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Sat, 31 May 2008
May 2008 Photos
Eliana's May 2008 Gallery ... (4 years, 2 months old) Olivia's May 2008 Gallery ... (1 year, 10 months old)
Fri, 30 May 2008
I remember that last year when Juno came out a few of the political blogs I read had some things to say about it, specifically how it affects the abortion debate. The movie (if you haven't already seen it) is about a female 16-yr-old high school junior (named Juno) that gets pregnant after having awkward sex one evening with her high school chemistry lab partner. Her initial reaction after the discovery of her pregnancy is to head over to a nearby abortion clinic that does not require parental consent. However, after learning that her 2-month-old fetus has fingernails (from a solitary anti-abortion classmate demonstrating outside the clinic), Juno has second thoughts and decides to carry the fetus to term and find/select some adoptive parents for her baby. The couple she selects have been trying unsuccessfully for 5+ years to have a baby (both biologically and through adoption). They are eager to adopt Juno's baby... or so it seems. I probably shouldn't give away the rest and leave it there. So that's the plot in a nutshell. The movie is "cute" in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way. There are some quirky characters and the dialog is equally quirky but oddly humorous, and so you can't help but snicker and laugh at the quirky characters the wacky things they say and do. (For example, who on earth would ever choose to drink a gallon of Sunny-D? That stuff is nasty!) That being said, I felt that the dialog was a bit "over-written" (for lack of a better word). For example, Juno's dialog seemed far sharper/wittier/astute than one would find uttered by any teenager I know. But that was just a small distraction. As far as the movie's message with regard to the abortion debate, it would seem that this movie splits it right down the middle... which is probably where most Americans stand on the matter. I don't think anyone can really argue (honestly) that an abortion is not terminating life, e.g. killing a living thing. Juno's realization of this fact, which she has while sitting in the abortion clinic waiting room "getting a bad vibe", suddenly made her decision crystal clear. An abortion became suddenly and utterly repugnant; Juno then chooses "life" for her unborn child instead of ending her pregnancy. Bravo! The whole Roe v. Wade business is only tangentially related to abortion in my humble opinion. At the heart of the issue is the limitation of free agency. Does the individual (e.g. expectant-mother or *cough* underage-expectant-mother's parents) get the final say? Or does the state? The movie doesn't necessarily side with the "pro-choice" argument, but only matter-of-factly states that Juno is excercising her right to make the choice. The movie does not pass along any judgement against her right to choose. However, the movie does send a strong message that choosing to have an abortion is morally bankrupt. Even under the current paradigm of a women's right to choose; choosing to have an abortion should still be extremely rare. And I believe this is where the movie really hits the nail on the head. Abortion bans will probably never work (that ship has sailed), but persuasive movies like Juno should cause more expectant-mothers (especially teenage-expectant-mothers) to give adoption a long, hard look. Summary: Very good.
(Update Sun Jun 1 08:21:04 PDT 2008 // updated for clarity)
Wed, 28 May 2008
Creamed Tuna on Toast
2 tbs butter In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir constantly until smooth and lightly browned. Add milk all at once and whisk until the sauce thickens. Add tuna and peas, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot over toast. Note: To make this like my Mom's, the peas are not optional.
The movie August Rush is the story of an orphan, Evan Taylor, trying to reunite with his parents. He claims he can hear them through the background music he hears in the environment that surrounds him. He follows the music to New York City where he meets up with 'Wizard' (played by Robin Williams). Wizard discovers that Evan is a musical prodigy after seeing Evan teach himself to play the guitar (overnight) employing a freestyle method (note: an excellent example of the freestyle method is available here). Wizard gives Evan the stage name "August Rush" and sets about to exploit Evan's talent (for his own advantage) as much as possible. Meanwhile, Evan's biological mother has discovered that her child is alive (she had been told by her scheming father that the child died in childbirth). She sets out looking for her long lost child, and her investigation leads her to New York where she also is to participate in a classical music festival. She no longer has contact with Evan's biological father, however the father has also arrived in New York to re-unite his band and play a few concerts at some local clubs. Serendipity, e.g. "the music", leads all three characters to the music festival where they are finally reunited. Ultimately, I enjoyed this movie because the excellent movie soundtrack energizes the movie and highlights the movie's premise that there is a musical force that has the power to bring this family together. As the movie progresses, the different types of music that the characters play fuse into one as the movie marches toward the climax of the reunion. If the music in the movie wasn't exceptional, then the movie would have failed miserably. Summary: Great music, good movie.
