AJ and Chelsey's brackets shot from 10th to the top over the weekend as they held up under scrutiny! The competition is sifting the wheat and the tares. I'm just starting to wish there were money involved...:)
More March fun:
The Madness of March basketball has even gotten to the sisters...
(Bekah is on the left, Abby is on the right during most of this clip.)
So while the Cougars didn't make it to the Elite Eight as was my hope of all hopes, Memphis came through for me and my NCAA bracket is still in the game. It has been fun to keep up with others' brackets. Jonny is riding high, but not for long, I'm afraid. Good to see P. Risen (squalldude) rising in the ranks. And I'm sure AJ is quacking happily right now.
So you all heard about our "March Madness" basketball hoop upgrade (the hoop has since been moved to a much taller setting!)...
... but we also upgraded the musicality of our home by moving a piano into our family room.
Our friends had it in the garage, and won't be using it anytime soon (thank you Rowleys!). So in the meantime, we dusted it off and Paul is putting it to mighty good use!
Michael thinks it is mighty nifty to have his dad play all of his favorite Primary songs... and I, myself, find it mighty fine to be serenaded at all hours of the day. So while this piano probably won't make the move with us in 2.3 years, at present we are using the piano more than the mountain bike! (But who's counting??)
54 comments:
the use of that last picture was unsanctioned...
as my brothers in law would say, "disturbing..."
that's cute paul
It is clear to see where Micheal gets his photogenics.
refer to the vacation post at the bottom of the blogpage
we just rented blood diamond! we're excited to watch it on our clear play.
paul/amy.
your kids are just like jill and steven's... growing up so fast! the girls look adorable. i wanna see some footage of micheal either dunking on that hope or at least playing on it. too much to ask...?
micheal.
which cougar is winning right... now?!
Petey... we'll see what we can do. Actually, around here it is not called a dunk. It is called a slamma-jamma.
Jonny let us know how the movie is.
My household-of-birth has been reaping the benefits of a Clearplay... courtesy of my mom's birthday present. Oh, the sweet goodness...
Michael was so disappointed this morning after I got a call that soccer practice was canceled "due to the weather." Pretty lame... it was just a little "cold" (50s) and cloudy. Didn't even rain or anything. Oh, well.
mel and i just finished blood diamond. it was awesome. you definitely need clear play to watch it, because it's pretty graphic. best picture i've seen over the past year.
i love leo so much. although i haven't seen blood diamond, i think its the first film he's done that he doesn't look 18 years old
Petey,
It is socially unacceptable for men to proclaim love for leo. Titanic will never be forgotten.
Anybody watched "The Good Shepard" on Clearplay? Has it come out yet? That is one I really want to see.
It is good not to be the resident moron in the bracket anymore. I was suffering for a long time, but this has to be the first year I have picked more than one team that made it to the final four.
Amy:
50's and cloudy? That's Pittsburgh every day! You Californians need to toughen your skin a little!
The movies of the girls are so cute. I'm so excited to see you all in a month!
Jonny: We just rented Babel and really liked it. Have you seen it yet? If so, do you think Blood Diamond is better?
when i watched the first hour of babel the setting were wrong on the dvd player and i watched it without subtitles. i figured it was an artistic trick to accentuate the inability of different cultures to communicate. ONE HOUR, NO SUBTITLES. i turned it off before the show was done. i got online to brush up on the storyline. i got most major plotpoints except for the suicide of the japanese girl's mom. i have yet to finish it...
libby,
mel and i didn't really like babel. i thought there was way too much anti-american sentiment in the film. almost everything that went wrong in the film in some form or another can be traced back to America's bad influence on the world. some of it is warranted, and some of it isn't. maybe i'm being too critical of the film, but it didn't really rub me in the right way.
blood diamond has a great storyline and a powerful ending. i think you and dj will like it a lot. leonardo dicaprio was amazing. his work in this film was definitely good enough garner best actor in the academy awards.
paul,
have you seen hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy yet? you should get it next time you go to the store.
matt,
i haven't seen the good shepherd yet, but that is coming up on our soon to see movie list. i'm not sure if it's out on dvd yet.
personally, i can't wait to see pan's labyrinth. it looks pretty sweet.
i agree on pan's labyrinth.
i agree on babel. contrived. there are real terrorist attacks. most are not the result of kids playing with guns. silly really.
no hitchiker yet. i think i'm getting blood diamond after we watch rocky.
jonny,
that didn't make sense
you're right farcles, that didn't make sense. what i meant is that we want to see the movie when it comes out on dvd. :)
Pan's labrynth? What is that?
matt,
check this out.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pans_labyrinth/
you can download the trialer here.
http://www.myspace.com/panslabyrinth
jonny: we also want to see pan's labyrinth. we'll have to rent blood diamond. what is it rated?
libby, both are R.
this book looks like a cool review of important and guiding statements by the first presidency. seems timely in light of the FHE lesson we taught to michael about god's inspired servant's words being his own (with conference approaching)
Some great home movies! I gotta see those kids in person. Soon. They are growing up way too fast.
