Randle Re-Runs

Hi there. My name is Miss Gina.

2011-09-20T18:48:00.007-06:00

Hi, my name is Miss Gina Violet Randle. I'm new to this family so I thought I would introduce myself. I was born on April 25, 2011. I was a day late and my mom was induced, so I had no real hurry of getting here. And I've been mellow, happy and ready for any party ever since.

This picture was taken today. I love this outfit and my headband (both a product of my wonderful mother's crafting and shopping talents). I love this blanket and that my Great Grammie and Great Gramps Whitehead made for me. I've rolled over twice, but my mom has missed it both times.

I love to smile at anyone who smiles at me. I love to play with my rattle, links and pacifier. I love to take baths, be sung to, and tickled. I really love my older brother Derek and can't wait to put all of his Legos in my mouth. I love to listen to Muse, watch the leaves on trees, swing in my swing and be held by my mom and dad.

I really don't like to fall asleep, be in my car seat, wear socks or have my nose wiped, but oh well. My parents say they will keep me, so I'll stay and be a part of this killer-awesome family. Oh, and have you heard? I live right by some place called Disneyland now. Everyone really likes it, including me. You should come and visit.

My Cute Nieces

2011-09-09T11:10:00.002-06:00

We went to Cleveland last month before we headed to Michigan to Clay and Morgan's reception. I just had to step outside with these cute girls and take a picture. Look how cute and fun they are! I can't believe Lilly is in the first grade, Maggie is reading and Liv is that big. Liv is pretty cool, just like her older sisters. I think she and I get along because she's always ready to party. Love you girls!

Yo Blogga Blogga

2011-09-08T10:18:00.002-06:00

One of the fun things about the new job is that they document every day of production with a "Behind the Scenes" video. They have a blog called Yo Blogga Blogga. If you like the show, you should check it out. You should also check it out to see the very enthusiastic work environment I am in now.

I am in the midst of my 3rd week on the show and so far I am liking it a lot.

Uncle Ster is Missed

2011-09-07T13:59:00.003-06:00

Derek told us the other day that we could go to Texas and make sure Sterling was okay.

"He went by himself and you aren't supposed to because that's lame."

We explained that he did not go by himself, but went with other missionaires. I think he had a sharing time lesson on missionaries because when I peeked in and checked on him (first day in a new primary) they were talking about different languages.

We sure do miss Uncle Ster around here though. We pray for him every night.

It's been an interesting few weeks for us with the move, but this is the first time all of the siblings have been this far apart from each other. With Clay & Morgan in Kansas, Sterling in Texas and Jennifer "stranded" at the age of 9 in Utah, we create quite the rectangle of sibling locations.

The picture above is when I took Sterling to see Brandon Flowers in Las Vegas a few weeks before he left.

Goodbye Civic

2011-09-06T12:48:00.001-06:00

My civic died on me 30 miles before Barstow, CA 2 weeks ago. It was around 110 degrees outside and it blew two cylinders. After being too expensive to fix, we decided to sell it to a junk yard. It served us well, but I do have to say I thought it would take us just a tad longer. It had just over 180,000 miles on it. I took it to Pep Boys just before I drove it down here and they said it would be fine to make the journey. Who would have thought?

More details on the rest of the move as well as the incident to follow...

Derek Plays Hockey (2.5 years old)

2010-01-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

Whrrl: Christmas Day

2009-12-26T12:17:00.002-07:00

A few highlights from our Christmas day as documented on my Whrrl story. It was my first one so give me a break.

2009-12-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas

Dear Family & Friends,

2009 has been a wonderful year for the Randle family. We’ve grown a lot as Nancy and I are approaching five years of marriage and Derek is nearly three years old. We’ve had our fair share of ups and downs, but we have been blessed so much throughout the year. Hey, we even got two In-N-Out Burgers within 10 miles of our condo!

I’ve been busy with the usual: editing, playing hockey and pressuring Derek into liking what I like (it isn’t too hard.) I’ve had a great experience working this year and look forward to improving that much more in 2010. One of the highlights of my year was going to see the Anaheim Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Game 6 of the 2009 playoffs. Nancy got me a ticket while I was in California by myself on business. What a great anniversary present!

Nancy stays busy and she is very helpful. She’s always looking to help our friends and family and is a great example of love and service to Derek and me. I would say a highlight of Nancy’s year was going to see The Killers concert in Salt Lake City. Her younger brother came home from his LDS mission to Taiwan and we had the whole family together for the first time in two years. It was awesome (just imagine the shopping with her sisters!)

Derek is the one we like to talk about most. If you asked Derek what he would like to do today he would respond, “Go to Disneyland and see Bu-Buzz Lightyear and Zurg.” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? Derek gave us quite the scare by needing hernia surgery, but everything went really well. We’ve stopped making him move furniture around so he won’t strain himself again. Haha. Derek also loves baseball. I took Derek to an Angels game with my dad and brothers. We sat in the nosebleeds in far right field. Being so far away from the action, Derek looked at me, about two innings into the game, and said “Dad, look,” as he pointed to the infield, “there is a baseball game... over there!” He’s hilarious.

You can catch up with us throughout the year on our blog at randlereruns.blogspot.com. We look forward to 2010 and wish you all a very happy holiday season.

With love,

Bryce, Nancy and Derek

Merry Christmas

and a happy New Year!

More than a top ten list

2009-12-09T23:22:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, James, my brother-in-law who is married to Nikki, e-mailed me about a sort of top ten list of reasons you can tell you are married to a Knight. After a couple of e-mails back and forth between James, Mike (Heidi's husband) and me, we came up with the list below. Some of them will seem kind of odd, but that's probably because you aren't married to a Knight.

"So Bryce, Mike, and I are so glad we married into the Knight family. We are especially thankful for the Knight women in our lives. While musing upon our gratitude for this particular blessing during this Thanksgiving season, we discovered a few commonalities between these special Knight women… :)

You might be married to a Knight if…

1. You own more than one of the following red items: couch, curtains, walls, doors, dishes…

2. Your wife knows where the nearest five Target locations are and the fastest routes to them, between them, during rush hour, on Saturdays at 1pm…

3. Your wife sends you to Walmart when she is compelled to purchase items there because they are currently out of stock at the nearest five Targets.

4. Your wife calls her sisters to notify them of Target sales locally and to see if the same sale is going on in their end of the US, and asks them to purchase things on sale there and ship them to her (even though this may actually end up costing more (not including time)… that’s not the point, the point is, “I got such a good deal on it!”)

5. Your wife has recently composed a sonnet, blog, or ode to Target. http://randlereruns.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-may-have-mentioned-it-before-but-i.html

6. Your wife can't manage to write a blog without including (have I mentioned I LOVE Target?!)

7. As a last tribute to Target related humor… “We believe that Target is the only place to shop; we believe in all that Target has released on clearance, all that is now on clearance, and we believe Target will yet release on clearance many great and important things pertaining to my house decor; Perdition, thy name be Wal Mart, Amen.”

8. Everything is SOooooo cute! especially baby clothes from Gymboree or amazing deals from a craft store.

9. Your wife buys things she already has because they’ve gone more on sale and she can now return them to get an additional 25 cents off (notice this one may happen multiple times for the same item, for example, if it continues to decrease in price over a one year period)

10. …if you’ve ever heard your wife say, “Oh my Heck!” when frustrated.

11. Your wife secretly wants to name your next kid Bono or Edge (maybe just as a middle name) (and in the case of Natalie – Bowser)

12. Waking your wife up from a nap necessitates wearing a facemask, cup, defensive attack dog training gloves and steel-toed boots. Not to mention an up-to-date last will and testament

13. If you happen to have strawberries in your fridge, regardless of the season, price of the strawberries, or quality

14. If the only thing colder than your wife's hands are her feet, and the only thing colder than your wife's feet is liquid nitrogen or perhaps the dark side of the moon.

15. If you have an entire cupboard set apart for chocolate chips; alternately, your food storage might consist primarily of chocolate chips.

16. If you've received the evil eye for teasing…

17. "Yous guys" come up now and then.

18. If 'Quest Voice' means something to you (a special tone of voice reserved for the damned)

19. There is only one word for how food tastes when it is good "Tasty"

20. Your mother-in-law often uses the phrase give me peace! in a her best Minnie mouse voice.

21. Your wife purses her lips and has a very serious stare while fixing her hair or applying makeup in the mirror

22. You’re the luckiest guy on earth

We realize that we haven’t even considered all the shoe-related indicators, but the list was already getting pretty long, so we’ve decided to reserve shoe-humor for later."

I may have mentioned it before, but I love Target

2009-11-14T20:40:00.004-07:00

Well, they got me again. I love Target. Oh, passionately love. The sales, the clearance, the totally-cool-looking-things-that-look-like-Pottery-Barn-for-a-fraction-of-the-price, the clearance, the prices, the many checkout lanes, the red logo, the open aisles, the lack of lame music playing, the fact that nothing is stacked on the top shelf (except toys at Christmas), the cool phones that make people come to you in 30 seconds (or the voice record lady will get mad), the clean bathrooms, the cheap food, the clearance, the lighting, the selection, and, well, I could go ON AND ON AND ON AND ON. I LOOOOOOVE Target.

Then they put out this totally cool and awesome Thanksgiving commercial staring another Nancy. I love my name and I love Target. Could I POSSIBLY be their TARGET audience? Good thing I studied advertising in school or they may have got me. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: I love Target advertising too.

Here is the commercial:

I can't decide if the cut-out paper turkey leg or answering the door with a bowl and a whisk it my favorite part. Hahaha.

On a side note, when I was in school I did some Comms research paper and read a book about Target and why they are so successful. I only read about half of it due to my amount of procrastination and it not being the true subject of my assigned topic and luck in library due dates (yes, I know about renewing. I did it twice.) So I told myself I would read it when I have more time. Hummm. If only I had more time AND could remember the name of the book. I guess I could read through my research papers from college and see if I referenced it correctly. But man, I need time for that too. Anyway.

So dear Target: I love you. Happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you several times next week, as always.

XOXO, Nancy

ps: there is a total ban on anyone making a comment here about their dislike of Target. This is my blog and I say so. Plus I always protect what I love.

pps: this post is dedicated to Nikki, Heidi, Melanie and Bryce (He has to go there a lot. At least he can get a dedication. Think of it like the beginning of a children's book. Doncha ever wish that was you?)

My Red Dyson = Love

2009-11-08T22:11:00.002-07:00

My friend was asking what kind of vacuum to buy on Facebook with a $300 budget. I raved about my Dyson and felt like I needed to post it on some forum or something. Then I remembered I have a blog and can post my opinions to it whenever I want... and I haven't done so in quite some time... Anyway, the post:

My Dyson is seriously one of my ultimate, TOTALLY worth it purchases. I love it - especially how unbelievably satisfying it is to vacuum and see how much stuff you pull up. The cord is long, the bag-less feature is easy to use, you can switch it to a canister-type style (for hard floors) with an attachment, the hose is like 17 feet long, there is a lifetime filter, 5 year warranty, it is light and it hasn't ever given me a problem.

The best way to get a deal on a Dyson is search online for a store front that has a sale going on -- then take it to Bed Bath and Beyond to price match. My sister got her $500 version (DC 24) for $320! But there is usually a good one with attachments and an extra filter at Costco. I actually sold some extra attachments mine came with on eBay for $10-$20 too... but they do have some pretty cool attachments I love...

Mine is the regular (DC 07) version, but I am jealous of the new(er) Ball addition and the quick-draw hose feature.

