one fine day

Yesterday was a great one. Jill came over for a Creative Friday and I actually made something that I like! I had a couple of weeks where I was writing out thank you cards, and then last week I made a book but I ended up hating it. I feared I had lost my touch, but then redemption came in the form of a new book I am making. Woohoo, I haven't totally lost it! That was close. Funny how good it makes me feel to make something with my hands, especially when it turns out to be something that I like.

Last night Marc's sister Michelle came down from Salt Lake to babysit! Yes, you heard me right, she came to Orem from SLC just to stay with our kids while Marc and I went on a date. And it's not the first time she's done it, either! I'm not sure what she gets out of this deal, but it sure was great for us! The kids had a great time and so did we. Michelle took all the kids and the dog over to the school to play. Apparently the sprinklers had flooded the lawn and bike path and they all took turns riding the scooter and running through the water. Needless to say, a great time was had by all.

Marc and I went to Jordan Commons to see Little Miss Sunshine. First, a word about this theater. What in the world? It reminded me of Main Street on Disneyland. Jill compares it to Las Vegas. Any way you look at it, it's a little theme park-esque. Many restaurants, little courtyards for eating, a video arcade, flags and banners, etc. Pretty funny. But it worked out well for us, because you can buy dinner at one of the restaurants and then take it in on a tray into the theater! Dinner and a movie, all at once. We hadn't had a chance to eat and we were starving, so it was a pretty good deal. I did end up spilling the contents of my burrito all over my shirt, however.

I can't recommend Little Miss Sunshine unequivocally, since it's rated R for language. But I can say that it's the funniest movie I have seen in a very, very long time. I was laughing practically throughout the whole thing, quite unusual for me. It was cleverly written and had a whole slew of hilarious characters. I read this description of it online: Little Miss Sunshine tells the story of the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families ever seen on motion picture screens. That's it, exactly. One of my favorite things was the teenage boy who has taken a vow of silence. He takes Nietzche's Thus Spake Zarathustra with him everywhere he goes. There is also a children's beauty pageant (called Little Miss Sunshine) that is absolutely terrifying. I'm not really a Steve Carell fan, but he was hysterical in this film. All this, and it's a real heartwarmer, to boot! It was a great date.

I did have to mention one of the pre-movie ads, for something called Zoo Rendezvous at the Hogle Zoo. From what I gathered, it's sort of like The Taste of Seattle (I'm sure most cities have their versions), where many local restaurants set up booths and you can have a small taste of their offerings. It's fun, it's tasty, and it's great advertising. Sounds good, right? But who in the world thought that an event involving eating should take place IN THE ZOO?!! Does anyone else see a problem with this?

Also, there was an ad for what I took to be an event location called Le Jardin. The problem was, all throughout the ad, the announcer kept woefully mispronouncing the name of the place. Butchering it, really. Worst of all, pronouncing the first word "lay". That's just plain wrong, folks! I can understand wanting the cachet of something French, but the least they can do is say it right! OK. Stepping off soap box now.