I've Got a Brand-New Pair of Rollerskates

Earlier tonight, Mike had to attend a meeting, while Jana was away at Annie (she just landed the role of Grace) rehearsal, so they played the "uncle card" on me, and I ended up taking Kylee, Dallin, and McKenna to Layton Classic Skating. The occasion was a Morgan Elementary School party, and for about three hours I got to chaperone (i.e. keep an eye on) the wee bairns.

It had been far too long since I’d been to a rollerskating rink. Classic Skating - there used to be one closer to home, in Woods Cross - was one of my favorite hangouts in my own elementary school days. My friend Chris Hibberd and I got passes for the summer, and we would carpool together every Saturday for the afternoon skating session. Ahh, the good old days.

Well, tonight I ended up sitting out the session so I could keep an eye on the kids, but they really didn't need much supervising. It was fun to sit and observe them having fun out on the floor, and all three of them, even seven-year-old Kenna, are actually really good skaters.



Kylee and Kenna took a short break to share a snow cone:


Later on, Kylee challenged me to a game of air hockey, and Kenna filled in for me for a couple of points:


Toward the end of the evening, Dallin competed in a two-lap race around the track with the other boys. He was actually holding his own and was in third place until one of the mutant 12-year-old boys, who is as tall as I am, accidentally bumped into him and knocked him over. He was a bit dejected about the outcome:


. . . but I reassured him that he had raced well.

In the girls' race, Kylee, who is already well known for her speed on the soccer field, took second place.


As we were leaving, a roller derby team (as in the movie Whip It) was getting ready to take the floor, and Kylee chatted up one of the girls and asked her all sorts of questions about her team and about the sport. Roller derby girls, it turns out, are actually really cool and friendly in addition to being tattooed and physically very tough. One of the girls, I believe, was competing under the name Dawn Treader (get the Narnia reference?). On the car ride home, in fact, roller derby was all that Kylee could talk about, and she told me that she wants to participate in the sport when she’s older. The scary thing is, she would be quite good at it.

Well, I guess her parents will have to have a good, long talk with her about that. I just hope they don't blame the chaperone.

Top Ten: Christmas Movies

On her blog, my sister recently posted a top-ten list of her favorite Christmas movies. Not to be outdone, I am choosing to post my own list - not to be competitive but merely to share my own point-of-view on the topic.

#10. Gremlins It freaked me out as a kid; nowadays, it still scares me, only a bit less than it did.

#9. Joyeux Noel This true story of a 1914 cease-fire Christmas celebration among British, French, and German soldiers, during World War I, was a pleasant surprise.

#8. White Christmas I had heard about this classic for many years, and then, last year, I finally watched it. Story checks out.

#7. A Christmas Story Having been told, when I was younger, that I physically resembled Ralphie, I've long held a special connection with this film.


#6. Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean While not technically a movie, this hilarious Christmas episode of "Mr. Bean" remains a must-see for me each holiday season.

#5. The Shop around the Corner One of two Jimmy Stewart movies on my list (insert ominous, foreshadowing music here), this lesser-known, black-and-white version of You've Got Mail is also a superior film.

#4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas The cartoon classic - not the Jim Carrey remake!

#3. A Christmas Carol (1951)/The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (tie) It's hard to pick a favorite between these two versions of Charles Dickens's beloved holiday classic, so I give them a tie. Alastair Sim, in the black-and-white version, is a better Scrooge, but, on the other hand, you have the Muppets.

#2. It's a Wonderful Life This has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. My brothers and I can quote/act out entire scenes.

#1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe This is not a Christmas movie, per se, but it is my favorite all-time film, and Santa Claus (Father Christmas, in Britain) makes an appearance. Plus, it's a fable for the life and mission of Christ - the real reason we celebrate Christmas. So, there you go.


Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a goodnight!

Voyaging back to Narnia

Thursday night/Friday morning, Ben, Adi, and I ventured to the Megaplex 12 at the Gateway for the midnight premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the latest film entry into the series by C.S. Lewis.

It was, in a word, awesome. It is a faithful adaptation of the book (one of my favorites in the Narnia series), and, fortunately, it is not padded (and, therefore, not as long) as Prince Caspian was. The child actors - particularly Will Poulter, who joins the cast as the Pevensies' cousin, Eustace Scrubb - once again do a fantastic job, and Simon Pegg steals the show as the voice of Reepicheep the mouse.


Yes, I'm a nerd. I grew up with the books, and it's great to finally see them get the big screen adaptations they deserve.

I hope you all get a chance to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader once or twice, particularly considering the fact that if this film doesn't do well at the box office, there may not be a Silver Chair movie in one or two more years. And that would be a darn shame.

I think we can all agree that it's preferrable to any more Twilight movies.