Camel Burgers

Over the years, I've eaten many different kinds of meat: chicken, turkey, lamb, hamburgers, hot dogs, cow tongue, cow stomach, shark, crocodile . . . and now, camel.

Some of the guys from the troupe and I drove up to the Burger Bar in Roy last week to try them out. I would say that they taste more like venison than like chicken. Rather than ketchup or mustard, they were also served in a mild curry sauce.

Beatles Fountain Show

I finally made it out to see Meet the Mormons last Thursday. It's a fantastic movie. You should all go and see it.

That's not a request.

However, that's not the whole point of today's post. After the show, my date and I strolled through Station Park, which is a lovely little shopping center/hangout spot in Farmington. On a cool, autumn evening, we sat down and enjoyed this colorful water fountain display, choreographed to the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun":

My Dinner with Kira

My six-year-old niece Kira's birthday falls just three days after mine. For b-day #6, I took her out for her birthday dinner to Chick-Fil-A, which was her place of choosing.

I had a great night out with this cute, intelligent, funny, talkative kid. Glad to have spent some one-on-one time with my amazing niece.

Taking the Cake

I had a birthday a few weeks back (getting caught up again tonight). It happens every year.

My thoughtful sister bought me this cake for the occasion.

Mommy Is a Mummy

On Wednesday afternoon, Mom was out for a walk with Dad when she tripped over some wire or twine near a neighbor's home. In the resulting fall, she broke both elbows and suffered a number of cuts and bruises in the process. She sees an orthopaedic doctor tomorrow, but we're optimistic that she won't require surgery.

 

 

In the meantime, she's been in a lot of pain. In Dad's terms, her arms and elbows are wrapped up so that "mommy looks like a mummy." Someone also needs to be with her at all times to help her eat, brush her teeth, and do many of the other tasks that you and I use our hands for and take for granted on a daily basis. In spite of it all, she's being her usual good-tempered and optimistic self.

IOMT SEQ BBQ

The boys in my elders quorum, the South Quorum of the still-relatively new Island of Misfit Toys (aka the Bountiful 8th [Mid-Singles] Ward), gathered recently at our quorum president's home in Farmington for a barbecue, which featured BBQ bratwurst, chicken, and steak, as well as other delicious dishes.

Good people, good food, and a big-screen viewing of Remember the Titans combined for a great evening on an unseasonably cool August night.

Deep Breath

Over the past year or so, I've really gotten into the BBC TV show "Doctor Who," which has been around for more than 51 years now.

Well, better late than never.

Last week, some friends and I went to a Salt Lake City theater to watch a broadcast of the Season 8 premiere episode, which also features a new (the 12th) Doctor, played by actor Peter Capaldi. So far, so good for Mr. Capaldi!

Ice Bucket Challenge #2

Last weekend, I completed not one but TWO ALS Ice Bucket Challenges. Friday night's troupe challenge was posted here on The Gobblewonker already, and today, I'm sharing my individual Ice Bucket Challenge, given to me by my friend Lauri Brown in my ward.

Ice Bucket Challenge #1

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, then by now you've probably heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It is a way to both raise funds for and awareness of ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's Disease. It's also one of those bandwagoning things to do that you do, by dumping ice water over your head, and then challenge at least three of your friends to then go and do.

Like you do.

Last week, my improv troupe—not certain members of the troupe, but the entire troupe—was challenged to do the Ice Bucket Challenge by one of our fans, and we responded by tweaking our "Oxygen Deprivation" game and using ice water instead of regular water.

It's a lot harder than it looks. Trust me.

See the result here, with yours truly, Keenan, Ryan, and Scott taking the challenge live on stage:

Ogden Temple Open House

The Ogden LDS temple has been renovated, and it looks absolutely beautiful (not that it was "ugly," per se, before). Last Wednesday night, some friends from my singles ward and I ventured up to take a tour of the building.

Following our tour, we snapped this photo outside, by the fountain on the east side:

Good times were had by all.

