New Toys

We got some fun toys this Christmas. We got a new digital camera and Adobe CS3 for our Mac (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign). I'm still trying to learn my way around photoshop, but I've been having fun. This is my latest creation:



The shadows don't really line up correctly, but hopefully I'll get better at that stuff soon. We had a fun time visiting my family in California. My dad bought a Wii and I became addicted to Super Mario Galaxy. I'm glad we don't have video games, because apparently I don't have much self-control. We'll post again with more pictures of our trip.

Feliz Navidad

Olvera Street sideways. I guess even Blogger has bad Mondays.

We didn't go quite that far south, but we enjoyed ten days of sunshine in southern California with the Singley bunch. We have all gathered together, except for Whitney, David, and Jonas, (we miss you!) and many a good time rolled.


Fun on Olvera Street, Los Angeles.

Near the end of our trip we went to Olvera Street in the heart of Los Angeles, and made good use of one of our prized Christmas presents--a new camera. (!) The camera also helped us capture our stellar afternoon at Manhattan Beach (more to come).


Jane & Cassie. we took this picture instead of buying the hat.

Between the Wii games, playmates for Jane, plethora of treats, and ever-available delicious leftovers, we didn't really feel like leaving, ever. It was a great break and we had a blast with everyone.


Jane & the cacti, Olvera Street.

season's greetings

Merry Christmas!!!

Jane & Mr. Krueger

Jane in her "princess" dress and "glass slippers"

On Sunday I wanted to watch a Christmas movie with Jane while Brad went home teaching. I found that we have a dismal selection of Christmas movies--Trapped in Paradise, starring Nicholas Cage, Dana Carvey, and Jon Lovitz, which isn't exactly a kids movie--and the anniversary edition of Mr. Krueger's Christmas. (Of course we have a copy of Whitey's special, as well, but I can't watch that without Brad. It would just be wrong). I wondered what Jane would think about Mr Krueger's Christmas. Would she get bored? Would she beg for Strawberry Shortcake? Would she enjoy it at all?
She did. She loved it. When it finished, she said, "Again?"
I enjoyed it too. James Stewart is one of the finest actors in history, I believe, and if you haven't rediscovered this Christmas classic yet, I high recommend it. It's especially sweet to watch with little kids.
The following trivia comes courtesy of imdb.com.

• James Stewart approached the scene where Mr. Krueger talks to the infant Jesus very seriously. Before filming this scene, he told the producer Michael McLean, "I've got only one of these in me. Everyone who doesn't need to be here, get them out. Tell them I want this to go well. I can do other takes, but this will be the right one. There will only be one." After the scene was finished, McLean asked the cameraman, "Did you get it?" "I hope so," was the reply, "because I was crying."
  
  
• The scene where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir starts clapping and gives Willy Krueger a standing ovation was the actual reaction of the Choir to James Stewart's directing. It was a total surprise and completely unscripted.

Whitey McWhites Christmas

I have always loved lame Christmas movies. We watched so many stupid made-for-tv Christmas movies when I was a kid. I still remember most of them. How about this little gem:



As soon as we pulled out the Christmas decorations, we would rummage through our drawers of VHS tapes and pull out all of our Christmas movies we had recorded off of TV. One of these videos was an Andy Williams Christmas special featuring the NBC kids (cosby show, facts of life, silver spoons, gimme a break, punky brewster). We knew all the songs and we loved this movie.

It wasn't until we were a little older that we discovered Punky Brewster's friend Allen (far right).



It wasn't that we hadn't seen him before. He just got lost among all the other kids with actual speaking parts. We gave him the nickname "Whitey McWhites" because he's possibly the whitest kid I've ever seen. Just watch the videos and you'll see why he's my favorite. It may take a few times until you can appreciate the nuances between Whitey and his singing counterparts. I believe his moves in the second video have even inspired some aerobics routines. Enjoy.

I'm on Strike.

