VIDS FROM THE BFR

Nikki and I recently bought a video camera, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it out at the 2008 Burke Family Reunion last month in Jackson Hole. Those of you not at the reunion may find these videos a bit boring. But, some members of my family are... how should I put it, “digitally challenged.” Posting them online seemed like a good way of sharing them.

More “exciting” reunion videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/DoubleBBurke

THE GROOVY GIRLS PERFORM (THE SONG OF A MILLION INSIDE JOKES):


JULI & BRYNN SING (AND DODGE SMALL CHILDREN):


NO MOOSE:

LET'S GET GEEKY

For the record, I have never read a comic book (sorry, “graphic novel”), yet I find myself an avid fan of the Superhero Movie. Some would say that’s geeky. And I would say, “shut up.”

For you Superhero Movie novices or naysayers, I give you my travel guide to Superhero Movies:

MUST-SEE SUPERHERO MOVIES:

1. Batman Begins: Simply put, the best Superhero Movie ever made

2. Dark Knight (July 18, 2008): Let’s hope this is an ‘Empire Strikes Back’ and not another ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’. (Wow, that was a geeky statement.)

3. Spiderman: Toby McGuire as Spiderman, are you serious? Serious like a fox, and it works.

4. Iron Man: Who would have thought Robert Downey Jr. could play a decent superhero, and yet, here we are.

5. X-Men: It’s strange to think that Wolverine spends most of his time doing musical theatre.

6. Spiderman 2: The awesomeness continues, despite more Kirsten Dunst

7. The Incredibles: Odd that Pixar created a better 'Fantastic Four' than Marvel could

8. X2: X-Men United: What’s with the creepy guy in the wheelchair?

9. Superman Return: As Nikki says, “he’s perfect.” Silly Nikki, don’t you know that Batman is more perfecter?

10. The Incredible Hulk: A HUGE improvement from the previous incarnation. Plus, it opens in Brazil, which was total déjà vu for me, except, of course, the becoming a giant, green monster part.


SUPERHERO MOVIES TO AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE:

1. Hulk (2003): To quote Michael Scott, “Can I just say that, of all the bad movies, in all the bad movie villages, in all the bad movie worlds, you stand alone, my friend.”

2. Daredevil: Two words, Ben Affleck

3. Batman & Robin: Things George Clooney shouldn’t do: spout off unfounded political views and participate in Batman movies

4. Superman IV: A chubby Superman fights a Fabio-esque villain named Nuclear Man – sounds awesome, right? Not so much.

5. Catwoman: A hot Halle Berry in a black, leather suit couldn’t save this train wreck

6. Fantastic Four: An even a hotter Jessica Alba in Spandex couldn’t save this train wreck

FOR A GOOD LAUGH:

1. Superman II: The funniest movie that never meant to be

2. Batman (1966): Featuring the handiest tool in Batman’s arsenal: the Bat Shark Repellent Spray.

3. Steel: And I thought 'Kazaam' was tops

A Little De-motivation

Who doesn’t love a good de-motivational poster? I’m sure Nikki won’t approve, but I’d like to share 10 of my favorites with you.

Enjoy:

Can you say Karate Kid??

This weekend I had the opportunity of taking my nephew, Liam, to his Kyu Test. For those of you that don't know the lingo of Karate, this is a test for Karate Students to go through the basics of their level and then do their individual "Kata." Basically a series of Karate moves. They do this in front of their instructor and then the Instructor decides how well they did and if they should move up a belt or not.

You might be asking yourself, why didn't his parents take him? Well, they were busy gallivanting all over Europe. But every other year they have been there 100% supportive.

Well can I just say my nephew did AWESOME!! I seriously felt like I was sitting in Mr. Miyagi's Dojo and watching Daniel-son. Maybe it is because he takes after his Dad, who is a second-degree Black Belt!!
Liam did so fantastic, that instead of getting moved up one belt Purple to Blue, his instructor moved him up 2 belts, from Purple to Green & White. I was just beaming in the audience!!

Brendan's Birthday -- Moab!!

Last weekend was Brendan's Birthday. I thought it would be fun to plan a camping trip down to Southern Utah for us along with some of Brendan's good friends. Now . .you know how much I love my husband, if I willingly volunteer to plan a camping trip!! :)

We headed off on Friday afternoon, we decided it would be more fun if we all headed down to Moab in the Suburban, that way we could all ride together. Brendan and I were up front. Andrea, Jason and Steve were in the back.

We got to Moab in the early evening. We set up our tents and then started the BBQ. It was so much fun. We played some games that night and told stories around the campfire.

The next day we decided to go hiking in Arches National Park. Our first hike of the day was to Delicate Arch. This is an awesome hike and an awesome sight. It was so neat to hear so many different languages on the trail of the people we were by. If you have never been to Moab, it is definately worth a trip. It is such a unique place to visit and to hike.

Here is a picture of Delicate Arch. You can get some idea of its size, that is Brendan and myself standing underneath it!!

We also decided to hike Devil's Garden, to see the largest Arch in the world, Landscape Arch. On this hike you also get to see Tunnel Arch & Pine Tree Arch. All are amazing.

Here is a picture of Landscape Arch:

That night we went out for pizza and played games. We played Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and the girls, Andrea and myself, kicked the guys trash two out of the three games.

Sunday Morning, we got up and had breakfast and cleaned up camp. On our way home we stopped at Dead Horse Point. It is such an amazing sight to see. Basically like Utah's own Grand Canyon. The picture below is of our group!

My favorite picture of the weekend, the three boys sleeping on the rocks at Moab?? Why did the three of them want a picture of them pretending to be sleeping?? Let's just say, "Boys will be Boys!!"

