Monsters!

There's a new game being played around our house. The kids call it "monsters!"or sometimes "ghosts...whooo!" I call it "the dirty laundry is all over the floor again". At least the game is unbelievably cute, so I can easily get over all the clothes having to be sorted many times before actually making it into the washer. 

 The game is essentially what you see here. They both empty a laundry basket, put it over their heads and wander around bumping into things (and each other) while growling, whoo-ing and of course, giggling. I can't really complain about dirty clothes on the floor when they are so adorably sweet.
By the way, as you can see by these shots of Happy's room, we've done next to nothing upstairs. Eventually we'll get around to painting, but the more used we get to the weird plaster patches and trim paint-halos, the less likely painting up here will be a priority. Ah well.

We continue to visit parks and playgrounds as often as we can. Girly likes the swings more and more and is starting to get brave enough to go down slides by herself, but Happy is just about too big for the toddler swings now. Poor floppy boy. I tried to teach him to hold on and pump his legs on the big-boy swing, but he thinks flopping is more fun. Who can blame him, right?

We had another great visit from Curmudgeon's folks last week. They went with us to visit the KC Temple Open House (see this post) and we made a quick stop at the mall to get Boy-o some new shoes. Right next to the shoe-store, however is a little coin-operated play station. It has become an obligatory stop whenever we go to the mall. Good thing for us, the kids don't know the things are supposed to move and make noise! (And the ice-cream truck is known as "the music truck" around our house.) 

Brit Lit 4 of 4

And here we present our final choice for the month: A Room With A View by E.M. Forster. 

This '85 adaptation stars a very young Helena Bonham-Carter, a very uptight Daniel Day-Lewis, a very-much-forgotten-these-days Julian Sands, and surprisingly smooth-skinned and youngish Dames: Maggie Smith and Judy Dench. Also, Simon Callow and Rupert Graves.

Now I've never read the book (I know, I know) but Curmudgeon has and he tells me that the movie IS the book... perfect in almost every detail. What I can tell you firsthand, is that it is completely delightful, witty, gorgeous and fun. 

The story begins in Italy...blah blah blah. It's late and I don't much feel like giving a plot synopsis. Really, you don't need it, because unlike some of our other choices this month, this is a real movie, so it's not meant to watch in installments. You can easily sit down and finish it in a couple of hours, and it will be so much more entertaining than my description here.

But I will give you some enticing teasers... never before nor since has Daniel Day-Lewis played such an awkward, painful snoot. Contrarily, you might have forgotten in the past 25 years of Tim Burtons, Fight Club and Harry Potters that Helena Bonham-Carter used to play quiet, sane and sensible (sort of) ingenues. It's true. This movie also boasts the most hilariously charming, least embarrassing, least sexual display of full frontal nudity in the history of movies. Fact. Don't let that keep you from watching! believe me, when you've seen that scene you'll know why it is one of the best in the whole show. Ok...that's enough from me. Go enjoy your evening.

For May: The Funniest Movies Of All Time (according to us)

Next Week: Walk Don't Run

At the Temple

Some of you may have heard already that a new LDS temple has been built here in KC. (For more information, here is a helpful article:
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-kansas-city-missouri-temple-open-house

Each of the local congregations was asked to help with the public open house by volunteering to work there at certain times. We were assigned to work two weeks ago.  Curmudgeon was out in the cold rain for 5 hours helping with parking; Alys was cleaning bathrooms mostly.  Alys also got to go with some of the tour groups that day.  Curmudgeon went later with some friends from work, then again with his parents and Happy.  Happy was super quiet and well behaved with only a little preping from mom.  The temple is beautiful.  Open houses are not to be missed.  You get to see all the rooms - janitor closet excepting.

It's very special for us to be close to a temple. When were married in the temple in Logan Utah, we made an eternal promise to each other and to God that we would be faithful to each other and that our marriage would continue throughout eternity and that the relationship that binds us to each other and our children in this life would continue infinitely beyond this life.

