Real Genius

I'd never seen this ancient Val Kilmer classic, but was sure I'd heard about it. It brings back memories of jr. high GT. What I especially liked was the moral: don't take yourself (smart kids, especially) too seriously. But don't get so lost in having fun that you fail to consider the impact of your actions on the world around you.

Personally, I'm still trying to lear that lesson. Anyone else need a refresher?

Florida Christmas

No, we did not spend Christmas in Florida, because that would be crazy. Crazy meaning that the number of people vacationing in Orlando would be four times as many as were there when we went. We had won 2 free nights in a hotel there and had to use them before Dec. 31, 2009, so it seemed logical, albeit out of character for our "off the beaten path" family to go to Disney World on the week before Christmas.

Now, having "done" Disney World, I have to admit that Orlando

is a great vacation spot. Pricey, though we got really lucky. We ended up getting free passes to Disney World through a friend of a friend (thank you Mr. Eric!). And then we did one of those deals where you agree to listen to a protracted sales pitch in exchange for a gift, and in our case the gift was heavily discounted tickets to both "Gatorland" and "Sea World".

Both of our girls loved the big tortoise at Gatorland -- we got to touch it and walk next to it, and Adara even got to feed it a carrot!

And at Sea World we sat center stage on the 2nd row. We got wet, but the tears only lasted a minute, and wet clothes were exchanged for dry ones pretty quickly. What a memorable experience, seeing those whales only 20 feet from us, and looking into their eyes! Adara went nuts when she saw the trainers swimming with the whales and performing their stunts reminiscent of water skiing. She was ready to jump in with them. (Keep in mind she doesn't swim, and freaks out if her head goes under water at the swimming pool.)

So now it's Christmas. I've been thinking that this is supposed to be a religious holiday, but the most we were able to get into that aspect of Christmas with our girls is that today is Jesus' birthday, and that Jesus was the gift that God gave to the world.

Besides singing Christmas carols and hymns, and watching the "Nativity" clip from the Church, the only thing we've done "in the spirit of Christ" is to take plates of cookies to our neighbors.

It was actually an accident that it turned into a spiritual experience. After we delivered the third plate, Adara didn't want to stop. She must have felt something that made her excited and feel like giving away her treasured treats instead of keeping them all for herself. I obviously couldn't recreate that feeling with the hymns and stories/videos about Christmas.

So here's my question: how do you get that feeling into your Christmas celebration on purpose? What do you do at Christmastime that makes you excited and filled with desire to share your treasured treats with strangers?

darndest things

Jon, speaking to Adara: "You see, Mama and I are one."

Adara: "I'm two."

And in a completely unrelated vein, here's a link to a song that Jon and I heard on the radio as we were driving across Tennessee when we were moving to North Carolina. I'd love to have it play automatically whenever someone accesses my blog, but I don't know how to do that.

To play a sample of the song, click on "play sample" at the following page:

http://www.pandora.com/music/song/dailey+vincent/poor+boy+workin+blues

New Jersey

We recently went with Jon on a business trip to New Jersey. We were near Menlo Park, the place where Thomas Edison set up one of his factories. Inside the Edison museum, we saw this really cool way to make a phonograph using normal materials from your home. I can't wait to put one together myself.

The tower was closed for renovation. The museum was free to visit, with a suggested donation of $2 per person.

On our way back home, we stopped in Philadelphia to visit some old friends.

They showed us around town: the Liberty Bell, the home where Thomas

Jefferson lived while he worked on the Declaration of Independence,

and the park by the Museum of Art, where we actually saw a man running up the stairs like Rocky. We loved the parts of the city we saw. It was beautiful. Thanks to the Tolleys for showing us a great time.

Learning by Example

Today before dinner, Adara was playing downstairs. I asked her to go upstairs and turn off the light in her bedroom. Without missing a beat, she turned to her Papa and said, "Papa, go turn off the light in the bedroom."

Guess what this blog is about

Yup, that's right everyone. Once again, small town law enforcement has saved the day! This time it was Jon that got pulled over while he was out jogging one afternoon. His offense? Running on the wrong side of the street. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful for the police looking out for us. And I'm happy that my husband is now aware that running INTO oncoming traffic is the correct location for a pedestrian. But most especially, I'm grateful to be back home in good ol' North Carolina. (Look for updates on our recent trip to New Jersey. Coming soon!)

More on Law Enforcement

I think I may be on the verge of liking this place.

This story is a little out of sequence, chronologically. But I didn't think to blog about it until this morning.

We visited Salt Lake City for a few weeks about a month ago. But we forgot to tell our neighbor. We also forgot to cancel the daily newspaper delivery. The car, also, was left home. Can you tell where this is going?

When we came back from our vacation, there was a business card in the door. It was from an officer in the local Police Department. They apparently didn't enter the home, but, in my imagination, I can see the door to our home opening. An eerie silence seeps through the iron railing in the dining room. Behind the railing, on the couch, the family sits, cryogenically frozen, in what will prove to be a mixed-genre story: science fiction / fairy tale / Mormon folklore. (Think Dr. Who meets Sleeping Beauty, with the role of Prince Charming / The Doctor played by the Elder's Quorum president.) Who can rescue our family from their freakish sleep? Wouldn't you know it? Of all the luck, the family can only be awakened when the home teachers perform a charitable act of service for them. But it must be a true act of charity, and not just done out of a sense of guilt or a desire to post 100% on their monthly home teaching report.

Anyway, back to reality. So we have some conscientious neighbors who were concerned about an unusual situation. That's always a good thing. Who wouldn't want neighbors like that? Still . . . I can't help but think that, since we've moved, the Police have contacted me and my family more than . . . well, more than our home teachers have!