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.