Pictures, Of Course/I Love a Parade/Small Deluge of Somewhat Political Videos

Bennett was spotlighted at school this week, so I was going through pictures of him to make a poster about him. Here are some of my favorites of him when he was two. I think the pomegranate picture may be my favorite picture of him, but I love the little GQ model picture on the beach too.











I'm not the photographer some of you are, but I'm kinda proud of these shots of Laraine. Of course my subject matter here is gorgeous, so I can't take much credit, though this gorgeous subject matter doesn't care to hold still for poses, so I do have to catch her when I can.
































Here are a couple of recent shots of Bennett. He adores both of his younger siblings. He loves posing with Jasper. He gets angry with Laraine sometimes, but he adores her too. Yesterday she was having a fit and making things difficult when I went to pick Bennett up from school. I needed to break a $20, so I decided to stop on the way home and get cherry turnovers at Arby's. I said, "I'll get one for you, Bennett, but I don't think I can get one for Laraine because she's being so naughty." Bennett said, "Oh, please get one for my sweet little sister." So I did, and everyone was happy. The picture to the right is him in his UNbirthday crown holding his poster/card from the kids in his class. His birthday is in the summer, so he got to have an UNbirthday, which he loved.

I've got to rant a little bit now; forgive me. Last week was Dixie Round Up, so there were a couple of parades. I can't remember a single time when a parade hasn't been a disappointment to me, but I decided my kids should go to a parade, so I took them on Saturday. As I said, parades are generally a disappointment, but seriously folks, this thing was awful. Okay, there were some school marching bands and a couple of horses and the rich Dean Terry family in a stage coach (I guess they got to be in the parade because they're wealthy and have a stage coach), which were all okay and somewhat amusing. I didn't even really mind the car with some beauty queens on it, though I am opposed to beauty queens in a general sense. What I really thought was simply lousy was that other than the above mentioned, this parade was just cars advertising stuff, including a long line of new cars from Sun Painter Auto Dealers or whatever wanting to show off their wares. There were mainly cars with signs printed on them just advertising stuff. Baja Broadband just drove one of their trucks down the street. What the heck? It was like watching a long and horribly boring commercial with short moments of vague excitement when beauty queens and rich dudes in stage coaches drove by. At least most of the cars threw out some candy, so it was bearable for the children, who were otherwise bored. Still, if I wanted cheap candy, I'd go to Target and save myself the trouble of managing small children at a parade in the hot sun. Look, I figure parades are kind of funded by businesses wanting to advertise. Fine. Said businesses should at least be required to sponsor or make floats. For example, Baja Broadband could've made a computer float or something. Anyway, that's what they're calling a parade?

Here's a video from The Onion that had me in tears with laughter. You've got to cry about it, but at least we can try to find the humor (also, looks like a decent razor):
Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Here's another one my brother-in-law, Jonathan, found on YouTube; he edited it a bit for language. Anyway, I'm afraid it ain't funny. Let's hope we elect someone who is less trigger happy this time.

Like this guy...



Moving on...Today's review is "Firefly"/Serenity. I've decided to post my book reviews on Goodreads, so there are some links to my latest book reviews below:

My review

My review

Rain, Solid Food, Kindergarten

Like most children of the desert, I love rain. Last Monday we had a beautiful rainy day. Dan and the kids had fun getting wet, and that was basically our family home evening.














I've been making a couple of small efforts to get Jasper interested in solid food, but he hasn't yet caught the vision. As far as the sweet potatoes went, he did at least go from a look of utter horror and disgust to sort of nonchalance. He's also getting better at sitting, though he still topples.




















