The unbearable lightness of being random

Just random observations and happenings for you today:

• I think the grocery stores are employing some kind of aversion therapy (aside from rising prices... youch!). At the commissary the other day, every single time I reached for an item, I got shocked. Too bad it didn't stop me from buying the stuff... I guess the aversion therapy didn't work. Just annoyed the heck outta me.
  
• It was a crazy busy week of running back and forth and here and there last week. This week promises to be more of the same. Between baseball practices, Emily's play rehearsals, AWANA, and music lessons, there is always somewhere to be and go.
  
• Tonight we have the chance to see Trout Fishing in America here on base (FREE!). Just have to get Noah away from his baseball practice early enough.
• Major spring cleaning around here this past weekend. Brian and I worked on the garage together and it is SPIFFY. Our back porch/patio area is rockin', too. Still need to take a backhoe to the boys' room, but not sure how to get it in the house and up the stairs. I don't even want to think about a certain teenager's room.
  
• Trying to plan a major road trip back east (Missouri/Alabama) for June... experienced RVers tell us we won't be able to drive as many miles in a day as we would like to. They say no more than 3-400 miles a day. That will mean almost 6 days of driving each way with no time for sightseeing. :( Oh well, perhaps later on in the year we will be able to do a sightseeing kind of trip.
• Halle and I went to see Nim's Island yesterday. It was a pretty good movie. I'd like to read the book now and see how it compares. I have heard the movie was fairly true to it. Jodie Foster was fun to watch as an agoraphobic adventure novelist, and Gerard Butler was quite endearing as a widowed marine biologist raising his 11yo daughter (played by the always-adorable Abigail Breslin) on a remote island in the South Pacific.
• I wish someone would invent a dust-repellent I could spray over my entire house. I cannot get rid of the stuff. It is back 10 seconds after I wipe it away.

What a weekend

This past weekend was no different than most of our weekends, plenty of things to keep us occupied. It began Friday afternoon with Noah's ball practice at 5 (for which he only stayed 40 minutes or so because of our regular Fri-night CR engagement that starts around 6), and ended with falling asleep to HGTV around 10:30 last night.

We had AWANA pinewood derby on Saturday (saw some very cool and original designs... Halle is already thinking of hers for next year), followed by a quick lunch at Wendy's. We got home around 3 and around 30 minutes later were reminded by neighbors of their daughter's birthday party at 4 at one of the local "jump houses" (for those not familiar with the term, they are large rooms filled with inflatable bounce houses/slides/mazes). Thankfully, we did already have a present and wrapping paper, so we were able to get ready to go and were on time for the festivities. All the families on our street with children under 13 were there, plus a few extra. I was able to get in a little visiting with the other moms, something I really don't do very often. We got home in time to put dinner in the oven.... Paula Deen's Baked French Toast. Joel said he gave it an "A." Guess that means I'll need to make it again. Watched Mr. Bean's Holiday with the kids and Brian before bedtime (it was as much torture for me the second time as the first) and ended the evening falling asleep while watching Two Weeks with Brian. The fact that I fell asleep had *nothing* to do with the movie; I was just too tired by that time to stay awake. I was up early enough yesterday morning to finish watching it before getting out of bed.

I cannot say enough about Two Weeks. I can not imagine a person who could watch it and not be affected by it. It is amazing the range of emotions one movie can provoke. The basic storyline surrounds four adult siblings whose mother is dying of ovarian cancer and what happens when they come together in her home for what they believe will be her last few days (turning into two weeks... thus the title). There are moments that will make you laugh, cry, feel like slapping someone... and make you think. Watch it. Let me know how it affected you.

Yesterday we went to church and then out for lunch at Tahoe Joe's. Brian and I split a ribeye (really, should anyone eat a 14 oz. steak?). Halle and Noah both ordered the kids' steak, which has always been very good in the past. Unfortunately, the same could not be said yesterday. Apparently they changed the cut of meat they use for it and instead of a small sirloin, it was a big thick unidentifiable chunk of meat. Halle's was so tough I couldn't cut it, and Noah's was so tasteless, he barely ate 1/4 of it. Our server disappeared on us after serving the food so that we couldn't even tell her to take it back.... we had to ask the hostess to tell our server about it. Saw her do that, but the server never came back to the table (she even walked right past us to start chatting up a new table full of guys). Everyone else finished eating, and we finally asked to talk to the manager. We politely and calmly explained our dissatisfaction with the food and service (Brian's glass sat empty for 20 minutes). The manager wound up comping us the entire meal, plus gave us a card good for 3 free kids' meals on our next visit. We *will* go back, mostly because yesterday was quite atypical for that restaurant, and also because of the way the manager responded. There have been times we have had issues or questions in a restaurant and the managerial staff has responded defensively or made excuses; he did neither of those, but just apologized and asked for a chance to make it right. I appreciated that.