Some of you know I studied film in college with an emphasis in critical studies and screenwriting.
I left my college experience excellently equipped to construct a screenplay or whip out a sitcom, and an elitist sensibility that great films could not exist without great writers. I would love to go on about how glamorous and incredible the life of a screenwriter is, to share my brilliant, earth-shattering script ideas with all of you, but alas, I cannot write more.
I am on strike. I have been since 2005.
The WGA joined me on November 5th, and it looks like we are in it for the long haul. I cannot back down until Hollywood executives proffer my fair share of their fat profit pie. I stand proudly beside Tina Fey, Greg Daniels, and David Shore, among countless others, even if it means reruns and mindless reality shows in the months ahead. I could wax philosophic about the correlation between "Big Brother" and the average American's weekly fast-food consumption, but already I think I have written too much.
We writers appreciate your continued support, or we accept your hostile frustration at going up the tube repeatedly to find there is nothing on. You're always welcome on the picket line with us. It's a lot more glamorous in Hollywood.


My friend Ben Stiller shows blue steel resolve on the picket line.

Sketching again

I started sketching again recently. I usually make 2 or 3 sketches a year, but I'm trying to do more lately. I made an amazing discovery, it's called sketching paper. All these years I've done most of my sketching on computer paper. I was surprised to see how much easier this stuff is to sketch on. Meg still makes fun of me for using a cheap-o mechanical pencil.

This is from our trip to the pumpkin patch. It cracks me up every time I see it.

Speaking of picking up old hobbies, Meg has been playing her violin again recently. She just played in a multi-stake orchestra for a production of Handel's Messiah. The vocal soloists were all accomplished opera singers, so they sounded amazing.It was fun to hear Meg play so well after only a few weeks of practice. Jane loved watching her practice. She held her toy guitar up to her chin and everything.

I love my job

For those of you who don't know what I do, I am a hydraulics engineer at Northwest Hydraulic Consultants. I mostly do flood modeling for FEMA. I use computer programs to determine where water will flow during a storm. Usually it's a typical desk job, but I get to do field work from time to time.

On Monday we got a call from a client in Bothell, WA. We are doing a study for them to determine if the levees on a nearby creek will hold in the event of a major storm. The image below shows the boundaries of the creek inside the levees.



They wanted us to go take measurements of the creek. By the time we got there, the whole area had been evacuated, so we had to go on foot. When we got to the creek the water was just inches from overtopping the levees. The image below shows the water rising almost to the top of the levee. I'm sure we looked like idiots wearing slacks and dress shirts in the middle of this flood.



We spent a few hours making high water marks so that we can come back later with survey equipment. We will make a computer model of the creek later. Fortunately, the levees held up. The water spilled over the top at one spot, but sandbag crews took care of it pretty well.

It was almost 60 degrees that afternoon, so it was very comfortable even when we were up to our ankles in water. Here is a picture of a bridge that almost washed out.



The water is about 3 inches away from pouring over the top of the road. Click on it to see it better. I was like a kid in a candy shop running around that day. When we came back soaking wet my boss told me to go and buy myself some waterproof gear at REI and charge it to the company. Could the day get any better?

The Singleys Are Not Swept Away

Or blown or tree-crushed or flooded. We've had power, and that's the only way we would ever really be affected by storms such as we've had this last weekend. We had some rain and that was it for us. Brad has a more exciting story from work on Monday--he went into the field up to Bothell and spent about five hours in a flooded area. He came home wet and happy with his job--and our location.
Saturday morning we woke up to a nice surprise from our gracious hometown--snow. What a beautiful way to start December! We know we won't see much snow this year--it's rare up here--so Brad wasted no time in building a snowman. Jane loves snow; one of her favorite books is Snow by P.D. Eastman. She loved waving to Floyd during his holiday on our back porch. She points out snowmen everywhere now. They are some of her favorite people, especially if they sing like Burl Ives.


One of Jane's favorite holiday characters: Burl Ives the Snowman from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Floyd

Once there was a snowman


Tall;


In the rain he melted,


melted,


small,


small,


small.

Who Started This Whole Tag Thing?

I saw that Katie had been "tagged" on her blog, and I knew if I read that entry, I would probably be tagged at its end. What can I say? I like Katie, I like to read her entries, and so out of respect for her, I will be "it." Six things about me.