I have heard mixed reviews from other people of the Dyson, but I have been nothing but totally satisfied (OBVIOUSLY!) I threw my $150 Dirt Devil away after 18 months with a newer $30 filter. What a waste!

Some bonus Derek pictures

2009-09-17T18:28:00.003-06:00

I think my sisters would kill me unless I posted some pictures of Derek too. I'll choose a few here and put the rest on Flickr.

At the Owlz game.
Eating his cute cookie at Disneyland.
Exhausted after Disneyland day #1.

Projects and over-run budgets.

2009-09-17T17:01:00.011-06:00

TA-DA! A blog post! I know, I know, how exciting.

I just finished my latest project for my living room. The South end has been redone and I thought I would share the progress.

The family pictures: Family pictures are always an ordeal, even when you don't want them to be. When my sister Nikki was in town, we went shopping for clothes. 17 outfits later (okay, maybe there were only 15), we decided on what I should wear. Then Bryce and Derek's outfits were easy to find. I then decided to take the pictures at Wadley Farms in Lindon. Clay came with us to make Derek smile -- somehow a grown man with a light saber always does the trick! (Thanks again, Clay.)

We did Rick Nye's new website and left some cash at the end for an updated family picture. I did take the picture of Derek on the right -- he wouldn't cooperate long enough for Rick to take a picture, so Mike and Claire let us use their backyard as a backdrop a few days later.

The coffee/end tables & frames: I went in to Four Chairs to order some frames for our family pictures and I saw the tables. I knew I had to have them! They came in a set, so I decided I needed both end and the coffee table. That meant we had to rearrange the living room, moving the entertainment center and rearranging the media stuff. That was quite the project. I also had a hard time deciding on a frame color, but I think black will be traditional enough throughout the years. (I do Four Chairs' website too. But don't look at it now. It's in the middle of being revamped.)

The lamps: I got a black lamp base and pretty red lamp shade for our wedding. I realized a little while later that I should have two -- one for my side of the bed and one for Bryce -- but Target decided to no longer carry the shade. A few years later I noticed the base on clearance, so I bought it. A short while after that, we moved and one of the bases was dropped and broken (the guilty person will remain nameless).

Now fast-forward to the present. I had two new black end tables, one functioning black base, one broken black base and one red shade. I went to Lowe's and (all by myself) found the necessary pieces to fix the broken base. I then browsed online and found a darling lamp shade for $250. I then kept looking for lamp shades and found one at Target.

I then decided that I wanted something more unique for my totally-awesome-and-totally-unique end tables. So I went to six stores and then decided that the Target lamp shades were totally-awesome-and-totally-unique-especially-for-their-price. I then went to JoAnn's and bought beads and trim to spice them up. An hour later with the hot hot glue gun, they look pretty dang good. (And no, I didn't make a mistake. I meant to say hot twice. Just ask my right thumb.)

I also spent an evening with my Lowe's fix-it parts and my broken lamp base. I was only electrocuted once (and tripped the power twice), but I fixed my broken base for a little less than $10. It was so worth it.

The couch and accessories: the same ol' red couch. In my wildest dreams I will get a new one someday. I have fabric left over from the curtains for toss pillows. What a concept. So for today, just let the couch be. The throw has been at Target for months and it finally went on clearance, which means I have no restraint. Hooray for Target clearance.

I want something else for the East wall and some sort of finishing touch with the picture frames. Maybe someday we'll decide what to do with our lives, we'll own something and I will be able to paint too.

But hey, several projects and several over-run budgets later, I couldn't be happier about my new South-end in my living room. And my cute family hanging on the wall.

Derek is Babysat by Clay

2009-08-21T01:41:00.002-06:00

Clay always does a terrific job babysitting. He's very willing too. One of Derek's (and Clay's) favorite things to do with Clay is lightsaber fight. Clay brought over the Darth Vader mask and at first it scared him, but then it was fine.

Derek also likes to pitch the ball (imaginary) and then run the bases. Until tonight we had never seen him dust himself off.

Then we dressed him up like Yoda.

It's an 8 minute clip and the in house film editor didn't feel like editing it. So we won't be offended if you close it early.

The Real Singin in the Rain

2009-08-16T23:47:00.002-06:00

Singin' in the Rain continues to be one of Derek's choice songs. The other day it was raining so he got to use the umbrella. It was a monumental day.

Tonight we let him dance with it to Singin' in the Rain.

Grammie and Hockey

2009-08-04T09:13:00.005-06:00

Do you like the new header? I had a hard time choosing a picture (and a new background that looked boy-ish enough!) It is a picture of Derek at the ice rink. Bryce took him there while I was at the new IHC hospital in Murray visiting my Grammie in the Neuro ICU.

You can read more about that here at a blog my mom is managing.

**UPDATE** Grammie opened her eyes today and the doctor says she can see out of the left eye. She talks and responds to questions! She is moving her left hand when asked. YAY!

I debated writing this post or not -- I'm not very good at telling people when my family is sick. Or talking about when my family is sick. Or dealing with the fact that my family is sick. But I am continuously thinking and praying for her, making for a lame blog post about something I'm not really thinking about if I say something else. But my family has only seen real blessings when we're really sick. So hey, there are positives.

Bryce and I visited her last night (thanks to Derek's awesome Grandpa Rock Star and Grandma Leslie and Best Friend Aunt Jennifer.) She is making real progress and we just hope she continues moving in the right direction.

My Grammie is the most independent and faithful person I know. It took a lot of strength for her to finally have her knee surgery, and now she is still strong. Now we are watching the Lord do His thing and provide us with the strength we need.

Love ya, Grammie.

This is my grandparents at the airport waiting for Brady to come off the airplane from his mission. Grammie is holding Olivia.
This is at our wedding. Of course I have pictures of Grammie taking pictures.
This is in 1992. Cute, huh?
This is Derek at the hospital with the blanket Grammie (and Gramps) made for him.

I think Grammie would like this one.

This is at my Grammie's house on Danish Road after my bridal shower. I don't think Heidi and Nikki will like this picture, but hey, here we are.

This is Grammie with Derek.
The fam at our Graduation. This is the most recent picture of the extended family at Brady's homecoming.

Prayer Time

2009-07-13T22:14:00.002-06:00

Derek has been repeating prayers lately. I am sure it is because of his awesome nursery leaders. He loves nursery.

Tonight he was saying a prayer at Family Home Evening (Family Night is always Mondays. We have a little lesson, play games and then have a treat sometimes). We were teaching/telling him how to pray again tonight and he said "Father," and then looked down and so gracefully picked up a Cheez-It! cracker.

Our eyes were half closed (kind of) and we saw him pick up this cracker with such care and then just take a good bite out of it. Hilarious. It was like it was going to be his last Cheez-It! ever. As soon as he swallowed the chewed up cheesy goodness that is condensed into a 1 inch squared piece of crunch, he continued with the prayer.

Funny kid.

Singin in the Rain

2009-07-06T22:10:00.003-06:00

A couple weeks ago we watched Singin' in the Rain with Mike, Claire & Abby at their place on the large 65" television. It was an amazing experience for Derek. He has instantly fallen in love with the movie and now dances to "Moses", "Good Mornin'" and of course "Singin' in the Rain."

One of our favorite versions of Singin' in the Rain is the VW commercial that played in Europe a few years back. Derek loves to watch it on YouTube and has come up with his own dance.

Our favorite parts of Derek's dance are, besides the whole thing, around 1:00- 1:50. At about 1:45 he does his best to imitate the breakdancer in the VW video.

The VW commercial is below:

Lame Blogger

2009-06-29T22:57:00.003-06:00

I am quite the lame blogger.

I know, it's awful. I spent quite the time blogging about the Anaheim Ducks at TheDucksBlog.com and http://hockey-leaks2.blogspot.com/. I started theducksblog a couple months ago, right before the playoffs. Then I was invited by HockeyLeaks.com to be their Ducks guy.

I am also trying to do HockeyPlayer.com things and add now and then PostFifthPictures.com. With so much to write, I get a little overwhelmed and just shut down.

I have also been working at the LDS Motion Picture Studio and Rivetal in Orem more than full time between the two. So while doing those I just ran out of time to keep up on these blogs.

So yes, now you write about how "when I grow up for real I won't have time for anything" or you can just say "thanks for keeping us posted."

Flashback: Day 1 at Disney Studios

2009-05-17T10:54:00.003-06:00

I realized that all of my blog posts from our blog we made on iWeb three years ago while I was working at the Walt Disney Studios were still on our computer. It's been nearly three years since that day and a lot of people still ask me about it, I thought I would post the entries I wrote on our blog for the next couple of days. Some of it is a little embarrassing to read now. I figured out how to get there 10-15 min quicker each day and little things like that pop up a lot.

Tuesday May 20, 2006

Today has been quite the day so far. I really had no expectations. I felt a little like a freshman and on top of the world as well. I left my great uncle's house in Simi Valley at 7:30 a.m. not really knowing what to expect for traffic. It only took me about 40 minutes to get to the Recruiting building on Olive Ave. (two blocks from the studio lot). They took our forms, double-checked them for us, took our pictures, and then we headed over to the main lot and got our ID cards. On the way to my new location I got to see the wardrobe from the Chronicles of Narnia. It was pretty fun.

I then went into the Frank G. Wells building and met with Sharon
Dean. She isn't my immediate supervisor, but she seems to be one of
many liaisons between Post and Production. I got to meet with Jayne
Armstrong, my supervisor, and then she showed me my desk, computer, etc.

Jayne introduced me to a ton of people. It was exciting because I
thought I would be some scrap-intern, but in reality, everyone was
really excited about having me there. We went to a meeting with the
President of Production (about 35 people) and talked about the
progress of each film that Disney/Touchstone has in the making.
We then went out to lunch and I actually met a man who was wearing a Mr. Dungbeetle shirt. Having worked on the foley for MDB I went and talked to him. Turns out he knew Bill Nelson and Clay McCaw (sp?). I don't have his name with me, but if anyone wants it, he gave his card to me. Jayne was impressed with my social skills. I talked with her about wanting to get into the guild and get on a show after graduation and she said that wouldn't be too hard for me to do. I guess she really likes me. She gave me a lot of confidence because she noted me as someone who can achieve what they want to because of their hard work. I can tell she is going to be very fun to work with.

We then went and saw dailies for two movies they are currently
shooting, Underdog & Wild Hogs. We did this with some administrative/creative people. It was pretty fun. Everyone is being really nice. I start actually going into a cutting room next week. I will keep you all posted.

It only took 40-45 minutes each way getting in. Pretty good- I thought.

Into the Light

2009-05-14T21:52:00.005-06:00

I went to Los Angeles this week for a short trip to visit some potential clients and reconnect with some friends at Disney while I had the week off a the LDS Motion Picture Studio. One experience that I had that sticks out in my mind happened right after I met a family friend who is Director of Photography for breakfast. He wanted to show me this editorial house in Burbank where he had always edited his corporate work.

As we were leaving, one of the part owners (I think) pulled up. My friend hadn't seem in him some time, but the man, probably in his 50's, looked very sad. Bob, our family friend, asked him "Hey, how's it going?"

He responded quickly. "It sucks. My wife passed away 45 days ago."

What do you say to that? All I saw on his face was despair. I don't know what the man has gone through in the past month and a half, but it's had me thinking.

