Movie Review: Oceans 13

Hello everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to post... This week our bordom lead us to the movie theater where Nancy and I saw the latest installment in the Oceans # movies and I must say, this movie does not disappoint like it's predecessor Oceans 12. I thought this movie was much better than the second one which left me utterly confused until the very end. Oceans 13 depicts yet another of Danny Ocean's latest heists as he takes on another casino mogul. It had a satisfying amount of commedy and cleverness, lots of money and out-witting, and very nice closure at the end. Just grab yourself some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the ride. I would highly recommend this flick and if memory serves me right there is a little bit of language and a scene with a "cougar"- no nudity involved however. (I'll leave it to you to figure out what that terms means.) I give this movie a B+. (Stay tuned for reviews on the highly anticipated and soon to be released Transformers and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that both come out here in the next two weeks! I can't wait!!!)

Top 10 Grocery Store Finds

I was feeling a little left out on all the top ten lists every one is doing so I decided to follow suit. If you've ever watched the Ellen show, on Wednesdays (?) she does what's called "Look What I Found at the Drug Store". I am obviously not as funny as she is, but I have found a few gems at the grocery store lately. So here goes...

#1 The Plastic Water Bottle: Nancy and I have both decided we will drink more water this summer and I'm beginning to realize that all that pressure in my head also dissipates when I am well hidrated. (Three huge cheers for that!!) I think I have officially become a water junky! So everyone head out and grab yourselves a durable water bottle that is comfortable to drink from and tote around and start carrying it with you everywhere (actually drinking from it is key). Just be sure you're near a bathroom for the first week or two. :)

#2 The Travel-size Umbrella: This was inspiried by the rain storm we had Tuesday. I've learned it's a must-have for living in Kentucky. It's only about 4 inches long when folded up! Perfect purse size for easy access on those fast dashes to and from the car!

#3 Coconut Chocolate Chip Chips Deluxe Cookies: (A mouthful I know!) Ok, so I have to give credit to Nancy for this one, but they are seriously some amazing cookies! You should all give them a try! I think they will become a staple in my "diet."

#4 All Small-and-Mighty Laundry Detergent: This is one of my favorite house keeping items now- right up there with the swiffer if you can imagine! It's great for clearing out a cluttered laundry room and a small bottle will do 32 loads at a fraction of the cost of Tide. Yipee!!!

#5 Pop-up and fold-up Basic Laundry Hampers: This has also worked wonders in the laundry department. This summer I purchased three of them. One for towels, one for darks, and one for lights. No more sorting laundry!! It's also very handy for carrying the load from the bedroom to the washing machine without dropping those pesky socks. The trick is finding a place to put them so you sort the clothes as you take them off. They're only $3.97-or so- at WalMart and it's well worth it!

#6 Flat Bed Sheets: I think Nancy may be the only one to truly appreciate this one. I'll have to post a picture of what they look like. (Ok, so in Gordon's words they look "ghetto" but oh well). Let's just say they are currently taking the place of curtains...

#7 The Microfoam Pillow: Also a WalMart find, this has worked wonders on my head! It's contoured to ease pressure from the neck, spine and head. I'm pretty impressed so far!

#8 The Swiffer: I know you were all expecting that one to be there somewhere!

#9 Fresco Mexican Crumbling Cheese: I believe this is the white cheese they use on the Costa Vida salad... Nuf said? Please, correct me if I'm wrong! You can also find it at WalMart.

#10 The Playground Ball: This one is for Gordon. One of his favorite games (as Ryan well knowns from city league) is Wall Ball and now he has an "official" ball to play with. The crazy thing is, when he opened it up on Father's Day, we realized that it was made in Federal Way, WA. The very city where Gordon went to elementary school! Crazy, eh?!

Well, sorry for being a little long winded. Hopefully you're next trip to the grocery store with sprout some amazing finds too! We love and miss you all so much!

Attack of the Bears: A New Phobia.

It's official. I think I'm going crazy! It seems like over the past three days I have been surrounded by horrific tales of bear attacks. Let me start by saying that this is a new phenomenon. I have never had an encounter with a bear, nor do I ever hope to. However, there have been three distinct experiences over the last couple of days that have vastly increased my fear of our furry forest "friends".

As Nancy mentioned in her blog, the bishop of our ward here decided that they needed to challenge the young men in our ward. They planned a 50 mile hike to be completed over the course of three days. I am happy to report that it appeared on Sunday that they had all survived. However, during dinner that night, Gordon relayed a story the bishop had told during Priesthood meeting. He said that one night, this group found themselves at 9:00pm in an area not suitable for making camp. The area that they had anticipated camping at was still a good 3-4 hours away. They decided to keep going until they reached it. As they were hiking they started to notice sounds that indicated they were being followed. You guessed it! They were being followed by a bear. DUN Dun dun!! They decided to all get as close together as possible and start screaming. Apparently this tactic worked and they finished their hike without incident...