1. One of my life goals is to get an MFA in creative writing or screenwriting.
2. I had never visited Seattle or anywhere in the northwest before we moved up here four months ago. Once I found out we would be moving up here, I decided not to look at pictures of the area. It's been more of an adventure that way.
3. I have only kissed civil engineers. The last one I kissed has been my favorite ever since.
4. In fifth grade my friend Jennifer and I wrote a play version of Rumplestiltskin. We included a couple of dance numbers to "All That She Wants" and "I Saw the Sign" by Ace of Base. We changed the words in "All That She Wants" to say "All that he wants is another baby, he's gone tomorrow, oh." Not so different, but we felt very clever for making it Rumplestiltskin's theme song.
5. I took a semester of Welsh in college. Welsh is the language they speak in Wales, in the UK.
6. I am left handed, but I kick, bat, and put right.

In the true spirit of tagging, I tag EVERYONE who reads this post. But I'm changing what you have to write. I just want to know, what was your favorite childhood holiday special? You can also just respond in a comment here. My favorite, or one of them: A Muppet Family Christmas.

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Park

Jane and I sit in the car, waiting to turn right. We have a green light, but there's a pedestrian, so I opt to wait for him to come across. He's walking slowly, kind of strutting, I assume to whatever tune is blasting from his iPod headphones. He's about half way across when I realize that he's probably not feeling the beat; his jeans have fallen to his knees, and his walk holds them there. He's wearing gray sweatpants underneath, which is why I didn't notice before. He makes his way across, slowly, methodically, and all I can think is, why is he wearing a belt?

Over the River and Through the Woods...

A well-intentioned family photo by the tree, Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

To Grandma's houses we went! About a week before Thanksgiving we decided to make our first trip to Utah since moving away. The weather was good, we had a tv show on DVD to make the time pass, and so we spent the 14-hour drive in the relative comfort of our Honda Accord. Oh yeah, 14 hours both ways. And it was totally worth it.


Jane admires the lights at Temple Square from above.

Jane loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Gibson. We pulled up to their house and she recognized it. She remembered where all the toys are, how to find the cat food, and best of all, her grandparents. It was as if we haven't been away. She spent most of her time playing with Grandma and amazing both Grandma and Grandpa with her extensive English skills. We had a nice, relaxed visit with them.
We ate dinner with Brad's family in Heber and had a lovely time. Besides a glutenous/gluten-free feast to please everyone, we just enjoyed spending time together. It was great to see Brad's grandparents too. Jane spent most of her time with Cassie, disappearing to play in other rooms. Jane misses having Cassie, Hayley, Brett and Angelynn so close by. We are very excited to spend Christmas with them at Grandma and Grandpa Singley's house in sunny California.


Jamie & Jane on Trax.

On our way home we stopped to visit at my Aunt Suzanne's, where we saw her whole family and my grandparents. It was so nice to spend time with all of them. Jane remembered Emily and became fast friends with Jamie. The trio had fun searching for the cat and playing hide and seek while the rest of us played with the Wii. Good times.


Go Unga! Go Cougars! Photo from the Washington Post. Random.

Saturday Brad got an early Christmas present: a seat at the incredible BYU-Utah football game (Go Cougars!). That night, we went with my cousins to see my Aunt Anne and see the lights at Temple Square. It was so nice to spend some time with those who could make it, especially since we won't be back until next summer.


Ben, Harrison, Jane, Meg, Emily, Niels, Jamie, & Erik downtown to see the lights.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to let all my family and friends know how much you mean to me and how grateful I am for each one of you. I'm sorry if we weren't able to see you over this break--our time was limited and we did what we could. We love all of you!

New House Guest

We've had several people stay at our place since we've moved to Seattle, but last night was the strangest (besides Mike). I heard a really loud noise last night outside our front door, but by the time I got out of bed and went to the door it had stopped. This happened a few times throughout the night. This morning I heard it a few more times, so I searched carefully and found a little tree frog in the corner of the entry. He must have come in when we were bringing groceries in last night.

Meg went to a Relief Society activity this morning, so Jane and I took care of our new guest.

Enjoy...

Hooray for Oatmeal!

I have always loved oatmeal. When I was four, I woke up really early one morning (4 or 5 am) and asked my mom to make me some oatmeal. She told me that it was too early to make oatmeal and told me to go back to bed. A few minutes later she woke up to a phone call from our neighbor down the street. The neighbor informed my mom that I was sitting at their kitchen table eating some oatmeal.