Tue, 27 May 2008
Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
3½ cups milk In a 2-quart saucepan, combine milk and mint leaves. Cook over medium heat about 10 minutes and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Wring leaves to extract all liquid. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly blend in sugar in three smaller measurements and beat until light and fluffy. Mix in cream and salt. Combine with cooled mint-flavored milk. Transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add chopped chocolate bars and mix to combine, then place in freezer to harden.
My Blonde-Haired Blue-Eyed Cheerleader
The one of the left is a bit blurry (she was jumping around quite a lot), but the one on the right is gold!
Glad To Be An American
If you listen to the recording, you can hear him protesting being recorded at first. But after I told him I'd leave the room while he sang he nodded his head. You can hear him start into song but just a half a second after the door clicks behind me. He went to sleep soon after the recording session ended.
(Update Fri May 30 09:47:20 PDT 2008 // modified URL to mp3 audio file)
Mon, 26 May 2008
Hibernating
"Dad, can I hibernate instead of taking a nap?" But of course, you can't hibernate in your bedroom, let alone in your bed. So Eliana made a "cave" with a quilt and the quilt rack in the family room. I had my doubts about whether she would actually fall asleep... but she did. See below for the pictures:
Note: I had to peel back the quilt to snap the picture of Eliana hibernating inside her cave.
Sun, 25 May 2008
Chocolate Ice Cream
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Add 1 cup of the milk and whisk until smooth. Gradually add cocoa and whisk to combine. Add remaining milk. Remove from hit and chill. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl about 1 to 2 minutes. Blend in sugar ½ cup at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Mix in cream and vanilla. Combine with cooled chocolate mixture. Transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add mix-ins (optional), and place in freezer to harden.
(Update Fri May 30 10:06:52 PDT 2008 // 3 cups cream -> 2 cups cream... oops)
Sat, 24 May 2008
Weekend at Schei Lodge: Saturday
Berkeley caught one fish of his own. The lakes are privately stocked, so we fished with barb-less hooks and released all three fish we caught. This proved to be somewhat of a disappointment to Berkeley who seemed to have the presumption that we were catching fish for lunch. But he still had a lot of fun.
Here are a few more (in black and white) of Eliana and Olivia fishing:
After the kids were done fishing (i.e. bored), we snapped a couple of family pictures: one of the Schei family and one of our own family. Pictured in the Schei family portrait below (from left to right) is Jerrod, Kate, Tracy, and Isabella.
After lunch, we went down to the pool and played. There are two pools at the Suncadia health club/spa, one for the kids and one for lap swimming... but alas I didn't bring my speedo or my goggles or, for that matter, my SwiMP3 (糟糕!). No matter... I was busy playing with the kids the whole time we were at the pool.
In the evening the kids played around the man-made small lake (or large pond depending on your point of view) that is just behind the Schei lodge. The kids threw rocks, picked dandelions, and played with a remote-controlled boat.
It was a fun day!
Fri, 23 May 2008
Weekend at Schei Lodge: Friday
Now I would say that most people are inclined to refer to a second home up in the mountains as a "cabin" (myself included). However, this 3000 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 4½ bath "home away from home" the Schei's have here is so nicely appointed that one could argue that it is nicer than the Schei's primary residence (and, yes, an argument could be made that it is even nicer than our own home... in its pre-attic conversion state at least). And so, it would seem almost slander to call this place by such a common name as "cabin". I've been here once before, but it was just for a couple of hours to attend Isabella's 4th birthday party. Now that I have spent half a day here, I can really appreciate why the Schei family spends every weekend up here. It's a very nice place. We arrived in the afternoon at about 2pm-ish. It was a bit rainy and overcast so the kids stayed in and played some games, but then it cleared up (though it was still wet) and the kids were able to play outside on their bikes. We packed scooters to save on space and bought Eliana a new scooter for the occasion. Here are some pictures:
Thu, 22 May 2008
More Pictures from Eliana's Ballet Class
And here are some snaps of the proud onlookers:
While I was sitting there I snapped some profiles of my son Berkeley (sitting on my right) and my daughter Olivia (sitting on my left). Just for fun.