Life's Little Soundtrack --by Brendan

How great would it be if life had its own soundtrack? Say you nail that big presentation at work and the theme from Rocky starts playing. Or, you walk into a party, and “Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake starts playing. Awesome, right?
Think about your own life’s soundtrack. If you’re stuck, you can borrow a few tracks from mine (see answers below):

1. It’s the first sunny Saturday of spring, and you’re on your way to Lowe’s. You open the sunroof and start seriously grooving to THIS SONG. You’re pretty sure the song is about drug hustling, but you can’t resist its intoxicating rhythm. You receive strange looks from fellow motorists and are brought to the abrupt realization that you are a 30-something white boy from the suburbs. So, you close your sunroof, turn up the volume and continue to groove.

2. It’s 3:53 a.m., and you’re on your way home from work (it’s Jazz Playoff time). It’s also the morning of your second anniversary, and you’re wife made you promise to, “not die.” Flying down the 1-15 at 97 miles per hour, you blast THIS SONG to keep yourself awake. As one of the coolest songs ever made, you can’t help but feel exhilarated, even though you’re half-asleep.

3. As a new addition to your iPod, THIS SONG is fast becoming one of those rare tunes you will never grow tired of listening to.

4. It’s the mid-80’s, and you’re on a field trip to the roller rink with your fifth-grade class. - Feathered hair, check. - Money for candy, check. - White T&C Surf shirt that looks rad under the black lights, check. It’s time to impress Misty Carbino and her friendship-bracelet-wearing clan. Your plan is simple: gain enough speed to jump the rink entry divider, skate up to snack bar and offer to share a 3-ft licorice rope with Misty. The time is now. THIS SONG is pumping. You’re gaining speed. You’re jumping the rink entry divider. You’re landing your jump (nice one!) You’re approaching the snack bar. You’re passing the snack bar. You’re crashing through the emergency exit door. The alarm is sounding. Ms. Applebee has sent you to a designated “time-out bench” to reflect on your reckless actions. Misty and her friends are still giggling at you. Years later, you realize simply talking to Misty proves far more effective.

5. You wish you could get THIS STUPID SONG out of your head. Try as you might, it’s still there.

6. So, your hippy-music loving little brother is in town from Portland to visit prospective colleges in Utah. What song do you play to get the maximum amount of older-brother teasing in during the 45 minute drive to Provo? You play THIS SONG. You’re pretty sure he’s still recovering from the experience.

7. You’re ashamed to admit that, through overexposure, you’ve involuntarily memorized every song from THESE TWO MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS. Thanks to your sisters for the first and your wife for the second.

8. So, what if you want to listen to a song from musical theatre without feeling like a total Nancy-Boy? You listen to THIS SONG.

9. You’ve been caught rocking out in your car many times. Most often, people simply smile and look away. Sometimes they laugh. Sometimes they point. THESE THREE SONGS have been responsible for your most recent embarrassing rock outs. Shamefully, your last encounter involved a car full of high-school girls who hit you with a triple-combo of laughing, pointing and mimicking your rock-out moves.

10. You’re heading back to Salt Lake City after a bittersweet trip to California where you visited your pseudo ex-girlfriend. She had again pleaded for an explanation of why you left Los Angeles and, ultimately, her. You had cited religious differences because you knew she wouldn’t understand the real reason (that you woke up one night with a strong “gut feeling” to move back to Utah). With the exception of a quick stop in Barstow, to pick up new sunglasses and a chocolate Frosty, you listen to THIS SONG the entire way home. You can’t believe how perfectly the lyrics fit your situation. Feeling guilty and completely sorry for yourself, you wonder if you’re crazy for making yet another life-changing leap of faith. None of this makes sense to you until almost two years later when you meet a hot, little blonde who changes everything with a pinky swear.


1. “Paper Planes” by M.I.A
2. “Extreme Ways (Bourne Ultimatum Remix)” by Moby
3. “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay
4. “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora
5. The jingle from the Hotwire.com commercials
6. “International Harvester” by Craig Morgan
7. Music from the musical productions of Annie and Wicked
8. “One Night in Bangkok” by Murray Head (from the musical Chess)
9. “Beer For My Horses” by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance, and “Shut Up And Let Me Go” by the Ting Tings
10. “Everybody’s Changing” by Keane

My Week in Pennsylvania

This week for work, I got to travel back East to Pennsylvania!! A friend from work, Kim and I flew to Philadelphia on Monday. We got there in the early afternoon and decided to head to Philadelphia's Downtown to see some of our nation's history. We had a total blast walking around and seeing all of the cities great sites.

That night for dinner, we thought we should find a very authentic Philly Cheesesteak!! So we asked a couple of guys on the street and they showed us on our walking map where we should go. After 45 minutes of walking, we ended up on this corner of 2 competing Philly Cheesesteak places. Now if any of you watch the Food Network, there is a show: Diners, Drive-In's & Dives. We LOVE that show. And it just so happens that one of the episodes we caught, was about this exact place!! I was so dang excited to experience it. We decided to go old school and go to Pat's over Geno's. Pat's is the original, as you can tell from the pictures. The sandwich was so GOOD and well worth the 45 minute walk.

After dinner, we went back to our rental car and headed west to Lancaster. This is Amish Country for those of you that don't know. It was SO PRETTY. I have been there before, back when I was a senior in High School, but I was amazed at how green and how everything was already in bloom. We did a little bit of exploring in Amish Country and had a blast.

On the way back to our flight, we decided to stop by Valley Forge. I was very impressed and very humbled to be in such a historical place.

Oh yes and we did actually work while we were out there!!