That, essentially, is what temples are for. In them, we can participate in sacred ordinances like marriage and baptism which bind us to God and to our families across generations. We believe the family is the most important foundation for humanity and that our families, which are so essential to our happiness in this life, will continue to be the basis for our happiness and progress in eternal life. 

As we continue to attend the temple (we hope to attend often) we continue to participate in ordinances that teach us more about our relationship to God and his eternal plan for His children. The temple is sacred and that quiet and holy place is an ideal setting for prayer and contemplation. 

Allow us to share a very special and personal experience with you. It was in the Columbus, Ohio temple, after participating in proxy sealing ordinances (where members are able to perform eternal marriages and seal children to parents for their ancestors) that we both got a strong feeling that we should start our own family. We had only been married a few months and had intended to wait for Curmudgeon to finish school and for Alys to work for some time before having children-- at least a couple of years. But we both (independently) felt very strongly that someone special was waiting to join our family and we shouldn't wait for our own purposes, but trust that if our Heavenly Father wanted us to have children immediately that he would provide means and help for us to do that. Less than a year later, we had our beautiful little Happy. We have been so blessed by our children. And yes, it has been difficult and sometimes we think we must be crazy to want more :) but we know that our family is the only thing that really matters. It is eternal and our children will be ours forever. That is why we have temples.

Brit Lit 3 of 4

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. We watched this together by chance one night shortly after we got married and both loved it. It's another long one (3 or 4 hours maybe? Plan to watch it in two nights or so) but there are some tales you just don't want to skimp on and this is one.

I won't give you too much on plot, just introduce you to the most important characters. Daniel Deronda (played by Hugh Dancy) is a young Englishman of aristocratic upbringing but dubious parentage who is trying to find his place in the world. Gwendolyn Harleth (Romola Garai) is an exceptional beauty accustomed to using her many assets to manipulate her way through society. There is also Henleigh Grancourt, Gwendolyn's cold and sadistic suitor (played to perfection by Hugh Bonneville) and Mirah Lapidoth (Jodhi May), a beautiful, penniless Jewish orphan and talented singer who is supported by Deronda. Their different lives weave together to create a compelling picture of English society in the 1860s with a particularly fascinating and sympathetic view of Jewish culture in a largely anti-semitic environment.

More than that, you'll just have to get from watching yourself. The production is just great, as all these Masterpiece Theatre/BBC productions are, with great costumes, music and casting. Enjoy, and if you watch, let us know what you think!

Next week: A Room With A View by E.M. Forester with Helena Bonham-Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis and Maggie Smith.

Brit Lit 2 of 4: Jane Eyre

This week it's one of our favorite movies ever: the 2006 BBC production of Jane Eyre starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. For the first year of our marriage, we watched this (all 3 hours or so) just about once a month. I'm not joking. Ask Curmudgeon. It really is that good.

For any unfamiliar with the story, Jane is an orphan who lives off the very cold charity of an aunt who despises and abuses her, finally sending her away to a school where, while perhaps not abused per se, she grows up undernourished, constantly exposed to cold and damp, living rigidly within the small, grey universe that is her school. When she grows up, she accepts the position of governess to the ward of the rich, mysterious, moody and mostly absent Mr. Rochester. 

Other than to say that it is a perfect gothic romance, that's all I'm going to give you on plot. We love Ruth Wilson who, despite being very beautiful in real life, makes an exceptionally plain, intelligent and likeable Jane. Toby Stephens is fantastic and so perfectly rude, brusque, moody and sarcastic that every other Mr. Rochester from every other version just fades away.
The other character I have to mention is St. John Rivers, played by Andrew Buchan. I have never liked St. John Rivers before... in the book and in other versions I've seen he has been so conceited, self-righteous and overbearing that I could barely stand the whole section of the story that he inhabits. Not so here... St. John is earnest, passionate, emotional and wholly human as portrayed in this film. And the beautiful thing about it is that he's also completely true to Bronte's character. I love love love love his part in the movie.

So... strap in and enjoy the (long, yes I know, but so worth it) movie. Enjoy!