A long time ago I got tagged, so I'm finally answering that. I got the answers for this from Bennett, who is now officially in kindergarten! Here he is standing in front of his classroom.
1. Q: What does Mom always say to you?
A: Don't get into stuff.
(I had hoped for "I love you" or something, but there you go.)
2. Q: What makes Mom happy?
A: When I give her hugs.
3. Q: What makes Mom sad?
A: When I get into things that I shouldn't.
4. Q: How does Mom make you laugh?
A: When she does this. (He wiggled his fingers, stuck out his tongue, and said, "Blublubluh"---I wasn't aware that I did much of that, but I suppose I should because, apparently, it makes Bennett laugh.)
5. Q: How old is Mom?
A: I don't know. Give me a clue.
6. Q: How tall is Mom?
A: Seventy-six. (Feet, inches, or centimeters---he's off.)
7. Q: What does Mom like to do?
A: Have fun with me.
8. Q: What is Mom's job?
A: To take care of me.
9. Q: What is Mom's favorite food?
A: Broccoli. (You can guess that I've tried to get him to eat broccoli on occasion.)
10. Q: How do you know Mom loves you?
A: She gives me cereal straws. (This is why you only let your kids watch PBS---no commercials. He saw a commercial for cereal straws, and now he's obsessed with them.)
I'm gonna do kind of a cop-out and just tag anyone who wants to do this.
Okay, another Bennettism:
"Mommy, Daddy has a step-mom, but she's not evil, so he's not a princess."
And here are a couple of things he learned at school today:
"Mommy, we all have buckets full of good feelings, but we can't see them because they're invisible, and when someone's mean, it makes you spill your good feelings."
"If you get four checks by your name, you have to go to the principal." Thankfully, he hasn't yet had the experience for himself.

And here's a Laraine-ism:
Dan was throwing Laraine in the air. He told her, "One more time."
She answered, "Okay, one more time first. Then I say, 'More!'"

You know I have to do it---today's review is Breaking Dawn. Just so it's clear what kind of a review this will be, I should say that Stephenie Meyer deserves every penny I've spent on her mediocre literature, because I haven't had so much fun ripping on something since Star Wars Episode One:The Phantom Menace. That being said, if you love these Twilight books with your whole soul and will take personal offense at a negative review, don't read mine. I know some mindless escapist reading can be fun, and I can't claim to have found no enjoyment in reading Breaking Dawn.

Various and Sundries

It's good to be home. We're happy to be back in St. George, but we miss those who have become dear to us in Vegas. Anyway, I haven't blogged in an age because of all the craziness of moving, but here's a little of what's been going on.Bennett turned five, and he seemed to think that was all right. We also spent some time with Dan's family in Kalaloch, WA.

Bennett, Dan, Laraine, and Erin running on the beach









Back row-Sarah, Jake, Andrew, Isaac, Dan/Middle-Hannah, Eli, Laraine, Robyn, Erin, Ashly, Jasper, Angie,Therese Front-Bennett




To the right, you can see some shots of us in our 4th of July finery. Below: Kids with Grandma Above: Our family with my nephews, Jorryn and Jalen.
We went to the fireworks display in St. George on the 4th. I always enjoy the soundtrack on the loud speakers at this event. They invariably play Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." This year was no exception. I love the song, but it always strikes me as a strange choice for celebrating the 4th, as it's all about how lousy the Vietnam War was, but, hey, I guess if you only listen to the chorus.... As ridiculous soundtracks for 4th of July celebrations go though, this year they topped "Born in the USA. " They played the speech from the movie Independence Day. This I found truly amusing, yet at the end of Bill Pullman's speech, I too, felt inspired to burning patriotic feelings by a speech about a fictional alien invasion, as the crowd around me cheered.

Dan and I have been abusing his mother as much as possible before she leaves us for the greener pastures of Boston. We left the children with her and went to see Les Miserables at Tuacahn Saturday night. We loved it. I found none of the actors annoying, so it was perhaps my favorite of the performances I've seen of this show, though without the rotating stage, the impact of Enjolras' death is a little impaired. A friend of ours thought the Valjean overacted, but I think I'm of Dan's opinion here. No matter how serious or intense, there is still something ridiculous about a musical, so we don't mind some good overacting.

Now to answer the tag.

