Confessions of a Closet RomCom Fan

I will admit this up front. I am a little bored. I am waiting on my boss for something and until I get it, I don't have a lot to do. So, here I am. The problem is, I don't have any real family news to blog about. Since New Years it has been the typical "kids are sick now I am sick...kids get well, why am I still sick...I am finally better, oh crap which child just coughed" routine that most of you are probably in as well. So, I have to share something else. Well, today I will share that although my all-time favorite movies fall into the action adventure genre, overall my favorite type of movie is probably the Romantic Comedy. The main reason for this is that I don't enjoy mindless violence action movies. I want there to be a good story where the action is just a component. The exception is of course James Bond, but that is more nostalgia than anything else. My all time favorite movies are: Indiana Jones 1-3, The Hunt For Red October, Maverick, The Dark Knight, Pirates 1 and only Pirates 1 and The Lord of The Rings movies. After that my favorite list is littered with Romantic Comedies. So I will share with you my top 6 favorite Romantic Comedies and from this man's perspective, why they are some of my favorite movies.



6. The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain - I know everyone knows this movie right? Ok, it actually is an early Hugh Grant movie and is an entirely British production. It is a true story about a village whose claim to fame is they have the first mountain in Wales. Only when two British surveyors during WWI come to measure the mountain, they are actually 16 feet short of the 1000 feet requirement. So the village decides to build their mountain 20 feet higher while sabotaging the English surveyors attempts to get out of town until they do. First of all, I believe that I have a man crush on Hugh Grant. I just love to watch him act. Second, I served my mission in England and Wales and the whole movie is very nostalgic for me. Finally, there is no cheesy Jerry MacGuire line, "You had me from Hello". I hate when the climax of a movie is based on lines no one in their right mind would actually say. If you have never heard of it, try to find it. Great Movie!

Best Scene: The shots of the entire village moving the earth from the valley up to the top. Why not just move some dirt from one part of the top of the mountain to the other? You have to watch the movie.



5. Runaway Bride - I admit, this movie is really hokey, but Julia Roberts pulls it off. This movie could have been awful except you really get drawn into the personal demons that drive this woman's behavior. Too much psychobabble for a silly movie? Probably, but this movie will come on TBS and I will get sucked in just about every time. Richard Gere? Eh. He doesn't move me much either way, but a town that reminds me of my own hometown growing up and a great performance by Julia Roberts gets this movie the nod.

Best Scene: When they have Richard Gere help her "practice" walking down the aisle and they end up making out right in front of her fiance. Priceless! Also, great ending credits when they show everyone in town getting the news that she actually finally got married.



4. Sabrina - Harrison Ford, the life of the obscenely wealthy and the fact that I saw this movie on my wedding day. I have watched it no less that 10 times and would watch it again in a heartbeat.

Best Scene: The climactic scene in Harrison Ford's office when he is blindsided by his brother and "forced" to go to Paris with Sabrina. Don't know why, just a cool scene.



3. Dan In Real Life - Not a widely seen movie, but I love it. Not many romantic comedies are told from the man's perspective and rarely is a guy more vulnerable than this poor dude. Maybe the reason why I connect with him so much is I have a huge fear of ever becoming a widower. Sleepless in Seattle is another good movie, but it feels more contrived. This movie to me feels a lot more real in its characters' reactions to things even though some of the scenarios are a little outrageous. Of course no one pulls off awkward moments like Steve Carell. A couple of other things, his family actually feels like it could be real family. They don't go overboard with quirky characters or "lovable weirdo" family members. They seem like real people who enjoy being together much like my own family. Also, a very clean movie. You don't get that much anymore.

Best Scene: (Spoiler Alert!) Call me a sucker, but when Steve Carell sings for the first time since his wife died and only he and the Juliette Binoche character know why, I get teary eyed. Shannon thinks I am weird, but in my mind, second best connection scene ever.



2. While You Were Sleeping - One of the weaknesses of a lot of romantic comedies is they focus on the romance or they focus on the comedy. This one pulls off a mixture of both really well. The story is great and I watched several Sandra Bullock movies that sucked simply because of how much I enjoyed her performance in this movie. Again, the vulnerability aspect comes in with her character which drives the whole movie. But they never forget to throw in the belly laughs. When the paper boy totally eats it while throwing a paper to meeting Ashley Bartlett-Bacon and finally when Joe Junior says, "It looks like he was leeeaaning."

Best Scene: When she asks Jack if there is any reason she shouldn't marry his brother and he says no. Very few scenes make you yell at your television "SAAAYYY IT! OH YOU IDIOT!" But that one does.