Shakespearean Festival 2014

Last weekend, Mom and Dad; Ben, Adi, and Christian; Steve and Summer; and Biz and Jeff, along with yours truly, traveled down to Cedar City to attend the Shakespearean Festival, which has been a family tradition for many summers now. We saw two very entertaining plays: The Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night.

We also spent part of the day Saturday at the Cedar City Park on Main Street, which is where I snapped this photo of Ben and one-year-old Christian enjoying a piggy-back ride together:

The Neverending Tree

 

Yours truly didn't appear in this show, but I had a front-row seat for last week's Friday-night Improvables performance in Centerville. It featured the musical "The Neverending Tree," as suggested by an audience member.

Ricky donned a unique-looking costume for a game of "Oscar-Winning Moment":

. . . and later belted out the title tune in the musical:

Keenan also chimed in with a bittersweet lament to wrap up the night's presentation:

Sometimes, we even amaze ourselves.

"Saints and Soldiers: The Void"

Last week, I had the opportunity to travel down to Jordan Commons with some people in my ward to catch a pre-screening of the new Saints and Soldiers movie, subtitled The Void. Like the other two films in the series, it is a compelling, thought-provoking tale about those who sacrificed so much during World War II.

Afterward, we had the opportunity to meet several cast members who were in attendance at the screening. Among them was my family's friend and LDS singer Alex Boyé, who graciously posed for this picture with me.

Thomas the Cake Engine

In this video from Christian's recent first birthday party, he looks in amazement at his Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake . . . and isn't quite sure how to react.

Strangers in the Night

At Chantel's and Jordan's wedding last Friday, I was able to capture this video of cousins McKenna and Jake slow dancing:

This one pretty well speaks for itself.

Chantel's and Jordan's Wedding

There's a whole lot of Jordans in the family: my first cousin Jared's boy Jordan, who is currently serving a mission in Hermosillo, Mexico; my second cousin Sydney's husband, Jordan; and even my one-year-old nephew, Christian Jordan. Well, another Jordan was added Friday when my second cousin Chantel married a Jordan of her own.

I was rather sick the night before and the morning of the wedding, which was held at the Draper LDS temple. Later that afternoon, however, I was feeling somewhat better, and I ventured down to Provo for the reception. It was good to finally meet my new cousin Jordan, who is a great guy and is obviously well loved by Scott and Claudia and the rest of their family.

I was able to snap a photo of Chantel and Jordan cutting their cake:

Jenna and McKenna, often seen hanging out together at our various family functions, enjoyed some of the refreshments:

. . . while Dave entertained everyone with a story:

Pioneer Day 2014

The family and I celebrated Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday, a day late last Friday. As always, we had a wonderful time together.

Kira, Jake, Jenna, and McKenna posed for this photo on Grandma's and Grandpa's couch:

Following a delicious barbecue, we adjourned to the street to set off a few fireworks. In this shot, Jake enjoys watching a sparkler burn:

There were many more where that came from.

Omelette

Last night, the Improvables experienced both a first and a last. It was our first-ever long-form performance, for which we performed a Shakespearean-themed play titled Omelette, which was suggested by an audience member and somewhat based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Two of the featured characters included the rednecks Rosenstern and Guildencrantz, played by Parker and Ryan:

Yours truly played the princess (yes, really), Keenan played Prince Gobot, Scott was the king, Bryan was the archnemesis, Cameron was the elderly mentor, and Ian starred in the title role as aspiring chef Omelette. It was a very fun and memorable evening, and we along with our audience had a great time.

It was also a night of lasts in that it was Ian's final performance with the troupe. Ian has been a good friend and colleague for nearly the entire existence of the Improvables, and he will be moving on to big and better things, as his new job will be making him travel more, and he will also be spending more family time.

Christian's First Birthday

Ben's and Adi's little boy Christian turned one year old Friday, and much of the family (and some friends) turned up to help my nephew celebrate the big occasion.

He really enjoyed his Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake.