Later that night, I awoke to find myself in a cold sweat just having had a nightmare about a bear attacking our whole family while we hiked together in the Uintas. Inspite of a brave attempt from Sydney to ward off our unwanted furry friend, my nightmare went from bad to worse as our family was scattered tying to outrun the grizzly. (I guess Mom's wildlife training doesn't kick in in nightmares.) Thankfully I awoke just as I saw the bear heading for Kara and Lianne... Phewf! That was a close one!

Fast forward to Tuesday, the most 'grizzly' scene of all- pun intended. :) Mom told me that she had heard that a family was camped up American Fork Canyon and bear tore through their tent and dragged their 11-year-old son out. His parents said they awoke to his screaming as he was dragged out and later found his body 400 feet from the tent. I was shocked! How horrible is that! It was horrible enough to even make the 11:00pm news here in Louisville where the only things reported are shootings and horse races.

So, I think, because of recent events, bears have climbed to the top my "animals I never wish to encounter" list right behind the brown recluse spider (of which I saw the effects of a bite for the first time last week in a pharmacy window). Please, if any of you suffer from the same paranoia, I'm having t-shirts made. Maybe they'll at least keep the nightmares away.

Hmmm...

Well, as you can see, nothing too exciting is happening here in Louisville. Nancy and I are trying to keep busy working on our cook books and so far they are turning out pretty good. It's always crazy how you end up wishing you had what you don't. (For example, I wish I had Nancy's hand writing and someone else's curly hair...) But, we're chugging right along with those. I am currently reading The Good Earth (thanks for the recommendation Mom! It's great so far!) and the sixth Harry Potter. I have also made a discovery this summer that I thought I would let you all know about. When I flew back for Kara's wedding Nancy and I went to the distribution center to get a few things and I decided to pick up the teacher's manual for the Book of Mormon. I have been using it in my scripture study ever since and have gained a lot from studying with it. (I think it's because I have a short attention span and it keeps me focused.) but I've found that events make much more sense, certain verses are much better explained, and I really look forward to reading now. So any of you who have a hard time making it through a few verses without your mind wandering like I do should definitely check out this new study habit. If any of you know any other good study guides, I'd love to hear about them! I still can't quite make it through Isaiah...

Need a laugh?

Movie Review: Shrek the Third

So last week we took the opportunity to go and check out Shrek the Third and I must say it definitely gets two thumbs up from me. I will admit that I headed to the theater a little suspicious of how good the third addition to the Shrek series would be as the more sequels they make to a movie the worse they tend to get (with the exception of Rocky IV I suppose). But I found that the third movie was quite entertaining. With a few excellent one liners and some memorable scenes I would highly recommend this movie to any adult. That's right, I said adult. (Not in an R-rated or XXX sense mind you.) The one thing that surprised me most about this animated flick was that I don't think I would have gotten any of the jokes at any age younger than maybe 12. (I don't know, maybe I was/am just a little slow at any age.) It did have some hilarious jokes that parents will definitely appreciate and I suppose some animation and fun characters that kids can get into as well. You'll all have to let me know what you thought about it though... For now, I definitely think it lives up to its predecessors and gets my vote as a great date night movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Well, yesterday I finally finished the fifth book in the Harry Potter series. I must say it was pretty darn exciting there for the last couple of chapters but overall, I found it slightly on the boring side. Nancy has informed me that the sixth book is much better and the fifth is more of a set up for the sixth. So, I guess I'll have to start the sixth one after we see the movie. (Which I am greatly anticipating.) I was also very happy to finally get a better explanation in regards to the lighting bolt scar. Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil it for those of you haven't read the book. I'll just say that it does set up the series for a pretty dramatic ending. My recommendation: any who haven't read the books should definitely jump on the band wagon. It makes for a fast and entertaining read.

Still Kickin!

Hello everyone! I know I promised I would post last week but the truth of the matter is Kentucky is pretty darn boring these days! I will say that I have been waiting for the past week for my ink to come and once that happens Nancy and I will have a project to work on. Until then, we pass the time by reading Harry Potter, walking the dog, and anticipating the next So You Think You Can Dance. Exciting isn't it?!? I guess I'll have to work on my creative blogs so we can somewhat keep up with the Gardners. As for now, my deep thought for the day is: ".................................................................."