a mormon moment

i keep hearing the phrase: a mormon moment.

i guess we're having one. with mitt romney and jon huntsman toying with presidential runs and the The Book of Mormon musical getting raves reviews on broadway, i guess we have finally arrived as a staple in the ever fickle pop cultural arena. i guess that's a good thing.

it seems like mormons have always had a mysterious members-only mystique about them for outsiders looking in. but with all that has come about in the last several years with big love on HBO, the publicity of Prop 8 in california, and now this "mormon moment," it seems like mormonism is seemingly more accessible for the "outsider."

and along come this: Duck Beach, A Single Mormon Story.

i don't pretend to know what the producers/directors purpose for the film is, but i think it is going to be a very accessible, very in-the-moment look into mormonism.

being single in mormondom comes with a unique set of obstacles, rewards, rules of the road that serves as a great insight into what drives the mormon psyche in general. so i think this documentary will be of great service to educate the "outsider" into mormon culture and beliefs in an honest and probably amusing sort of way. anyway, i won't try to speak for the people behind the movie. i'll let them do that. check it out.

i think it's a noble endeavor. so while it's always tacky to ask for money. if you have any to spare and you want to contribute to a worthwhile project that will slant the mormon moment towards the positive, by all means give a little.

click here to learn more about the project and how to donate.

full disclosure: i know the producer of this documentary very well. and i would being saying these words regardless of that relationship.

let's own the mormon moment on our terms, before someone else does on theirs...

Easter Sunday

we had a fun-filled easter yesterday. will woke up ready to find his easter basket!

okay, not really. he didn't really have a clue that is was easter, but when peter brought him out to the living room to see his easter goods, he immediately perked up to find so much candy and chocolate sitting out for him.

he was more interested in mom's and dad's treats than he was in his own easter basket. (or should i say lightening mcqueen bucket. even though real easter baskets are cuter, i just couldn't help picking something out for him that he'd be able to use and enjoy later, and not just on easter.) so all in all it was a fun, chocolate filled morning.

after checking out (and tasting) all of our goodies, we decided to dye some eggs. i know we were a little behind, but we hadn't had the time until easter morning. we stripped will down, moved the table and set everything up on the floor. will immediately went for the eggs. and while he enjoyed helping me dye the eggs . . .

he enjoyed doing this to them even more.

after we all got cleaned up, we went outside for our easter photo shoot. will looked like he was ready to go read The Great Gatsby while lounging on the porch drinking his mint julep. but doesn't he just look darling????

and of course he had to stop and smell the flowers!

and here's one of our little family . . .

after church, we made it down to peter's mom's house for a delicious dinner/easter celebration/family home evening/birthday party. and thanks uncle nick for the yummy birthday cake!

girls day

in japan, there's a holiday called Girls Day. it's celebrated on March 3 of every year. (there's also a Boys Day every May 5.) so every year, my mother-in-law, shauna puts on a girls day celebration. even though girls day was in march, we celebrated it this last sunday.

part of the tradition is to set up the beautiful display of girls day dolls. the girls day dolls consist of the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians all in their traditional court dress. included are also trees, food, tools, and different chests/furniture. they are all very beautiful and it's fun to admire the special dolls. at the party, we also ate some yummy japanese food, prepared by shauna. it was delicious.

we also dress up in traditional kimonos. usually the boys don't come, but this year, shauna invited them, so here's a picture with william and peter in their traditional japanese jackets.

lots of cousins and family came to the party and we had a great time chatting, eating, and sharing our girls day wishes with everyone.