Up next week: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot starring Romola Garai, Hugh Dancy and Hugh Bonneville.

Brit Lit 101

Or, as Netflix would categorize it: "Period Dramas based on 19th-century British Literature" 

But the big news is HOORAY! after a 12-month hiatus, Monthly Movies are back!!!

This month we bring you our favorites and there were a lot of great ones to choose from. We're both slight Anglophiles and love a good period piece, so there were certainly a lot of options, but in some ways they narrowed themselves. For instance, there's a whole garage-worth of good Jane Austen adaptations but we couldn't let her take more than one of the four weeks. Also, lots of good Dickens movies, but I don't like his books (sorry mom) so he got the ax too. You get where I'm going with this... lots of good choices, we just picked four of the best ones.

We also decided to arrange them in chronological order (by setting) so Miss Austen gets the first week.

Everyone and their cow and goat and puppy has seen every version of Pride and Prejudice ever made and rightfully so, but I find that the more mature and unassuming Persuasion gets overlooked (much as quiet, patient Ann Eliot would stand back and let fiery Lizzy Bennet take all the attention). But if you're one who has never encountered Ann and Wentworth and the host of interesting characters behind them, this is your lucky day. It's not a story of finding love, but of restoring it after all hope is gone.

In their youth, Ann and Wentworth fell deeply in love, but as she was the daughter of a baronette and he just a simple sailor, she was persuaded to reject his proposal of marriage. Years later, she lives a life of quiet regret and resignation, the longsuffering middle daughter of a foppish idiot and a veritable slave to the whims of both her crazy sisters. Wentworth went on to receive acclaim, wealth and prestige in the Napoleonic Wars and is now a great catch for any young woman and nurses hurt pride and bitter heartbreak at Ann's rejection years earlier. That's all the synopsis you get. Now go watch.

A few words on the film itself, definitely make sure you're watching the 1995 version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hines. The entire cast is phenomenal and entirely draws you into their world. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music is perfectly aligned to the period, lots of early 19th century solo piano works and Italian Art songs. There was a new version made just a few years ago starring Sally Hawkins. I have to say that while the cast of the new version looked right--all a bit younger (closer to the age Austen describes) and more attractive, their acting and chemistry just left me completely cold and unconvinced. Amanda Root and Ciaran Hines on the other hand (as well as the rest of the cast), just quietly and intensely personify their characters so much that you utterly believe in their heartbreak and inner--always unspoken--turmoil. 

Up next week: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (starring Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson)

I was recording a couple of songs for a voice student this morning when Happy came into my room to investigate. He was taken with the microphone and wanted to do a little recording of his own:

For those of you unfamiliar with what kind of tv attracts 3-year-olds, this is the theme to Bob the Builder. If you're having trouble understanding what he's singing, don't worry. Most of the song is listing the names of all the characters so if it just sounds like babbling, that's because that's what it is :)

and our family's favorite tune.

(these players run on quicktime. If the players don't appear to be coming up, check the permissions on your browser, you may have to allow quicktime somewhere. Don't ask me for more details than that...on chrome it just shows up at the top of the browser window. Good luck with that)

New Favorite

We're taking advantage of a lot of the fantastic things to do around KC. There are lots of great museums and galleries in the area (many of them free) and the biggest by far is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It's a huge museum with a great variety of galleries. Also, it's got a great big scupture park on the grounds...perfect for a picnic with the kiddos.

We had a great time eating our sandwiches and wandering through all the scuptures. Then the adventure started: "Mommy, I have to go potty!" It really is a big park, so it took us quite a while to make our way up to the museum then hoist the stroller over all the steps (I wish I'd taken a picture of the steps...so many, especially since Girly was in the stroller while I hoisted it!). But once we were inside, Boy-o wanted to stay and look at some of the things. We actually had a great time inside the museum too! It helps that it was midday in the middle of the week, so there weren't a lot of people to mind my little rowdies. Once Girly discovered the power of her voice in an echo-y gallery however, we had to make a quick getaway, but it was loads of fun while it lasted.