1. Notting Hill - For a guy who served his mission in England, has a man crush on Hugh Grant, thinks Julia Roberts can carry an otherwise silly movie and wants belly laughs mixed into his story, how could this not be number 1? Every person dreams of having the glamorous life touch theirs at some point. Admit it, you know you have. Also, the human connection you feel for both characters is just awesome. This movie has great quotes: "That's not yogurt, it's mayonaisse."; "So these carrots were...? Murdered, yes!"; "You are Horse and Hound's favorite actress...Well, you and Black Beauty...tied."; "James Bond never had to put up with this $@*%". Finally, this movie shows them getting married and starting a family. Something not seen near enough in movies.

Best Scene: A tie. I mentioned Dan In Real Life has the second best connection scene. This one has the first when they have their connection during the news conference at the end of the movie. But just as good as that is the part where they climb over the fence into the garden and open up to each other right as the song "When You Say Nothing At All" starts. That is one of my all time favorite songs and partly due to that scene.

Now before anyone questions my manliness...Oh well, go ahead and question it, but I told you, I am just a sucker for these movies. However, romantic comedies can go south pretty easy as well. I absolutely hate The Wedding Planner, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and Kate and Leopold.

This has been a really long post and I still don't have the item from my boss.

A Year in Pictures

Every year, I try and put together a family video for the previous year. I am currently working feverishly trying to get 2008 done. But in the mean time, to see if I could do it, I am posting the first section from the 2008 video. Here is hoping I did it right.

God Bless America, We're Probably Going To Need It

I try to mainly keep our blog focused on our mundane daily existense. I am not being negative when I say mundane, but rather, the mundaneness of it is why we moved to Thatcher in the first place. Occasionally I have drifted into politics, but as a general rule I don't go there much. Today however, I am caught up like a lot of people and want to record my thoughts.

Barack Obama seems like a very sincere person. In my mind this is similar to what I feel about George W. Bush. I may not agree with him, but he comes across as a decent human being who is trying to make a difference based on his belief system. This is completely unlike Bill Clinton who always came across to me like that guy at work who just never has the money on hand to pay you back for the five bucks you lent him. Or the guy who always commits to be a part of your 3X3 pickup basketball game but always has a great excuse as to why he couldn't be there, completely screwing everyone because 5 guys looking to play basketball just doesn't work. You just come to expect to be let down by that person and eventually you start inviting 7 guys to play knowing you will have six. That was Bill Clinton. Obama does not strike me as that person. Could be wrong, but he doesn't.

So all day, I have been listening to people across the spectrum express their views and such on how Obama will do. Personally, I wish him well. This point in history is a lousy time to be getting this job. It almost feels like the first mate being called to the bridge of the Titanic and being told, "Congratulations son, you are the new captain. By the way, ice berg 50 yards ahead. Good Luck." I hope he listens to people with sound advice on getting the country out of the economic trouble we are in. And this is where my struggle begins. I desperately want to add my voice to those wishing him success. But the truth of the matter is...I don't.

That may come across as harsh, but as of today, I really don't. Many of his professed policies are diametrically opposed to what I believe in. So, if he is successful, my question is, at what cost? For instance, some examples are provided below:

Health Care - If he is successful at getting a national health care system, I believe we will inch closer to a system like Great Britian where the health care is sub-par. Meanwhile, the best and brightest no longer want to go into that field, because the regulations are so severe, the reimbursement constantly lessened and always waiting at the door is the rabid pack of trial lawyers waiting to suck every cent out of the system.

Bail Outs - Bush started this, but if anything, Obama seems to have the "if less is more, then more is better" mentality when it comes to bail outs. BAIL OUTS SUCK!!! Markets need to correct themselves. I took Economics 101, and apparently unlike all the "experts" in Washington, I listened. If you keep inflating and propping up failing enterprises, when they do finally fail (which they will) the pain is much worse down the road. I equate this bail out mentality to parents who believe that, "Well, my kid is going to drink and do drugs regardless, so I might as well keep them at home and provide the booze and pot myself." Does anyone have a success story from that strategy?

Taxes - I know it is popular to run with a tax those who can afford it game plan, but time and time again, it has been proven not to work. Those with money have means and access to avoiding heavy taxes every time. It always fall to someone else. Meanwhile, Obama has proposed "tax cuts" for lower income and middle class families. Unfortunately, here is the dirty little secret; we in that category don't pay many taxes to begin with. At least not income tax. I make a fairly good wage, especially for the Gila Valley. But with the tax code the way it is, I get more back at tax time than I put in because my wife doesn't work and I have four kids. Now with regards to tiling my bathrooms, putting grass in my backyard and buying a new computer, this is pretty good for me. However, I was raised to believe this is backwards. So when Obama talks about lowering my taxes yet again, my reaction is how on earth can a system like this continue? It can't.

