in high school essays

~ Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

~ He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

~ She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

~ Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

~ He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

~ Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

~ Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. travelling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

~ John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

~ He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.

~ The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

~ The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

~ The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

~ She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.

~ It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

~ He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

Happy 4th of July, I think.

It's been quite a fun couple of days. I say that with a bit of sarcasm in my voice, which of course, you can't hear. Our little Kennedy has become a little wimp when it comes to, well, just about everything. Yesterday, we went to some friends house for a neighborhood BBQ. They had a fun blowup water slide that Kennedy wouldn't even come close to going down. She would barely get in the little pool set up for the babies. She and Alex had fun on the swings, at least. The party was really fun anyway and it was great to get to know some of our neighbors better.

After the BBQ we headed over to the famous Dick Engar "Culdesac of
Fire": an evening of local bands, ice cream, and fireworks. When we arrived, they weren't even setting off the real fireworks, just some of the small ones for the kids. You guessed it, Kennedy had a meltdown, right there in the street. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she yelled "I want to go home!" The entire crowd looked at us like we were the worst parents ever. Of course, some of our friends were nice enough to take pictures of Kennedy as she threw her little fit. They thought it was quite funny. It was a pretty impressive fit though, as you could even hear Kennedy over Dick's loud band singing Beatles' tunes. So, we packed up, headed home and put the kids in bed.

Today hasn't been much better. We spent the morning at the 10th ward breakfast with Evan and Alicia and the kids. They had the cutest little train taking kids for rides. The second I tried to put Kennedy into the train, you guessed it, total meltdown. Once again, several looks of "what kind of parents are you" and we packed up and went home.

Tonight, we were debating about trying to go to a fireworks show. Kennedy has enjoyed fireworks in the past and we thought if she saw the big ones with all the colors, she might be okay. The country club puts on a little show and we thought about walking down the street to watch. So we were outside playing before the fireworks started. Some neighbors a few blocks down set off some fireworks and once again, we were done. Kennedy wanted nothing to do with the loud noises and into the house we went. As we were getting her to bed, she decided to watch the show from her window, where it was safe from the noise. She liked the pretty colors and was sad when they were over. Maybe next year she will make it outside to watch the fireworks. Happy 4th of July, everyone.

Movie Review: Ratatouille

I probably shouldn't even call this post a movie review, since I didn't really see much of Ratatouille. Let's start off with trying to even see the film. With a day off I decided it was time to take my daughter to the movies. Of course every other parent in Salt Lake had the same plan. We tried to get into the 12 pm show at the Holiday Center only to find a line stretching around the block. No matter, there's always the Union Heights theater and they'll have it on two screens. We arrived 30 minutes early to find that both were sold out as well. Rather than give up we went back to Holiday and bought tickets to the 2:30 show. Since it was only 1 pm the line hadn't arrived yet, but we had an hour to kill so we walked over the McDonald's and bought a Happy Meal. I don't know if that's the right mood for the day we'd had up to this point.

Around 2 pm we headed back to the theater and stood in line for 10 minutes before we could get our seats. I've never seen a movie as packed as this one. Like you can imagine for every one adult there were three kids. You can tell I'm new to the kids flicks because I'm still not used to it. Anyway, the movie started and Kennedy was engrossed. It's a cute movie. Like all the other Pixar films, there's as much for the adults as the kids. About the only thing that takes some getting used to is the idea of a rat cooking your food. I don't know about you, but most of the rats I've seen having been the cleanest of rodents (if there is such a thing as a clean rodent).

As the film progressed I could tell that Kennedy was beginning to lose interest. We haven't gone to very many movies at the theater and I think she's still not into the whole experience. About the only thing that kept her going was the bucket of popcorn. Once it was out, we were in trouble. We left the movie twice, once for the potty and once for a drink, but I knew it was simply a matter of a bored two-year-old. With about 10 minutes left in the movie, Kennedy was done. In fact, she proudly declared that she would "rather go home and take a nap" than to finish watching Ratatouille. Rather than fight, I gave in and we left early. I'm not even sure how the movie ended, but I enjoyed the little I saw of it. I guess I'll have to wait until Ratatouille is out on DVD and we watch it 1000 times a month.

Before and After

The Garden

The Dog Run

The Look

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - At World's End

A couple of weeks ago I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End with Jason and Coleton. Let's just say I wasn't very impressed. In fact, I didn't even want to write a review about the movie cause I had too many bad things to say. My problem is solved. Ask a Ninja did a review of Pirates 3 and he said it all!