Wed, 21 May 2008
Movie Review: Dan in Real Life
In Dan in Real Life, Steve Carrell plays Dan "Dan in Real Life" Burns, a self-help newspaper columnist. Dan is a recent widower (of about a year or so) and has three girls (two teenagers and a pre-teen). It is holiday time (or is it summer time? ...I can't remember) and so he packs his girls in the car and sets out for a family reunion at his parents home located somewhere in the Northeastern US. One morning after arrival, he drives down to the local bookstore/coffee-shop to get away from the family. He runs into the female lead (Juliette Binoche as Marie) and they hit it off (though Dan does all the talking). Dan offers his phone number which Marie accepts, but I can't remember now if she reciprocates. Well, no matter, she explains that she is in a serious relationship and she doubts that anything will come of their chance encounter. Despite this setback, Dan returns to his parents home and tells everyone about this wonderful girl he has met. Just as he is going to describe the girl, wouldn't you know it... she walks through the front door and into the arms of Dan's younger brother. They are engaged to be married and Marie is up to meet the family. Well you can guess the rest: true love frustrated, social awkwardness, and finally... the confrontation. The story makes for a few laughs and some feel-good moments. Carrell is excellent playing the everyman, something he seems to have a knack for. Maybe Carrell is the next Jimmy Stewart. *shrug* I would rank this movie a bit higher, but the whole "you can't fall in love with someone in just three days" thread - including the parallel story with one of the teenage daughters - just seemed a bit too contrived and too forced to feel genuine. I kept thinking to myself "He only talked to this woman for maybe three hours... tops!" Ah well, true love knows no such logic. Summary: Adequate.
130 Tokens
After he cracked open the shrink-wrap, I let Berkeley and Eliana play for about 15 minutes or so (well, Eliana became bored after about 5 minutes). Berkeley already has a pretty good handle on the gameplay, which I presume he learned while playing it at Jake's house (and with Fox too no doubt). I had a lot of fun just following him around and letting him tell me what to do. He seemed to relish the role of telling his Dad how to do this and how to do that ("Get the robot Dad", "Dad, use the robot to open the door", "Dad... jump!", "Dad... like this... see.", etc).
Tue, 20 May 2008
Now that we have finally taken delivery of our audio/video room furniture, we were anxious to test it out by watching a movie tonight. Fortunately, we already had a movie - P.S. I Love You - sitting on the counter (sent to us via Blockbuster Total Access). The movie is about a woman who loses her husband - the love of her life - to cancer. Before the husband dies, he leaves behind instructions (with whom I will not disclose) for several messages to be sent to his widow over the span of about a year. The messages are intended to comfort her in her immediate time of sorrow, and then, after time passes, to encourage her to move along and find someone else. Her two gal pals and her mother are also there to help her cope with her loss and move along with her life (and to move the story along as well). There are a couple of post-husband love interests. One is a very uneven creepy barkeeper played by Harry Connick Jr; the other is one of the dead husband's former band mates from Ireland. Eventually, the widow and her mother (who is also hurting from having been left by her husband some 30 years prior) find mutual solace and the film ends on a happy note. Summary: An average romantic comedy.
Home Renovation Project: Attic Conversion: Audio/Video Room Furniture
Finally a place to sit!
Mon, 19 May 2008
Flashback: CBS Radio Mystery Theater
Good times.