Overall, I struggle to see how his policies will fix where we are, but even if they do, I don't believe they are long term fixes. Meanwhile, looming on the horizon is a Social Security and Medicare bankruptcy that no one wants to acknowledge. Finally, he is opposed socially to everything I hold dear. Abortion is wrong no matter how you stack it and so when I held my nose and voted for McCain, my vote was really for the Supreme Court judges he would appoint. (That is assuming he could have gotten that right. No guarantees for the MAVERICK from Arizona.) I worry a great deal about the appointments Mr. Obama will make.

So, I am excited for the historic nature of today's events. That is not lost on me. I wish Mr. Obama well as he is in for some tough, tough days ahead. But as far as wishing him success? I can't do it. My conscience, and I believe my country, can't afford it.

So that I don't have to bore anyone with another political rant in the future, some other political thoughts from today:

-God Bless President Bush for pardoning border patrol agents Ramos and Compean. If you don't know their story, Google it. Their conviction was a travesty and Mr. Bush's lack of action on their behalf was one of my biggest frustrations with him.

-How did Mormons become unAmerican and yet famous Jewish people everywhere are amazingly quiet when it comes to Hamas? I recognize the frustration of the gay community with Prop 8. I really do. But the gay community generally sides with the left and the left repeatedly gives comfort and support to the enemies of Israel. Hamas continually disregards cease fires and fires rockets into Israel. Then when Israel gets fed up and goes after them, the world screams how awful Israel is for its treatment of Palestinians. Where is Steven Spielberg who made millions and got his precious Academy Award thanks to his depiction of the treatment of the Jews in concentration camps? Quietly standing by while Israel gets dumped on by the world again. Or maybe he is too busy giving quiet comfort to his buddy Tom Hanks who is "so brave" to call out Mormons for being unAmerican. I notice he doesn't mention the unAmerican nature of the African American community. If I were black, I would be highly offended because to me it sounds like Tom Hanks is saying, "African Americans are too stupid to understand for themselves an issue like gay marriage. They are too gullible and easily swayed by the evil Mormons and all of their money." The truly ironic thing about these two issues is, the gay community sides with those who want to have "tolerance" for the muslim countries that are trying to wipe Israel off the map. We need to understand them better. However, there is no tolerance on the left for Christianity. We cannot come together to find solutions, it is the left's way or no way. So in the end, the gay community, through their association with liberal America, is calling Mormons unAmerican for denying them marriage licenses, while standing with a political persuasion that is defending nations that would happily behead every gay person they could find. (See Iran)

So, God Bless America. And Thank Heavens Lost starts tomorrow night.

Childhood Memory Lane

This last weekend Shannon, Abby, Kate and I made a quick trip to Mesa. We left after work on Friday and went so Shannon and I could go to the temple and we could all spend our Christmas gift cards. Braden and Logan did not have Christmas gift cards, so they were spared the shopping weekend and instead got to spend a fun filled weekend in Duncan playing in the sand pile, watching movies and playing Chutes and Ladders.

Abby got a Build-a-Bear gift card from Santa and so she had the best time picking out her new friend and getting her decked out. It is very interesting to be a parent at this age. She is very shy and very reserved about checking things out, but at the same time does not want any input from parents. It is fun to try and figure out how involved to get and when to step back and leave her alone. From the pictures, you can see that we got it all figured out and she named her new friend Tara. Also you can see from the pictures that Kate was very tired, but was as good as gold the entire day. Tara received an outfit with sequins and bright silver shoes. Those who know Abby are not surprised at the flashiness in the least. I think if I had been able to build my own bear (I mentioned having to step away and leave her alone some times. This led to a lot of time for me to browse...the Build-a-Bear store. What are you going to do? I ended up getting into it and designing my own bear in my head.) I would have chosen the Koala bear and dressed him in a flannel bathrobe.

I bought some books and Shannon and I both bought new shoes for Disneyland as our current tennis shoes were a mess. Finally, as we were getting ready to leave Barnes and Noble, Shannon found a book she loved as a child, Harold and the Purple Crayon. I had had that book as well and it was totally cool to see it again. We decided to get it and give it to Logan. This morning, Shannon gave it to him and he said, "I don't want this one." She told him it had been her favorite and we just needed to read it. She sat down and read it to him while I made breakfast and it was cool to hear it again. Of course as she is reading it, both he and Braden are loving it and when it was over, Logan immediately begged to hear it again. It totally reminded me of some of my favorite books when I was a kid. My absolute favorite picture book was "Cranberry Thanksgiving". I loved that book so much I have tried to find it again and it is out of print. I could spend $80 and get a copy but even childhood memories have a price limit.

