Vernal

We took an overnight trip to Vernal last Friday-Saturday to kick off Spring Break.

This is known as Dinosaurland, because there's Dinosaur National Monument outside of town and a big Dinosaur museum in town as well. And James was in heaven. We teased him that he was meeting his ancestors, and he ate it up.

 

The fossil bone quarry is incredible. A whole section of hillside with dozens of dinosaur bones in one place. Decades ago they removed several skeletons and placed them in museums around the world. Now they leave them in place and have built a two-story viewing area around it.

 

 

The ranger told me they think it was a riverbed where bones washed up and settled. Then shifting plates moved it up to where it was discovered in the early 1900s. I could not stop staring.

 

 

Close by was a small hike to petroglyphs. Notice James roaring like a T Rex. He did this often during the day.

 

James and Andrew earned their Junior Ranger badges at the visitors center.

 

Back in Vernal is a state museum that had outside and inside features.

 

 

Ben's finger making an appearance in this picture of me by the ancestor of my favorite animal.

 

Oh, and the hotel had a pool. And great breakfast.

 

Every night for several years now, I have read some version of a dinosaur book to the boys - but especially to James. He is obsessed. I've seen every size, shape, name and theory about dinosaurs over the years in the variety of books from the library. And, as I type this, we are watching Jurassic Park. This movie scared me at 14 years old but it only thrills my boys.

 

St Louis

I took a whirlwind work trip to St Louis last week! I was on the ground less than 24 hours and packed it full of everything I could.

I am working on a radio documentary about the Saints in St Louis. It's going to air on KSL Newsradio in between General Conference sessions this April 7 at noon. I'd already done a couple interviews and lots of research out here, but needed to get out there for more.

When I landed, I took an Uber (for the first time) to the home of the Oscarsons, in Clayton/West County area of St Louis. Their families were a big part of the growth of the Church, leading to the 2nd creation of the St Louis Stake in 1953 (did you know there was a St Louis Stake in the 1840s?)

What wonderful stories they shared with me, and what wonderful testimonies. After that, they dropped me off at the St Louis Temple, which isn't far from their house. I remember vividly the building of this Temple when I was in high school. My family volunteered at the open house.

I had someone take this picture of me when I came out that evening.

At my hotel downtown, I FaceTimed the kids before they went to bed. Here's a screenshot of everyone trying to see me at once.

I was super hungry, and a couple blocks away was Sugar Fire BBQ, recommended by the second Uber driver. If a place is crowded at 8pm on a Thursday, it is a good sign.

Early the next morning, I walked uptown to go visit KMOX. I reached out to them before, told them how much I loved their station, and that I was visiting from KSL in Salt Lake. And they put me on the air! I talked about why I was in town and the project I was working on, and things like that. This was a teenage dream come true. 

I LOVED listening to this radio station in high school. I kept pinching myself. I hung out with them for an hour or so, then I had to hustle back down to the waterfront to make it to the Arch Museum at 8am.

I met two historians there an hour before it opened to the public, and got a personal tour of the new exhibits. The old museum was small and had a couple plaques about the westward expansion. The new space is wide open and inviting and tells the specific story of St Louis' role in the growth of the United States -- and the story of our Church is spread throughout! It is not just relegated to one corner.

For example these large screens below played video that the Church was instrumental in helping film, showing a re-enactment of what pioneers would look like.

That is a Nauvoo-era copy of the Book of Mormon on display. Every week they turn the page.

Here I am with Bob Moore and Tom Farmer. Bob works for the government as a historian, Tom is a local historian for the Church, and they are great friends now.  

After that, I was lucky that my dear friend Andrea was working downtown that day at the courthouse, and we met nearby  -- and I found myself laughing and smiling like the olden days of high school together!

She's lucky she lives and works so close to such a cool place.

Then I was Ubering back to the airport, and landed in Salt Lake City just in time to go down to our school for Arts Night. It was a fast two days!

Now I have a lot of work to do ahead of me, to take these hours of interviews and research and narrow it down to the documentary. I keep dreaming about editing it at night. Wish me luck! 

Book recommendations

Book recommendations are my love language. For myself or for my kids. I have a running list on my phone of things to check out from the library.

Here are some I have read in the last few months:

Anything by Sarah M. Eden. She has been fun for me lately. Light, easy escape, sweet characters, and good story telling. As soon as I finish one, I check out the sequel from the library. I read them all as e-books on my phone.

Shoe Dog.  It's the story of the beginnings of Nike, by the founder Phil Knight. I gave it to JB first, he finished it on the cruise then gave it to me, and I kept reading parts out loud back to him: "Did you know?" and "Listen to this!" A really good book.

