Your husband will learn to love these films directly. Capital!

This is Jonny and I’m a dude. However, I do enjoy some movies that are, well, viewed more often by the chicas.

Melody suggested that I post about my affection for a specific genre of movies. These movies are usually 5-6 hour series made by the BBC or Masterpiece Theatre.

It’s amazing to me that I enjoy these films because there are a couple things that seem to repeat:

-There is always some dance where the girl dances with the dude she doesn’t really like, but should like.

-There are always two main problems to overcome: pride and prejudice

-Always some guy in the army

-It is always so exciting to take a coach to London

-Someone has the hots for their cousin

-There has to be at least 3 marriage proposals, preferably to the same woman

-Oh, only if she knew, only if he knew

-He makes 20,000 pounds a year!

My favorite films are the Dickens’ stories as the pride and prejudice is only a sub-theme and there is always a murder mystery. If I would recommend these films to any of you ladies that want to get your husbands into these kinds of films.

Our Mutual Friend

Martin Chuzzle-ma-nuzzle-wit

Bleak House

Nicholas Nickleby

Once you have their attention, try pulling out a few of these:

North and South (let him think it is the civil war one)

Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)

Wives and Daughters

Emma

Persuasion

Wuthering Heights

Adam Bede

Sense and Sensibility (new BBC version)

Visiting Colorado

We successfully made it to and from Colorado. Thanks for all the great road trip entertainment ideas. Julia was pretty content in the car, as long as I almost-constantly supplied her with various books, toys, snacks, and movies on the portable DVD player. I think we watched "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" a dozen times - and "Antarctic Antics" at least that many as well. (I do love the Scholastic Video Collection...but maybe not that much.) She did have a hard time the last two hours. But you can stand anything for a few hours when home is your destination!

We loved spending time with Grandpa Gene and Jenny and Salida, then Dad, Mom, Rudi, and Emy in Durango. But instead of writing all about our trip (which sounds exhausting right now, plus I have already done so in my journal) I made one of these fun wordles:

Oh, here are a few things I wanted to detail briefly:

-Julia LOVED the river. She would've splashed in the cold water all day.
-Julia LOVED the dogs. I thought she'd be scared of them, being bigger than her and all. But, as you can see from the pictures, she was crazy about them. (James and Danielle, I think she's ready to give Cocoa a second chance!) After the first day, the dogs were actually avoiding Julia! I guess she was a little too enthusiastic for them and they ran whenever the toddled toward them. It was hilarious to see the poor girl chasing them through the house and yard!
-Hiking Mount Shavano: We've had a goal to hike one of the famous Colorado Fourteeners (mountains that peak at or above 14,000 ft) with Julia this summer. Mt. Shavano is just outside of Salida, so we picked this 9.5 miler. We knew it would be a challenge, but we weren't aware of just how steep the trail would be! Part of it was shaded in a gorgeous forest, but it was like climbing up a rocky staircase. Above treeline, the trail was just as steep, but dusty and full of loose rocks. And the "trail" at the last stretch to the peak was composed of huge boulders, and even steeper than before. It really was very challenging. I can't remember the last time I had that feeling of discouragement on a hike ("How will we EVER get down this mountain?"). It was incredible and fun, but difficult most of all. Anyway, we were nearly to the top when we stopped to rest and let an upset Julia stretch her legs. We decided it was best to head down, since the climb to the top was very technical for baby backpacking. We were content, having made it up to 14,000 feet at least, and ready to start down. I don't know what was harder-the downhill or up. Let's just say we left that mountian after 5 and 1/2 hours with spaghetti legs. And walking up or down a staircase is still a little painful for me.

P.S. Jonny just came home with some interesting specifics about the hike. 4,600 ft elevation gain over 4.5 miles=20% grade. I guess that confirms the steepness. Oh, and don't worry, we kept a close eye on Julia for any signs of high altitude sickness. She was just fine.

This picture...

reminded me of this one...

...taken about a year earlier.

J-cumber

This one grew for Jonny and Julia, I guess. I'll be sure to keep you posted if an M-cumber grows for me.

WANTED: Road Trip Advice

We are excited to be leaving for Colorado on Thursday to visit Jonny's family. We are not so excited, however, to chauffeur our normally-delightful-but-very-antsy-on-extended-car-trips Julia on the three legs of our trip: 7-8 hours to Salida (visit Grandpa Gene), 3 hours to Durango, and then 5-6 hours home. I have a few ideas that I want to try out, such as bringing a portable DVD player and even introducing the lollipop (yikes?). Any more ideas to help Julia make the journey? Oh, and any ideas about not-too-messy car snacks and portable meals? Thanks for the help. I think we'll need it!

Stewart Falls 2008: NY vs. B

We end up doing this hike at least once a year - it is just such a perfect one. The trail is shaded most of the way and the falls are spectacular. If anyone hasn't done it yet this year, we'd love to join you for round two.

It was so fun to hang out with Marc, Kelly, and Kristen Lafave two weekends in a row! Kristen was a gem on the hike, while Julia fussed just a little on the way down. (She wanted to drink out of the hydration pack the entire time. Probably the reason she looks miserable in most the pictures. Oh brother! She calmed down when Kellly supplied her with plenty of crackers. Thanks again for over-packing the snacks, Kelly!)