Cool piano, but what is with that cheesy grin?
We watched Borat on our new Clearplay. It lasted 5 1/2 minutes due to the deleted scenes. I understand that we missed out on a truly remarkable wrestling scene.
Now, about Blood Diamond. Good movie? How does it rate on a scale of 1-10, with 2001: A Space Odyssey as a 10 and Saturday's Warrior as a 1?
i heard about the wrestling scene. i did not see it myself and i am not sad about that. i also heard the dvd extended said wrestling scene (my current senior resident owns a copy).
i know saturday's warrior is one peter's favorites. i hope i doesn't mind the dis.
of the 20-35 mins i've seen of the movie...
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
even the part about making pacts to find and marry each other later down below...
Blood Diamond = 9/10
Being raised with "Allan" as my daddy... I must say that I've never seen the "Saturday's Warriors." Ever.
But I did get a taste of it at some church function or another as it was playing in the background... something about missionaries singing and clouds.
It is nice that, with modern technology, we can all keep each other updated on the best R movies to Clearplay. Matt, you've gotta get in on this now...
Dad... I think you and mom did a great job raising us, by the way!
Amy, you have never seen Saturday's Warrior. We could always rent a copy and watch it when you come. The stage play of Saturday's Warrior opened here for it's preview for Utah. My dad was the drama teacher at the time and helped make the arrangements for the production. He didn't have a great appreciation for it either. Oh, but I have all the songs memorized, I guess I had nothing better to do.
Jill thank you for the quilt stands. I hope they worked well. You are welcome to use them anytime. Lafe did tell us you brought them. I think how he said it was, you Jill and that one guy brought back those wood things in our garage. I assumed that one guy was Steven.
Yep, that one guy was Steven. I'm just glad Lafe at least knows who I am!
Did any of you Utah dwellers get that anti-mormon DVD on your doors? We got it on Sunday. Since it had Church pictures of the temple and Joseph Smith and Easter looking themes, we thought we'd watch it for FHE. About 30 seconds into it I turned to Steven and asked, "Is this anti?" about 30 seconds later we confirmed that it was. We turned it off and the kids thought we were crazy for throwing away a movie. Then last night one of the leading news stories was how this group is distributing 100ks of them in conjunction with conference. Just curious if any of you got one too.
jill: we didn't get one. i read about them. silly. malicious. i'm glad you tossed it.
mom: is it true that one of the tech students fell from the rafters and had a leg come through the ceiling during the closing song of saturday's warrior? ('who are these children coming down? coming down?')
I really hope my reference to Saturday's Warrior offended anyone. I have just had a little bit of a problem with musicals after my parents took me to see Oklahoma. It was something about the dancing cowboys... I did like Les Mis, though.
It is unfortunaly typical that "antis" would use deceptively labled DVDs to help save those poor deluded Mormons. Awfully Christian of them.
Allan,
I was not offended by your comment, in fact my esteem for you went up a few notches. I guess I kind of related, at that time, to the boy in the family that left. My brother also 'left' and we didn't know where he was for almost 6 months. We found out finally that he joined the Barnum and Bailey circus to get to New York. Oh the joys of raising children.
Yes Paul that is true about the leg coming through the ceiling of the auditorium. Dad said it made fort a great visual effect.
Jill we haven't received a DVD yet but when we do we will be sure not to watch it for family home evening.
Jill... that will be one FHE you won't forget... and hopefully the kiddos do. It is interesting that it looked enough like an LDS DVD that you felt like you could just pop it in. Perhaps they've learned a thing or two from our excellent communication/publicity efforts in sharing the gospel.
As for musicals, etc... again, I am grateful for the appreciation of music I was given by daddy dearest. I grew up on Les Mis, Beethoven, Beatles... classics of many kinds. Paul still remembers the time one he heard music playing and wondered aloud what it was. I was able to name it as one of Vivaldi's four seasons (don't remember which one) and Paul was quite impressed. I think I know classical music better than he does (listening, not playing...) and I have the good ears of my father to thank for that.
a fun article from mr. card about mr. romney and mormonism on the national stage. a good read :)
I had a bad musical experience as well. Having grown up with the same father as Amy, I had an appreciation for the music of CATS. If you know my dad, it would surprise you that he enjoys this musical about his most hated enemy.
