Finally! A Normal Sized Tree

For 12 years Brian and I have only had a 4 foot Christmas tree. Perhaps it is because we have moved so much, or possibly the limited space in the various apartments and houses we have lived in. Well, last year in the after Christmas sales, we finally busted forth and bought a 'normal' sized Christmas tree. So, I had to share a photo of it!

For family home evening Nya and I decorated the tree together, while Brian and Corbin set up the "evil" Christmas village. I don't have any idea what made it "evil" But they sure had a great time setting it up and talking about how the carolers were going to kill the snowman. Maybe it's a guy thing??

Nya's Baptism

Well, Nya was baptized last Saturday, so I just wanted to post a couple pics. She was so happy! A couple nights before the baptism as she said her night prayers she said, "Heavenly Father I am so excited to be baptized and receive The Gift of The Holy Ghost."

As a mother, it was a very proud moment. I keep thinking, 'Man, thank heavens she's so much smarter than I was at her age!' The only things I remember about my baptism were my new pink dress and getting my ears pierced afterwards. The actual ordinance is a blur. Have you seen the commercial where the waitress thumps a guy in the forehead for being such an idiot? It would have been nice to have that waitress around when I was baptised! Over the past couple days I have found Nya writing in her journal several times. I'm so proud of her.

It was also a very great experience for Brian. This was the first baptism he has ever been able to perform. He served his mission in Southern France and they aren't exactly diving into the font over there.

Australia

Over the weekend my mother in law, mom, dad, and I went to see the movie Australia. I have to say it was fantastic! It was actually shot in Australia, so the scenery was incredible. The acting was great;and the movie was very well written.

My favorite thing about the movie was the little aboriginal boy they cast as 'Nullah.' He was darling! From what I understand this was his first time acting, but you couldn't tell. He did a great job. I really liked Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as well.

The movie is pretty lengthy, (about three hours) but the story is so fantastic that the time just flies by. The following is how about.com described the film.

"A romantic action-adventure set in northern Australia prior to World War II, 'Australia' centers on an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a ranch the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle driver (Hugh Jackman) to drive 2000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country’s most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier. With his new film, director-writer-producer Baz Luhrmann is painting on a vast canvas, creating a cinematic experience that brings together romance, drama, adventure and spectacle."

After the travesty of Twilight, I think the box office has redeemed itself a little in my eyes.

Zoobs Lose BIG!!!

For those of you who support the BYU Cougars, I must ask the question, "How does that big slice of humble pie taste?" We had a blast tonight watching the Zoobies get spanked by the Utes. The final score was doubled in favor of Utah. (48-24)

I think based off the performance of BYU's quarterback, they should change their mascott from a cougar to a goat. BCS here we come!!!!!!!

I must be Honest

O.K. so I realize this post may ruffle a few feathers. Perhaps for some of you it will be considered blasphemy. However, I couldn't feel good about myself if I wasn't completely honest. And I must relieve myself of the burden I have carried for the past 12 hours.

Last night about 15 women from my ward and I went to see Twilight the movie. Since then, I have been searching for the perfect word to describe the movie. Terrible, putrid, stupid, horrible. . .none of these words quite pack the punch I believe this movie deserves. From poor acting to pathetic music to cinematography which stunk, overall this movie blew chunks.

There, I have said it. Whew! I feel much better now. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a movie that was this bad. What is the matter with us people? There must be something wrong with the audience for movie makers to believe they can pass trash like this off as entertainment. Are we so deprived of quality film that we have to settle for this? How dare they have the audacity to charge $9.50 for something so worthless. Seriously, I could feel brain cells dying while I watched the film. Add to this a mixture of teen bops and their mothers screaming their heads off and you have a truly painful experience. I couldn't help but find myself laughing in all the wrong places. I bet Nya and I could do a better job of making this movie with Barbies!

If you want to save yourself from the pain I endured, I recommend waiting until the movie comes out on video and renting it from the Red Box. When you're finished watching, you'll probably still want your buck back. However $1 waisted is better than $9.50 One of the ladies in my ward suggested that perhaps I didn't like the movie because it was geared toward teenagers.

Let it be known however, that I am a closet teen angst fan. I love teen flicks. "Can't Buy Me Love," "Some Kind of Wonderful," and "Pretty in Pink" are a few of my favorites. Also, I loved reading the Twilight series. So with that in mind, I can objectively say that Twilight sucked.

We will We will. . . Rock You!!

Last year when I ran my half marathon, Nya mentioned that she would like to run a race as well. Saturday she accomplished her goal! After several months of training, she ran a 5k with me. There were almost 800 runners in all. Nya and I finished in 354th place. She set the pace, and averaged 12 minute miles. (Not bad for a 7 year old!) I'm incredibly proud of her.


She trained in the rain with me, ran through dog poo, mud, and was chased by dogs. We had our own little mantra. (Nya thought of the words.) "We're rockin runners and we never quit! We never give up and we never sit!" She loves Queen, so I thought the title of this post was fitting.

If you look closely at this picture you can see us. We are just about to grab hands. So the best part of the entire day? As we were running to the finish line everyone was cheering, we grabbed hands and finished together. Nya looked up at me and said, "I am so glad I have you for my mom!" I must admit I teared up a little. What a moment! I think I'm going to have her put that statement in writing for the teen years!

Waxing Nostalgic

I enjoy a wide variety of music. (There are even some rap and country songs I don't mind.) However, today I was feeling a bit nostalgic, so I decided to change my play list to include some of my favorite older tunes. (With the exception of Deep Forest.) They aren't that old, maybe early 90's? I just threw them in for kicks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! By the way, if you don't like it, you know you can always turn your volume off.