(Update Fri May 30 09:50:07 PDT 2008 // modified URL to mp3 sample audio file)
Sun, 18 May 2008
Book Review: No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The story follows the events that unfold in several adjacent counties along the Texas-Mexico border. While hunting for antelope in the Texas scrub, Llelywen Moss (a welder by trade and Vietnam veteran) discovers the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong which includes about 5 dead persons, one wounded survivor (a Mexican man who begs for water), a truck bed full of drugs, and bag full of money. He takes the money and returns to his trailer park home and to his wife. But after some restless sleep, he awakens and up a gallon jug with water and returns to the grisly scene to provide aid for the wounded survivor. After leaving his truck nearby, he walks the gallon of water down to the survivor's location only to discover that the wounded man is now dead, having recently been shot by other parties that have recently arrived on the scene. Moss' mission of mercy has now landed him in extreme peril as he must flee the scene on foot and escape by jumping in a nearby river. As a result he has to abandon his truck which, which he correctly surmises, can be used to identify him and where he lives the following morning when the nearby DMV opens. Moss returns home, instructs his wife to travel by bus to her mother's house in a nearby town, and then sets out on the lamb evading the parties from both sides of the drug deal that are looking to recover the substantial sum of drug money. One of his pursuers, Anton Chigurh, is a merciless killer that has no enemies because "anyone that has had a cross word with him are dead." Chigurh leaves a trail of dead persons during his pursuit of Moss, including another hit man hired to hunt and kill Chigurh. Meanwhile, the local sheriff's office has discovered the dead drug dealers in the desert and are now trying to find Moss (and his wife) as well. The "old man" in this story is the local county sheriff, Sheriff Bell, who has been sheriff in the county for 40+ years - a command where he has "never had an unsolved homicide, but now has 9 of them inside of a week". Bell's philosophical thoughts are interspersed in chapters through the book (highlighted in italics) as he tries to come to an understanding of what motivates the evil actions he witnesses. He laments the state of his county (and the state of the country in general) where kids buy narcotics and walk with "green hair and nose rings" on the sidewalks of the small towns in his county. In the end, Sheriff Bell decides to retire under an overwhelming burden of failure to protect his county's residents as well as live up to the duty of the office that he feels his father did so well before him. There is no happy ending for the characters in the story, and much of what transpires leaves Sheriff Bell with a strong sense that the world is governed by some sort of divine indifference. But in the end, a sense of divine retribution prevails. Summary: A good read. Recommended.
Fock
If you still need some help or don't know quite what I'm getting at, then perhaps this small audio clip will help:
(Update Thu May 29 23:04:28 PDT 2008 // added audio content)
Sat, 17 May 2008
Fathers and Sons Campout (Berkeley, Age 5)
Berkeley and Fox spent all of yesterday afternoon playing together. The Howeys showed up at around 7pm and set up camp next to ours. Tucker is the third musketeer to Fox and Berkeley; the three of them played "Indiana Jones" in the evening and then watched a DVD in the tent before we finally put them all to bed at about 11pm. I rolled out of the bag at about 8:30am this morning. By the time I woke up, many of our "campsite neighbors" (such as the Olsons and the James) had already packed up and were gone; the Howeys were just pulling out. Per tradition, the breakfast was served by the EQ presidency: pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, juice, and hot cocoa. I wandered over to the EQ chuck wagon to get a bite. I realized that they were cleaning up and were almost out of food. Oops. It seems that Berkeley (who didn't wake up for another hour) and I were the last ones to wake up... by a long shot. I guess my temporary hearing loss does have some advantages. I grabbed a couple of plates and went back to the campsite, sat down, and read a book while I waited for Berkeley to wake. After we had breakfast and packed up, we went to other parts of the ranch to do some work erecting temporary living quarters for girls-only campsites and split some firewood. There were only 4 of us splitting firewood, including Berkeley. Berkeley operated the log splitter while I held the logs in place. He just had to move a lever up and down to operate the hydraulically-assisted splitter. At the beginning I would call out "up" and "down" as I rotated the log around to split one round log "trunk" into 6 or 8 smaller logs suitable for a campfire. After about 5 minutes I no longer had to bark out the "up" and "down" commands; Berkeley was a quick study and the two of us worked together silently for about half an hour splitting logs and stacking wood. His little forearms then gave out and I worked about another half an hour longer. We worked about 2½ hours all told and then drove over to the horse barn. Berkeley had a ride on a horse and then we set out for home, stopping for burgers on the way back. It was a good time.
:: Posted by rus on Sat, 17 May 2008 11:41 pm
:: Filed under /daily_journal/2008, /traditions/fathers_and_sons Thu, 15 May 2008
My "Temporary" Hearing Loss
So today I went to see a specialist at a Ear, Nose, and Throat clinic in nearby Bellevue. I was given a couple of tests on my ears which measured pressure and sensitivity to sound. I guess I'm in pretty bad shape, or so the doctor said. But she was confident that in "3-4 weeks" I should experience a full recovery. The prescription? Steroids. Orally for the next 5 days, and up the nose for the next 30 days. Yikes.
Wed, 14 May 2008
A Walk To Beautiful
There is also a feature-length version of the movie "A Walk To Beautiful" coming soon to DVD.
