Cute Kayla Pictures

Jana took Kayla yesterday to the IMF store to get gardening supplies and Kayla saw a rabbit there. She had a lot of fun playing with it.

Kayla

We have decided to enroll Kayla in a Chinese/English dual immersion language program at her school. It is a 1-6 grade program designed to teach her to speak, read and write Chinese by the 6th grade. It sounds very difficult but we did a lot of research and found that these programs at an early age are generally successful. I have always wanted to speak Chinese so I am thinking of taking some classes myself so Kayla has someone to talk to. If it works out and she ends up enjoying it, it would be fun to take her to China some day. Here is the explanation from the school website:


What is Dual Immersion?
Dual immersion is a way to learn academic content while acquiring another language at the same time. Students receive math, science, or social studies instruction in a target language, such as Spanish, French, or Chinese. Because of the teaching strategies used, the students learn the concepts and skills for the subject area and develop the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in another language.
What are the goals of the dual immersion programs?
The goals are for the students to develop literacy skills in both English and the target world language such as Spanish, French, or Chinese while attaining academic achievement that is at or above their grade level as measured by Utah core testing.

Furthermore, students will develop a world cultural sensitivity. We strive to prepare students academically, linguistically and socially for the challenges and needs of our global community.

Happy Birthday Jana

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife Jana. She is my inspiration. She is a loving mother and friend and is always reminding me to try and be a better person. Somehow she has also put up with me for 18 years. Happy Birthday. I love you Jana.

Best Traits: kind, beautiful, smart, forgiving . . . when things seem hopeless she can always think of a way to make things better.

Best Memory: Our trip to Uganda when I found out how truly compassionate she is (the choice of picture above is from our trip.)

Coraline

Last night we saw Coraline. The entire family was amazed at how good this film was. I have been a fan of Tim Burton for a long time and love everything he does, but especially his stop-motion animation (films like the Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and the Corpse Bride). Coraline is definitely the best of that group. It is at once charming, enchanting and magical, while at the same time dark and sinister. Coraline Jones, the film's heroine (Dakota Fanning), has just moved with her parents from Michigan to rainy Oregon into a Victorian mansion called the Pink Palace. Having left her friends behind and with parents that don't have time to spend with her, she is very bored and thus all the more excited when she discovers a hidden door in the house that opens to a parallel universe. What she finds makes for an incredible story of witches that cut out the eyes of children, funky music from They Might Be Giant, talking cats and rats and alternate worlds that leaves you on the edge of your seat. I'll be surprised if I see a better movie this year. 4 stars out of 4.

New Morrissey Single

I grew up in love with the Smiths. They were extremely influential to me as a teenager (as they were for many my age in the 80s). I have not been as big a fan of Morrissey on his own. I went to see him in concert last year and the crowd went wild when he played Smiths songs, more quiet with his newer songs. But this new single, I actually love it. Moz is getting back to his roots with this one. This actually takes me back to the Smiths. My only complaint is that it's too short. And I feel old when I see how old he is now.

Happy Birthday

I missed writing about three birthdays in the last couple of week that are important to me.

Mom

My mom in haloween costume since she loves to throw halloween parties.

Yesterday Jana and I took my mom and Reinhardt to the theater and to dinner (The Green Papaya -great Thai and Vietnamese food) for her birthday. We love hanging out with them. My mom is one of the best influences on my life. Happy Birthday mom. I love you.

Some good traits - Smart, hard working, selfless, caring, health conscious

Good memory - My mom taking me out for lunch and a movie every year when we would go shopping for school clothes.

Diana

My older sister Diana just had her birthday also. She is a great role model for me and a great mother who has raised incredibly smart and likable kids. Happy birthday Diana. I love you.


Some good traits - level headed, smart, wise, beautiful, willing to help anyone, tolerant

Good memory - The year Diana could drive, but before I could, she would take me and my friends anywhere we wanted to go. She never made me feel like I was putting her out.

Dan

My friend Dan just celebrated his birthday also. Dan is the person whose choices I most trust. He has never disappointed me in the decade we have been friends. He is a very involved father and husband and very forgiving. Happy birthday Dan. Nobody deserves to be happier.

Some good traits - Only person I am close to that I have never even once seen mad. He is smart, wise, kind, forgiving, honest, puts others before himself, athletic and patient.

Good memory - Kicking back on a warm Utah summer night at the Lollapalooza concert

San Diego

I had to speak at a company event in San Diego on Friday (one of my favorite places on Earth!) It was gray and stormy the entire time I was there but still beautiful in its own way (and much warmer than Salt Lake City).

Tyler's Birthday

Every year we do something with the family for Tyler's birthday, but he had never had a full birthday party with invited friends and he wanted to do something like that this year. Thus, last Saturday we packed up the 16 kids, most of them 9 years old, and went to Chuck-e-Cheese (Tyler's choice . . . I had been hoping he would choose going to a movie). Jana and I were frazzled 4 hours later when it was over but Tyler had a great time. They have pizza and video games and the kids loved it. They bring the birthday kid up to dance with Chuck-e-Cheese and Tyler actually was dancing. It was pretty funny, but I didn't have my camera. He said it was his best birthday ever.

Tyler with Andrew

Trip to Singapore

I was in Singapore last week on a business trip. I was lucky to be there as Chinese New Year was getting under way and had a good time.

My friend Blake with three strange mannequins

Me on Mohamed Ali Lane

Book Review - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Ok, this was an Oprah book. I am generally not a fan of recommending fiction books on the current best sellers list (this books has been on for a number of weeks), especially Oprah because generally they are not my type. However, I read this one because it was the choice for our book club at my work and I have to say that this is one of the best books I've read this year. It is at times Hamlet and at times Steinbeck with the small town characters like the sheriff and shop owners. Its the coming-of-age story in the 1960s and 1970s seventies about a boy growing up in deep rural Wisconsin. He is born with the ability to hear, but not to speak. Edgar's family breeds and trains dogs and he has grown up not only in the family business but loving the dogs as his best friend. When his father dies in suspicious circumstances involving his uncle, Edgar finds himself in a Hamlet like plot. It was suspenseful and I quickly cared about the characters, especially Edgar and his dogs. I highly recommend it.