Came home and finished making this week's menu/shopping list, then headed to the commissary. Came home, put away groceries, then folded a couple of loads of laundry while watching the Oscars. There will be MUCH more laundry to do today. Brian helped the boys clean their room while I was shopping (and after I got back... and they still aren't done) and discovered a huge amount of clothing that hadn't been making its way to the laundry.

On the agenda this week in the evenings:

• a ball practice every evening from 5-6ish Mon-Fri, plus at least one on Saturday morning.
• Easter choir rehearsal for me tonight
  
• play rehearsals for Emily after school a couple days (not sure which)
• Tuesday night AWANA for Halle, growth group meeting for me and Brian
• Brian's regular Wed. evening group meeting
• Fri. night CR
  

Thursdays are happy nights; only Joel's ball practice to worry about (unless I have praise choir rehearsal...)

The mother of all bulleted lists

My infrequency of posting has left many to wonder if I am still alive. The answer is unequivocally yes.... although with the schedule we'll be keeping this spring, that may not hold true for long! There is much I haven't mentioned here, but not for lack of wanting to; I just haven't found the time. But here I sit, hubby out of town, oldest daughter spending the night away, and the other three happily entertaining themselves a few steps away. This may just be the perfect time to get everything all out in the open. What better way to do it than with bullets???

• We joined the ranks of Wii owners this Christmas. It was the surprise hit of the day. As a testimony to its appeal, I saw more of Emily in the 3 days following Christmas Day than I did in the 3 weeks prior! Favorite games are Wii Sports (Joel has actually bowled a perfect 300!), Wii Play, and Carnival Games. Emily is lobbying to get Guitar Hero III after playing it on a friend's PlayStation; she says she RULES it. That probably means I would *not* rule it. I would like to wait and see if Rock Band is going to be made for Wii; my sister says it is a lot of fun. According to Wikipedia, EA announced plans for a Wii version on Jan. 31, so we'll have to wait and see if that plays out.
  
• I think I mentioned that the boys will be playing baseball this spring. Noah started practice this week. He had practice Monday and Wednesday from 5-6, Friday for about 1/2 of that, but only because we had to leave early for Celebrate Recovery, and today from 9-11. So far, it looks like the same schedule for next week, but it may change. Got the call from Joel's coach today, and his first practice is this Thursday from 5-6, with a 15-min parent meeting before that. This will be very interesting, having 2 in sports at the same time; it's a first for us. No word yet on what days the actual games will be. To complicate matters, Noah's team will have to travel to some surrounding towns 30 minutes or so away to play, and possibly even to one about 2 hours away. And then there is coordinating all this with Emily's play rehearsals, which for now are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school until around 4. Thankfully, many of Noah's team members live here in our neighborhood, less than a block away, even.
  
• During the sports physicals the boys had to prepare for Little League, we found out Noah needed a more thorough vision exam. So now he is sporting glasses. Overall, his vision isn't too bad, but it seems that his right eye had been doing most of the work.
• 
• Halle finished up her first AWANA book this past week. She is starting on the second one now. She probably won't be able to finish it this year, but should get far enough along in it so that she will be able to get through both it and book 3 next year, which will put her right on track with where she should be.
• Still making it to the movies on occasion. Emily and I went to see 27 Dresses a few weeks ago. Just goes to show I cannot listen to any professional movie reviewers. I loved it. Don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it, but for those who have, I totally was in tears in the bridal shop scene with the sister. I was feeling Jane's pain.
  
• Halle and I went to see the Hannah Montana 3D movie. I actually missed the Super Bowl to take her. We got home just moments after the last play. Ah well, I think it was worth it.
  