The rules:
1. List three items in each category
2. Tag three other people from whom you would like to hear
3. Get to know your friends and family

THREE FEARS:
I decided not to go with the biggies that we all share here, but to use some that are perhaps a little more silly, but nevertheless terrifying to me.
1. I have to keep my closet door closed at night, because, you never know, the girl from The Ring could be in there. I only really worry about her being there at night, when everyone else is asleep.
2. Someone (or something) with bad intentions coming into the bathroom while I'm showering. I think Hitchcock really tapped into something visceral here. We're so vulnerable in the shower.
3. One of my children on a psychiatrist's bench some day talking about mother.
THREE JOYS:
1. Laraine and Bennett causing Jasper to become delirious with laughter.
2. Staying up late with Dan, talking or watching something on T.V., snacking on cheese and crackers. (He won't indulge me as much as I'd like on this one, because of the whole getting up early to satisfy his running addiction.)
3. This one's a bit of a cliche, but I do love it---curling up with a book and a snack; it's always best on rainy days.
THREE OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS:
1. I have a dragon thing.
2. I've had many, many obsessions. Most of them I immerse myself in for awhile, then kinda get over---I still usually love them, but they stop being obsessions...there have been so many....but I'll choose T.V. shows for this. I've had several obsessions with old T.V. shows. I have been obsessed with "Taxi" (is Tony Danza capable of playing a character who isn't named Tony?), "Happy Days" (I have a Fonzie doll), and "All in the Family" to name a few. These I still love, but I once had a brief obsession with "Full House" and watched like four reruns a day (why did they play so many reruns of that show?) for like a week. After that I was utterly over it, and I returned to the saner position I had previously held that it is absolutely dreadful...but, oh, that Uncle Jesse! The really embarrassing thing is that I had the "Full House" obsession in college. Hey, at least I've never been obsessed with "Saved by the Bell," yet I've somehow managed to see a lot of awful episodes. I'm a little obsessed with "Word Girl"on PBS Kids right now. It seriously cracks me up.
3. Dan---this is an obsession I'll never get over. ;)
THREE RANDOM FACTS:
1. Stefani tells me my big toes are "alien toes," but Dan assures me that they are very attractive.
2. I've thrown chalk at my students in the past. I usually missed, but I once nailed a kid in the forehead. This actually (as usual) caused great delight among my students. Luckily, this time, the one who got nailed thought it was hilarious too, so there was no lawsuit. I never knew if he mentioned it to his parents. I guess I inherited the chalk throwing thing from my dad (he's a science teacher). Should I be putting this out there if I ever want to teach school again? I'll try really hard not to throw chalk from now on.
3. Speaking of chalk, I once ate a piece and freaked out my brother and my sister-in-law so much that there was a big blow-up over it. Should I be bringing this up? I think we're all over it now.
THREE GOALS:
Again, these aren't the biggies---I want to become self actualized, become a perfect mother, write a book, etc. too.
1. Make dinner tonight.
2. Write yet another speech for church on Sunday. I don't get to recycle the one I wrote a couple of weeks ago because they gave me a topic this time. I was most displeased. The topic is "Developing Talents"---it seems a little cruel to give such a topic to someone with so little talent.
3. Cut my toenails. I know, again with the toenails.

I tag Stacy, Megan, and Debra.

Today's Review: Ginger Cookies

Astropops Etc.

So, can you believe the Astropop is no more? Bennett is considering having an outer space themed birthday party, and I thought Astropops would be awesome door prizes, but no---they have been discontinued. Even this picture is not the Astropop of my childhood, which, you may recall, was inverted and had some strange waxy stuff at the base. I guess the point at the top caused some injuries, and some people found the wax disturbing, but see, they changed excellence, and now the Astropop is gone. Ah, maybe someday Spangler candy will realize the error of getting rid of such a fine candy and bring it back. Until then, hang on to your memories.


Bennett is a preschool graduate. Here are some of my favorites of his preschool creations, along with the coveted diploma.






Bennett and Mary Taylor made this lovely garden. I was sorry not to have gotten a picture before Mary left. Anyway, many pears and pomegranates will not reach their potential, as they were sacrificed to the cause, but isn't it a lovely garden?

In other Bennett news, we buzzed him. Here he is sporting his new haircut and sitting next to one of his fine feats of architecture. (He insisted on making that face, by the way.)





Laraine and Dan taking a nap.










Jasper, Jasper. Sweet guy. He smiles if you look at him.








This is Dan with Laurie (my little sister) and her---dare I say it?---boyfriend, Dave, after the 50 mile run Saturday. Dan posted an account of this race on his running blog. (I warn you, there is frequent talk of bowel movements---but they're bound to come up in runs---what a horrible pun).