My oatmeal days ended when I was diagnosed with celiac disease. Although oats don't contain gluten themselves, they are grown and milled together with wheat, so they aren't gluten-free.

Meg discovered a place that sells certified gluten-free oats. I just had my first bowl in years. I may even wake up at 4am to eat some more. http://www.glutenfreeoats.com/

Self-Portrait

Jane found the camera one day and we just watched to see what she would do. She surprised us by turning it on, turning to us saying, "Cheese!" and then snapping about thirty photos of her own face. We don't know why she uses cameras backwards (her Elmo camera is her standard weapon of choice), but here are the somewhat artistic results.

New Paintings

So, after all my work to try to get watercolor to stick to a canvas, we realized that we didn't really like the paintings. The color was not quite right. The style wasn't exactly us either. I decided to paint over the canvases and start over.



Here's the final result. They are two Frank Lloyd Wright houses that we like.



We are still looking for a cool arrangement for our new shelves. If you have any ideas, let us know. We're looking for something to put in the frame too.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Jane loved her Indian costume.



We went to our ward Halloween party and I dressed as a pilgrim. Meg dressed as a trucker. We didn't realize until we got home that we didn't get a picture of her. She looked great.



Jane had fun playing with her buddy Jenna.



Here are our jack-o-lanterns. We've been having fun lighting them every night and watching them on our back porch.



We were excited to stay home and give candy to trick-or-treaters, so we weren't going to take Jane out, but they had trick-or-treating for little kids at the mall, so we stopped by for a little bit.



Unfortunately we only had one trick-or-treater come by our apartment. I'm starting to get pretty sick of tootsie rolls and tootsie pops.

Singleys in Seattle

Tutu--cute. Way cuter than this caption.

We had a lot of fun with Brad's parents in town. Jane just giggled when she first saw her grandparents (they arrived separately, which made for more giggling). We spent a marathon day sight-seeing all over the Seattle area. Our tour included the Tacoma Glass Museum, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Bainbridge Island, the ferry downtown, downtown Seattle, Da Vinci's Bakery, and Bellevue. After that, we were able to relax more and just spend time together. I think Susan and Glenn even brought some of their California sunshine along, because we had one last hurrah day in the seventies with clear blue skies, perfect for the park. Jane sure loves her "gwampa" and "cuppy." She even came with that cute little nickname for Grandma S. herself.


Tacoma Glass Museum


Eating M&Ms on the ferry



My little "Jack Lalanne" plays at the park


Jane climbs too high

As for the fire, the LA fires are under control. Susan said the stale ash really stinks, but as they looked around the area and shared their photos, we are still amazed at what they came back to.


Hills behind their neighborhood


Their backyard, untouched.

This sight almost makes me cry. I don't know why they were spared when so many in San Diego were not, but we are truly grateful. Our prayers go out to all the victims.

Los Angeles is Burning

It's that time again. Fortunately, my parents' house didn't catch on fire. My parents are visiting us in Seattle this week, but Hayley called to tell us about the fire. Hayley's friend Jackie was already on her way to save our photos and important documents. Jackie's boyfriend immediately started putting out small fires on our hillside. They hosed down the hill and moved our furniture into the middle of the room in case our home had to be hosed down. They got our valuables and were going to take off, but they saw some mexican gangs walking up the street apparently looting the neighborhood. They stayed in the house until the Sheriff arrived to secure the area. The fire eventually blew past the neighborhood.

Here's a little diagram based on their description. I guess I won't complain about all the rain in Seattle. It could be worse.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

With warm sunshine and a clear blue sky, we escaped to charming Snohomish in search of some great gourds. It was a beautiful day on Craven Farm. Jane helped us choose pumpkins using her unique "tasting method," which she also used to test the corn in the field. Everything received the Jane stamp of approval.





The day couldn't be complete until we stopped in the Da Vinci Cafe & Bakery, a gluten-free bakery in north Seattle. Brad even shared some pumpkin ginger muffin and raspberry streudel with us wheaties, and we were grateful because they were as good as they looked. Now we'll see if my personal "Martha Stewart" can carve a pumpkin.