Holiday Movie Review - MARLEY & ME

Allie:



There was not a dry eye in the place! This movie was so sweet. I loved the story and the message - I wasn't sure what to think at first, I thought it was going to be a silly "dog movie" but it wasn't at all. The movie had a great message about the curve balls life throws at you and the importance of the people {and pets} that surround you. How to take the good with the bad and just be happy. {Lindsay - I thought of you the entire time} Plus, I totally love Owen Wilson & Jennifer Aniston - they are just so cute!


GUEST REVIEWER: Mom




I enjoyed this movie because I didn't think there were any false pretenses. They were honest characters who struggled with day to day life. What was really neat was that even though John bought the dog for Jenny - he needed Marley so much more. They had the sweetest relationship that took you the roller coaster of their lives. If you are not a pet lover - this is not your movie. For those of you with pets - you understand that they are you FAMILY {trained or not}. I LOVED Owen Wilson - he was so sweet and easy to fall in love with - and what is not to love about Jennifer Aniston?

Christmas You Tube

Please click on the link below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAfiY2Tqfbc

Taylor and Bowman going for a walk.

Holiday Movie Review - VALKYRIE

Allie:

As you may know my Dad is a big time WWII buff. I grew up with a fond love for learning about all things WWII. It is no surprise that I enjoyed this movie. It was so suspenseful and I found myself hoping that during the 2 hours I was in the theatre history would change and somehow Colonel Stauffenberg's plan would succeed. I was hopeful throughout the entire film. There is something about WWII films that is really emotional for me - I only wish that more people today had the bravery to truly stand for what they know is right.

Bradley:

Not bad. It kept my attention (but then again so did an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation that came on around 1 am last night - it was the one where Data gets kidnapped by the Borg and Captain Picard has to come and save him... awesome).

The film is informative... telling the story of the last, failed attempt on Hitler's life... what happened, why it went wrong, and perhaps most importantly, that there were germans that didn't agree with the establishment and tried to change it - a perspective sometimes overlooked when considering the broad strokes of WWII. But that's all the film really offers. It lacked a really substantive development of the main character and Cruise's performance was cold and 1 dimensional. Consequently, instead of the great, heart-wrenching tragedy it could have been, I was left simply feeling "man... bummer."

Merry Holidays

Christmas at the Dunaways has been wonderful! We hope that everyone has been eating great food and spending time with friends and family. Here is a picture recap of our last two days.

We had 13 people over for a Christmas Eve Feast. {Which was only possible because Sinead was here to help me out. Little did she know what being diverted to San Diego because of Portland weather meant she was going to become an nanny}. Taylor had a great time! Everyone was thrilled to experience Christmas with a baby.

We had Garlic and Horseradish Crusted Prime Rib, Roasted Root Veggies, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls and Chocolate Tart with Homemade Whip Cream and Raspberries. This is a picture of the meat resting while the potatoes finished.

When Santa came we took a picture of Taylor's new loot!

Elmo Live from Grammie and Papa. She loves it..... almost as much as Dusty and I do. Amazing what toys can do these days!

Playing Hoops with Daddy. Her new sports toy is basketball, football and baseball in one.

I'm not sure why we do this! When we were little mom would take all of our Christmas presents and arrange them for a picture. I had to keep up the tradition!!

Holiday Movie Review - SEVEN POUNDS

Allie:

Okay, Will Smith was so amazing in this movie. Once I got past the first half hour {which was really slow and kind of confusing} I was totally captivated - his character was so emotional and so easy to connect with. I totally forgot I was watching a movie! I don't want to say too much since there are some really heart wrenching twists and turns - all I can say is GO SEE THIS MOVIE! You will be sad {and most likely cry} but it will be totally worth it!

Home Sweet Home

Vacation Day #1 - my mom had a big BYU bowl game party with tons of yummy football treats - some of which included my dad's famous wonton's. He taught brad & joe the way of the wonton. {I will have you know I made about 50 wontons in the time it took brad to make 5}

see his VERY small plate of finished wontons....

Vacation Day #2 - mom, caitlin & I went shopping...followed by {hours} of wrapping. Recession? I think not - we are very lucky to have so many nice gifts under our tree this year!

Vacation Day #3 - brad, joe, mom & I went skiing at Sundance. dad was there to cheer us on the whole way! {thanks dad} It was SO much fun!!! {p.s. My mom went flying by me every chance she got - she is a total showoff}

4 more fun-filled days to go - mostly full of food and movies!

Holiday Movie Review - THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Allie:

Ok...I did not like sci-fi before I went to this movie and now I officially HATE sci-fi. Basically I planned my outfits for the entire week while sitting through this movie. Biggest highlight - the popcorn and cherry coke.

Bradley:

I guess "An Inconvenient Truth" was a little too high-brow and factual for some people. But don't worry - threats of alien annihilation should light a fire under the rest of us. Thank goodness for Hollywood.

Oh boy, this was rough. the original was a powerful warning about atomic power and some idiot thought it would be a good idea to pirate a classic for today's big scare. Oops. Rarely are re-makes a good idea and this film is no exception. Horrible story adaptation, ridiculous special effects, and acting that put most people to sleep. Except for Will Smith's kid. He was too annoying for me to nap. Stay away from this movie, you'll be better off.