The next day was Wednesday and I flew back to Utah for my 4th wedding anniversary. Every couple of hours I think about what that man said. I am so grateful to know that my marriage will last beyond the grave. Thank you Nancy for saying yes. Love you, babe.

And yes, for those of you who wondered what we did. We watched the season finale of LOST. It was awesome.

Ken's Slideshow

2009-04-05T15:51:00.002-06:00

Here is the slideshow I did for Ken's funeral in case some of you were not able to see it. There is no music.

Sewing #1, #2 and #3

2009-03-27T12:16:00.006-06:00

This has been a sewing month. I wish I had my own sewing machine (correction: I wish I had my Mom's sewing machine because it's the only one I know how to use), but when she isn't using it she kindly lets me take it home and sew away. Then I end up taking it back to her house so she can fix all of my mistakes, but hey, that's beside the point. I hated to sew when I was younger, but I did it and made my mom's life miserable. Now I actually enjoy it, so I guess all of that whining paid off in the end. (Thanks, Mom.)

Sewing project #1: Olivia's blanket

We had a new niece born this month, Olivia Kate. So cute. Since she is girl #3 in her family (and I am girl #3 in my family), I decided I would make her a blanket. Here are some finished pictures of it:

Sewing Project #2: Living Room Curtains

We've had these vinyl blinds in our living room since we moved in. They worked, for the most part, but they had this weird fabric stuff over them that really looked like it belonged in a Holiday Inn. So when I found this fabric I couldn't resist. This was just a day project, but I think they turned out nice. AND I didn't need my mom's help! This is the only window in our living room, so they needed some dressing up. Now I just need some patio furniture on our balcony.

Sewing Project #3: Derek's Quilt

So my big project is to sew Derek a quilt for his "big boy" bed. I haven't started this one yet, but I need to finish it soon. I had all of these plans to do it the past few days but oh well. Here are the fabrics that Leslie helped me pick out. Looks cute, huh? Can you tell I'm into robin egg blue and dark brown? Anyway, wish me luck!

Ken Barlow: smiling and laughing, always our little buddy

2009-03-04T11:48:00.004-07:00

I was asked to give my little cousin's eulogy at this funeral that took place yesterday. I told a few people that I would post my talk on my blog/facebook for those relatives that were not able to make it or that wanted to read it again. More on this whole story later...

Upon being appointed to take this moment to relish in the moments of Ken’s life with all present, I gathered memories from his parents, grandparents, and others that surrounded him. I pray that my words will uplift, comfort, and add to the illustrious memories we have of Ken Christian Barlow.

Ken Christian Barlow was born on December 21, 2006 on a beautiful winter morning in Provo, Utah. Our memories of him start just before he was born, as I remember Saori being notably anxious to meet Ken as any mother is who truly loves her children. On the morning of Ken’s birth, we woke up to find an e-mail from Scott proudly stating that we all had a new cousin, nephew, or grandson.

When Scott went to pick up Saori from the hospital, he asked me to watch Kai, Mia, and Kou. There was a special feeling in their house that morning. That’s what happens when everyone's new favorite family member comes home for the very first time.

As Ken started to grow, our memories of him grew as well. When he was old enough to sit up, he used to sit in his bouncer and look at you, peaceful and content. At 8 months he went from crawling to walking, and gave the family a run for his money as they hurried to again baby-proof the house from a walking child that would touch nearly everything.

At family parties, Ken was shy, and mostly wanted to be held by his Dad or a trusted family member. But as he came into the house, everyone would yell, “Baby Ken!” and welcome him to the party. Once you got him away from clinging onto Dad, he would involve you in one of his games by either shooting you with an empty squirt gun and waiting for a reaction, or tossing a ball back and forth. His uncles, cousins and grandparents would laugh and play along as Ken giggled with a large, toothy smile. Ken also loved the wagon rides around Grandma’s house, as one of his willing cousins would pull him along.

Ken is certainly loved by his brothers and sister. Kai, Mia, and Kou looked for hugs from him as they came in the door from school. Sometimes they had to wait until he woke up from his nap. But, as soon as they were reunited, he had trouble leaving them alone. Kou, because of his troubles pronouncing the letter "k," called Ken "Ten” and thus Ken’s family nickname was created.

A personal favorite memory of mine was when Kou used to take Ken's hand and wave to himself saying "Hi Po!" Mia would look after Ken like a mini-mommy, and their parents appreciated her stepping up to change diapers, getting him something to eat, or helping him to watch his favorite TV show. My favorite thoughtful question from Mia was when she asked Scott and Saori, “Why does Ken look like a Chinese baby?” Nonetheless, Ken loved the same toys that he saw his brothers play with. Whether a lightsaber, sword, lego, toy gun, or matchbox car, he wanted it if his older brothers had it. He would also sit with Kai and Kou while they played video games on the Wii or the computer thinking he “just had to be the next in line”, both watching and learning from them intently.

But of the most loved toys, it was the ball that set him apart from his siblings. He loved the basketball, football, tennis ball, soccer ball, or any other ball whether hard or soft or small or large. Lately Ken was able to dribble for a few seconds, throw overhand, and kick like a semi-pro soccer player. This always made his Dad beam proudly. At two years old, he seemed quite athletic, and felt most comfortable and confident holding and throwing a ball anywhere he went.
One day when Ken was still younger, I remember Saori being excited because Ken had started eating real people food. We then looked on as Ken ate an entire Costco chocolate muffin all by himself. Those muffins, a Nutella sandwich, or a bowl of chocolate flake cereal turned into his favorite breakfast meal. He of course graduated to everything else the family ate, and his favorite foods included Japanese sticky rice and Dad’s grilled chicken. I’m sure that his favorite part of that grilled chicken was grabbing his shoes and following his daddy out to the grill to help out.

As many of you know, Scott works downstairs in the basement, and Ken took advantage of where his dad worked as much as possible. He had just learned to open the office door and tried many times to make himself Daddy's assistant. Ken would run in if the door was open, give his Dad a hug, and help him by gathering papers from the printer or sit quietly on his lap for a few minutes until it was time for a conference call or getting back to email. Scott would also send him off on a special assignment to color on blank paper if he needed some enticing to move back upstairs. When Ken found Scott was out of the office, he would mimic Scott by pretending to type up important memos on the laptop or organize his office by pulling expense reports or other work papers from a briefcase mistakenly left open.

When it was time for a nap, or for bed, Ken did so a bit stubbornly. He didn’t care much for sleeping, yet dozed off after a few minutes of crying. During the last few months, Ken could be talked into going quietly after giving everyone in the family a hug and kiss and telling them individually “goodnight”. Scott also helped by flicking the room lights on and off, or saying to Ken, “No crying” until he laughed and repeated “No crying” back to him. While lying in bed, Ken would take his pointer finger to his top lip, and rubbing his finger back and forth, massage and comfort himself until he fell asleep.

While Ken was recovering from the flu, he never gave up his smile. Saori would try to comfort him before falling asleep, Ken would rub his upper lip, and when asked if he was OK, Ken would look up, gather his strength, and give her the best and biggest smile he could offer. He truly cared to comfort her in his anguish by silently saying “I’m hanging in there Mom.”
Ken will be remembered for his smile, laughter and loving attitude in our family. His countenance lit up the room and brightened your spirit.

Sometime early Wednesday morning on February 25th, after Saori checked on him at 2 am, and what seemed to be him sleeping soundly, he had slipped away quietly and returned to our Father in Heaven. Just as he came home from the hospital for the first time to a happy family, he returned to his Heavenly home in that same manner. There is no doubt that Ken is a cherished son and brother. He was loved as much by his earthly parents as he is by His Heavenly Father.

Let us always remember him at his happiest and healthiest and in his laughter, so that this memory will bring us comfort as he associates with and befriends his loved ones that have passed before us. His early passing should encourage us to live life to the fullest and that we should love those around us for the time that we remain on Earth, with confidence and faith in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is an honor to know such an innocent, beautiful and happy son, brother, grandson, and cousin. May the Holy Spirit of our loving, understanding Heavenly Father comfort us as we think of him, miss him, and love him until our sweet day of reunion.

Remember this?

2009-02-24T10:20:00.007-07:00

Some things never change. Derek had a break down this morning: his blanket couldn't come with him in the tub. Remember this blog post? This time I tried to get a washcloth and explain to him that when things get in the tub, they get soaking wet. Nice try, mom. Instead we took a short bath and miraculously the blanket was still around when we were done. Who did he get this blanket love from anyway? (Ha. My baby blanket is in shreds and that is the only way I remember it.)

My 25 Random Things Note.

2009-02-24T08:17:00.003-07:00

I did this random things note the other day and thought I would make it a blog post too. Sorry if you've already seen it!

1. I haven't seen Star Wars very many times, but I know all of the quotable quotes because of my brother-in-laws (and husband). Nerds.
2. My left foot is bigger than my right foot. Most of the time it's not a big deal, but I've learned my lesson to not pretend one is the right size when it's not.
3. I love my steak cooked medium rare. And I promise, you like it that way too, you just have to try it.
4. I hate doing laundry. The worst. But I don't mind doing dishes. Weird.
5. I have a few brands that I'm 100% loyal to -- Winder Farms, Charmin, Tide and Apple.
6. Oh, Apple. If you told me 5 years ago I wouldn't really know how to use a PC now, I would have laughed. But it's true, I'm totally a Mac user. Thanks again, Bryce.
7. I've never been outside the country or driven across the country. I'm sure I'll get to Brazil with Bryce one day, but I would like to never drive across the country. Ugh. (see #8) I've have been to Hawaii and all over the East Coast.
8. I get car sick.
9. I don't really have time to be doing this, but it's a good Sunday evening activity.
10. I'm a coupon cutter. But a coupon isn't really worth it if it's under 25¢. Too much work.
11. I know all the words to It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) by REM. Dani and I had some time when we were 15.
12. I LOVE the color red. It's pathetic. I have a hard time choosing a different color. I never WEAR red though, I'm at Target too often and hate being mistaken for an employee. But I would probably know the answer to your question, just don't steal whatever thing it is I want that is on clearance. Those little clearance tags are red too, now that I think about it.
13. I love to design. The hours fly by when I'm doing it and I like to think I'm not half-bad at it.
14. When I was younger I loved I Love Lucy. I wanted to learn the trivia and the facts, so I did. Now I don't remember much.
15. I waited for my missionary. It was worth it, now that it's over.
16. I have a 6-year-old sister-in-law that is often mistaken as my daughter. I do have a little boy, Derek, who is pretty dang cute.
17. I don't really forget things (like birthdays and appointments), but I INEVITABLY forget something as I'm walking out the door. Just ask my roommates, it's their favorite thing. It totally sucks now that I live on the third floor.
18. I worked in restaurants growing up. Now I tip too much.
19. I love music. The reason Bryce and I kept hanging out before we were dating was I would choose his car over our other friends -- he would play U2 on the tape deck CD player for me. Ah, the days of being 16. My top three: U2, Collective Soul, and The Killers.
20. LOST. You may think it's just a dumb show about a plane crash on a deserted island, but let me tell you, this is NO Cast Away. It's awesome. Another stellar show introduced by my sister Heidi (also attributed: The West Wing, Arrested Development and ER. I showed her The Office and 30 Rock though, so we're almost even.)
21. Oh, I started watching ER a long time ago. Too long ago. I always meant to stop watching it, but now it's the last season. Then I'll stop watching.
22. I have STICK-STRAIGHT hair. No curl at all. I got a perm when I was in HS and it fell out in less than a week.
23. I like the newspaper and the 10:00 news.
24. For the record, I introduced Bryce to In 'n' Out even though he grew up in California.
25. I paid extra for my vacuum to be red. I told you it was pathetic.