It's time for some poetry. (Forgive me. I used to teach English.) I was talking about Sylvia Plath with Therese (Dan's mom) this last weekend because Plath had been discussed at Therese's book club. Anyway, here is one of my favorite examples of Plath's poetry:

Sylvia Plath

Mirror

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike
I am not cruel, only truthful –
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
________________________________________
So, Ladies (and Men---women shouldn't be the only ones who have to worry about starting to look like "terrible fish"), does it ring true for you? Did Plath already feel that fish coming? She wrote this the year of her death. I believe she was only 30. But I guess beyond looks and age, it's about the mirror reflecting only the truth, and it seems Plath was not happy with what she perceived as her truth (can even a mirror really reflect truth, as what we see as truth is largely perception anyway?). I'm assuming Plath was unhappy mainly because of the whole sticking her head in the oven and turning on the gas thing. Anyway, I've decided I'm okay with aging and that I prefer it to the alternative. What pains me lately when I look in the mirror is that I'm still often beset with an unwelcome reminder of my youth---yes, zits. Oh well.

Moving from Plath to some lighter poetry, one of my favorite poems presenting another frustrating truth:

Richard Armour
Going to Extremes

Shake and shake
The catsup bottle.
None'll come—
And then a lot'll.
------------------------------------
It almost makes you hope restaurants will keep those annoying glass bottles around.

Todays Review: Dan posted his review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (I haven't yet seen it, but I will review the title as the lamest of the four, although the whole "last crusade" thing is kinda defunct.)

Dan

Here he is proudly displaying a pie he won for singing at a festival in Calico Ghost Town, CA. I found him to be the most entertaining singer I saw that day. (I might have a bias, but a bigger crowd stopped to watch him than any other singer I saw.) He sang a rousing old folk song, "That Good Old Mountain Dew"---a tune about the joys of home brewed alcohol, and though I knew he couldn't really identify with the song, it seemed like he did. He really wants to sing it for an American Idol audition, though he missed the one in Vegas.

1. What is his name? Daniel Bennett Moore

2. Who eats more? Dan

3. Who said I love you first? Dan. He's also the one who cried during the wedding. :) But anyone who's been in his gospel doctrine class knows he's a crybaby. I always make fun of him for crying when Adrian came out of her coma in Rocky II. He can't get through reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas without crying.

4. Who is taller? Dan

5. Who is smarter? I could try to lie, but you all know Dan is.

6. Who is more sensitive? Tough call. I already mentioned that he's a crybaby, but I'm pretty sensitive too.

7.Who does the laundry? Me. He will if I tell him to though.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do. The left side's dented to fit him.

9. Who pays the bills? I usually write the checks or pay online.

10. Who cooks more? I do...though Dan loves cooking (I don't love cleaning up after him, but I do enjoy his cooking).

11. What meals do you cook together? Lots of things. Home made pizza is a biggie. I don't like to knead the dough, so I make him do it.

12. Who is more stubborn? Probably me.

13. Who is the first to admit they're wrong? I try to be good about that, but probably him.

14. Who is more clean? Me.

15. Who has more siblings? Dan--he came from 7, and I came from 5.

16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Me.

17. What do you like to do together? Just about anything, but I know he wishes I were into running and more hard core hiking. While we were dating, I went on a two day backpacking hike with him and pretended it wasn't an uncommon thing for me to do (in fact, I had to buy the backpack and the sleeping bag for the occasion). I have since been accused of presenting myself in a somewhat false light. Anyway, probably what we love doing most together is just talking.

18. Who eats more sweets? Me.

19. Guilty pleasures? Eating junk.

20. How did you meet? In high school. I was a senior, and he was a junior. It was the first day of school in A.P. European History (we both love history). I remember when Mr. Wegkamp had us introduce ourselves, Dan claimed to be an evil genius who planned to take over the world, so those were the first words I heard out of his mouth. I have since learned that he is neither evil, nor does he have any desire to take over the world, but he is a genius.

21. Who asked who out first? He asked me out...it was his first date---Junior Prom, and if you can imagine it, he was actually shy on that date (his crush was really obvious---he was so cute). He asked me by making a silly little video, which I love and still have. I should post it, but then he'd post my answer, which is an even stupider little video that we also unfortunately still have.