Holiday Movie Review - AUSTRALIA

Allie:

I loved this movie. If you aren't familiar with Baz Luhrnann he is the master mind behind movies like Moulon Rouge, Romeo & Juliet and Strictly Ballroom. While this movie is not nearly as visually spectacular as Moulon Rouge it was every bit as emotional & romantic. {I actually cried} The casting was perfect - I love Nicole Kidman in this kind of role, and Hugh Jackman...what more can I say? Loved, Loved, Loved this movie - I would totally recommend it!

Bradley:

This movie had potential, but didn't come together for me. If you're hoping for something innovative, fantastical and seamless, like past Baz projects, you'll find this one still leaves you wanting. Good performances from Kidman and Jackman, and their adopted aboriginal kid is a treat to watch, but the story felt inconsistent which left me disconnected; a whimsical fairytale at times, sappy and cliche at others, speckled with moments that were realistic and captivating. The flip-flopping didn't allow me to really sink my teeth into it and forget I was watching a film. With that said, its not bad and if you need to satisfy a 'feel good' movie fix, this one will do.

Holiday Movie Review

It's our favorite time of year!!! {no, not christmas} MOVIE SEASON! In case you don't already know Brad and I LOVE the movies! Since we have so many movies to see in the next couple weeks we thought we would review them all for you. 

Introducing our 1st Annual Holiday Movie Review! 

Bradley will be rating on a scale of Chowder Bowl (his favorite san francisco holiday food) and I will be rating on a scale of Trolley Cars (my favorite san francisco holiday mode of transportation - they decorate the trolley cars with christmas lights - i love it!)

1 Chowder Bowl/Trolley Car 

you are dummer for having seen this movie

5 Chowder Bowls/Trolley Cars

you will be judged in the life here after for not having seen this movie

I think you get the picture - ENJOY!

So cute

How cute is Dusty in these pictures. I'm so lucky :)

( someone posted these on facebook)

Totally Obsessed

This group was in San Francisco this morning and preformed on my favorite morning radio show {Sara & Vinnie} I loved them - in fact I just bought their christmas album on itunes. This will be the perfect background music for our christmas eve dinner. Here is a little you tube spot for you to enjoy!

There name is Straight no Chaser {p.s. Dusty - they are from Indiana University}


Here is there story - WATCH THIS - it's really cool!

Reason #378,341

There are a billion reasons why I love my peanut. Here is reason 378,341. She could care less about the Christmas tree. After we but the tree up Taylor was interested for about 2 hours after a couple of good "no" 's from her mom and dad she gave up. I took this picture last night, I had been in the kitchen working on dinner and when I checked on her she was reading her book. And look how far down I put the decorations... yep she likes to read more than mess with mamma's tree. LOVE HER!!!!

First steps video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2GvbEHjzgU

P.S.

Taylor took her first steps yesterday. We took some video which will make it onto youtube soon. She is taking between 4 and 5 steps at a time..... I'm sure she will be running before long.

remember when our little peanut was this little (1 week old).... well now look at her

Big Girl

Christmas Tree

We picked out our Christmas tree last Sunday from Home Depot. It was a great price and Taylor loved touching all of the branches. I loved the smell.

Christmas Lights

Dusty put the Christmas lights up last weekend. Taylor helped

Shampoo

One of my moms favorite stories.... When Caitlin was little she took a tub (the whole tub) of Vaseline and spread it all over her body and hair. As you can imagine it was a nightmare to clean up.
Let me paint you this picture. When I get ready in the morning Taylor sits on the floor and reads her books. She loves it and can keep herself occupied for a good 1/2 hour while I blow dry my hair etc. Well this morning she very quietly opened the cupboard and unscrewed the cap to the shampoo. It was slowly pouring onto her head and than splashing on the floor where she was rubbing her hands in the puddle and whipping it on her clothes. Here are the pictures. when I noticed what was happening I moved her back and grabbed the camera, I wish you could have seen her before I freaked out. So so funny

Christmas Card

Now that our Christmas Card has been distributed I thought I would share our picture. I love it! I was concerned that people would want to see Taylor's little face but too bad... this is the one I picked! More pictures are being printed and sent out to grandparents and aunts soon. I would have added them with the Christmas card but they were already to heavy. I hope you liked them as much as I did.

He's Back! {and very hairy}

In case you didn't know Bradley has been travelling in Thailand for the last several weeks {you may or may not know that because of a massive protest the airports in Thailand were closed for over 2 weeks - we are very happy he got to enjoy his trip and make it back to the USA} Pictures of the trip to come!

Please Watch

This makes me laugh.....
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/DaLefFxKi9hCpPiT

Photo Shoot

My girlfriend and I decided to take each others family pictures for our Christmas cards. We spent 3 hours at the beach and took over 300 pictures. CRAZY!!!! Here are some of my favorites. You will have to wait to see which one makes the card. Yes, Cathy, Margie and Cindy... I will send out the proofs on snapfish and add some hard copies in you card too.