Tue, 13 May 2008
I watched I Am Legend tonight on BluRay... and viewed both the original and alternate endings included on the disc. The movie was just ok I thought. I enjoyed the narrative in the original book much, much better. The movie started out on a strong foot with tense moments throughout the first half of the movie, building suspense and anticipation for the finale (much like Matheson's book). Furthermore, I thought Will Smith did a very good job bringing the character to life. In the book the main character is constantly struggling to retain his sanity because of his absolute loneliness and lack of companionship. This part of the book is translated well to the screen. However, both endings (the theatrical and the alternate) include strong deviations from the source material and are obviously "made for Hollywood" to give the film a sort of "happy ending" that the book does not have. I was disappointed that there was not a more faithful adaptation of the book, specifically since the movie kept the title of the book intact (unlike the other movies made from the same material, namely The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth). The film version introduces some new characters that are also survivors that come to Smith's aid. How they do this is unknown since we are led to believe all the bridges have been blown up; also, the alternate ending also features a car leaving the city over an intact bridge (wha?). There are a few other head-scratching moments like this that ultimately distract from what could have been a much better film. Summary: A bit disappointing, but still better than average.
Mon, 12 May 2008
Asserting Independence
"I do it, Daddy, I do it." Olivia is 21 months old (turns 2 at the end in July).
Sun, 11 May 2008
Book Review: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
I Am Legend is very short, only about 100 pages. It took me only about 5½ hours to read (including distractions), so it is a short book that is very easy to read. The story is that of Robert Neville, who is presumably the last person alive that is immune after a biological epidemic swept the earth. The story is presented as several short "diary-like" segments that cover part of Neville's post-apocalyptic life over a three year period. There is very little conversation, but we are made aware of the thoughts inside Neville's head as he comes to grip with his loss (which is disclosed using several flashbacks), and his acceptance of the complete loss of mankind. The story also categorizes the routine of his daily rituals (and how that routine is interrupted by various circumstances) and of his efforts to understand the disease, why he is immune, and investigate a possible cure. I will say no more than that so as not to ruin the ending. Suffice it to say, Neville does not find a cure but he does find companionship. Recommendation: Very good horror/sci-fi... Matheson is supposedly Stephen King's inspiration ("without Richard Matheson I wouldn't be around"). Recommended.
Grandma Sorenson in Town
Here is a picture I snapped of 8 of the cousins with their Grandma Sorenson:
From left to right: Jenna (purple sweat suit, age 7), Eliana (pink ribbon, age 4), Isabella (green dress, age 4), Bertha (Grandma), Olivia (big grin, age 21 months), Nathan (blank stare, age 2), Emily (crocheted slippers, 3 on May 17th), Berkeley (red/blue striped shirt, age 5), Elizabeth (bright pink shirt, age 5). Not pictured: Andrew (9 months), Hinckley (1 week). Olivia seemed to be especially happy to have Grandma around. I think the last time Olivia saw her Grandma was last July in Clarkston, when Olivia was almost 1 year old. Nonetheless Olivia stayed by her Grandma Sorenson for much of the evening and was very cute. Here she is hamming it up while sitting on Grandma's lap:
Mother's Day Art
The first is one that Eliana made at preschool. The teachers at preschool asked each child what they love about their mothers, Eliana's reply:
"I love my mom when she blows bubbles with bubble gum." The other two pictures are scanned from cards that the kids made last weekend while Kristy was out of town. Berkeley drew himself and Mimi holding hands wearing their "Cubs" baseball caps from T-ball (see middle picture). The writing that Kristy wrote on the card is something Berkeley said at a Mother's Day program she attended at Sunny Hills (Elementary) last Friday. Berkeley was asked what she loves about her mother by her teacher, in the microphone Berkeley stated:
"I love my mom when she cheers for me at T-ball."
The last picture is a scan of a drawing that Eliana made of Kristy.
Eliana's portraits always include big eyes on her faces. It also
appears that Eliana drew something else rather large in this specific
portrait... what that is specifically I'll leave as an exercise for
the reader.