Also, now that we are under a month before going to Disneyland, we are now in full fledged talk about it mode. Since Logan is the newest family member to go for the first time, he gets to pick whatever ride he wants to go on first. Our first two kids chose the Dumbos. Logan had been saying he wanted to go on Buzz Lightyear, but now he says the Dumbos also. But after that, his main priority is meeting Mickey Mouse. He is way excited for that. That also took me back this morning to remember my first trip and when I met Mickey and he kissed me on the head. Fortunately, we were going through old movies a while back and we have that on video now.

So this morning, nothing catches me as overly humorous. I just find myself remembering back to some of my favorite childhood memories and being very thankful that I get to be here and see my kids create some of their own.

It's Official and The Return of Loganisms

Our son Logan is at that age that some of the most memorable things come out of his mouth. Most everyone knows that age and I am also aware that the level of cuteness involved is directly tied to whether it is your child or not. Having said that, within the last twenty-four hours, he has provided us with three great moments. I share them with you now:

Yesterday, Shannon had to make an unexpected trip to Mesa and so I had a whole Saturday just me and the three older kids. We got our chores done in the morning and so around 11:30, I agreed to let us all play on the Wii for an hour or so. I made them what they wanted for lunch (Mac and Cheese) and then they got to play outside in front of our house while I changed the oil in my car. After that, the treat of all treats, I took them all out to dinner. We voted and the outcome was El Charro. Not only did I take them out to dinner, I let them listen to the Camp Rock CD in the van and I didn't even give Shannon's warning speech (this is not how we treat people. You know that, right? This song is not how Heavenly Father wants us to treat people.) before playing the song Too Cool. Talk about a hog heaven day. They told me several times, "Dad, this is the best Saturday ever!!! Mom would have worked our butts off. (They failed to realize I am also there every Saturday dealing out chores as well, but I wasn't going to mention that at this moment.) So we got to El Charro and Logan was very excited to get a gum ball. I explained I didn't have any quarters but he could get a mint if he finished his whole dinner (baby bean burro and french fries). My kids were perfect and they all did pretty well. Abby and Braden both needed boxes to take home left overs but Logan was almost done. So I got up to go pay the check and turn around to a tugging on my pants. The conversation went as such;

"What are you doing?"

"Paying the bill."

"But I'm not done."

"But you're close son, it's ok"

"But I'm not finished."

"I know. Go back and keep going. We won't leave until you are done."

"Ok."

He headed back to the table and commenced eating. I paid the bill and bought four mints. I gave one to Abby, one to Braden and one for myself. I handed Logan his and he said, "But Dad, I have to finish my dinner." I told him he had done well enough but he said no, he needed to finish before he got his mint. He had five french fries left. He then said, "Abby and Braden, do you want any french fries? I am happy to share with you." They each took two and he ate one last fry and then told me, "Ok, I am ready for my mint now." I love how exact and literal things are when you are four.

This morning when we woke up, Shannon came in to find Logan completely naked, wrapped in a blanket. Shannon got him dressed and when he was dressed, I asked him if his other clothes were wet. He responded that no they were not, just sweaty. I asked him if his sheets were also sweaty. He gave me his patented shrug. I then asked him to bring us his "sweaty" clothes. He brought them and pointed out that the underwear were the sweatiest of all. Shannon immediately put his "sweaty" clothes and sheets in the washer. Sounds like time to cut back on the heavy exercising activity of drinking lots before bedtime.

Lastly, our dog Buddy this morning had an incident that required a quick and immediate bath. I was assigned this doodie...I mean duty and got right on it. When I came in, I heard Logan ask Shannon, "Is Buddy coming to Church?"

"No, why?"

"Well, he got a bath this morning."

And there you have it. If you are going to bathe on Sunday morning, you should definitely be going to Church. I love this age.

