iWonder

Guess what folks, I'm watching my infamous cousin again. Tegan is hanging out everyday for the next week and a half. She's really a lot of fun. There's definitely never a dull moment when she's here. Today, I am also watching my nephew, Isaac. Four kids. So far, so good. I had to go pick up Isaac this morning, so I left my kids home with my mom and took Tegan on the "real long car ride" because Isaac lives "real far away." That's what I was informed of anyway. I guess that 15 minutes in the car was total torture for a four year old girl.
I decided that I wanted to listen to good music instead of the kid stuff. I hooked up my iPod and let music play. Teagan didn't know what an iPod was so she was very inquiring about it and very impressed that it could play music. I'm really into "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis lately, so I was playing that one the majority of the time. Tegan did not oppose. She was actually singing the chorus with good ole Leona. Towards the end of the car ride, Tegan wanted to listen to it over and over again. I did as I was commanded. Then a thought occurred to her.

"I bet that lady's getting real tired of singing."

Sorry Leona, didn't mean to make you work so hard.

Candace's Critic Corner

The Dark Knight:

This was a deep movie for me. Definitely, a lot for one to take in. We were able to see it last night in the IMAX theater in Opry Mills Mall. I was kind of surprised at the content. It was dark. It was nasty and loud. It was pretty brutal. The characters are a little out there. Over all, I would have to say that this movie was absolutely amazing. It's probably one of the most insightful movies I've ever seen. It's a story that says that opposition is in all things. There cannot be good without there also being evil. The characters portray how we all have the capability of yielding to either side. There are those who strive to do bad things and there are those who strive to do the good. And you know what? We all have a choice.

The acting in this movie was immaculate. I only have one word for both Christian Bale and Heath Ledger: talent.

Christian Bale makes one actually realize that there are people (and should be more people) that want to do good for others. Not for glory or fame. Simply because it's right. He is a realistic hero.

Heath Ledger was phenomenal. I still can't even begin to tell you what I thought of the Joker. He was quite a character. He had some funny parts and he had a lot of creepy parts. The Joker is very manipulative. Even as an outsider looking into the story, I found myself feeling manipulated by him. The character was well done. He is a realistic villain.

The other members of the cast were amazing as well. I don't have a single complaint about who was cast for what role. It was perfect.

In The Dark Knight, there was darkness. It's given to you right there in the title. But, among the darkness, there was light. Among the nasty, there was cleanliness. Among the loud, there was peace. Among brutality, a sense of conscience. Among the evil, there was the good. It's a lot like the world today. It's a crazy place in which we live. I'm not saying that we should all dress up like nocturnal animals and drive indestructible cars and fly off of tall buildings. I'm just saying that maybe there should be more people willing to sacrifice something for someone else rather than people sacrificing things of others for their own gain. Even little decisions that we make can make us appear as a hero in someone else's eyes.

That's the message that I received from watching the movie last night. It was well thought out and well done.

In Loving Memory

Candace Michelle Townsend's EMU boots were given away July 12, 2008 to an organization by the name of Goodwill. These boots were beloved boots. They lived a long, happy life. The boots saw the snowy terrains of the Utah mountains and the mild winters of the Tennessee hills. Manufactured in the land down under, they were purchased by owner Candace Townsend at a Big 5 sporting goods store in South Jordan, Utah. They were purchased on sale, but that never cut down on the love that was given them by said owner. The boots were there for Candace to keep her feet warm from the cold. They were there for Candace when she wanted to embarrass her husband, Matthew. There was one instance when Candace and Matthew were going to pick up a strawberry pie from Marie Callendar's. It was mid-spring and Candace wore her beige EMU boots with her basketball shorts and a hoodie. Matt would not let Candace or the boots out of the car. Below is a picture of that day.
Candace's love for the boots never diminished through the years, but she knew it was time to let them go. Matthew took the boots away in a plastic bag full of other donations. To some, they may appear to be a worn-out old pair of boots, but to me, they're the epitome of comfort and warmth. Goodbye my boots. You will never be forgotten. I can only hope that you will find an owner who will love you as much as I.