Usually the babies get a lot of attention on the hikes. This time it was Jonny and Marc. They were wearing their Yankees and Red Sox hats (respectively) and created quite a stir on the trail! I guess we are used to the friendly rivalry so think nothing of their opposite fanships. But most every group of hikers we passed commented. Ha!



P.S. Yes, this is more than enough pictures of a hike we have done several times already, but we were trying out a new camera. We actually bought the two cameras we were choosing from and we'll return one to Costco when we decide! It's a toughy. One is the Canon G9 (point-and-shoot with SLR quality) and one is the Canon Rebel Xsi. We are now weighing the pros and cons - and enjoying temporarily having two awesome cameras at once!

Adoption Website

Emily and KC now have a beautiful website with information concerning their adoption search. (Thanks to Hannah for setting it up, it is perfect!) The link is on my sidebar. Now you can refer any and every possible lead to this website. I like going there just to look at the pictures of my gorgeous twin sister and her handsome, funny KC.

32 mosquito bites...

...and counting, thanks to our mutual activity last night. (I was just called to be the beehive advisor, working with the 12 and 13 year old young women in our ward.) Yes, I did put on plenty of bug spray, I was swatting my arms and legs at all times, and no I will probably not be visiting Willow Park ever again.

And, yes, one little pest did make it down my shirt.

triathalon day

Okay, no, we didn't actually participate in a triathlon last Saturday. But we did run the Alpine Days 5k, mountain bike at Lambert Park, and swim with our good friends the Lafaves in their backyard pool. I say it counts!

We woke up early to make it to the 7 am race, which is always a favorite of the summer. Alpine really knows how to host a 5k. They charge only $5 (no, they don't have a race t-shirt but honestly, we have enough of those!), provide plenty of snacks, map out a great course, and even present trophies to the top three in each age division. (True, the trophies we have brought home over the years end up at DI or in the garbage. But it is fun in the moment and the kids who run love them.) Julia and I were thrilled to see our time as we approached the finish line - three minutes faster than last year! Jonny ran a great race too. Cortnie and I brought home first place trophies and Mom a second place one. Fun!Thanks to Mom and Drew for tending Julia after the race while Jonny and I headed up to Lambert Park to ride the awesome trails there. Jonny took me on some pretty technical and steep ones this time. I even had my first fall! (Don't worry, the fall was on an easy level-part. Ha.)And finally, thanks to the Lafaves for the great pool party and BBQ. We loved swimming in your new pool, the food was just delicious, and the company was exceptional. That little Kristen is a doll. I think Julia took to her as well, even though there was a little contention! (as pictured)
Phew! We were happy and exhausted after our eventful day. I'm not sure if we'll ever be up to a real triathalon. Perhaps we'd prefer this version anyway?

$1 books

Julia, like most toddlers, loves books. I bet she'd sit on my lap as we read board books for an hour. But she is picky about her books. She goes through stages of favorites. (For instance, the pictured Five Little Ducks book was rejected for months. Just recently, she has taken it up again and adores it.) To cater to the finicky little girl, we need more than a few board books. That's why I love the bargain aisles at Target. (For those of you who haven't discovered them yet, there is usually a little clump of aisles at the front of the store with seasonal, fun items for $1 or $2.50) They have the greatest little board books. They usually have flaps on the pages-which Julia loves. The books are flimsier than your usual board books, but well worth the $1 you pay. I often buy them in doubles or triples, since they make great gifts. Now Julia has a many options each time we sit down to read. And her library grows with nearly each trip to Target.

Disclaimer: neither of the pictured books were purchased at Target. But I believe they were purchased at Ross and Big Lot's, other great places to find good deals on books.

landscaping update

A few weeks ago we asked advice on what to do with our large flower bed in the front yard. Thank you for all the great ideas, but I am sorry to say that we didn't use any of them! And that is only because we have put the front patch on hold and decided to use the money, time, and energy to sod the unfinished half of the back yard. (We did, however, sprinkle a wildflower mix in the front. Not too promising! But we can be patient and work on the front in the spring.) The original owner of the house had plans for building a humongous deck in the back. Thus, he put down a loads of large gravel, which is now covered with dead weeds. So for the past few weeks, Jonny has come home from work eager to get dusty and sweaty pulling stubborn weeds and raking and shoveling gravel. (I started out helping him by pulling the weeds. But the dust was just egging on my miserable allergies. Now I just work in the garden and be in charge of making sure Jonny hydrates. Sorry I am not more help, my Love!) He is really making some headway. Now he is wheelbarrowing the gravel to the side of the house (and putting more in the window wells and under the tramp) and we plan on having some topsoil delivered to put down before the sod. (We want the ground to slightly slope away from the house.) He has drawn out plans for sprinklers and is excited to get going on that. Anyway, hopefully we can post pictures of the finished project sooner than later.Keep up the good work, my amazing boy. I am ready to refresh you with an unlimited supply of slushy otter pops at a moment's notice.