Rainman

For Spectrum Academy's 8th grade graduation Kim Peek's came to speak to us. For those of you that do not know who Kim Peek is I would love to tell you a little bit about him. Kim Peek is considered an Autistic Savant. He was born with a photographic memory. And the best part is Kim is the man Dustin Hoffman studied for the character in the movie Rainman. Dustin spent 3 months watching, asking, and learning about Kim in order to play the part better.

Kim's dad did most of the explaining and then he opened up for questions. He told us to raise our hands and ask Kim any question we could think of...Kim would have an answer for us, and he did!

Kim can tell you the page, paragraph, and line an exact quote is on in any book he has read...and there are not many he has not read.

If you tell him your birth date he can tell you the day (M-Su), the weather of that day, and the day (M-Su) on which you will retire (age 65).

He is a huge sports fan and can tell you any stat you wish about any sport in the United States, some in Europe, and about any athlete you want to know about. He is a walking encyclopedia. It was amazing to listen to him.

If you give him a city he will tell you the streets that run through it, the names of any parks, and the area code. He is truly amazing.

He had little patients for the microphone we had for him. He wanted to touch the people he was talking to so he kept walking into the audience. His dad would say into the mic, "Kim, you need to talk into the microphone so all of the people can hear you." After his dad said this about 5 times, Kim walked back to the mic pulled it off the cord and yelled, "Now I am holding the mic and the only ones that need to hear can hear." His dad chuckled as he stood there holding the mic cord and Kim walked around holding the mic.

Hayden's question was when was the first super bowl played, Kim didn't skip a beat! He gave us the teams, the location, and the score.

Hayden and I got to shake Kim's hand and we got to hold the Oscar that Dustin Hoffman gave Kim for his help with the movie (yep it is heavy). It was a mind blowing night and I hope it is one that Hayden will not forget.

Here is a clip of Kim answering Hayden's question. He doesn't talk in the mic so it is hard to hear him sometimes, but he is so facinating to watch. Dustin did a good job imitating his voice and his mannerisms.

Here is a video of a car question.

High School Musical

Harley has been enrolled in Creative Arts this year (it was her birthday present!!) and the Musical Class did High School Musical this past weekend. Harley was a cheerleader (like mother-like daughter) and she was "Ripper" the skater chick turned cello-ist (which was a drastic costume and attitude change...)

She did an amazing job and was as cute as could be. Her love for the stage makes all the money, sacrifice, and practicing worth every minute. Harley is so happy performing and we LOVE watching her!

I want to give a big thanks to all of you that came to support Harley! THANK YOU!!!

Memorial Day

We decided to "prepare" for our Yellowstone trip by going on a drive...a long drive! We started with no real idea of where we were going to go and ended up in Morgan. From Morgan we drove to Heber and from Heber we went to Strawberry Reservoir then back to Heber, down Provo Canyon, and home again! We made a few pit stops along the way: Jordanelle, Echo, and Strawberry Reservoirs because getting out to throw things in the water is so much fun! We stopped for dinner in Lehi and then "Home again, home again, lickety split." It was a 5 hour drive and we did quite well. Hayden was adamant that he needed to be home, but with the promise of candy he quieted down, turned on his iPod and enjoyed the ride! Hunter kept track of all the County's we went through and gave us random facts of information about each one, for instance: "Did you know that Cache County is the county seat?" and on it went. Harley slept most of the way due to lack of sleep the past week preparing for her musical, so she enjoyed the rest.

It was fun and relaxing, we listened to a book on tape, music, and the sound of the car on the road!

Hey Batta' Batta'

So baseball season his here with full force. It takes me back to my childhood when I used to play, Brett used to play, Angie used to play, my Dad used to coach, my Mom used to cheer us all on, and Kristi...well Kristi she-what did she do during that time??
So back to my story. We all used to spend hours at the ball park watching game after game. Then in the summer when we visited Grandma and Grandpa Dalling we would go to Ricks College and watch Grandpa coach the baseball team. We would go to the bushes on the other side of the home run fence and gather up the balls that had been hit over the fence and run them back to the dug out.

I miss watching Harley play softball and reminisce on her past life as a "ball player." Baseball is a part of me, a part of my history, I think family when I hear the sound of a ball hitting a bat. It is a good time for me. I am happy that Hayden is developing this talent and hope he sticks with it for many years to come.

So take me out to the ball game...if we don't win it's a shame, 'Cause it's 1, 2, 3, strikes your out at the old ball game.

Night Of The Arts

Every year LPA does a night of the arts. Hunter and Hayden performed in their classes and we had the pleasure of watching them. Hayden was Francis Scott Keyes for his performance and he stole the show with his amazing loud voice and very serious depiction of Mr. Keyes.

Hunter had us laughing as he attempted to sing with out making funny faces or dancing around. He refused to look and smile at me so these are the crappy shots of my goofy boy that I love.

Each of the kids had art work displayed in the hallway so we got to look at what they have been doing. Grandma and Grandpa B were able to come and watch the performances and see the art work the kids have done. It was fun to have them there!

The People I Love!

Here are some of the people I love...

Happy Mother's Day to ME!

I had a great Mother's Day! I got a new purse (thanks Staci), swim suit (thanks Mel), wallet (thanks Hayden), 2 cards (thanks Harley and Dad), a sea shell picture that hangs on the wall (thanks Hunter), money (thanks Mom and Dad), lunch with no clean up (thanks Dave), and the Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack (thanks Dave & iTunes)!! As you can see it was a community effort to make my day a wonderful one!

Mother's Day at the Munk's

Happy Mother's Day! After church we went to Maka's house to celebrate M-day with her, Great Grandma Miles and Aunt Janis. As usual the food was to die for and we got to eat on Maka's new dinning room table! It was a great dinner. We got Maka a giraffe purse, now she is as hip and stylish as can be!!

Happy Mother's Day to Maka. (Is it a bad thing when the kids ask us to leave on vacation so Maka can watch them?) Thank you for believing in us and always supporting us!

Mother's Day at the Bhams!!

Happy Mother's Day! We started the festivities on Saturday evening at Grandma Burningham's house for our Mother's Day/FHE/Birthday Party. We had good eats and nice treats! Then the kids jumped in the hot tub for some toasty swimming. We got Gma B a pedicure for M-day! Here are some pictures I took of the event.

We had a lot of fun and stayed way past bed time!! Thanks Gma B for being such a great Mom and Grandmother, we love you!

EXTRA! EXTRA!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it, Hayden hit a double and we want to shout it! HAYDEN HIT A DOUBLE! Hayden got a new bat that has the potential to assist him in the home run he is still trying to get. Here is the very first hit with the brand new DeMarini bat!! Hayden's comment: "Well it was no home run, but it was a good hit."

Out with the NEW and in with the OLD!

The big new table that we crammed into our humble little kitchen has been replaced with this small, sturdy, old table that we inherited from Pop and Gauze (Dave's grandparents). Dave's Dad (Baka) used this table when he was young...Maka even ate at the table when they were dating!! We love the table and hope to keep in in our kitchen for years to come.

To go along with the old, this is a china hutch that I inherited from my Grandma Dalling. I feel a bit nostalgic with all my new "old" things that make our house look fun and fresh.