• Tonight, the kids and I went to the base theater to catch The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Halle hadn't been all that keen on seeing it, but even she said it was better than she thought it would be. I appreciated the message of the story: Heroes don't have to be the biggest, bravest, or strongest. They just have to do what's right, even when it isn't easy. Good lesson for our kids to learn, and I can think of a lot of us adults who would do well to learn it as well.
• The dog training is going well. What I find almost inconceivable is how much the dogs actually like wearing their training collars/leashes. This training is not the typical food reward kind of training, so they aren't acting all happy because they know they're getting treats, that's for sure. But when they see me go get the leashes from the leash rack, they both get very excited. One thing we are working on right now is the down stay. They're both pretty good with it; one funny thing is that when I am working with Rory, Campbell will often put himself in a down stay at the same time. Then when he hears me give her the "clear" signal, he'll get up as well. What I really like doing is seeing how softly I can give the command and get a response. I can really almost whisper it. What we really need to work on now is practicing in places away from home (the park, stores... there are a few around here that are dog-friendly, like Home Depot/Lowes). I took Rory to the duck pond park here on base a few days ago and she was quite distracted by the sea gulls! the ducks! the geese! She actually pulled on the leash for the first time in literally months. She was acting more like a Pointer (not June, Anita, or Ruth) than a Great Dane.
• We have a family outing planned for Monday to go to Sacramento to see the Bodies Revealed exhibit. Unfortunately, no picture-taking is allowed. Bummer. I think it is going to be very cool. Halle really doesn't want to see it ("Mom, I'm a girl... I don't want to see dead bodies!"), but she is still coming along; Emily just plain doesn't want to go anywhere with her family unless it is to buy stuff for her, so we'll see if she goes or not.
  
• I never wrote a wrap-up post for the fall reading challenge. Suffice it to say that I did manage to read all that was on my list with the exception of one book that I traded in early on, plus several more. Since the end of the challenge, I haven't had as much opportunity to read; I'm missing it.
• To that end, I am looking forward to the unified study we are starting at church this week. As a church, we will be reading a book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith. This will continue through to Easter; the sermons will relate to the book, as will our small group meetings. I've read the first chapter so far and liked what I read.
• Speaking of Easter, rehearsals for Easter choir started this past Monday night. Oops, one more thing to juggle on baseball practice night.
  

There... that's about it, I think. Hopefully you are still awake after all that. If I've left anything of importance out, it will probably come to me around 2am.

Help, I've fallen behind and I can't catch up!

At least that's how it feels. I have been wanting to post for what seems forever, but there just hasn't been a good time. Either that, or the body just wasn't willing. I'm fighting some kind of crud (I think I'm winning now) and also single-parenting this week. Brian is in Missouri visiting his mom and will be back after work on Friday.

I had to take Emily to the doctor yesterday. She called me from school and said she couldn't hear out of one ear and was dizzy. Turns out that ear had quite a bit of fluid build-up and was rather red as well. She's on high-dose Amoxil for 5 days (1 gram TID ... 3x a day for non-medical folks).

The kids and I went to see a free sneak preview of August Rush on Saturday. Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur and the Invisibles) shows his stuff again... His character travels the gamut of emotions in this film and Freddie makes it believable. I am wondering what kind of roles he'll be getting once he gets out of the child actor years. The music in the film is wonderful. Robin Williams was scary.... he played a Fagin-esque (how's that for a new word?) character who collected street kids in an abandoned theater and had them playing music on street corners to earn him money. Once you suspend belief and get past the whole idea of a mystical kind of ESP/awareness, it is much easier to enjoy the whole premise of the movie (young boy looking for the parents who never knew he existed).

I've managed to work on that reading challenge list some more. Just one book left to read from my original list (Barefoot). I really enjoyed How Starbucks Saved My Life... it was an easy read and just made so much sense. (And if you've ever wondered what it was like to work as a barista, you'll get a firsthand account.) Other books I've managed to get through are Split Ends, by Kristin Billerbeck, and The Oak Leaves. On the nightstand: Alaska Twilight, by Colleen Coble. For the carpool lane: The Book of Jane, Anne Dayton.

Stop the insanity

This week has been crazier than crazy. I don't think I can even begin to remember everything about the week that made it so. It was full of the usual commitments and appointments, although we did miss our Tuesday night small group; Brian and I were both coughing a bit and didn't want to subject anyone to it. I'm not sure it was something contagious, though. Mine seemed to be that usual sinus/allergy thing I do every fall/winter, where I wind up losing my voice. My voice was gone on Wednesday and started coming back on Thursday. I'm still not back to normal yet and not sure when I will be. Hopefully I will have enough of a voice to at least sing tenor on Sunday if I'm not 100%.

Because of the coughing crud, we decided to reschedule Halle's sleepover for another night. To celebrate her birthday today, we went to the movies in the afternoon and then to Outback for dinner. Her movie choice was The Game Plan, and it was so much better than I was expecting. I really liked it. I thought "The Rock" did a great job with his role. It looked like he had fun with it. The little girl playing his daughter (she plays the President's daughter on Disney Channel's Cory in the House) was fun to watch. And despite the predictability of some of the plot points, there were enough unexpected moments to make up for it.