Derek meets the Little Einsteins

2009-02-16T09:04:00.002-07:00

Derek meets the Little Einsteins
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

Derek loves the Little Einsteins.

While we were at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios on February 6, Derek got to meet them. Derek can't go on the larger rides so while Mike, Heidi, and Nancy were on Rockin' Roller Coaster, Derek and I headed over to see who we could meet.

I was by myself, of course, and I had a lot in the stroller to take with me so it wouldn't get stolen. Derek saw the characters and got really excited. I let him out of the stroller and tried to hurry as fast as I could to grab the cameras, the irreplaceable, and etc.

Derek was too fast for me though. When I looked up, he had already cut the line and gone to give June and Quincy high-fives. I felt bad when I had to come get him out of the front. I felt bad for the parents he had cut, there were about 8 kids with their parents in the line in front of him. I felt bad for Derek because he was living a fantasy. Everyone was nice about it though. They told me Derek was cute with them. So that made it better.

As we got into the line, Quincy and June left and Leo and Annie came in. Derek gave them high-fives as they walked by and then waited in line. In this picture you can see he gave them a hug all on his own. He didn't do that with anyone else, not even Mickey or Buzz & Woody.

He had a great time with them. And we just love Derek.

My Free PlayStation 3

2009-02-08T12:47:00.004-07:00

Yes. It worked. I am now enjoying a free Playstation 3.

The whole thing worked out. I got eight people to sign up for an offer each (most of them free offers like a credit report or a low cost trail of GameFly or Netflix) and after the system processed the order, I got my PS3 in about four days. I signed up around December 9th and started a Blockbuster free trial.

I got a few relatives and friends to sign up for some offers, mostly Blockbuster. This is where we hit a problem though and I started to get discouraged. Blockbuster offers never processed and I gave up. I had eight people sign up and about half of them signed up for Blockbuster. I never heard anything back and I figured I would just stop.

I changed my mind when I did a free credit report instead. That offer processed immediately. Then Jared Moench did a trial of GameFly and I got excited about it again. I got the rest of my friends (and Aunt Whitney!) to sign up for credit reports and GameFly because I knew those worked.

I had my PlayStation 3 by January 30. It is awesome. That's a $400 machine for free!

Now I am working on a Wii and I am 20% there. I completed my offer and now I need five more people to sign up. I would recommend Netflix, GameFly, or a credit report with "Credit Check Total."
Thanks for helping me out everyone!

Yes, this is my son

2009-01-07T23:54:00.003-07:00

Derek gets to take a look at his dad work from home.

Can you tell?

Here is on KidPix at my mom's computer.

An awesome blog post

2009-01-01T11:30:00.003-07:00

My friend/college roommate/high school BF/essay editor, Dani, wrote an awesome blog post. I've read it aloud to a lot of people these past few days and decided I needed to post it here so others can enjoy it too.

Read this awesome blog post.

Thanks, Dani, for the entertainment. My dad agrees, the best line is about the current threat level.

My Free PlayStation 3

2008-12-23T20:05:00.004-07:00

I have started to conduct an experiment.

I always see those ads on the net as I search google for new links to yesterland.com (or wherever, but I had to point out yesterland.com somehow) that say that you can get a free laptop and then all it ends up being is a trick to get you into a Netflix subscription.

Well, my buddy Eric Anderson from BYU, now living the glamourous life of a filmmaker in L.A. (he actually just finished his internship at Village Roadshow), told me the other day how he is one person away from getting a free PlayStation 3. Now, you have to understand that I really, really want a PS3. Not only for the gaming experience, but for the Blu-Ray playing capability. Eric tells me that he has used these guys (the PS3 offer-ers) before to get a free iPod and his friend got a Wii and XBOX360 with it. It actually works he tells me.

So I had him explain to me how it is working for him. He needs 8 people to sign up to complete various offers, some of which include Blockbuster Online, Netflix, FreeCreditReport.com, and a few others.

"Well, how many do you need, Eric?" I said to him.

"Just one."

I signed up for Blockbuster and thus started my quest for 8 people to sign up for a free PlayStation 3. Nancy and I want to watch Season 4 of LOST before Season 5 starts on Jan.21.09 so we thought it was a good idea. I do Netflix, but haven't had the enthusiasm to reactivate my account lately. It was a good deal too. 3 movies at a time, 5 in store trade ins for $10 for the first month. You only need to sign up for one month to make your deal eligible for the PS3 offer so I was sold.

Well, I have about nine signed up so far with seven that have told me they have completed an offer. So theoretically it is working.

I wonder if it is the Christmas season or something, but they haven't updated my profile yet. Eric says all his other people's offers processed faster than mine.

Below you can see my progress. I will keep you all informed if it works or not. In the meantime, if you need a "free-credit-report" or some movies for a month, please sign up. The Free Credit report doesn't cost anything if you cancel within 9 days of getting the report.

this has been on my mind since October

2008-12-04T23:20:00.003-07:00

I've been meaning to do this post since October. I know. The suspense. I was planning on Halloween, then switched to Thanksgiving. Now that harvest season is over and we have other plants in our house, let's blog about my pumpkins.

As my roommates know (and still frequently tease), I love pumpkins. At the first fall sighting, I stop and buy two; one pumpkin is for the table decor and one for outside. They are horribly overpriced in September ($.30/lb), but the fall squash only comes around once a year and I must enjoy it as long as possible. I particularly enjoy the plump, short and round versions, but above all, the stem must have some kind of personality.

Now, when I was in college, my roommates found it a little strange that I was so obsessed (as you may be right now). They decided to name my pumpkin(s) and tease me about them (did I already mention that?) Polly was the first (she was murdered early and turned to pumpkin pie) and I believe Paul was the second.

Then I got married. Bryce was kind enough to allow me to indulge further into my pumpkin obsession and I bought all sorts of small pumpkins and squash for my fall decor. I turned one year's favorite pumpkin into a floral arrangement at school (take note: pumpkins rot VERY quickly when filled with floral-food-water.)

Okay. Now on to the next strange background story:

I have terrible luck. Ask my sisters, brother and Dani: it's terrible. Once in the seventh grade I won a month's supply of Twix bars from Channel One. That's about as far as the luck-meter flies for me.

Bryce, on the other hand, has great luck. He's working on winning a Sony Bravia and Playstation 3 package right now, but no bites yet.

Among his luckiest accomplishments is his ability to find twin eggs. I don't know how or why, but he has found THREE twin eggs since we've been married. T-H-R-E-E. Trust me here, HE DOESN'T DO THE BULK OF THE EGG CRACKING. I DO. And every time it has happened, I get REALLY upset. So upset that I'm not even going to post the details. And don't ask me how many I've found because then I get more upset.

Now, the merging of these two strange stories:

I went to Smith's to buy milk one October afternoon. I was so excited to see the pumpkins even though our house was filled with all sorts of varieties. Then I saw one of those cool, round, stem-owning pumpkins and I just had to take a look. As I picked it up, it was ATTACHED TO ANOTHER PUMPKIN. It was a TWIN pumpkin. Lets just say that was one of my luckiest moments.

Another lucky moment: when the guy in line said, "Wow, I wish I had found that first."

Another lucky moment: when my husband said, "Wow, what a lucky day."

And so here I post a picture of my prized pumpkin. His name was Michael Scott, in honor of Season 2's Halloween episode. I just took the picture the other day, so it is sad that the stem ended up splitting.

But that is about as twin egg as I'm ever gonna get. So thanks, Mike, for greeting our fall festivities and giving me a little more luck in life.

(a real) Christmas (tree) is here again

2008-12-04T23:06:00.005-07:00

Our Christmas Tree made it home! We went to the very lovely Home Depot and picked out our tree on Saturday. Here are some pictures. I think the guy (who was very nice) thought I was crazy for taking pictures during the process, but when I'm buying a $30 plant that only lasts one month, I need to capture every moment of it.

On the way home (a slow process), Derek discovered that one of the strings was tied tight enough to make a note. It was hilarious.

And this is a shot from our balcony. I love how the tree is almost as big as the car. Now I need to post a picture of it decorated. Only one guess on the color scheme!

D- Street

2008-11-30T16:25:00.001-07:00

Florida? Really? Really.

2008-11-18T10:28:00.003-07:00

Yes. It's true.

We finally are going to make it to visit Mike & Heidi in Florida.

Dani (Dunaway) Rowan told us about this site called AirFareWatchDog.com. They have unbelievably awesome fares. I set up my RSS Feed reader in my MAC OS X Mail program to download them whenever a new one is released. Lately they have been sending me some great fares ($100 RT to Detriot, $180 RT to Rhode Island, etc.) and then we got one for $160 RT to Tampa from SLC. So we talked to Mike and Heidi and made our trip. WE'RE GOING TO FLORIDA!!! In the middle of February! Goodbye to the snow, HELLO to the beach!

We have a lot we want to do and we will be there for 8 days total. An old boss of mine at Disney Studios got us some tickets to Disney World too... and so we want some advice about that and Florida in general. Of course Mike and Heidi will plan days because we want to see where they live, go to the beach, eat where they like to, and all that. But we have never been before (I do not count my 4 hour layover in Miami coming home from Rio de Janeiro as a real visit, though it was amazing to be back in the USA again.) We need some advice on what to do or see, especially at Disney World. Any ideas?

The best Halloween picture

2008-11-05T22:38:00.001-07:00

The best Halloween picture
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

Derek was pretty excited to be out and about.

At first he flipped out. He did not understand that the person he just got candy from was about to close the door, forcing him to go on to the next house. He was like "Wait, they just had a whole bowl of that stuff! Why are we leaving?"

After about 3 houses he was down with it. Jennifer was Jesse and Derek was Woody. As you can see, he is sporting some tootsie pops. They accessories allowed us to keep him in his costume.

Booya.

Derek and Dad Hang Out

2008-10-06T23:03:00.000-06:00

This was taken about 2 months ago. I was trying to show Clay that we were excited for him to come home.

Open Wide

2008-10-06T23:01:00.001-06:00

Okay Shark. This one is for you.

We made this video a few days ago and now that we are going blogging crazy, we decided to post it.

Open wide everyone.

How Many 5 Year Olds Can I Beat Up?

2008-10-06T14:08:00.001-06:00

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

You missed Mormon Mythellaneous? No worries.

2008-10-05T22:32:00.003-06:00

Here is a short video on how to watch Mormon Mythellaneous on KSL.com.

The Hula/Pluto

2008-10-05T22:02:00.001-06:00

Our favorite thing that Derek does (for the day) is his Pluto impression. He also really likes Little Einsteins so we find him copying them a lot. Here is a taste of both.

Excuses, Excuses

2008-10-05T10:03:00.002-06:00

It's an easy way to blog, posting a video without much of a description. It's pretty much like neglecting your journal for months and then pasting in a concert's ticket stub and writing "I did this. Remember?"

While I feel like I do have a legitimate excuse for not paying much attention to blogging, I don't think that is a valid excuse for neglecting to write what has been going on for my own reflection.

This will probably be random, so you'll have to look past that.

My Latest Disney Experience (the studio, not the park)

About 4 weeks ago I was sitting at my desk, working hard on a project, when my cell phone rang. It was a 424 area code. I didn't recognize the number. I answered. It was a technology staffing company. They found my resume, from July 2007, on Monster.com. I have the mention that just about anyone that calls me because they found my resume on Monster.com "has a great opportunity for me in the insurance sales department." I nearly blew the guy off. Well, I am glad I didn't.