Five-year-old Kira was among those present, seen here eating a cupcake:

The Gong Show

One of my favorite local hangouts, the Karaoke Café, hosted a "Gong Show" Night last week. Some good friends and I took part together and had a great time stepping up to the mic to sing songs hand-picked by the K.J. randomly as "challenge" songs. If anyone in the audience didn't like what they were hearing, they could "gong" you, and if you received three "gongs" during a song, you had to quit singing.

If you, however, made it through the song before being "gonged" out, you won a prize. I was challenged to Prince's "Purple Rain" and made it through without being "gonged" to win a free dessert. I later was challenged to the Barenaked Ladies' "One Week," a real tongue twister, and was "gonged" twice during the first voice but somehow made it through the rest of the song to win a toy . . . which will be given out to some lucky niece or nephew.

Sopa de Chorros

I stopped by the local Peruvian restaurant the other day for a delicious and nostalgic meal, which included sopa de chorros, or "oyster soup" in English.

It's a bit of an acquired taste, and one that I acquired many years ago.

Kaysville Splash Park

My six-year-old nephew Jackson and I spent the afternoon at the Kaysville Splash Park last week. It was the perfect activity for a hot summer day.

"Jumping" Jack was very excited to be there, and was literally jumping up and down throughout our stay. I think it's safe to say that he had a good time.

Mr. Destructo

At last Sunday's family dinner, we all enjoyed a little Jenga together after our meal. Jenna, Luke, and I created a Stonehenge-inspired Jenga tower, which Jake then promptly destroyed, all for our entertainment:

Domo arigato, Mr. Destructo!

Improvables in the Park

There was another fantastic mid-singles conference last week, and the Improvables, including yours truly, were invited to perform for the Friday night barbecue up at North Canyon Park. With a great BBQ meal served and 200 (?) or more in the audience for some free advertising for the troupe, we were more than happy to accept the invitation. June 20, one of the longest (sunlight) days of the year, was also a perfect day for an outdoor performance that lasted beyond 9 p.m.

What followed was a very fun night of improv, as they almost always are, with the very talented people I get to associate with on a weekly basis.

One of everybody's favorite parts was Keenan literally coming down out of the woods as Bigfoot to complain about his issues in "Town Hall":

Doctor Who and Mrs. Whatsit

For a change of pace, I recently decided to buy a bow tie to wear to church and other fun events from time to time. I also had the matching jacket already at home, so I was able to put together a Doctor Who ensemble (of the 11th Doctor/Matt Smith variety) for church two Sundays ago.

Unless you've been living in a cave, "Doctor Who" has been a popular British science fiction TV series for more than 50 years now, and I discovered it only recently via several references at improv shows and through watching the episodes of the modern series on Netflix.

After church, my friend Alex and I drove to the nearby TARDIS (the Doctor's mode of transportation/time travel) up on Bountiful Boulevard, just across the street from the Bountiful temple, for the above photo.

Friday the 13th Show

I got to M.C. the Improvables performance two Fridays ago, which is also the only Friday the 13th in the calendar year of 2014. As always, the troupe both entertained and pleasantly surprised both me and everyone in the audience.

Consider, if you will, Scott's Irish jig about the Spice Girls:

. . . or Bryan, Megan, and Parker in "Replay at Bernie's":

It's So Fluffy!

At the latest family dinner two Sundays ago, Jana gave Kira this stuffed toy unicorn:

I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie Despicable Me and of the excited little girl who exclaims: "It's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!"

Finger-Licking Good

At last week's family dinner, Jake tried his first Hostess cupcake.

Suffice me to say that he really enjoyed it.

Super Hopscotch

Also at last week's family dinner, Jenna and McKenna created their own new game: Super Hopscotch.

In this video, they, along with help from Jackson, Kira, and Jake, demonstrate how it works:

Making Music

At last week's bi-monthly family dinner, Jackson and Jake created the following:

 

There is nothing else to say.