In other news, it is official. The Rapier's are going to Disneyland. We booked our trip for Feb. 16 and can't wait. We have not been in about 3 1/2 years and Logan has never been. Alas, for Kate, she will not be included but that is probably best for everyone. As those who know us know, this is almost a Mecca like trip for us. Abby and I are already planning our dinner at the Corndog Castle. Shannon thinks this place is an abomination for serving foot long corndogs that are about two inches in diameter, but Abby and I are all about it. Logan has decided his first ride he wants to go on is Buzz Lightyear. Good choice! This will also mark the first time in about 8 years that Shannon will get to ride her favorite ride as it should be, the Haunted Mansion. The last several times we have gone, it has been the Nightmare Before Christmas edition. She hates that. Look for a post of some of our favorite Disneyland stories coming soon. If that sounds incredibly boring to you, I will title it well so you can avoid it. Today, the only thing that could make this sweeter is if Lost would return with new episodes. Oh wait, that is in just a week and a half. (The sound of a happy, contented sigh!)

New Year's And The Old Folks

I don't remember when this tradition began, but somewhere back in our earlier days of marriage (code words for a lot less children involved) we started saving New Year's Eve as a time to gather with our friends. By this point in the holiday season, we have loved and enjoyed and made merriment with our families about as much as we can possibly stand, and so we started getting together with friends in our annual end of the holidays bash. It is a tradition I look forward to about as much as any other. Each year brings a slightly different guest list although it has always included Martha and Spencer Bigler. One year, it was just us and the Biglers. Anyway, this year we had the Biglers, Timilee and Heath Brown (another regular couple who has only missed maybe two of the gatherings over the years), Danae and Lamar Echols (also regulars) and Mike and Geralyn Bradley (new to the party but hopefully regulars in the future).

This year, heaven smiled upon us when the Browns arrived and Timi had brought her famous Little Smokies. I actually don't know how famous they are, but they are famous to me and everyone else who was there. I remember that she made them for us on New Year's Day way back when Abby and Sam were less than a year old. Who knew that meat wrapped in another meat and covered in sugar could be that awesome. (Ok, upon reflection, I love meat and love other meat and I really love sugar so I guess where could we go wrong really.) Beyond that, we had to have a vegetable tray to counteract the artery hardening you could actually hear if you listened closely enough. Also, the carbonated beverages flowed freely. (They always do.)

Most years include the annual guys vs. girls Trivial Pursuit game. Over the years, the guys hold a slight advantage (at least that is how I remember it) but the girls won the last time we had played. Well, this year was a hard fought battle with Trivial Pursuit, the 90's edition. Things to come out of this were that not everyone remembers that the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee that was indicted for stealing US House postage was Dan Rostenkowski. Ok no one remembered but me, but it was a guys question so that worked out ok although I took a lot of grief that I remembered that. We also clarified that Lisa Loeb and Lisa "One Eye" Lopez are not the same person and that at one point in her career, Lisa Lopez did wear a condom over one eye in a video possibly leading to her nickname. (Also clarified was that it was still in the package. Clearly, the discussion had really reached the low point although there was much laughter involved.) In the end, the guys won on another 90's congressman question that I also knew. I didn't take as much grief for this one because the guy's name wasn't Rostenkowski.

Following that, we played our own home made version of $25,000 pyramid. We only play the final round with each couple taking a turn. We have had a lot of fun with this over the years with the best being when Rich and Tami Tenney were playing and Spencer (Spencer says it was Preston, but I don't remember it that way) made a category for Tami to give to Rich which was "People who are better at Basketball than Rich Tenney". The best part was Tami didn't know what to say so she just started naming everyone at the party. Each time she would say a name, the laughs just got louder and louder. Poor Rich, he had no chance. This time, Mike and Geralyn were the winners with an impressive time. They would have come in second to Heath and Timi who tore through theirs until they got to the last one and Heath could not remember Will Ferrell's name to save his life.

The rest of the evening passed with games and reminiscing. We laughed, we laughed more and then we cried from laughing. Spencer and Lamar exchanged phone calls before and decided to wear the same shirt. Shannon sat down and grabbed Spencer's hand for no reason (I choose to believe it is because we have the same hairstyle and it was an honest mistake). We rang in the new year and realized that it is 2009 and we still don't know what to call this decade (ex. the 90s or the 80s). It was a great time and we look forward to next year.

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. As in most years past, we have spent all of our money on Christmas and we are exhausted from New Year's so our anniversary gets the shaft. We went out to dinner at El Charro last night and then went to a wedding reception. We truly are our parents now. Today we will have a family birthday party. During our wedding, we were given the advice to consider our wedding day as the birth of our family and so we have always tried to hold a birthday party for our family. We have a cake and sing Happy Birthday to ourselves. With that, our holiday season will come to a close. But it will never end because it truly was a great stretch from Thanksgiving to our anniversary and it gave us a whole lot of memories we will never forget.