He was calling trying to get me to apply for a Digital Media Engineer position they were staffing at ABC/Disney. I gave him a resume and a cover letter and after a few days he basically told me that I was not in the running for the position. Nancy was relieved. After having moved twice in the past 4 months, we weren't exactly looking forward to possibly having to do it again, even though we were happy for a great opportunity with good pay and full benefits.

K. Now hold on a second. Some people wonder why I don't just get a full time job with benefits in Utah? The answer is that I haven't had a great offer and I really like working for myself here. Now, if and when we go to California at some point in our lives is a different story all together, but the reason would be to work on something more substantial or just to go back to Disney.

Back to the story.

Well, this recruiter led me to believe I wasn't going to get an interview, but about a week later his boss called me and asked if I could be in Burbank in 4 days. We drove down on Sunday, stopped in Vegas to eat an In n Out Burger with my parents, who were there on BYU business at a blogging conference. We kept going and got to our hotel in Anaheim.

We decided that it would be just as much for me to fly down and back in one day as it would for us all go for a few days and enjoy our Disneyland Annual Passes before they expire this month (10/10/08). We had a fun time. We will expound more on that throughout the next few posts. It was my first time pin trading and I enjoyed it. We had some great food and we even won a special treat to stay in the park after closing hours.

I had my interview. I was one of four to be interviewed. It was a good interview. I think I did a really good job. I found out this past week though that I did not get the job (after more than a week of waiting to hear back). It's really okay though. While I was there, I kind of decided that I would take the job if I got it, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. I would use it as a means to an end so I could meet more people on the lot. The other bummer about it was that the job was at the Burbank Tower and not on the actual lot. Other offers and opportunities will come up though and the staffing company liked me a lot. So that's good news.

After my interview I went to the lot to visit some people from my internship. It was at 5 so not many were around. I got to meet up with Lance Stubblefield, who I had only talked to on the phone or via e-mail. He is a BYU film alumni who works on LOST and has been giving me some great advice. I questioned him about the workflow of the show and what his job entailed. Very cool. Very interesting. I think I am going to keep bugging Lance for future jobs. He was very nice and generous to let me come bother him for an hour.

Well, we are back home now. Working hard. I just finished a 6 month project for Hockey Player Magazine, 50 Ways to Score More Goals. Cammon shot it. We had a fun time on this one. We got Luc Robitaille to be in it and Brian Engblom reviewed it for us. He was really impressed. Check out the link here: http://store.hockeyplayer.biz/50watoscmogo.html

I am now finishing the old video, 101 Hockey Tips. We are transforming it to 50 Hockey Tips and 50 More Hockey Tips for a pitch to Wal Mart for distribution via HaleStorm's distribution company. So that's exciting.

I start freelancing/part-timing it for the LDS Church Motion Picture Studio in a week. I am excited to be back on their systems, an Avid editing system. Avid is used only by a few of my clients and is also the one that is typically used on feature films. I recently purchased it the upgrade for my computer, but most of my clients want me working on Final Cut Pro so they can archive their own projects on their system. No problem though. I like Final Cut Pro too.

So that's what is going on... lately.

Spoon on the Nose

2008-10-03T13:30:00.004-06:00

Derek and I were doing this for a while. He thinks it is pretty funny.

Yet another obsession.

2008-10-02T00:46:00.003-06:00

Bryce and I were watching Leno on Monday and this commercial came on. With the TiVo considered a part of the family, it is rare for us to actually be watching commercials. But this is a good one.

Anyway, please watch and avoid making fun on me because of my (perhaps) equal obsession with the color red. Ha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6xU9l8Vw9o

We could probably ignore the red permed hair.

Anyway, here is a picture of the living room (in our old apartment). Do you agree?

Let it be known that I did pay extra for a red Dyson. A yellow one would clash, doncha think?

my musical void

2008-09-27T00:18:00.005-06:00

So there really are a lot of things to talk about, but today I will just talk about my now fulfilled musical void.

Bryce, Derek & I traveled to California this week (it's a long drive. I realize drives to other places are longer, but this one was pretty long) and listened to over 20 hours of music. Once again, I realized how much The Killers have filled a void in my life that I didn't know about until our introduction several years ago.

Those of you who know me understand my passion for U2, Collective Soul, the Goo Goo Dolls & U2 (did I say that already?) I somehow made it though several years of my life thinking that these bands (sprinkled with others, of course) were enough to keep me going. But now I know that there was a place for another true love.

I must thank my fellow family members (Brady, Mike, Heidi) for the eye-opening. And for All the Things that (They've) Done.

The Killer's new album, Day & Age, is scheduled for a November release. Their new single, Human, is on the radio and streaming at thekillersmusic.com

Ah, may the good music always continue.

I Love the Office

2008-08-19T11:10:00.001-06:00

Where's Grandpa?

2008-08-18T12:58:00.004-06:00

I was working on the documentary called Mormon Mythallaneous this morning when Derek decided to sit in the director's chair. My dad is one of the featured interviews in this piece so Derek always likes to watch when Grandpa is on.

I decided to play a little game with it today and use F11 on my iMac (the exposé feature) to make Grandpa disappear. I got him saying "Grandpa" which is mostly just "Pa." That's pretty exciting, right?

too many things

2008-08-12T22:48:00.003-06:00

So our new condo has those vaulted ceiling shelves in the living room and master bedroom. You know, the place where people put all of their cool things? Well, this is the first time that we have lived in a place that has such a thing. So despite the fact that we filled up a 25-foot truck when we moved, I feel like I must be on the hunt for anything to fill up this space.

As I was a searchin', I found this cool thing on Pottery Barn. Seriously, I think it is totally cool.

It's on sale for $59.99, a bargain since it was $129. Would this be the perfect addition to my covered-space-craving-shelf? Oh yes. My little hunting eye will have to keep checking back.

The bummer, you ask? I was googling around to see what other kind of similar contraptions I could find and I came across someone's opinion about "what lame thing will Pottery Barn think of next" in regards to my new feathered friend. Please, just tell me that my taste isn't crazy because I like birds in wire form.

And to Jessica, who is terrified by feathered friends, I will put it away when you come to visit. When is that, anyway?

Derek's Little Girlfriend

2008-08-12T22:36:00.003-06:00

Our good friends Mike and Claire had their baby girl today. They named her Abby Claire (cute, huh?) We're so excited!

Mike (everyone calls him Michael now) and I grew up together in Michigan. We have been very good friends since then. We both served missions in Brazil and we both had our internships in Los Angeles in 2006. We are very happy to say that they aren't sick of us yet since we still love hanging out with them. You can imagine how happy we are for them that they have a new addition to the family. Congrats guys! We love ya!

Here is a picture of Mike and Abby hanging out. Mike likes to play a hiding game with his wedding ring with Derek. Nancy was joking around that in this picture she is already eyeing his ring down so that she can start playing too.

(Nancy's note:) We hope that Claire continues to feel well and they get some well-deserved sleep tonight. Congrats, again. Michael Phelps should share a gold medal with Abby for one-day-old-cuteness.

Here are some pics from the past:

We went to Disneyland together when our internships ended. Mine with Disney, Mike's with Boeing. Claire's bro, Adam, and sis-in-law, Lindsay, came along.

This was when I gave Mike and Claire the studio tour at Disney in Summer 2006.

This is us in Brazil with Mike's parents. This was taken near the São Conrado neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro.

Everyone please remember, this was taken shortly after my Amoeba. Okay, so marriage and "the real world" have allowed to me gain a few pounds.

Bryce's Look Alikes

2008-08-11T14:06:00.002-06:00

Derek Celebrity Look Alikes

2008-08-07T11:19:00.000-06:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Geneology

Ewok Love

2008-08-06T18:19:00.000-06:00

I found this on youtube.com today. I have to say it surprised me. Especially the "guest pastor."

Derek's Zoo Sounds

2008-08-04T20:43:00.002-06:00

Finally. I had to re export it and then upload it as a different file on YouTube.com.

Spring Ad

2008-08-04T14:14:00.003-06:00

Here is an ad I did a few months back. I just uploaded it for a reel of mine so I thought I would post it here.

our new pad and the 4-1-1

2008-07-24T11:26:00.004-06:00

We have a new address and I (Nancy) got a new phone number. In an effort to get the word out, I thought to do an info post. Email/post a comment if you want/need it. Thanks!

Here is a picture of the condos we are moving to plus the floor plan. The condos are right behind the BMW dealership off the freeway in Pleasant Grove. The real shame is that I will have to drive by my dream 530i on a regular basis. A royal shame.

The Good News

2008-07-22T08:05:00.002-06:00

So we found a place to live.

It's a condo in PG. It has a clubhouse, a pool, a basketball court, a fitness room, and it's really nice. I felt a little "hoity toity" (is that how you spell that?) moving into a nice place, but the price is close to or equal to nearly every decent 3 bedroom in town.

We told our current landlords that we would be out August 1. The only problem with that is I used most of my moving favors about 8 weeks ago.

Sigh.

On the move, again

2008-07-20T12:17:00.003-06:00

That's right. We are moving again.

We have lived here for about 6 weeks and yesterday our landlord's daughter (our landlord is on a mission in the Philippines) showed up with a rental termination notice. So we are out. We did sign a month to month contract because it worked out better for everyone involved.

We are looking at some places right now and have even turned in an application to live in a condo in PG. It's just sad that we just moved and have to move again. Poor Derek. He just got used to being here. He even walks over to his Grandma's in his PJs in the morning to say hi.

We will keep you posted.

for our friend, Adam.

2008-07-16T23:09:00.008-06:00

Our friend Adam informed us that he is thirsty for some Randle Re-Run. Get out your empty mugs because this one is going to be good.

Adam gave a shout out to Bryce's new blog yesterday and now I must comment on his spouse:

So, Adam, I have to tell you, your wife can cook. Have you people seen her blog? Totally inspiring. I was in Williams Sonoma today (more on that in a minute) and could only think of her and the awe-inspiring treats she not only makes, but she takes pictures and posts instructions. You must tell Becky that she deserves another freedom day medal.

So it was because of Becky I went to Williams Sonoma and because of Claire's mom Jalayne (it is so unfortunate she doesn't have a blog) I bought a tapered rolling pin (pictured), a pastry cloth and a rolling pin cover. We were over one Sunday afternoon at the Bangerter home and had a piece of Jalayne's rhubarb pie. W-O-W. It was delicious. But it was beyond the concept of rhubarb and sugar; it was the crust. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, let alone eaten. I had to know the secrets (there had to be multiple to taste THAT good.)

Now my family can cook. Seriously. We have one mean apple pie that obviously has one mean pie crust. This is not a damper on our Thanksgiving baking, it is just a way to improve what is already amazing.

Jalayne's secret, she says? It's not in the recipe (even though I made her give it to me), but in the method. You mix the crust in a bowl with a wooden spoon, then move it straight to a small airtight container. Then use your pastry cloth that has been in the freezer, roll out only the dough needed (keeping the rest in the airtight container), and use a tapered rolling pin. It is all in an effort to not emit heat that melts the fat in the dough. Then when it is in the oven, the fat particles expand in between the flour, making for a thick, flaky crust.

