Let's Go to the Movies

Hi everyone (everyone as in the maybe two people that read this blog), Abby here.

One thing that our family loves to do together is go to movies.  It's a fun option for us because it is a totally normal thing that we can all do.  Then again, even going to movies turns out to be not very normal for us, since we can only sit in certain seats, and it's hard to keep 3D glasses from falling off of Alex and McKay's heads, and we have to make sure there's no ice in McKay's drink, and it takes like half an hour to get Alex's coat off.

All of this is a bit challenging, but the biggest challenge is finding movies that are appropriate for us all to see together.  However, lately there have been a lot of good movies coming out that we've all enjoyed.  Here are a few that we've seen lately and that we recommended.

Saving Mr. Banks

 This movie was gorgeous.  The story was incredible, the acting was incredible, and the cinematography was incredible.  Also, Ruth Wilson was in it, who plays the main role in the Masterpiece Theater version of Jane Eyre that Mom and I love so much.

The Book Thief

If you haven't read this book or watched the movie, stop everything you are doing and make that your highest priority.  Mom and I saw it back in November and then we had to run out and buy the book.  Both the book and the movie are absolutely stunning on all levels.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.” 


“I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.” 

“Somewhere, far down, there was an itch in his heart, but he made it a point not to scratch it. He was afraid of what might come leaking out.” 

It is just so full of brilliance and amazing writing that I don't know what to do with myself.  The movie almost made me cry and I never cry.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Not everyone that I've talked to has loved this movie as much as we did.  But oh man, it is now one of our favorite movies ever.  The cinematography was gorgeous (cinematography is a big deal to me if you haven't figured that out yet), and Ben Stiller was hilarious.  I've been listening to the soundtrack on repeat for the past like two weeks.  Mom keeps saying that if you laughed a lot during this movie, you have a similar sense of humor to us.  And the storyline was pretty profound.  Hollywood needs to make more movies like this one.

The Lego Movie

"Everything is awesome!  Everything is cool when you're part of a team!"  This movie was actually really cute and funny, and a lot better than I thought it would be.  We all liked it a lot.  We generally don't like kid movies that aren't made by Disney, so this was a fun surprise.


So, in this world full of R-rated, stupid, inappropriate movies, it is nice to know that there are still some great options out there for our family to enjoy together.

***You may have noticed that Frozen was not included in this list.  We all really liked Frozen, but we're not really understanding why everyone is obsessed with it.  So if anybody has a solid explanation for me of why Frozen is the only movie I've heard people talking about since Thanksgiving, I'd love to hear it.

Skiing Season!

Yesterday our ski season started! We will ski every week this month.

McKay with his fun and talented instructor, Anna.

When the triplets were four, I saw poster advertising snow skiing for disabled kids, so I signed the boys up!  They skied at Sundance and Snowbird six to eight times a year, and their kind instructors would give Abby a lesson each time, as well.  Todd and I started feeling left out, so we learned how to do it, too.  

Abby and Todd waiting for the lift.

Now our whole family skies together four or five times a year at Park City with the National Ability Center program.  We love skiing and we love doing it together!

People always ask me how it works for the boys to ski.  They sit in a chair with skis on the bottom and the instructors push them or hold onto ropes attached to the back of the ski to steer them.

  

The ski, with padding added.

Alex

McKay

 Our family has come to look upon this time together with tremendous joy, and we are grateful for the kind people who make it happen.  Todd and Abby and I have really improved in out skiing skills over the years, but we still aren't as fast as Alex and McKay!  We usually can ski all over the mountain, but we are most comfortable on green runs and a few blues.  Park City is a great place for us because there are so many green runs.  

The weather was beautiful yesterday and we had a great time! I love this family of mine!!!!