California Dreaming

David and I decided to do something different for Thanksgiving this year. We headed to sunny California to visit my sister, Teri, and her family. What a fun vacation! We packed the week full of adventure.

We left on the Friday before Thanksgiving and headed to Saint George, to spend the night at my grandparents. When we arrived, my Aunt Karlene was there all dressed up like a nun! It was opening night for the play Nunsense at the Saint George Theatre Company, and she was the director. She got us 2nd row tickets for the whole family. It was really funny, and the kids loved it! During part of the play, one of the nuns did a pop quiz with the audience, and Kallai got an answer right! The question was, "Why did the nuns leave the leper colony?" and his answer was, "Because they got tired of all the sick people." He won a St. Francis of Asisi refrigerator magnet, and was very excited.

We woke up in the morning and drove to Buffalo Bills Casino in State Line, Nevada. It is a family tradition to stop on the way to California to ride the Desperado roller coaster. Unfortunately, the ride was closed temporarily for maintenance, so we played some arcade games while we waited. It didn't look like they would be done anytime soon, so Jordan and Kallai went on the flight simulator and the rest of us went on the log ride. The boys had a blast, but the log ride was ho hum. As we walked back to the car, the kids were all sad that they hadn't been able to ride the Desperado. Just then, we saw the Desperado car rocket past. They had opened the ride, so we ran back and went on it. This was the first big roller coaster ride ever for both Kallai and Taliah. They were both excited, but when they saw the first big drop, they were terrified! I tried to tell Kallai that he was safe, and to not worry and just have fun. He said, "I'll have fun as soon as the ride is over!" That got me a little worried. We were going to Knott's Berry Farm later in the week, and we'd picked that theme park because there was only one ride that Taliah was too short for. We were planning to hit all of the BIG roller coasters, and Kallai and Taliah were just as excited as everyone else. I realized we might have to tweak our plans a bit. Once they got off the Desperado, and realized they had survived the experience, they both perked right up, and started bragging about it.

After Buffalo Bills, we drove straight through to Mark and Teri's house. We arrived just in time to head to their ward party, with dinner, crafts and Santa Claus! The best part of the party was hanging out with cousins!

To Be Continued...

Twilight Movie...

Well I just saw the Twilight movie, and... SIGH!

I am a huge fan of the books, (I've read them an embarrassing number of times). I wanted so badly to love the movie, I really did. I tried to ignore the previews in which the bad guy seemed pretty lame. I tried to overlook the magazine cover that I saw with Edward and Bella on the front looking very goofy. I thought about going to opening night so the crowd's excitement could carry the movie for me, but I just couldn't swing it. Then the reviews started coming in. My sister and my sister in law didn't really like it, but I was encouraged to see that most of my friends did. I thought maybe if I didn't expect very much, then I wouldn't be too disappointed. But it just wasn't to be.

Twilight is just another good book gone bad movie. I liked Edward ok, though he was a little angry for my taste. Bella wasn't that bad either. And during the few kissing scenes I could see the chemistry that led to them being cast together, but the kisses were few and far between. I'm sure it's hard as a screenwriter to decide what details are vital, and what needs to be left out, but I don't understand why all the witty banter between them was cut, and all of the detailed explanations were left in. On top of that, the vampires were all very bizarre, I wish they had just acted normal. Jasper reminded me of someone every time I say him, but it took me until a few hours after the movie to put my finger on who. I think he took his inspiration from Jonny Depp in either Edward Scissorhands or Willy Wonka. And the bad guy was every bit as lame as he looked on the previews. On the bright side, I really liked Bella's dad. All in all, it wasn't a terrible movie, I've seen worse. But it wasn't nearly as good as it should have been.

Sigh. Sigh! SIGH! I'm going to go read the book again so I can get my Twilight fix.

I can run three miles...

I can run three miles... three miles is nothing! That's what I told my body as I passed the small orange cone with a 10 written on it. My body didn't believe me. It knew I was trying to trick it into forgetting the 10 miles it had already run. But it remembered each and every step that had brought me to this point, and it didn't want to take any more. Luckily, I am in charge, not my body, because I did take another step, and another, and another, until tired and sore, but very satisfied, I crossed the finish line.

Sound fun? It was! Last weekend I went with four of my closest friends to run in the Snow Canyon 5k and Half Marathon, and I had a blast!

We got off to a bit of a shaky start. First, Tammy misunderstood when we were leaving, and had about 5 minutes to throw some things in a bag. (In this post, when I say Tammy, I am talking about my friend, not me.) Later, we stopped in Beaver to get some squeaky cheese. The cheese was great, the cop pulling me over for speeding down Main Street... not so great. Who would have thought that a Main Street would only have a 30 mph speed limit? I was fortunate that he was in a good mood. Then, as we pulled in to Saint George, Shanon realized that she had forgotten her running shoes! Luckily, we had a shoe expert along (Tammy), and she helped Shanon pick out a pair that were even better than the ones she forgot. Everything worked out ok, and all the little mishaps just made the trip more memorable.

Tammy and I ran in the Half Marathon together (13.1 miles). It was a beautiful trail through a red rock canyon. Tammy is a stronger runner than me, and could have gotten a better time, but she stayed with me, and encouraged me at the end. Thanks Tammy! My time was 1:55.26. Not quite as good as my last Half, but I'll take it. I finished 95th out of 364 women, and 26th out of 77 in my age bracket.

Shanon, Sophie and Anna ran in the 5k (3.2 miles). This was a first race for all of them, and they did great! I am so proud of them! After the races were done, Tammy led us in some Yoga to help us cool us down and stretch out. It was fun to try something new. Anna had to balance out the Yoga with Diet Coke and Doritos, just to be sure her body didn't go into shock from too much healthy stuff! ;o)

Later that night we ate some great sushi at Benja Thai. Not as good as Yapona, but is anything as good as Yapona? Tammy bravely tried the California roll and the Volcano roll, but flatly refused to try eel or anything raw. She was a good sport. We played some games, swam in the pool, and talked for hours! This was my first girls weekend ever, and I had so much fun! We talked about making it a yearly tradition, and I really hope that happens. Thanks, ladies, for all the great memories!

Gone Fishin'

David went fly fishing in Northern California in October. He went with my Dad, and brother in law, Mark. They were fishing for rainbow trout and steelhead. They had a lot of fun, and caught lots of fish! It was David's first time fly fishing. He decided he liked this fishing trip even better than salmon and halibut fishing in Alaska. The only down side was it was all catch and release, so he didn't bring any fish home. Oh well, he brought home plenty of fish tales! (p.s. The guy with the beard, who is holding the fish is their fishing guide. He wouldn't let David and Dad hold the fish they caught, because he was afraid they would hurt the fish. I personally think it's hilarious that he thinks it's ok to put a hook through its lip, and fight it for hours until it's exhausted, then pull it out of the water so it can't breath, but don't touch it! You might hurt it! Thepics where they are holding fish are on a different day with a different guide! Mark is the guy standing in the other boat.)