Anyway, I bought the tools yesterday and plan on making the best homemade chicken pot pie on this side of the Mississippi. If it turns out ANYTHING like that rhubarb pie, I'll take pictures and post instructions. But if not, I'll just have to write another post about how Becky and her amazing abilities.

Lilly on the news

2008-07-02T12:01:00.002-06:00

I have been meaning to put this up for nearly two months.

What happened to those Randles? (The pics)

2008-06-29T23:48:00.014-06:00

Take me out to the game, Dad. It was his first pro sports game.

Lovin' the hat... I think.

I can't believe we actually won something.

Fun time at the game. Too bad we missed them pull of the win. We were all very tired though.

Just us with the two. Very fun.

Disney Visa card members only!

This was a fun one to take. I have one in this car with my brothers when I was 13 or so. Had to get this picture.

Being amazed with Casey Jr.

In line for Peter Pan. I love this shot of us.

Nap time. Too bad he missed the private meet and greet.

Derek could stay here for hours. He loves the petting zoo. He got this shirt on the lot -- Walt Disney Studios.

He did this a few times at DLR. It was hilarious. This is looking at Buzz.

Derek is napping as we waited for the Pixar Play Parade to start.

This is a cute picture of them. Derek is pointing and saying "Hey Dude!"

Our happy family.

A fun part about being a dad at Disneyland. Look how much he enjoys it all.

Nancy enjoys our Raspberry Lemonade.

What happened to those Randles?

2008-06-29T08:48:00.022-06:00

We are always leaving things early.

Even when we probably showed up late.

Well, that's the way we feel lately. Ever since we started our move to this new place back on May 21st, we have not felt the same. We have felt rushed, unorganized, and a bit stressed.

As you can see, I wrote a blog about the first day of our trip, but I never returned to the trip journal. Somehow we got to St. George and then I wrote about diving boards. How completely random.

We started to move out of our old place on 800 E on May 21. We had some problems with dates and details with our landlords. I won't really get into that, but it was a bit stressful and it was an awkward experience. All in all, we got moved in a day later than we were planning. Oh well.

It was fine. It would have been even better though if we weren't up moving in until 1 am. We got up at 4:15 am and got ready to leave on our trip. My dad took us to the airport (Thanks, Dad!) and we were off.

Now I must explain that the reason we decided to go on this trip at this time that we got to go to this wedding in Phoenix. Nancy's good friend and old roommate, Jessica, was going to be married in Mesa on the 31st of May. We decided that I should stop by the studio, say hi, catch up, and then head over to Disneyland for a day so that our vacation wasn't just in Phoenix. It ended up being $20 extra per person to fly from SLC to LA to PHX to SLC rather than round trip SLC to PHX. So we squashed two trips into one.

So, back to the flight. Derek, suffering from being in a new location during the night, did not too hot on the airplane. We got into Burbank at about 8:30 am. After a bit of a crazy deal getting the rental car (it took an hour, but ended up being okay because Derek got a nap while I waited), we hit Portos.

Portos is a Cuban Bakery on Hollywood Way and Magnolia in Burbank that I was introduced to by my boss at Disney. It is really, really good. This time I had a croissant with bacon, egg, and cheese and Nancy got a ham and cheese lunch croissant -- not to forget the dellicious strawberry croissant. It's a good thing it is located in another state! Then we left and went to Disney Studios.

At Disney I met with a few people and caught up. It was a good time. We surprised a few people and Derek caught everyone's eye. It was nice to see everyone and good to be on the lot since I really like being there. Nancy liked the studio store. They always have good things to buy that you can't get other places.

We got in the car after our visit there and started our drive to the Disneyland Resort (DLR). Then we started to get really tired.

Derek fell asleep before we even left Burbank. Nancy fell asleep around the merging of the I-5 and the I-10. I wanted to sleep, of course, but managed to stayed awake.

We got into the parking garage and I was still jealous of those naps. So we pulled over and I slept for a half hour until some calls woke me up. Side information: Zion National Park called to confirm our potential job for them. I am re-editing the already existing footage from the film shot 12 years ago into a new film. I am doing this with Kurt Hale at Stone Five Studios. I am really excited about it.

Anyway, we woke up and went to the park. We decided to do Playhouse! Disney: Live on Stage. It was SO awesome. It was recently redone and now features Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, and My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Derek likes all of those shows except the latter, which he hadn't ever watched. But the show ended up being worth the entire trip itself. Derek was dancing, clapping, laughing, and by the end of the show he had about four different mothers watching him instead of their own children! It was like some wild fantasy of his had finally come true.

Then we left California Adventure and hit Disneyland. We always have to get the Lemonade Slushies. The most convenient spots for this item is in New Orleans Square near the dock for Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer's Island and on the walk between It's a Small World and the Storyland Canal Boats. I prefer the lemonade with a shot of cherry or raspberry. Anyway.

We went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Tarzan's Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. Derek liked Tarzan's the most. He will now pound his chest and mimc Tarzan (thanks to Aunt Jennifer!) He was cautious on Pirates. He liked going down the chutes the most. We were put on the opposite side (as opposed to the "normal side") of the boat on the Jungle Cruise. I never noticed how many animals were on the right side compared to the left.

We left Disneyland and went to an Angels game. We decided to spice up our trip a little bit and make it a bit more unique. The Angels game was a very fun choice. We got tickets for super cheap ($15 each) from a guy that is in the Ducks group I am an admin for on facebook. They were front row, 4th level, over the Angels dugout. We took a few pictures with our camera on sports mode. I got a few of a guy making a catch. Derek liked the game, but not because of the sport. He discovered that if he threw something over the ledge, it would disappear. Luckily, he never really threw it all the way over the ledge, just the fence. He lasted 6 innings. I thought that was pretty good for a boy who was up since 5:15 MST!

So after all of this, Derek was obviously tired. He was so good though. We were proud. Oh, we had In 'n' Out for Dinner. I forgot to mention that.

We went to the hotel and checked in. We stayed at the Hilton Anaheim for $52 a night. I had a $10/night coupon so it was a total bargain. Bonus! We got a remodeled room and put Derek down on the bed until the crib came -- but then I turned around and he was asleep. He never sleeps in a place that isn't his crib. That was good. We all fell asleep, the crib delivery guy woke me up, I put Derek down and we had a good night sleep.

On Wednesday we got up early enough to get to the park just about when it opened. We decided to go on Peter Pan first because no matter what time of day you go, it is always busy. There was some unusual congestion at the castle, but we decided to take our time and go anyway. It was a good thing we did because won some "Year of a Million Dream" Mouse Ears. You can't buy them and they only give out a two hundred a day from what I understand. Now they are on display in my office. Totally cool.

Derek had a good time on Peter Pan. He was very good the whole day. (We have a good bunch of pictures on Flickr.com/photos/brycerandle ). We saw the Pixar Play Parade, did most of our favorite rides, and ate a good corn dog!

Side note: we haven't done a lot of the big rides since before Nancy was expecting. A lot of our friends think we are so weird for going to Disneyland and not doing the "fun rides." It is such a better experience with Derek though. He makes the trip so much more fun for us.

We decided to leave Disneyland at night, a little worn out, but still "ready for more," so that we could go swimming. It wasn't until we got to the hotel that we realized that our swimsuits were back at home. Such a bummer. That was something we were looking forward to. We ended up all going to bed by 9.

On Thursday we hit Disneyland again, just for a ride or two and to get our souvenirs with our Disney Dollars. We got some Baja Fresh and left for Phoenix. This time we did so with a happy meal on the flight. Things went quite, well, happier. Derek was great. We got to Jessica's place, met up with Angela and Jaelynn, and were off to another adventure.

That's it for now. It's time for church. I don't think I have ever written this much in one sitting before. That includes any college course.

PS- I am fed up with trying to get my pictures to layout correctly so I am posting a picture narration to this post shortly afterward.

Diving Boards

2008-06-17T09:50:00.002-06:00

IMG_4172.JPG
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

Sterling, my younger brother, is the best diving board jumper I know. He does a few sweet moves that blow my mind. This was taken last year during our week stay at the Bear Lake timeshare.

Yesterday we went to Riverside Country Club to swim. We can go there on Mondays for free because Natalie, Nancy's sister, is a lifeguard there. Mondays are family free days or something. I look forward to going every Monday this summer.

The best diving board in the world was Grandma Betty's diving board. It had this amazing spring to it. It was perfect. The noise it made will forever remain in my head. No diving board will ever match up to it. It wasn't slippery, it gave the perfect bounce. It didn't ever surprise your balance or your feet. No knee trembled at the sight of that diving board. (Although my chin might have. I think I jumped too close to the edge more than once. I don't think I ever whacked it, but I did in Grandma Barlow's pool jumping off the edge into the jacuzzi or something. My mother will have to comment on that).

Anyway, if you ever swim with Sterling, ask him to do his cool spin move off the diving board. It will blow your mind.

This says it all...

2008-06-14T08:52:00.002-06:00

This says it all...
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

This is the only group of pictures we ended up taking on our trip to Zion and St. George.

I had to go down to view the IMAX film at Zion because I am going to do a re-edit of it with Kurt at Halestorm.

Derek was entertaining himself while we got ready to go. At least he likes to brush his teeth.

PJ TIME!

2008-06-06T20:53:00.001-06:00

IMG_0842
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

We were in Phoenix and boy was it hot. On Thursday we had a fun day going to Disneyland, flying to Phoenix, went to In n Out Burger, and seeing Jessica's new house.
Derek fell asleep in the car on the way home from somewhere so we decided to put him in his pajamas. Now, we were so afraid to wake him and being so careful to not do so. However, he woke up and rolled around until he got comfortable again.
This picture shows exactly what position he decided to be in. It was funny for us. I was obviously joking about waking him and then put him right back to bed.
More stories to come... if we ever recover from moving...

J-J-JJJJ-ennifer

2008-06-04T23:07:00.003-06:00

Let me interrupt what seems to be a chronological sequence of trip events for some fun Jennifer sayings. She and her innocent humor are staying with us for a few days. I almost died choking on my dinner tonight because I was laughing so hard. Here is that story and a few more.

A Chipper

A short backstory: the Randle family has gone through 3 hamsters in the 7 years I have known them, the first was Clay's and they named him Chipper. We're now on to Chipper the hamster #3.

Jennifer asked how many hamsters she has in heaven. We explained one, but Clay, her older brother, "had a hamster named Chipper too" that she could probably claim. She looked at me, a little distraught, and said, "My Chipper is number one."

Two rights or three lefts?

Jennifer wanted to know which park we were going to -- right or left? Bryce answered, "Left," and Jennifer responded, "Okay. Which one is left?"

She asked me, with her hands making Ls with her pointer and thumb, "Which one is the right L?"

Mopping up your distress

Another backstory: we moved last week. Or two weeks ago. Or something. My house is a disaster planet. We're doing long days to try and get our lives back together.

Jennifer: "When are you going to mop the floors?"

Me: "I don't know. I think it's pretty low on my list of things to do. Why?"

Jennifer: "Because they're pretty dirty."

We are watching her for another day, plus for another week soon, so I will have to keep a pen and paper handy.

Wow, I just had to rewrite the word "handy" about six times to not get a typo. I have six minutes to be in bed before bedtime. Gotta split.

Part 1A: Trip to L.A. & Phoenix

2008-05-27T22:49:00.003-06:00

We are at our hotel now, The Anaheim Hilton. Sounds rough. Oddly enough, we stayed here via Priceline.com a few months ago. We were not impressed. So when we pricelined this hotel again, we asked for the recently remodeled room. I will post pictures soon of the room. It is great. There is a 32 inch or so flat screen LG LCD screen, a king size bed, a nice desk, and our hotel is on the northeast corner. That means we have a view of the park and of Angel Stadium.

