Blizzard

We've had a mild winter so far but I knew it had to end at some point. We received about a foot of snow and when the blizzard hit, it blew the snow everywhere. Some drifts we're as tall as the kids while others were waist high or knee deep. The kids enjoyed 3 days of no school.

Kaitlin was the driveway shoveling guru, she totally rocked :-D

Braden had fun diving over snow ditches with his guns, it was like a training exercise.

My snow boot for scale.

I think it's cool how the snow stayed put when the door was opened.

Looks like a white sand dune. I don't think Braden's feet are on the bottom of this one.

It was actually really cool to see the wind. Usally a person can hear and feel wind but the snow followed every twist and turn. Sometimes we even watched the snow take the form of a tornado as it whipped between the houses.

We found ourselves house bound but it was really nice for us to spend time together which has been a rare opportunity since I've started working nights. We enjoyed snuggling on the couch, all five of us squished together watching movies and eating popcorn.

Watch OneRepublic - Say (All I Need) on MTVMusic.com

Watch OneRepublic - Say (All I Need) on MTVMusic.com

Movie Review 19

Zed, a prehistoric would-be hunter, eats from a tree of forbidden fruit and is banished from his tribe, accompanied by Oh, a shy gatherer. On their travels, they meet biblical characters and reach the city of Sodom where their tribe is now enslaved. Zed and Oh are determined to rescue the women they love, Maya and Eema. Can an inept hunter and a smart but slender and diffident gatherer become heroes and make a difference?

An absolute waste of time, with offensive material intended to be funny. Written, directed and produced by Harold Ramis (egon in Ghostbusters) is tongue in cheek and slightly strange, bringing to mind the creations of Mel Brooks.

On his latest expedition, Dr. Rick Marshall is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant and a redneck survivalist. In this alternate universe, the trio make friends with a primate named Chaka, their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures.

Typical Will Farrell film, this story was funny in parts but not as good as i had expected. Be prepared for silliness.


Wheelchair-bound WW2 bomber pilot Toby Jugg has a series of waking nightmares while recuperating in a remote Welsh mansion under the eye of sinister doctor Hal Burns. Jugg begins to suffer hallucinations, during which shadowy figures and crawling insects plague his mind. Are these brought on by the guilt of his destructive bombing raids over Dresden, or the strange behavior of Dr Burns which serves to increase his paranoia?

BBC produced psycological thriller. A creepy and strange story to be sure, adapted from the book 'the haunting of Toby Jugg'. The acting was good but definately had a creepy feel and the ending was unsatifying.

Movie Review 18

Connor Mead, a successful fashion photographer, goes to his younger brother's wedding to convince him not to marry. He arrives at his dead uncle's estate during the rehearsal the night before the wedding; he starts in, taking his brother aside, trashing marriage. Later in the men's room, his uncle, who taught Connor all he knows about women, appears to him and tells Connor that three ghosts will visit him that night: the ghosts of girlfriends past, present, and future. Can he learn anything from his life and fix what he's broken?

In typical Matthew fashion, this movie covers all the aspects of a romantic comedy. Nice story, a good watch.

Mike works at his parents' motel, he's sweet, but hapless, with no ambition. Sue sells art for a Baltimore firm, she's enigmatic - rarely smiling but occasionally impulsive, feeling the clock tick after a breakup with a boyfriend who could have provided security. Mike takes one look at her and determines to connect. Is there any way he stands a chance with her? What can he offer?

Steve Zahn is a good comedic actor and also has the ability to show geniune feelings through out his performance. I was really pulling for his character in this sweet and vulnerable story of two people trying to find something special. Worth every penny.


When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she's actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she's tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family and the always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another.

A perfect match of comedy and love. Sandra Bullock has such talent when using her body to create laughter. Another good romantic comedy that didn't disappoint.

Movie Review 17

When a meteorite from outer space hits a young California woman named Susan Murphy and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years. As a last resort, under the guidance of General W.R. Monger, on a desperate order from The President, the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to combat the aliens and save the world from imminent destruction!

kids enjoyed it but dare I say it?...a bit boring for the adults.

Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads to Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right, and meeting up with a one-eyed weasel known as Buck who hunts dinosaurs intently.

I love the Ice Age movies so naturally this one was great for me. Kids found it really fun too.

For generations, the people of the City of Ember have languished in a world of artificial lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing ... and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever.

Adapted from the book City of Ember. My family liked this movie, it keep the kids attention and was entertaining enough for the adults. The story was very original and at no time did my attention get pulled out of the movie.

Next Top Model

magazine cover quality :o)

Maybe we should look into show biz, what do you think?

Braden is 11

I'm SUPER late with this post considering Braden's birthday was about 6 weeks ago. Here is a look at his day:)

From Napa and Papa Teague ~ a build your own car.

*happy birthday ring tone coming from somewhere*

Braden is surprised to find it's his other present "ringing"

It's a cell phone from Mom, Dad, the girls and Nana and Papa Russia.

"I'm sooo cool now". He wasn't expecting to get a phone until his 12th birthday ;p

Kaitlin and Kaeleigh made Braden a poster. Isn't it cute?

Blow out the candles and make a wish (but I think it already came true).

Moving Right Along

Braden completed his last year of cub scouts and has earned the highest badge, the arrow of Light. We are so proud of him and all his hard work. The leaders were awesome and played a vital role in helping him achieve his goals...thank you to Bro. Tyron and Bro. Howard for your help this year :D

We attended a ceremony for Bradens "crossing over" to boy scouts and snapped a few fuzzy pictures (darn camera).