Fri, 09 May 2008
Symphony Review: Hollywood Pops
(Update Fri May 30 09:53:37 PDT 2008 // modified URL to mp3 audio samples)
Thu, 08 May 2008
Movie Review: Catch and Release
The lead female character (played by Jennifer Garner) in the film Catch and Release didn't quite have the wedding she expected. Her fiancé is tragically killed during his bachelor party fishing with his buddies. The film begins (presumably) on her wedding day, but instead of attending her own wedding she must attend to the matters of burying her former fiancé. Overwhelmed with grief, the devastated bride removes herself from the presence of the guests at the wake by hiding upstairs in a bathtub of a bathroom; the curtain drawn around her for privacy. She starts to cry. Now, you would think that someone would have the good sense to lock the door in such a situation so one could not be intruded upon... specifically by someone that needs to, uh, use the toilet. Because meanwhile, the would-be best man decides the "best" way to mourn his friend is to have casual sex with one of the caterers at the funeral, yes... you guessed it... in the bathroom where Garner's character is hiding. She is disgusted (as anyone would be), but the two eventually hook up despite the fact that he is a dirtbag that lies to her and had been covering up for her deceased fiancé who was cheating on her. It sure sounds like a match made in heaven to me! What follows is an empty movie, devoid of any screenplay or acting that isn't wholly contrived. Most of it actually is pretty offensive. Summary: This movie is so incredibly stupid from beginning to end that I was surprised to find out it saw any theater time whatsoever.
Wed, 07 May 2008
Hinckley Birth
Tue, 06 May 2008
New Cousin Pending
Kathy and Matt are at Overlake right now... no e-mail yet announcing a birth, so it looks like they will have kid #3 tomorrow. Kristy and I were married 14 years ago today, so the little niece will not share her birthday with our anniverssay.
Mon, 05 May 2008
Olivia playing "Go Fish"
Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Permit Approved
Sun, 04 May 2008
Sarah/Jonathan Kemp Wedding Pics
Here are a few pictures Kristy took yesterday. The first group is a set that she took in and around the temple grounds of the LDS Columbus Ohio Temple (mouse over each picture for a brief description of the picture subject matter).
And here are a few of the newly married couple, Jonathan and Sarah Kemp.
And one of Kristy's Mom and Dad... Dick and Bertha:
Sat, 03 May 2008
Video Game Review: Super Rub a Dub
Like Monsters, Super Rub a Dub is a Sony Playstation store-only download for the PS3 system. It is a game that is definitely geared toward a younger audience. The game is cheap too, I paid the nominal fee ($5.99) to download the full game. Summary: Intuitive, simple, fun game for the kids.
Video Game Review: PixelJunk Monsters
Monsters is a game that is loosely based on the popular Internet flash game "Tower Defense". The goal is to build up tower defenses such one can repel the waves of ground- and air-based monsters that slowly make their way toward the babies located at your home base. Some tower types can only fire at walking monsters, others can only fire at flying monsters, and some can fire at both. Towers must be purchased with coins that the monsters leave behind when they are destroyed. Towers can be upgraded by "dancing" on them or by purchasing the upgrade with blue gems (the gems are also left behind by destroyed monsters). Tower upgrades include increases in range, firepower, and speed. It is a simple concept really, but the implementation is really a lot of fun and the gameplay is very engaging and entertaining. The kids (Berkeley and Eliana) love to play it together and cooperate to get past each level (and Olivia likes to sit still(!) and watch them play). The game includes about 20-some-odd levels, of which they have cleared about 6 or 7 now (the "easy" levels). When Eliana isn't interested in spending a token to play, then Berkeley and I will play together. Summary: Fun and simple for the kids. Especially nice to see them play cooperatively together.
Fri, 02 May 2008
Movie Review: Horton Hears a Who!
I was able to see Horton Hears a Who! today with the kids. We saw the first matinee showing which was just after Berkeley got home from his AM Kindergarten class. As a result, we were the only 4 persons in the entire theater... a bonus since I could let Olivia just wander around the aisles after she became bored with the entertainment. This happened after she was done with her "pah-corn" (she's not a TV/movie watcher at her age like the other two were). Berkeley and Eliana were transfixed for the entire movie. It is a happy, fun, light-hearted movie that is faithful to the source material, a children's book by Dr. Seuss (there are even a couple of nodes to other Seuss stories... like the green eggs and ham some of the Whos eat for breakfast and the Grinch-shaped snowman the Who-kids make after a snowfall). The story is about an elephant who hears the sounds of the Whos, whose microscopic world occupies that of a speck of dust. Horton pledges to keep them safe from harm despite being ridiculed for talking to the speck of dust (which Horton keeps on a small pink flower). Eventually Horton is captured by his naysayers and the speck of dust is to be destroyed in a vat of oil. Horton urges the Whos to make themselves heard, which eventually they accomplish, saving themselves from certain death. Summary: "A person's a person, no matter how small."
Mimi Gone
Thu, 01 May 2008
Double Ear Infections
The Toilet Runneth Over
Note to self... re-caulk around the master bedroom toilet. *sigh*
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