Anyway, the whole point of me staying up to write this was to tell a few things that people said to us about Derek today.

"He's cute. Did you make it?"

This was said to Nancy in the bathroom of Angel Stadium as she was changing his poopy diaper. (Earlier, I posted that the question was "Did you make him?" I was so tired last night that I messed up the story).

"He's so cute. Is he auditioning?"

I heard this in the elevator of the Disney Studio. No, we weren't auditioning. However, Derek was ready to bark at any squirrel on the campus.

Pictures and more stories to come, plus updates on our new home.

Where's Rocket?

2008-05-16T15:54:00.001-06:00

Where's Rocket?
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

Derek loves "Little Einsteins". We caught him looking for his bath toy "Rocket" the other day. Well, Nancy was doing her hair so he wasn't trying to be that sneaky.

This is the sweet life

2008-05-12T14:29:00.001-06:00

This is the sweet life
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

I know, I know. I am a bad parent for putting my kid in front of the TV for some time in the morning. He gets some crackers, milk, his blanket, and then he wants to watch a Little Einsteins episode. Today he watched his Disneyland Fun Sing Along Songs DVD. I was on the phone with Rimage about the duplicator (getting a new drive for free- again) and I came out and he was comfortably watching this DVD- upside down. He knew I thought it was funny so he stayed until Nancy got out of bed to see him.

Nancy's new haircut

2008-05-12T14:25:00.001-06:00

Nancy's new haircut
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

Nancy wanted a new haircut so she got it done and then was having a hard time doing it the next day. So she went to another place and got it done again. She came home with this haircut. I think it looks great. She has her 5 Year High School reunion this weekend. She is one of the reunion planners so we decided that it needed to look good.
What do you think?

Derek watching Jennifer play Build a Bear

2008-05-11T21:28:00.001-06:00

Derek watching Jennifer play Build a Bear
Originally uploaded by bryce.randle

Jennifer loves to play Toontown and get on Build a Bear's website. She doesn't understand that Derek doesn't really care. Well, he doesn't most of the time. Today, Mother's Day, after we talked to Clay, he seemed partially interested. He stood still for a few seconds and then decided to slam the keyboard.

We had a good mother's day. I hope everyone else did. I got Nancy a Canon Rebel xTi, just like my mom's and Cammon's. I am not sure if Ginna has the same one or not too. I found a good deal from Amazon.com.

Please subscribe to my Flickr pictures. I love getting comments on them and I do try to post some fun pictures as often as I can.

Derek and a Hockey Stick

2008-05-07T09:40:00.003-06:00

Derek knows how to walk. That doesn't mean that he does it. He can stand up straight. He can walk with one of his hands being secured by either mine or Nancy's. Yesterday, Derek found a new piece of security to hold on to- a hockey stick. Is this a prophecy of some sort?

Excuse my voice of an excited Dad talking to his son on this video. It was very exciting. Derek has only ever taken steps from a couch to the table. It was more of a shimmy of two steps than walking. Enjoy the video.

Just for the Record

2008-05-03T00:30:00.003-06:00

Well friends, tonight my father-in-law, Quint, teased me, once again, about that dang car accident. He didn't even know about the mention in the post I wrote last night. I swear to you, he will never let me live it down.

Do I care? No. It may have taken a while, but the intimidation that Quint has tried to bestow upon me for the past seven years no longer effects me. The only problem? I have yet to figure out what lame joke, bad mistake and/or terrible accident to always tease him about.

Let the hunt begin.

But just for the record, even my insurance agency doesn't care about that accident anymore. (Have I ever mentioned them? Geico? I love Geico.)

One more reason I'm sticking with Geico

2008-05-01T23:02:00.003-06:00

When Bryce and I got in our car accident two years ago, we depended on our Geico Auto Insurance. Their rate was the best when we got married, and they continued to beat out any other quote by at least $100. We even just got a $20 monthly discount. Thanks, Bryce, for having a birthday.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm not that opinionated. Or sarcastic. But I promise I will never switch insurance because of the awesome service we received. Seriously. It was above and beyond what I ever expected.

Anyway, beyond the awesome insurance, I LOVE their current advertising campaign. I could do without the cave men from the past, for sure, but their current celebrity campaign is of Target genius. Here is the one we saw tonight while watching Leno. It's killer awesome.

And please, for the record, please don't confuse the car accident I referenced here with the time I totaled my boyfriend's dad's car. Oh, and yes, he did turn out to be my father-in-law. Somehow he still hasn't forgiven me for that. If you don't know that story, once again, you probably don't know me very well.

This time it was a different inexperienced teenage girl who totaled our car. But please note it wasn't icy. Or hilly.

Dang it, Quint. I'm even defending myself on my own blog!

A few random things tonight...

2008-05-01T20:41:00.007-06:00

I've had a few random things on my mind. I have wanted to blog about all of these different things, but I am not sold on each of the ideas. Apparently I have been tagged on Joellen's blog, but I never got a notice from her. I saw it on her blog eventually. I guess I will have to do that tonight too.

1. I hate Ryan on "The Office." I have always thought he was a prick. Tonight he really drove me crazy. I will leave it at that for those of you who haven't watched it yet.

2. I have wanted to blog about one of my favorite groups on facebook. It's called "Awkward Engagement Pictures Rock my Socks" or something to that effect. Here are a few of the reasons why I like it:

Exhibit A) Please notice the pictures loaded on this post. These pictures are merely promoting the group itself and not used with permission of the couple, even though the group claims so.

Exhibit B) I love to read people's comments on the photos.

Exhibit C) There will always be more photos added to the site because there will always be people uncomfortable with themselves.

I have also wanted to write about More Tips on Going to Disneyland, but I am not sure how much my other tips people will really take to heart. The other advice I would offer is about why we fly down.

I still like Desmond the most from LOST.

Magleby's Fresh is my new favorite restaurant in Utah Valley.

I got the best birthday cards for Clay and Sterling. I want to write about them, but it would ruin the surprise. Sterling will have to blog about it in 7 weeks.

We move in 3 and a half weeks. (That was for you, Shark!)

My RSS feed feature of my Mac Mail wouldn't download any new feeds for about 6 weeks. One night I opened my mail and I had about 115 new blog posts to read.

I just started editing "50 Ways to Score More Goals." I just finished logging it yesterday. I have started to sync the multiclips today. I am about half way done there. I would like to devote more time to it, but I don't get paid for it until it is all done. I am trying to squeeze it in throughout render times and burning sessions.

That's all for now folks. I hope to see Ironman soon. I am glad it got good reviews.

Let me know which topic you want to hear more about.

22min cut of Mormon Myths

2008-04-21T16:27:00.000-06:00

new cut. Ignore the music. It is a bit longer.

Mormon Mythellaneous

2008-04-18T15:46:00.002-06:00

Extremely rough. No b roll. Let me know what you think of the subject matter. I should have a nicer version in a few days.
First title is a bit long because it is actually a placeholder for the host. So there ya go!

Disneyland Our Way: The First of Many Ideas.

2008-04-13T15:35:00.003-06:00

If you know us at all, you know that we go to Disneyland quite a bit. Quite a bit meaning since we were married three years ago, we have gone at least 7 times. That does not include the roughly weekly visits while I had my internship at Walt Disney Pictures in the summer of 2006. Some must think we are crazy. Some ask us how we can afford it. Some want to go with us. Well, here are a few tips on how we can go on a trip to Disneyland for a reasonable price.

- Buy a Deluxe annual pass. Sadly for a family of 4+ this probably doesn't sound like very much fun to pay for. At $250 a piece, they get expensive. However, If you buy a three day pass for everyone in your party (I think it is roughly $140 each or $110 each for a 2 day pass) and go once a year, the year pass is a better option. Plan a trip once a year like you normally do. Let's say you go on October 1, 2008 and buy your pass. Plan your next annual trip to be inside the year window. Your second trips cost will dramatically go down because by that time the illusion of your tickets being "free" will have set in. The passes also get you discounts on food, a mere 10%, but that adds up across a two or three day stay.

- Use Priceline.com . I cannot stress this enough. Hotels around the Anaheim Resort area can tend to seem really expensive. Location is everything. People can pay $120 a night at the Best Western across the street. The hotels smell of smoke, parking is terrible, and so on. While they have never really been within a comfortable walking distance (with one exception), we have been very pleased with all of them.

Here are a few examples:

- Holiday Inn, $40/night. Two and a half stars.
- The Hilton Suites, $52/night. Three stars.
- The Hilton (twice), $52/night. Three stars.
-Candlewood Suites, $35/night. Two and a half stars.
- Grand Hyatt (our first time using priceline), $70/night.
- Quality Inn, $40/night. Two stars.

There are taxes and what not associated with the price so it really ends up being $5-$7 more a night, but that's a steal compared to paying face value.

A Disney Rewards Visa Card. So the 1% rewards rate doesn't look so great. I end up putting a lot of businesses expenses on the card and every couple months they have a promotion for 3% rewards in certain categories. Usually our rewards we get pays for the food we eat at the park. In the past couple trips we got some bonus rewards on accident from a customer service call so we were able to do character breakfasts.

That's all I feel like posting at the moment. Let me know other questions you have about the way we do things. I hope this gave some good insight and hopefully you can save a little bit next time you go.

It's apparent you're a parent when. . .

2008-04-12T12:44:00.003-06:00

So, Nancy here. Do you remember those Family Circus cartoons called "It's apparent you're a parent when. . . "? I remember reading them as an eight-year-old-child-or-so and pretending I knew what they meant. I'm not so much a comic reader these days, but my college roommates make up for it (yes Dani, Angela, I'm talking about you two.) They always kept me up on the funny ones and do I dare admit? the soap opera ones. Hilarious.

Anyway, sorry about that tangent. This post is in honor of those childhood days when you never knew certain things about being a parent. And this post is certainly not about how I know everything... heavens, no. This is about some of the things that I have learned since the day Derek was born. Some of these things are the obvious, I understand, but I feel that their new addition into my life is at least worth a blog post.

1. You buy so many tissues. In travel, upright, and bulk, we have tissues. At least enough for today. This may have to do with my obsession to make sure that Derek always has a clean nose, but I had NO IDEA how many tissues I would purchase in one winter with one child. It's insane. The boxes are all over the house (sometimes more than one in a room) and the travel packs are all over the car, my purse, and Bryce's computer bag. Tissues are everywhere -- snot is not.

2. Your house can transform from a pretty clean state to an utter disaster in about 2.4 minutes. I have a routine to clean up Derek's toys while he takes a nap in the morning and one in the afternoon. But somehow after those 2.4 minutes since he woke up have passed, I step on some sort of sharp object. Never fails.

3. No WONDER my mother hates doing laundry. Hello!? I swear that our washer and dryer are always going. Oh, and Oxy Clean is sent from heaven. I thought folding my own laundry as an elven-year-old was bad. No way. Folding laundry blows.

4. Thank heavens for Teddy Grahams and Goldfish. These two buddies have been a very recent addition to my shopping list, but they always seem to make Derek happy. The brilliant idea for crackers to have smiley faces is one I wish was on my track record. Gotta love cheese and graham baked into one small bite.