Anyway, on my senior trip to NYC, of all the shows to go and see, our faculty decided on CATS. Though the music and poetry were familiar to me (and still quite good), I would never recommend the muiscal. It was a terrible experience for a young country boy, and I will not detail here what made it such a distasteful experience.
matt: your comments on cats both intriguing and disturbing. i guess if you don't want to tell then i don't want to know. 'don't ask don't tell' i always say...
mom: how old was david when he left with circus? did he stay in new york long?
amy: your music tastes are impeccable.
Matt: it is unfortunate that your new york musical experience had to be Cats. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to write a musical about singing cats wandering the streets? But I'm here to tell you there is life after cats! There are so many good, uplifting, not-that-cheesy musicals on and off broadway. you'll have to ask me before going to see something and I'll let you know if it is 'catesque.'
Matt... since when are you a country boy, anyway?? Yes, it is too bad the good music of CATS doesn't have a good storyline to go along with it...
Is everyone having a good Conference weekend??
amy: you too were once a 'young country girl' from 'tucky.
this little bit about the colbert report will probably interest our faithful readers who are also nyc hipsters...
Conference was great, love the part about forgiving. Enough of country tucky put downs. Matt thanks for being humble enough to call your self country. The gospel is for every one even those who live in KY. AMY - At least we don't get anti lit. left at our door step. Paul loved the pose at the piano printed it out to keep. I can hardley wait to come out in a few to see everyone, that is if it is ok to leave the country and head for the city. I have now added Elton John to my black list.
Conference: The talks, of course, were so uplifting and compelling. I thought for a moment that Elder Perry was going to start pounding on the pulpit.
But wasn't the music fantastic? I especially loved the BYU Men's Choir at Priesthood Mtg. And the MoTabs can turn any piece of music into a prayer. Why do they always close the Conference in a way that turns me into a mass of quivering green Mormon Jello?
Mary Ann... Remember that I hold the title of Kentucky Blueblood. No shame in 'Tucky. I have just never, in all my years, heard Matt call himself a "Country Boy." That title has been affixed to my daddy, from Shelley Idaho. But Mays Lick is even smaller than Shelley... so you win in the county dept.
Yes, the music was suburb. I love that the Tabernacle can show its stuff again with the MOTAB performing there again. Wasn't "Come Thou Fount" on Sat. afternoon amazing??
Now that I think about it, I think that Conference weekend deserves a new post...
I thought conference was so inspiring. There were so many talks that spoke directly to me. I just love the inspiration with which our leaders speak.
Dylan (the neighbor boy that comes over daily) came over during conference and watched the first hour of the sunday afternoon session. I don't know how much he understood, but the talks were all about very basic truths. We would stop the DVR and answer his questions as we went. We helped him understand that Alexander the Great did not found Christianity--Christ did. He just knew that Alexander lived before Christ (he goes to catholic school). He was also convinced he could find the Book of Mormon in his North American version of the Bible. After trying to explain, DJ finally said, "probably not... but we can show you ours." He still seemed a little confused. But, no matter how confused, I hope we will be able to plant seeds in his heart during our time here. He is a sweet boy.
I was in attendance for the Priesthood session in the conference center. I will never forget the a capella "Be Still My Soul", and I don't know if I have ever heard anything so beautiful. I wish I could have bottled the sound.
Amy, I'm a country boy. I may not have many of the superficial givaways, but my dream home is one where I can't see or hear anyone else, where I can have two or three dogs running free, a three-car-garage, at least one big truck and a wood/metal shop. This doesn't fit the description of a city boy, does it?
Paul, have been let down by Georgetown... Go Florida!
Libby, I will be sure to consult you the next time I plan on visiting broadway.
Matt... I can just picture you with a bunch of dogs around your legs, working on a project in your woodshop with your manly tools, with a Carhart hat atop your head. I guess you are a country boy at heart.
Georgetown let me down, too. Go Florida... if for no other reason, because Michael loves the Gators!
Libby... I love that you have taken Dylan under your wing a little. Is he the age of your primary kiddos at all? Perhaps he would like to go to a primary activity?
He's actually 12 yrs old (we teach 6 yr olds). I'm afraid he'd feel like primary is a little silly. But I think it would be fun to take him to some kind of ward function.
boo florida!
I agree that the session from the Tabernacle was fantastic. I especially enjoyed contemplating "If These Walls Could Talk."
Farcles is currently out mowing the lawn, with the lights on and a red nose. He just ran in looking for warm gloves. A vivid lesson about procrastination! We gave the lawn a thorough Vigarow treatment last fall. We are already on our fourth mowing-the last one was Saturday. Our new compost heap out back may turn into a haystack.
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