Best Hamburgers in Utah

Have you ever been driving North on I-15 and seen a red and white billboard on the west side advertising Five Guys Burgers and Fries? Well, Mark and I were looking for some place to go for dinner. We were driving around and saw this place and decided to try it. Holy Cow!! This was the best hamburger I have ever had. It is better than Red Robin. It is better than Apollo Burger/Burger Supreme/Astro Burger/Crown Burger (they all have the same menu)!!

The food is fresh. They make their fries from scratch and their hamburger patties fresh. I got their Little Hamburger (with one patty of meat) with mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, and pickles (they weren't serving tomatoes because of the salmonila thing). It tasted just like I cooked the burger on my own grill and dressed it on my own, except it was better.

Mark had the Bacon Cheeseburger (with 2 patties of meat). He ordered it all the way with all the normal toppings: lettuce, pickles, onions, pickles, mushrooms, mayo, mustard, ketchup, and he added bbq sauce. He said this was the best burger he has ever tasted. He said it tasted really fresh and not processed.

We shared a large cajun fry. This was way too much for the both of us. These were the best fries I have ever had.

Five Guys has the freshness of In-n-out, and the taste of a gourmet burger. There are more options to their burgers, and they tell you their options.

Here is their website: http://www.fiveguys.com/. This is the only location in Utah. It is located at: 1148 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale. Get off the 7200 S. exit and head east. It is in the Family Place Shopping plaza (just east through the parking lot of Chili's).

Movie Review: Get Smart

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for rude humor, action violence, and language

Rating: Recommend and watchable. If you like Steve Carrell, you will like this.

I have only seen one Get Smart episode. I thought it was funny. I had no clue about the premise of this movie before I saw it, except from the previews I had seen.

Synopsis: In the all-new action comedy "Get Smart," Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). As Smart and 99 get closer to unraveling KAOS' master plan — and each other — they discover that key KAOS operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his sidekick Shtarker (Kenneth Davitian) are scheming to cash in with their network of terror. Given little field experience and even less time, Smart — armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm — must defeat KAOS if he is to save the day. (Source: http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-synopsis/get-smart/)

Anne Hathaway does a good job in this movie, as well as "The Rock." They are all very believable. Steve Carrell is nothing like Michael Scott in The Office. He is actually human and is very funny! However, Bruce and Lloyd were my two favorite characters. These are the guys who want to prove that the agents are dumb!

I was laughing all the way through the movie. Overall, critics said it was fair. They either loved it or hated it. This movie is a great summer flick. It is light hearted. The critics who rated it below fair do not know what they are talking about.

3rd Anniversary: June 22, 2008

Sunday was our third anniversary. Mark and I went to Cedar City for the weekend. We had a really fun time.

We drove down Friday afternoon and saw Othello that night at the Shakespeare Festival. It was good. I don't know much about it, but from what I have heard Iago is an evil villain. The actor portrayed him as a funny guy. Mark didn't like that. He says the success of the play is based on Iago, and since Iago wasn't very good, he didn't like the play so much.

Saturday was a really fun day. We went to Bryce Canyon that day and hiked the Rim Trail around the Amphitheater. It was really cool. The Hoodoo's were a neat natural phenomenon. The wind erodes the tops and the water erodes the bottom and they are these really cool rock sculptures. It was really pretty. After we finished the Rim Trail, we decided to drive the rest of the park and stop at a few places that seemed interesting. We went to Rainbow Point, Agua Canyon, and Natural Bridge. After we finished the Rim Trail, we decided to drive the rest of the park and stop at a few places that seemed interesting. We went to Rainbow Point, Agua Canyon, and Natural Bridge. Later that night we went to the Pizza Factory in Cedar City. It wasn't that good. The Pizza Factory in Provo is much better. This restaurant seemed old and run down and the waitresses were in cut off and flip flops. The food was bland. I got the penne, Alfredo, and seasoned chicken. There were no seasonings. I usually don't have to put salt and pepper on my food, but this time I had to. After we finished eating, we saw Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Shakespeare Festival. This was much better than Othello. The actors really did a good job with the parts. After the play, we went to Grandee's and got a Brownie Something. There was a fresh baked brownie at the bottom, two scoops of ice cream (we got vanilla and white cake batter), whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry on top. It was so good! To finish off the evening, we drove up to Brian Head and Cedar Breaks and looked at the stars. Well...Mark looked at the stars. It was really cold up there and I was a baby and wanted to stay in the car.