22. Who kissed who first? He was so afraid to make a move. After it had taken him about two hours to inch his hand over to hold mine while we were watching a movie, I decided to help him with the kiss thing after the movie.

23. Who proposed? Dan. He got on his knees, cut off a piece of his shoelace, and tied it around my finger. Yes, a few days later (when we were both done puking) we picked out a ring. (He had the puking sickness the day he proposed, but I had to kiss him after he asked me to marry him, so the next day, I was puking.)

24. His best features? He's pretty proud of his big calves. I'll go with the cliche and say his personality.

25. What is his greatest quality? His kindness towards and acceptance of others---closely followed by the fact that he's not afraid to make a fool of himself (a quality which allows him to win pies sometimes).

Tag? Amanda Taylor (let's get her blogging again), Elizabeth Dover, Karene Hansen, Carmell Asher
(Thanks for the tag, Stacy. This was fun.)

Dan posted pictures and an account of his 38ish mile run in Zion on his running blog.

Stranded

I've been kind of stranded in St. George this week because our van broke down (I'm glad it got us to St. George---I find the whole "stranded in the desert" thing entirely unappealing). Anyway, I hung around St. George with the kids waiting for word on the van (word is, it's kaput), and Dan took a shuttle van back to Vegas Monday. He bought a van in Vegas and drove it back here Friday, then immediately left with has Dad for Sarah's (Dan's sister) graduation from med school in Salt Lake. It was kinda harsh to have not seen him in days and then have him just stop by and leave again. It has been nice hanging out with my family in St. George, but I think this is the first time Dan and I have ever spent more than two nights apart, and I find I'm really quite fond of having him around. I'm a whiner. I know some of you have husbands who have to go out of town for work a lot longer, but I do not envy you on that one.
Here's the Rant of the day...
Sorry to those who've already heard me go off on this, but it's on my mind since I just had to buy a new vehicle. Why are we still driving automobiles? In many of the ways the science fiction of the past has predicted the future, we have actually exceeded expectations. Check out the huge mono-voice computers on the old Star Trek shows. We have certainly surpassed those. But look at transportation. I don't expect "Beam me up, Scotty" or anything, but I truly believe we should be beyond the automobile by now and that the huge oil and auto industries have prevented progress, which stinks for the environment, which stinks for the preservation of human life. Anyway, Doc Brown, where we're going, we still need wheels.



Today's Review: A wonderful little film that Dan, the children, and I love---Jim Henson's The Frog Prince

The last few days have been pretty busy. In fact, I wouldn't allow myself to touch this blog until I cut my toenails, as I've been needing to do that for a few days, and I figured it really should be the priority, since I didn't want people to start calling me Talon Toes or Toe Claw Lady or "Hey, are you planning to sharpen those and use them as weapons?" Anyway, today I feel like I've been running around all day long. I had to buy a new pair of glasses for Bennett, as our insurance only covers one pair a year, and Bennett disposes of them faster than that.

Thoughts on current events...earthquake in China....right after that cyclone in what my brother refuses to call anything but Burma in protest of the aforementioned crap government. These things make everything else seem trivial, but we go on as usual. What else are we supposed to do? We donate to victims' funds, and we pray, I guess. Otherwise, we keep worrying about things like clipping toenails, and we hope for the best and try not to spend too much time fearing the worst. Sorry, waxing philosophical....

Okay, art time. Today's exhibit is Rembrandt's The Night Watch. This piece has been on my mind because Amanda was talking about it a couple of days ago. Here's some trivia about this painting. Its true name is not the popularized title, The Night Watch; it is The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch...yeah, I'm totally sticking with The Night Watch, even though apparently the whole "night" thing is a misconception due to dulling of the painting, and it's actually supposed to be a day lit scene. Anyway, another interesting tidbit, Rembrandt stuck himself in the painting, but I don't think you can see him if you don't look at it larger. You can just see his eye and his artist's beret peeking from behind the shoulder of the standard bearer. Anyway, I give this one a big thumbs up. Rembrandt, you 'da Man!

So Dan's pretty excited about the new Indiana Jones movie. Even though the last two haven't lived up to Raiders of the Lost Ark, he clings to hope.

Today's reviews include Idol Top 3 and Salad Dressing.