5. Light blue minky blankets are better than me. It doesn't matter what the competition, Derek's blue blanket is much more loved than his mother. The picture here is of Derek in the bathtub this morning upset because he couldn't bring his blanket with him. Sometimes it's hard to be one. You should have seen him when I had the brilliant idea to let him help me put it in the laundry. He sat in for 20 minutes whining to the washer for taking away his best friend. It was awesome.

"Mornin' Dad"

2008-04-06T22:00:00.008-06:00

Tonight I am going to write about my dad. Sterling and I were having a chat and a few of my dad's signature phrases came to mind. So lets go through a couple of things.
Dad's Best Phrases or One-Liners

1. "Well, there is some truth to that."
This is something that usually comes up when I tell Dad something that either annoys or upsets me. I can tell he doesn't completely agree with me or want to come full on to my side of whatever disagreement I have, but he is trying to be help me out. It's one my favorite dad sayings.

2. "Love ya, bud." (pat pat pat, rub rub rub, pat pat pat)
My brothers and I like to mimic this back patting to each other as a joke, but what it really means is "remember how dad does this..." I don't know if he got this from his dad or what, but we have a good time with it. You know you have done well when Dad gives you this message.

3. "Welcome to the real world"
This is really the only one that sometimes drives us bonkers. Dad is trying to help, but this one always seems to add a slight sting. Ouch! But I think this is part of his responsibility as a parental figure.

My dad is quite the superhero. The other night someone from High School was asking about how dad can do music and BYU at the same time. I laughed. Lately Mom has decided to restrict Dad's latest business idea, but it isn't like he should be bored until then.

Dad is not only a BYU Communications professor who gets a lot of work published, but he is also a business owner. Dad is one of the owners of DrumsonDemand.com. He spends a bit of time doing that. He also is in a band called Joshua Creek. We joke around that Joshua Creek's target market is women age "24-54." A colleague of Dad's, Dale Cressman, added to that "who have breastfed." I find that hilarious because it is true. Dad is also into bees. Growing up he worked in that "field" (no pun intended) for some time and in the past two years he has continued that dream occupation. He also stills owns Hockey Player Magazine, which I run now, but he still involves himself with random phone calls.

I try to be more like my dad. He has a very interesting background and I like to learn more about his childhood. I love it when he starts to explain his songs, stories, and give light to experiences he has had. He may be involved with so many things, but he is still my dad. He is a good grandpa to Derek and a great dad to both of us.

"Love ya, dad."

The Green Team 2008 at THS

2008-04-05T13:52:00.002-06:00

Sterling, Bryce's brother, and Natalie, Nancy's sister, ran for Student Council this year. Sadly, Sterling lost, but Natalie won. This was their skit/dance for the assembly. I think they both did a great job. It obviously doesn't look great, but we didn't zoom in so that we didn't miss anything from the sibling that wasn't zoomed in on. Sterling is usually front and center.

APX!

2008-04-04T14:14:00.001-06:00

It seems that now and then I will find myself on the APX stuff. I think it is a good edit, but funny acting.

Derek Dances and says Hello

2008-04-03T17:27:00.001-06:00

Lately we have noticed that Derek likes to bob his head in the back seat. We didn't ever see him do this before, but now his seat faces forward. It's a good laugh. He also is learning to say Hello. Check it out.

ABC

2008-03-31T00:30:00.000-06:00

Sterling and Alexis, our cousin, made this a while back. I think it is so awesome. Check it out.

Seagull Book: Joshua Creek Commercial

2008-03-28T17:03:00.000-06:00

Ad for Seagull Book I edited.

In Tune Promo

2008-03-28T16:41:00.000-06:00

Here is the promo for Dad's show I edited. Dan Hollister gave some good input too.

Violette

2008-03-25T15:11:00.002-06:00

Last summer I edited a student film even though I had already graduated. I don't like to call it a student film because I think people expect something of low quality or "too artsy" when they hear that. It was shot on 35mm.
Our producer's brother did the music. Some of it is pretty interesting. I got really attached to our temp score.
Let me know what you think.

Derek at Disney on Ice

2008-03-24T11:17:00.002-06:00

I have been posting a lot of video lately. I think they are fun though. We had a good Easter. I hope you all did too.

Derek is into leading music lately. At church he will throw his arms in the air and wave them around. Here is an example of what he did at Disney on Ice. I really like his little smile at the start too.

Sterling's Student Election Video

2008-03-22T16:50:00.001-06:00

Natalie Knight's Election Video

2008-03-22T13:41:00.001-06:00

This is my sister in law's student council election video. It was fun.

Hi Neighbor!

2008-03-21T00:26:00.001-06:00

I thought I would take a minute to honor the man who did a lot of good to me and other children around the world. Happy Birthday Mr. Rogers!

Go Donny Go!

2008-03-16T00:25:00.000-06:00

This is so funny. Clip of the week.

My bad review of Simply Mac

2008-03-11T00:10:00.001-06:00

You know the pretend Apple Store by the University Mall? Yeah, those guys are terrible. The short story is, I bought a power cord there and it was having some problems. I bought it there because they had the power adapter for sale by itself, without extension cord, which made it $50 cheaper. Okay.
So I went back when within the 90 day warranty because of the problem. I will be the first to admit that Derek put it in his mouth. I could see little rust spots, but that isn't why I think Simply Mac is dumb.
I told them the story, and they wouldn't do anything for me. Fine, whatever.
I went into MacDocs (the other pretend Apple Store that is sort of by the University Mall) and guess what? They said it didn't matter because it was still under warranty. They sent it into Apple and I received a new one within 24 hours.
So, every time I have gone to Simply Mac they act like I know nothing. Every time I have gone to MacDocs they are very nice. So this was the last time I will visit Simply Mac. They make things complicated.

ESPN Zone: Delicious!

2008-03-06T14:49:00.004-07:00

Some people have complained to me abot the eating situation at Disneyland in Anaheim. They feel that the food is never really that great or that there is just a limited selection. I have to express my opinion. While I do love to go to In n Out Burger, Baja Fresh, and other places, I love to hit ESPN Zone. ESPN Zone is located in Downtown Disney near the Disneyland Hotel.
The atmosphere is fun. You can either sit in the Studio mock up room or in the room with big screens for game viewing. Upstairs there is a hockey booth and tons of sports themed games to play.
Nancy and I love to split the Zone Cheesesteak, get a strawberry lemonade, and the spinach and artichoke dip. I have only ever tried one other thing, the pork sandwhich which was also good, but I can't vary from the cheesesteak.

This is a picture of us in front of the hockey booth.

Sleeping Derek

2008-03-03T12:35:00.003-07:00

As you know, we spent a few days in sunny Orange County, CA going to Disneyland. One of the funniest things that happened while we were there was Derek's awakening on Nancy's birthday, the 26th. He just wouldn't wake up. We let him sleep till the last second and then woke him up. Here is part of our attempt to wake him.

Can I ever get back to blogging?

2008-02-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

Okay so my next entry is going to really be about the segway, but the question posed is will I ever get back to doing it nearly everyday? Good question. I guess time will tell.

We made it back from our vacation in one piece. Derek did really well. We had a short stop in Phoenix on the way home and got to fly over the Grand Canyon. Pretty exciting. Now I never need to go!

In California

2008-02-27T22:55:00.002-07:00

So at the moment we are in California. We fly home tomorrow. Derek is asleep on the bed. He got maybe 40 min. of sleep the whole day. He did really well though for being that low on "gas." Nancy is begging me to get off the computer so we can go get No Reservations on DVD at a RedBox. I am updating the world with our doings.

I have to refuel our huge Nissan truck tomorrow before I drop it off at the airport. We got Alias for Nancy's birthday. I am excited to watch that whole show again. I am hitting that point in vacation when you start to realize all of the things you have to do when you get back home.

A few of the pictures we took at Disneyland should be featured as a Disneyland Pictorial on MouseTimes.com. You can also see our flickr.com pictures are flickr.com/photos/brycerandle.

Stories from Disneyland to follow soon.

Stay alert and you should read my next entry on...

"Riding a Segway!"

Clean My Office!

2008-02-16T01:18:00.003-07:00

So I cleaned my office up a bit today (well, yesterday since it is 1:30 AM and I am up getting things done that I can't when Derek is awake... this is Bryce by the way). I decided to semi-copy Shark's resume in this attempt, but I had fun doing it. I tried to make it a little fill in the blank ish.

Have fun!

Top Three Sayings I Hear at Wal-Mart

2008-02-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

So if you know Nancy and I well, you know that we are not fans of Wal-Mart. I don't know where the people come from that frequent Wal-Mart, but they don't seem to be the people next door. We would much rather go to Target. People say Wal-Mart is cheaper, but it really isn't. It's either the same or more. Go look for yourself. Really.
One of my favorite things to do after a Wal-Mart trip is imitate the parents I overhear in the store. So here is a list of the top three things I hear in a Wal-Mart store.

1) "You're embarrassing us both!"

This usually comes after the child is dragging on the floor and asking for something. The mother, fed up with this inexplicable behavior, starts to yell at the child. After about 2 minutes of drawing attention to herself, the mother, at the top of her lungs, yells my favorite Wal-Mart Mom phrase. No Wal-Mart Mom, you're just embarrassing yourself.

2) "Don't you ever ask for Lunchables again!"

"You never finish them!" This one is funny because I only got lunchables when I went on a field trip. They aren't practical or even good. I am pretty sure they cost more than a school lunch. However, they just seem so enticing (when you are seven). I heard this one tonight.

3) "But you have six dollars in your purse right now..."

This one is funny to us too. I mostly think it is humorous because I remember saying it. Groceries vs. X-Men cards. Mom has six bucks. My cards costs $5.99. Works for me. Anyone else remember picking up a toy and asking your mom if you could buy it knowing that the money to pick up the cost of the item was safely guarded in your mom's wallet. You know. You checked before you went to the store. And if you were smart enough, you took the liberty of putting that twenty into the overall pocket before you even went to the store. That way you can show her the money when you present the item you want.

You get the drift. Am I alone here?

This day in Randle History: 2.2.03 and other random thoughts...

2008-02-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

February 2 marks the day I last saw Nancy before I left on my mission to Rio de Janeiro. To celebrate we went to see U2 in 3D and got pizza at Pier 49. I highly recommend the Nob Hill. Anyway, if you would have told me back on that sad day that 5 years from then we would have a 1 year old boy, graduated from school for a year, living in Utah, that I worked for Disney for a time, and all that, I think I would have been a little frightened. We are so lucky though to be together and to have had such a great time. Derek is awesome.
I think his favorite songs at the movie were Vertigo, Beautiful Day, and New Year's Day. Coincidentally those were the first three songs. He fell asleep during One and slept until the end. It was fun to go. I give it two thumbs up. This show isn't just for U2 fans. I think it is a great experience for people to go to who aren't enough of a U2 follower to spend the (at minimum) $65 it costs to walk in.
I haven't blogged at all this week because I am entering my final week at KalPics. I haven been extremely busy there. It is fun to be there with the people and all of that, but I am ready to go on to the next project I think.
The other good news of the week is that the people whose house we are going to rent starting this summer started to dig the hole for their house. Progress!
Teemu Selanne came back. For everyone's information he and Scott Niedermayer are my favorite hockey players of all time. I would say there are up there with Luc Robitaille. Selanne was pondering retirement and waited for his new daughter to be born. He basically took the first half of the season off. He signed with the ducks, but hasn't started to play yet. He should this next week.
I have a great commercial to post about hockey fans. Love it!

Colbert on President Hinckley's Death

2008-02-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is hilarious.