Sunday morning, we woke up ate breakfast (by the way the Holiday Inn Express Continental Breakfast are the best I have had, except for the one at the Marriott Marquee in NYC). We drove home. While we were driving all over Southern Utah, we were listening to The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Holy Cow! This book is awful. I gave it about half way through the book and I couldn't handle it any more. She goes on and on and on about nothing. While we were driving up to Brian Head, I put in disc 9 when I should have put in disc 8 and we didn't miss anything in the story. That tells you how drawn out it is. I like the Twilight series, but this one was really bad. The book could be 10 chapters shorter.

Best Day of Summer 2008!!

On Friday, June 13, my sister and her husband (Sydnee and Allan) went through the temple and were sealed to their little boy, Athrun. It was a wonderful day. I am so happy for her. She asked me to help through the day. It was so cute and touching to see them all together after. They were glowing.

Mark was only able to come to the sealing because he had a final in one of his classes that morning. My dad and mom came. Allan's parents and Aunt and Uncle also attended.

It was the highlight of my summer. Nothing else is going to top this. Girls always look forward to their own wedding day, but I also was looking forward to my sister's. I believe that because of Allan and his wonderful parents my sister's little family were able to be sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.

What goes around comes around

So Phil Jackson, you don't like it when the officials play favorites and give the opposing team more free throws? Welcome to the NBA! That is what happens every time another team plays your beloved Lakers.

Let's look at Kobe's free throw attempts during the playoffs.

Round 1 vs. Denver: 28-38
Round 2 vs. Utah: 80-93
Round 3 vs. San Antonio:10-11
Finals vs. Celtics: After 2 games, 13-13

I think Kobe has made enough foul shots already to compensate for what Leon Powe did. Come on Phil. Get a grip. I know you don't like to be on the losing end and that is why your players are thugs, but life is not perfect and you can count on the officials "making it up" to you these next two games at LA.

NBA Finals: Lakers vs. Celtics

Round 3 has come and gone, quickly! The Lakers played the Spurs and the Celtics played the Pistons. For a quick recap, The Lakers won in 5 games and the Celtics won in 6 games. The Lakers won on a controversial no-call, and the Celtics finally win road games during the playoffs.

So, the time has come for the NBA finals.

LAKERS vs. CELTICS
FYI: This is the Lakers 5th appearance in the NBA finals in the last 10 years. This is also the 10th time the Lakers and Celtics have met in the finals. During the regular season, the Celtics swept the Lakers. The only new factor is Pau Gasol. Will he be the x-factor for the Lakers?

Experts: Lakers in 6
Ashley: Celtics in 6
Mark: Lakers in 5

8th grade day

Yesterday was our 8th grade day. It was so much fun! We had 5 stations: reptile guy, team building, service, frisbee golf, and fun games. Only about 200 kids came. That made it so nice. We were planning on 500 or so kids. We were able to get the rotations done easier. The favorite rotation of the kids was the reptile guy. He brought snakes, turtles, spiders, and insects. During the presentation his black scorpion died. Some of the girls screamed, and some thought it was so cool.

Overall, the day was a big success.

Job Promotion: English Department Head

This last week I got a promotion at work for next year. Our department chair is pregnant, so she will be quiting. They asked me to be the new department chair. I was really shocked. It will only be my third year teaching.

I am really nervous. I have no clue what I am doing. I have lots of ideas. I want to get each member of the department a binder with the core, our SMART goal (goal set by the department for the school year), a place to keep their outline of what they will be teaching and when, and a place to take notes.

A couple of things that I want to accomplish will be:

1. To have common test within each grade. Right now it isn't neccessarily that way. The 9th grade does this completely, the 8th grade is semi this way, and I think the 7th grade has a couple common tests.

