Combining Passions

As some of you know, I've been taking some film classes lately in an attempt to pursue a passion of mine. Of course, taking the time away from my family is never fun and always makes me feel at least a little guilty. In an effort to combine the two, I decided to make this fun little video with the boys. It's a Star Wars-inspire film (although Batman and others make some debuts!) using action figures. Mackay was of course the main actor and Beckett was his side kick in our home audio recording "studio" (i.e. my closet!). I played a few voices as well, including that of Yoda. Andrea was the girl voice at the end.

Unlike other short films I've made, I went into this without any real script or storyboards. It was more of an interactive process with the boys (they were the ones who actually came up with the idea of doing a scene with Yoda). After we had a general story shot, I made up a dialogue and then we recorded it. Of course all of the sound effects were also added after the fact. Long story short, it took longer than I had hoped, but it was a fun little project that I hope the boys will remember with fondness.

For those who are wondering...the fire is real!

Bowling Rocks!

One of the fun things about having kids is getting to take them to try new things and watching their enthusiasm and excitement. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this was the first time we've taken the kids to go bowling. Here are Mackay and Beckett giving it a go! We figure Eme needs to learn to walk first...soon enough!

Family Run

A good friend of ours organized this charity run not far from our house. It was a 5k, but there was a 1-mile option too. Mackay ran the whole way and Beckett joined him for part of the run. Eme just enjoyed the ride. Good times!

I love how they were totally focused before the race started. No camera was going to distract them.



But let's be honest, we don't do it for the glory...we do it for the bagels...

And (from one of Andrea's old races)...we race for the cool Texas-shaped medals they give us when we're done! :-)

The Winners (2008) from Marc Strong on Vimeo.

Note: I can't say we're big PC fans (Macs only in this household!), but I'm sure my brother-in-law who works for Microsoft will appreciate the boys' shirts (he should, he gave them to 'em!). :)

Wedding Fun

Andrea's youngest sister got married in the Houston Texas temple. It was a beautiful wedding and a great excuse to get family together. Here are a few pictures of the fun!

From outside the temple...
From their reception...

My great dad with cute little Eme. Hard to imagine her getting married some day! Yikes!!!
Hard to have a bad party as long as there's food...right Eme? :-)

The sisters and sister-in-law.

I love the way this picture captured the moment!

Disney Rocks!

Back when Andrea and I went to Maui, we bought some points/option for a time share dealio. With those points we were able to stay at a sweet place in Disney World and another less-sweet place on the beach in Destin, Florida. We definitely would not recommend wasting one's money on the time share option like we did (lesson learned!), but we did enjoy a super fun time at Disney World. We went with some of our friends who have similar age kids. It was SUPER fun! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

They weren't really diggin' the Bug's Life 4D show. We left early after things started hitting them (I think it was just air!).

We rode this about four times because there was no line! Sweet!!!

At the end of a long and fun first day.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Good times with friends.

What a cute family! ;-)
What a great big brother!

Faces of FUN!

This car ride always seems faster when you're young! But it's still fun at my age! We got to go around twice because I had two drivers.

Like mother like daughter...cute!

More cuteness.
Hanging around. Waiting in line.
Bros before...never forget it guys! ;-)
Mom with her cute kids.

We got to have dinner that night with my Grandma and Great Aunt. We had a fun dinner at the T-Rex Restaurant. It took a while to wait in line, however (love that Mackay is asleep in this).
UPDATE: Unfortunately, my Aunt is no longer with us. She is missed.

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

What a cute family! (Is Eme crying?) ;-)
Be honest, what boy doesn't love Star Wars? Show me one and I'll show you a neglectful parent! :-)
A little rain came just as we were calling it a day.

Day 4 - Chillin'
I asked the kids if they wanted to go to the Disney parks for a fourth day, but I think three was good for them. They were happy to swim at our hotel and go shopping.

At least the hotel had a nice pool...even if it was overpriced!

We stopped at the Lego Store before leaving Disney and picked up a few things. Legos = a slice of heaven for these boys!

Day 5 - Beach

Eme loves the beach!
Eme doesn't love sitting on alligators!

Note that I'm planning to make a home movie combining all of our clips, but haven't gotten around to it. I will finish it! In the mean time, enjoy these clips of Mackay and Beckett on their first roller coaster rides.

Mackay's First Roller Coaster Ride from Be Strong on Vimeo.

Beckett's First Roller Coaster Ride from Be Strong on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Since uploading the roller coaster video of Beckett, a Disney representative contacted me to include it in a video montage they showed on the side of Cinderella's Caste for part of the month of February 2011. It was part of some promotional they were doing. I'm still trying to get a copy of their final video, but I doubt they'll send it.

Learning to Stand

Just another day at home playing with the boys...and watching Eme learn to balance. I sure am amazed how much I love my kids! Some day I'm going to miss these days...

A White Christmas

We had a great time visiting my family up in Dallas for Christmas. It's nice to be within driving distance (it definitely saves on the travel budget!). The kids are to the age now where they really appreciate getting to see and play with their cousins. And between my two sisters, there are plenty of cousins to play with! (Ok, maybe not that many, but six is a lot to me.)

And did I mention that it even snowed? Who says it doesn't get cold in Texas. What the schnikes?!



Our semi-serious time was when we dressed up and enacted Christ's birth.

Our cute little shepherds.


Our silly time was when Andrea and my mom and my sisters did a skit to "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" with my dad singing alternate lyrics with reference to JuicePlus and the like (for those of you who know my mom, she's a big fan of JuicePlus).



We don't have Wii at home, but Mackay loves playing it at his cousins' house. Here's a fun little video of the kids steering their cars, with a bit of commentary by Beckett.