Bro. Tryon presenting Braden with his certificate.

Bro. Howard sending Braden over the bridge. The actual bridge wasn't set up so we made a make shift one out of a desk and chairs.

red rover, red rover let Braden come over...tee hee.

"Ok now what?"

Ryan gives Braden a lift :D

"WELCOME TO BOY SCOUTS"

New Discovery

Beside You ~ Marianas Trench

Completely by accident, I came across an awesome song and found myself singing along within seconds. I don't know much about Marianas Trench yet except that they are Canadian. Their sophomore album entitled Masterpiece Theatre which was released on February 24th 2009 has hit gold in Canada.

'Beside You' is the second track on the album and will be playing on the radio soon. I've added it to the sidebar for your listening enjoyment but first you'll need to stop the music player which is directly below the video. Or... follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23bmJsWaXMI



Visit the official webpage @ http://www.marianastrench.net/ for more info.

E-4B sighting

After pulling up on our driveway we watched the E-4B fly over us. It was so low that we could see in the windows! It's landing gear was still up so I'm not sure why they were flying so low. I wish I had my camera handy but found this photo taken on Offutt AFB, it's the exact view we had. We've seen it many times before but never this close. Pretty cool huh?
The E-4B serves as the National Airborne Operations Center for the president, secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If needed, the E-4B can provide a command, control and communications center to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders and coordinate actions by civil authorities.
The 55th Wing aircraft was called on to lend a helping hand to the presidential transport aircraft, Air Force One, after it encountered some maintenance issues. The E-4B is a modified Boeing 747 whose mission is to provide support to the national leadership of the United States.

Offutt Airshow

The atmosphere was charged with energy while we felt the powerful jet engines rubble through our bodies as they screamed past us. So low to the ground at times we thought they might crash, only to level off at the last possible second.

This jet was incredible! It can fly stright up 3 miles high in less that 20 seconds!
Starting the 3 mile climb.

Just coming out of a barrel roll manuver. Look at the heat from the burners...wow!

I got this picture as the plane moved past us to line up on the airstrip. This guy looked like Tim Roth to me. What do you think? (you can click on any picture and it should show a larger image).

I got chills with this one. Check out the thumbs up in the fore and background.

What's an airshow without a visit from the Army? Braden was in seventh heaven. He just about hyperventilated when he got to look through a REAL gun...livin' the dream ;)

I liked how casually these pilots where talking and hanging out on their plane. Thanks for the great pose boys.

Army para-troopers demonstrated their amazing freefalls into enemy territory.

It was breathtaking to watch them falling sooo quickly, about 90 mph to be exact. It always looks so graceful whenever I see video of the skydiver's perspective.

Dozes of aircraft lined the blacktop for people to walk around and sometimes walk through. There were all manner of sizes from 2 man planes the size of a car to giant conmunication and cargo planes, which stood about 5 stories tall.

The weather was perfect and we truly had a blast. Speaking of blasts...as we walked back to the van the road was blocked off and it appeared as though a squad was checking out the underside of a vehicle. It looked serious enough as the fire department and military police came. We didn't find out if there was a problem.

The Blue Angels were the last to perform which we watched from our van, Mike didn't want to get stuck in a long line leaving the base gates. We still got a great view but I would've prefered to be close enough to feel the engines as the buzzed the crouds at the airstrip.

First Day of School

It's that time again. The start of cooler weather, college football and of course...back to school.

It's the end of "Mom, I'm bored what can I do?" and the beginning of "I hate homework!"

Braden's in his last year of elementary school, 5th grade. Next year i'll have the fun of waiting in two school pick-up lines. *yippee*

Kaitlin's starting 3rd grade in which she has her first male teacher. She's excited because apparently he gives out treats and lets them sit on their desks. *sigh*


They're growing soo fast.

My sweet girl.

Cool dude.

The classes gather in the gym before heading to their classrooms. Braden is at the back of the line. His teacher is also in the picture.

Kaitlin in her line :)

Little Miss Kaeleigh (or KK as she calls herself) is still too young for school. She will enjoy more time to herself, as well as, more one on one time with me :)

Movie Review 16

Julia Child and Julie Powell - both of whom wrote memoirs - find their lives intertwined. Though separated by time and space, both women are at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

total chick flick :) Watched this one in the theater and enjoyed it very much. Meryl Streep is amazing as Julia Child.



In the fall of 1959, for a time capsule, students draw pictures of life as they imagine it will be in 50 years. Lucinda, an odd child who hears voices, swiftly writes a long string of numbers. In 2009, the capsule is opened; student Caleb Koestler gets Lucinda's "drawing" and his father John, an astrophysicist, takes a look. He discovers dates of disasters over the past 50 years and three dates remain, all coming soon. He fears for his son, who's started to hear voices and who is visited by a silent stranger who shows him a vision of fire and destruction.

Very good, two thumbs up. Interesting conclusion which had me pondering this movie.

Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.

I watched this at the movie theater. It did not disappoint, action and CGI were amazing, sprinkled with humor.

However, I was disappointed in the amount of sexual content. I understand the demographic for Transformers are adult men and women who grew up with the cartoons and toys, unfortunately their kids (mine included) also love it. Anyway, my point is watch the movie before your kids, you might not want them to see it.