2. More teacher involvement. I want the teachers in each grade to participate equally in writing the assessments. Right now it seems like a couple of teachers are the only ones to be writing the tests. I am one of those teachers for the 8th grade.

3. I want to have more professional development. I want us to read more articles relating to the needs of our department. For example, one teacher wants to do more authentic assessments and not only use multiple choice tests. I have lots of books. I also want the teachers to implement the new tips and techniques we learn.

Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs

So how did I do with my first round predictions? Here are the teams that advanced to the second round:

WEST:
Lakers vs. Jazz
Hornets vs. Spurs

EAST:
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
Magic vs. Pistons

The only team I got wrong were the Suns/Spurs. Let's make some 2nd round predictions! (The FYI comes from www.espn.com)

WEST:
Lakers vs. Jazz
FYI: The Lakers and Jazz have met three times in postseason history. Utah has won two of the three matchups, the most recent a 1998 sweep. The Jazz have not faced the Lakers with Pau Gasol in the lineup.

Expert: Lakers in 6/7
Ashley: Lakers 6
Mark: Jazz in 6

Hornets vs. Spurs
FYI: The Hornets and Spurs split the season series 2-2, with each team winning one game on the road. The Hornets handed the Spurs two of their three worst losses of the season (Jan. 26 at SAS, March 12 at NOH)

Expert: Spurs in 6
Ashley: Hornets in 6
Mark: Hornets in 7

EAST:
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
FYI: The Celtics hold a 10-7 edge over the Cavs in their playoff history. The C's are 7-1 at home against the Cavs in the playoffs. The Celtics and Cavaliers split the season series 2-2, with neither team winning a game on the road.

Expert: Celtics in 5/6
Ashley: Celtics in 6
Mark: Celtics in 7

Magic vs. Pistons
FYI: Home court may be the deciding factor. The Pistons hold the fifth-best all-time winning percentage at home in the playoffs among NBA teams (.692). The Pistons and Magic have met three times in the playoffs in NBA history. The Pistons currently hold an 8-6 edge over the Magic in those games.

Expert: Pistons in 7
Ashley: Pistons in 7
Mark: Pistons in 5


The winners of the West will meet in the Western Conference Finals and the winners of the East will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Movie Review: Ironman

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
Rating: Highly recommend and watchable more than once in the theater. Definitely a buy on DVD or Blu-ray!!

I went into this movie knowing nothing about Ironman except what I had seen in the previews. The writers did an excellent job telling the story of Ironman so those in the audience would be able to follow along.

... Iron Man [is] an action-packed take on the tale of wealthy philanthropist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who develops an invulnerable robotic suit to fight the throes of evil. In addition to being filthy rich, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is also a genius inventor. When Stark is kidnapped and forced to build a diabolical weapon, he instead uses his intelligence and ingenuity to construct an indestructible suit of armor and escape his captors. Once free, Stark discovers a deadly conspiracy that could destabilize the entire globe, and dons his powerful new suit on a mission to stop the villains and save the world. Gwyneth Paltrow co-stars as his secretary, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, while Terrence Howard fills the role of Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, one of Stark's colleagues, whose military background leads him to help in the formation of the suit. ... (Source: Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide, http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=2076905&affid=100055&mp=syn)


Robert Downey Jr was the perfect person for this role. He has that cauky personality. Perfect for Tony Starks character. There were many other actors who wanted this role, among them is Tom Cruise. I am sorry, but he is just not "Tony Stark" material. I can't picture him as a cauky philanthropist. I always picture him as a 'Mission Impossible" type actor, not a Marvel Comics type actor. He doesn't have that superhero factor about him. As popular as Cruise may be, the movie would have been awful if he would have been Tony Stark/Ironman.

I don't understand the critics who did not like it. Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times said, "It has primo parts, but they don't all come together." That is because they left it wide open for a sequel. Haven't you been paying attention to the superhero movies lately? They are leaving them open so many more may follow: The Spiderman Trilogy, X-Men Trilogy, Fantastic Four, Batman (Even though he is DC). He doesn't know what he is talking about. He must have missed the end (after all the credits)!

P.S. Stay until the credits are over! There is a little something at the end.