The Book of Joy. By Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. We are reading this for Book Group this month and I keep stopping to re-read a section, or think about it, or highlight a part.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Language and content warning but it was a page-turner for me. The characters grew on me, like in A Man Called Ove.

Miracle at Augusta. I found this in the cruise ship's library and it surprised me. A nice story of a pro-golfer helping a teenager.

Saints. So well written and well researched. Ever since I interviewed the authors for a news story, I feel a little possessive of it. Plus it's my people's early history, you know?

And I just re-read "Book of a Thousand Nights" by Shannon Hale and forgot how much I like that book.  She's the best.  

Also the best: L.M. Montgomery. Sometimes people look surprised when I tell them there are 8 Anne of Green Gables books...plus several more novels and 500 short stories. I can pick up anything by her and just get lost it in again. "House of Dreams," the new biography, is incredible. I loved it. It really shows all the inspiration for her writing. I recommend "The Blue Castle" to everyone, and it's a free e-book if you just google it.

I’m halfway through The Great Alone, set in Alaska, and I feel like I should read it by a space heater.

The kids

I am reading Harry Potter at night to 8 year old Andrew. We are on book 4 now.  I read all 7 books to Max and Ben at this age.

Nathan Hale Hazardous Tales and One Dead Spy series are really good for boys. 11 year old Ben is tearing through them. They are graphic novels about history.

Diary of  a Wimpy Kid, and Captain Underpants, and Ook and Glok. What can I say, it makes the boys read. Andrew adores them now, following in his older brother's footsteps.

Mike Lupica's juvenile literature. Sports stories that Max and Ben like. 

Mr Lemoncello's Library. Ben likes these and Max is trying them out.  

Brandon Mull. Fablehaven, Five Kingdoms. 13 year old Max has been trying them, too. He doesn't tear through novels like me, but that's totally fine. I encourage any reading, and he has a fair amount that's assigned for 8th grade homework he has to do, first.

We own all the Magic Tree House, and ABC Mysteries series (thanks to DI and a teacher-neighbor), and Max and Ben tried them out when they are younger but Andrew isn't really into them yet.

5 year old James loves to check out anything with dinosaurs, Lego, or superheros from the library. There are some good how to draw and character encyclopedias in the children's nonfiction section.

2 year old Millie LOVES Pinkalicious right now. We get new stories from the library but we own the main one and she has it memorized. Fancy Nancy, The Paper Bag Princess, and the Jane Austen and Anne of Green Gables board books are all ones she begs for regularly from her bin. I will be looking for book recommendations for a girl as she grows!

Recommendations part 2

Other things that have caught my fancy lately, just in case you care.

"Provo's Most Eligible." YouTube. JB watched this first and told me I just had to see it.  Formerly known as "The Bachelor of Provo," until they got that good ole cease and desist letter. If you went to BYU or ever spent time in Provo, you will cringe-love-hate this. It is that bad! I think it started as a guy trying to get his roommate a date, and it went viral. Good recap posts are over at The Beehive.com

Rhett and Link.  I saw a clip of them a couple years ago doing, "Will it S'more?" and I laughed til I cried. So I started watching their daily YouTube show "Good Mythical Morning" when I can. Each episode is usually less than 15 minutes, which is about how much time I have in chunks to watch a show. They are childhood best friends from North Carolina who will eat anything and try anything. Every episode is pretty clean (they have kids), but they do remind me of my younger brothers sometimes when they get a little gross.

Speaking of boy stuff, my boys really like Dude Perfect. This is one they ask me to watch with them and I don't mind. Five funny guys trying everything from trick shots to epic Nerf gun battles. First on YouTube but now they have a TV show, too. 

Studio C we can all watch together, either a whole show from BYU TV or separate skits posted to YouTube. I am feeling so-so about the original cast's new venture, JK Studios. Some Studio C sayings have become part of our family jokes. Just now in the kitchen near me, Andrew is saying "Lobster BISQUE."  And we all talk about how we "don't do mornin's" like Star. Or if we get out some cheese to slice, we say "My cheese is so stinky!" etc.

Ryan Hamilton. He has a Netflix special, or you can search for shorter clips and skits on YouTube. Gosh he is funny. He makes me laugh so much. His description of trying to break up with his gym is the best. I also like Jim Gaffigan and Michael McIntyre when I need to cheer up.



Podcasts
I don't have much to recommend here, because I listen to so much live news/talk radio. (And so should you -- support your local radio station!) But, as everyone I know keeps raving about COLD, now is the time to brag that I know that guy. Dave Cawley and I were cubicle neighbors for years at work, until he moved upstairs  (I lived through covering the Powell case, so I actually don't listen, though others say I should).

We have other podcasts you can find at kslnewsradio.com/podcasts. I've tried out "Cox and Friends" and "Jazz Notes" and "Fan Effect" because I know the people who produce them.