Finally, A Peaceful Moment

As a mother of two, it's tiring to try and keep up with everything. It's difficult when your eyes can't see something, but your ears definitely hear the effects of it. I have no idea how many times a day I have to say, "Don't hit your brother" or "Don't hit your sister." This is only the firist year of having the two of them in my life and I know that it'll get worse as time goes on. I've often wondered why it was that Heavenly Father gave me William and Lily so close together. I have a big number of things that I know that I was supposed to learn. Love. Patience. Sacrifice. Service. Humility. I could go on and on. I have finally come to the conclusion that it's not only me or Matt that needed to learn something from them. Maybe they needed each other.
Last week, I was watching our DVR recording of "So You Think You Can Dance" because I had missed it the night before. I had realized that I hadn't heard a single scream, cry, or yell from either one of my children. I looked up into the kitchen and I could see that all the way at the end of the hall, they were sitting together on this little bench. William was sharing the bag of cheddar rice cakes that he had stolen out of the kitchen with Lily. No one was trying to push. No one was stepping on toes. Neither one was trying to pull hair. It occured to me that even though they fight and hit and have to go to time-outs because of each other, I know that they do have a lot of love for one another. It's a pretty funny picture, but I couldn't help but capture that little moment of peace.

Third of July

I know that a 3rd of July party sounds a little out of the ordinary, but it was all in good fun. Krystin and John invited us over for a pre-fourth fireworks show. It was a lot of fun to see the fun sparklers and fireworks and fountains. It was probably more fun to see John and Matt running away from the fuses that they had just lit. William and Lily had a hard time with the noise. Lily loved to see everything, I'm sure because fireworks are so pretty. William, on the other hand, didn't want to see them at all. Poor Will just sat in Grandpa's lap the whole time, looking so sad. Because they both had been tortured by the sound of fireworks on the 3rd, we decided to not go out on the night of the fourth. Instead, we stayed in and watched the Nashville fireworks show on television. They were beautiful. We did have fun on the 4th of July, though. We had a family BBQ and played games outside. All the kids before the show started.
Lily and Me
William had to have his ears covered almost the whole time. If Grandpa put his hand down, Will would move it back over his ear. Sad, huh?

Pageant Mom

Krystin is starting a bow business with her sister called Daisy Dooz. They make headbands and hair bows, a lot of things for little girl's hair. Which is kind of ironic since neither have a baby girl, as of yet. Anyway, her sister sent Krystin some bows that she had made and Krystin came over to see what some of them looked like. I loved this headband, so we put it on Lily. I felt like a pageant mom! I was following her around with the camera. Bribing her with treats so that she would sit still. A high pitched "Lily" to get her attention became annoying all too soon. I felt like it was only steps away from having Lily on a stage dancing, while I'm behind the small audience doing the dance moves to make sure Lily wouldn't forget them. It's hilarious how the parent tries so hard! It became apparent to me that we, as parents, are putty in our children's hands from time to time. At least, I know that I am. It was a great epiphany and now that I recognize it, I still don't think I can change it! Well, I hope that you have enjoyed this little thought and also the adorable pictures!

Suckers and Summer Days

This past week, well, the past three days, the weather has been a little cooler. The whole month of June has been so hot and humid. It's like when you walk outside, you're automatically sweating. It's gross. Anyway, since the weather was nicer yesterday, Matt and I decided to have a little family time outside. "Papa" also put out the hammock, so that made up our minds for sure. We grabbed some suckers and I got the camera and we went outside! Cute Lily with a piece of grass stuck on her face.
Classic William.
This is the best picture out of the 8 or 9 pictures I took of the three of them. Is it even possible to get more than one child to look at the camera at one time? Atleast William and Lily are looking in the same direction...
Lily is obviously shocked and doesn't understand how her cherry dum dum is gone.
She decided that she wanted another sucker and tried to take dad's!