'If I Die Tomorrow'

How does a warm, sunny, palm lined beach sound, with a coastal breeze and your love at your side?  Can you hear the sound of the Reggae beat and smell the aroma of fresh pineapple, papaya and mango's?  People all around you are celebrating and driving by in open air automobiles.  No worries, just you the sun and your love.

This is what I found myself feeling as I watched the new animated movie "RIO".  Then, Mark leans over and whispers 'Wanna go to RIO?'  I was screaming YES, YES in my mind!  I whispered back 'yes'. Please believe me when I tell you, I was absolutely the LAST person in my family that wanted to go to this movie.   And no way was I going to pay top dollar for it, so we HAD to go to the 10:30 matinee. So this morning I found myself saying "If I die tomorrow..." -  and there we were with 10 minutes to get ready.  A lot of time was spent contemplating how I could get something else done while everyone was in the movie. They all go in while Mark and I sit in the car talking, planning, and catching up in general.  It sounded like a good idea.  But then what kind of mother would I be if my children all go into the movie, while I sit in the car?  That would emblazon a lasting memory. And what 'if I die tomorrow...."!?  

I found myself faking excitement as I ran across the parking lot holding Hyrums' hand.  The place was packed with parents and children.  Why was it that everyone had the same idea this morning?  We groped our way to the very front on the left side.   No one seemed to notice how lousy our seats were except me.  And we didn't get snacks or popcorn.  I was just going to have to endure this. 

Fantastic music sold me right away, the story was interesting, not raunchy like some other animated films can be. "RIO" is definitely in my top three animated films now. I WOULD WATCH IT AGAIN!  From the moment it started and all the way through I found myself laughing, smiling, and in the end almost crying.  Go see it, then... plan your next vacation to RIO...ahhh...with your love of coarse!   

Vicki

angry birds

Last month my little brothers ordered a bunch of Angry Birds plush toys. They came in the mail about two weeks ago. So, instead of Albert and Hyrum playing Angry Birds as an application on my parents' phones, they got the Lincoln Logs and built their own scenarios. 

The yellow bird has been captured by the pigs.

The next day, I decided that it would be cool if I surprised Albert and Hyrum with this (I must admitt) pretty awesome set up of Angry Birds. So I sat on my living room floor building a structure with Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Marble Works, and Lego's. Sure, it doesn't look like much, but nothing beat the smiles on my little brother's faces when they saw this. Hyrum was able to see it about an hour before Albert, and his smile disappeared once he discovered that he could not shoot the birds until Albert got home.

For those of you who don't know the story of angry birds, this is it: The pigs were hungry and stole the birds eggs to eat. The birds were angry and wanted revenge.

After my brothers got the stuffed animals they heard about the new Angry Birds movie called Rio. They can't wait to see it. It's made by the same producer as Ice Age. Because I love Ice Age so much, Rio suddenly became a must see on my movie list. And then.... to add to my excitment..., will.i.am and Jamie Foxx sang Rio's theme song on American Idol last week. 



Left: Jamie Foxx; Right: will.i.am

As a family, we love watching American Idol together and judging for ourselves who is the best. And when they sang this song, because of Albert and Hyrum's love for Angry Birds... We all decided we're going!

In my opinion making scenarios for Angry Birds is a great and fun thing do do with your kids or younger siblings when they are bored.  All you need is a couple stuffed animals, and something to build the scenarios with.  You could use anything. Cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, empty cans,  old milk jugs or cartons, story books, ect. The sky's the limit.

My set up may look sturdy and strong, but it took Albert and Hyrum each three hard throws with the birds before the whole thing was destroyed.

Try it, I guarantee anyone who contributes with this project will have a blast!

AmBer

gone with the wind

Being a fourteen year old, there aren't many old movies that grab my attention. Sunday afternoon my mom asked me if I wanted to watch Gone With The Wind. Of course, I wasn't to sure if I would enjoy it, or if I would even like it. I must admit, the beginning really did show the age of the movie, but as we got farther along I really did start to enjoy it. Granted this is not a movie you watch all the time. This movie takes a lot of effort to stay with, not to mention the fact that it is really, really long.

But like my mom said before I watched it, "This movie is one of the top ten movies you must see in your lifetime."

She was right, this movie is up there with: Pride And Prejudice, Emma, Jane Eyre, Sound Of Music, The Count Of Monte Cristo... (My mother's personal favorites.)

This movie can really grab your attention with Scarlett's Irish accent, eyebrow raises, ridiculous love life, or even her BIG dresses. But aside from the costumes and accents, the story is very good.

My older sister Hannah told me that this movie scarred her in a bad way when she watched it for the first time. Maybe because she was a lot younger than me when she did. Don't get me wrong, you could become an emotional wreck when you watch this movie. There are so many sad parts that you can't help but frown sometimes; but others you have no choice but to laugh. One thing I can guarantee if you watch this movie, you will not be able to go a long time without thinking about it. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing yet... Well, I guess the moral of this whole post is: Gone With The Wind is a great movie, so watch it when you have the time.

AmBer