JB likes "Leading Saints" podcast (Formerly known as "Leading LDS.") I listened to a few in the car with him on our Yellowstone trip last summer. Great discussions covering several different callings at Church.

I wouldn't mind your suggestions here, but I feel like they are like books on tape: I have listened to exactly ONE audio book in my whole life; I'm just more of a reading person because I can read fast.

Recommendations

I love TV and movies. They are the best escape from my stressful job, or worries over my kids. Over the last few months, I've watched a few surprisingly good ones that aren't as well known and I wanted to share the recommendations.

Keep in mind, almost all of these I have watched in chunks on my phone and not sitting down for the entire thing on my nice big TV. So they may hold up differently that way, but I have to do what I have to do.

In alphabetical order:

After the Ball. Amazon Prime Video. It's like Cinderella meets 12th Night. She tries to help her father's fashion business, and I giggled a few times. This is Canadian, but you may recognize an actor or two.

An Hour Behind. Amazon Prime Video. Filmed in Utah, about a cupcake shop owner who messes up the time change and mistakes a firefighter for her attorney blind date.  Super cute, cheesy, and clean. 

Dumplin'. Netflix. Jennifer Aniston is the beauty pageant queen, and her daughter joins to get her attention. Fun Dolly Parton songs throughout, and a message that surprised me about when we think others are judging us, but they really aren't.

Everything You Want (also known as Love Surreal). Amazon Prime Video. You may recognize the two male leads from What I Like About You (I loved that show), and the Utah-filmed Pride and Prejudice. This one is also filmed in Utah, and it has a twist I won't spoil.

Little Women. BBC via Amazon Prime Video. Three one-hour part miniseries. Love Emily Watkins and Michael Gambon; they have more acting chops than the green young actress who plays Jo. Once you know she is the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, you can't unsee it. Laurie is also kinda green. But I liked how there was more time to tell the stories of each daughter, and I thought Mr Brooke was much better than in the 1994 movie. The soundtrack I thought was beautiful.

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. Amazon Prime Video. I'm on a filmed-in-Utah kick. This one has a scene at the White Wedding Chapel up by the capitol building. Excellent twist in this one, too. I think I watched it a second time in a row after I finished. Main actor is from "The Other Side of Heaven," and of course it's the sweet Alyssa Milano.

Overboard. We saw this on our cruise on the ship's TV and it was HILARIOUS. JB and I kept looking at each other and laughing. Eva Longoria has a supporting role but the main actor completely surprised me with his hilarity. I think he's a big time Spanish actor. He's spoiled rich but gets amnesia and she makes him think they are married and makes him do all the chores.

Set It Up. Netflix. Language warning but very funny. Two busy corporate executive assistants hatch a plan to match-make their two bosses and get a break from work. He was in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by the way.  And I've always liked Lucy Liu. 

Surprised by Love. Hallmark. She brings home an old high school friend to her parents' anniversary party, and they don't like him at first. I checked out the DVD from the library after seeing the actor in a Hallmark Christmas movie (Once Upon a Holiday) that I thought was cute. This one made me laugh and smile, and the big boys watched some of it with me.

The Matchbreaker. Amazon Prime Video. Pretty indie, starring YouTube personalities and filmed in Kansas City. Some of the acting isn't very polished, but I laughed a bunch and liked the concept. It's like the opposite of Hitch. Parents hire him to get rid of the boyfriend they don't like for their daughter.

We Love You, Sally Carmichael. Amazon Prime Video. He secretly wrote a series of books like Twilight under a woman's pen name. I may not watch this one again, but I didn't mind it. It's quirky. Same actor as "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend," above. Filmed in Utah with some local actors I recognized (including a funny scene with some Studio C folks).  

TV shows

Modern Family. JB and I have watched this weekly since the beginning of the show. Phil is probably my favorite, with Gloria a close second.

This is Us. This week's episode is on as I type this. JB and I watch Modern Family and This is Us on Fridays off the DVR (unless there's a Utah Jazz game).  Sometimes I roll my eyes and point out the obvious drama and writing ploys, but I can't quit it. I have been known to get a tear in my eye. Randall is my favorite.

The Rookie. I was surprised by how much I am liking this first season so far. Nathan Fillion decides to become a LAPD cop in his 40s. I like the other officers on the show, too. It's funny and has good cop-stuff. I think it's a good foil to all the cheesy rom-coms I have been watching.  Plus, it's Nathan Fillion. My siblings introduced me to Firefly years ago and I've liked him since.

Side note: Another foil to the chick flicks was Whitechapel, a short-lived British cop show starring Rupert Penry-Jones. It was way violent and scary and I don't recommend it but gosh it haunted me with some good chills, you know?