Ode to Les Misérables

I sat in the audience for last week's Improvables show to cheer on my castmates. They ended up putting one of the best "Day in the Life" musicals we have ever created, something of a tribute to Les Misérables.

*wipes away a tear*

I'm very lucky to be a part of this talented group.

My Dinner with Kenna 2014

My niece McKenna turned 11 years old last week. She, in fact, shares a birthday with her grandma Kathy (aka my mom).

To celebrate, because that's just the kind of awesome uncle I am, I took her out to eat lunch, and she picked Chick-Fil-A. After a good meal there, we went to the store, where she picked out some sidewalk chalk and a Play-Doh-like gooey substance. They were really excellent choices for a creative and fun 11-year-old.

Mario Kart Grand Prix

In conjunction with the release of the new Mario Kart 8 video game on the Wii U, the Improvables (and friends) gathered in Bountiful last weekend for a Mario Kart tournament. Lorin both came up with the idea and carried it out brilliantly over the course of an enjoyable six-hour event.

 

Lorin also purchased and engraved trophies for the first-place winner (and for other accomplishments) and brought fireballs (cheese balls), mushroom and star cookies, and Mario gummy treats, to boot:

 

 

 

As for the actual gaming, well, it was a lot of fun. Yours truly performed rather poorly, though I had a great time anyway.

 

Parker took first place and can be seen here drinking a celebratory quaff of Martinelli's from the first-place trophy:

 

 

He was then joined for a photo op with the "other" trophy winners, including Erica (Best Defense), Chad (Best Offense), and Ricky (Best Attitude/aka Mr. Congeniality).

 

 

Not pictured is Richard, recipient of the "Which Way Is 'Go'?" Award, who left before pics were taken.

 



Finally, the entire group gathered for this shot before we called it a night:

 

Good times were had by all.

Olaf's Revenge

At the latest family dinner two weeks ago, some of the kids colored in pictures from Frozen, the most recent animated Disney phenomenon to take the world by storm.

As you can see, McKenna got especially creative with her interpretation of the snowman Olaf, who looks somewhat more like a zombie than a snowman.

I must say that I wholeheartedly approve.

Nickel Creek Reunion Tour 2014

One of my siblings' and my favorite bands is Nickel Creek, whom we previously saw in concert at Abravanel Hall back in 2007 on their "Farewell for Now" tour. At the time, Biz and Jeff were only dating and Ben and Steve were both single men.

A lot has changed in the family since then, but Nickel Creek still puts on a great show. Their reunion performance at Kingsbury Hall in May was fantastic.

In addition, Biz scored some backstage passes so that she, Jeff, Ben, and Steve could meet the band in person afterward.

Yours truly picked up an autographed copy of Nickel Creek's new CD as an early birthday present. Overall, it was a win-win evening spent out with the family.

Droid

A few of us were surprised to show up for improv recently and then spot R2D2 in the parking lot in the back of a pickup truck.

Well, at least, I think it's at least a decent effort at an Artoo duplicate.

Family Dinner 4-13-14

We have family dinners—parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and sometimes even pets included—essentially every two weeks. Each is a lot of fun and is one of the highlights of the month.

We recently gathered at Mike's and Jana's home for dinner, during which . . . well, pretty much the Plowmans did the Plowman thing.

Improvables Class of 2014

We (collectively) recently completed teaching another beginning improv skills workshop. At the conclusion of it, the attendees, joined by Erica, Richard, and Ryan, with yours truly as M.C., had a chance to perform and show off their improv skills.

It was a fun and memorable night, as they always are.

Promenade

School's out for summer! Before school got out, though, my 16-year-old niece Kylee attended her first prom. I happened to be there when her date showed up to meet the parents and snapped this photo when she tried on her wrist corsage.

The look on her face says it all, methinks.

Family Easter Egg Hunt 2014

It's a month late in being posted, but Easter happened again this year. As usual, all nine nieces and nephews took part in the annual Easter Egg hunt in Mom's and Dad's backyard.

They sure grow up fast, don't they?