After dinner, we went to see the football game at Emily's school the football game at Emily's school so that we could hear her sing the National Anthem. Her choir director (I'll call her Miss S) is in charge of providing the talent for this and had asked for those choir members who were interested to sign up. As Emily was leaving class that day, Miss S asked her if she had signed up. When Emily responded in the negative, she was told, "Well, do it!" Tonight was originally intended to be a duet, but the other girl could not learn the harmony part quick enough, so Emily did it solo (and a cappella). She did a very nice job. I hope she'll get a chance to do it again, although I don't think she would say the same!

I have a ton of housework and laundry to catch up on this weekend. Truthfully, I think I'd rather sleep. (Anyone who knows me IRL knows that is a totally out-of-character statement, so it just speaks to how tired I really feel!)

She writes

Sorry it has been so long. My mom even called a couple of days ago to make sure we were still alive out here. Still alive; still running to and from Em's school; still trying to keep up with laundry, housework, grocery shopping, and music lessons; still working on honing our home school routine. In other words, not much has been happening worth writing about.

Until now. Don't take that to mean I have something earth-shattering or mind-blowing. It's just that I finally have something to say that isn't just a blow-by-blow of our day. (OK; you can pick yourselves up off the floor now. And quit checking the forecast for hell.)

Item Number One: If you have the opportunity to go see No Reservations, grab it. Emily and I went earlier tonight and it was so worth the time. It won't solve the world hunger situation, but it really was a good time. Aaron Eckhart was a treat to watch (when isn't he?) and his scenes with Catherine Zeta Jones were great. The soundtrack was awesome as well. Michael Buble's rendition of Sway, plus lots of the late great Luciano Pavarotti, including Nessun Dorma.

Item Number Two: I came across a blog post a couple of days ago that really struck me. What's funny is that it's one of those passages that conjures up a lot of different emotions. Have you ever read anything that both convicted you and made you kinda mad?? I suppose the whole mad thing is just because it forced me to admit all kinds of unpleasant things about myself... and who likes to admit those kind of things?? I don't want to copy and paste it here; you can find this passage on any number of blogs, so I think it would be redundant for me to do that. I'll just give you the link where I read it. Please go read it, especially if you are a mom. And if you're not a mom, I still think you will take something away from it. Even though the person who wrote it was referring to the job of motherhood, I think it applies to us all... whatever we do in life.

Now, for those of you who tune in because you love hearing about our days, weeks, and months... Brian is gearing up for yet another TDY, this time to Virginia. He leaves in the morning and will be gone until Thursday. Emily leaves for her high school retreat on Wednesday and returns on Friday. The rest of us aren't going anywhere (unless crazy counts as a destination... no, wait; Scratch that. I can't go there and leave the kids alone.).

Hairspray

Oh. my. holy. heck. I have not laughed SO HARD at a movie since I don't know when. If you saw John Waters' version, put all thoughts of it out of your mind. The two movies are worlds apart. This was truly a first-class musical, with show-stopping dance numbers and great vocals. Nikki Blonsky wowed us with her pipes... she has a great voice. And for someone who didn't take dance lessons, she sure handled herself on the dance floor.

John Travolta was an absolute hoot as Mrs. Turnblad. What a far cry from the slovenly character Divine portrayed in the original. Travolta had some great song and dance numbers... he was so much fun to watch. It must have taken some getting used to dancing with the fat suit on. Loved Christopher Walken as her husband as well. The two of them had a few really fun scenes together.

Can't believe we were lucky enough to get a FREE sneak preview of it tonight. That was one movie I wouldn't have felt cheated to have paid to go see.

HP #5 review; could be a movie weekend

As promised, here is my take on the 5th Harry Potter movie. In short, I liked it; I liked it much more than I thought I was going to. For me, this was a movie that connected more with my emotions than the previous ones. Almost from the beginning (but not quite that early on), I felt very connected to Harry's emotions in the film. Seeing him surrounded by those he loved and who loved him hit me almost as deeply as him.

This had to have been difficult to make, being that this was the longest book in the series so far. But it didn't seem that anything important was left out. Emily was disappointed that more of the humorous episodes from the book weren't used. While this movie wasn't without its funny moments, there definitely weren't as many as in the first four.

Loved Luna Lovegood. The gal who played her was *perfect* for the role. Can't wait to see more of her in the next movie. Oh, and the special effects were great as well. There are plenty to be had... I know that certain scenes were done where everything but the actors was CGI; very realistic CGI!

I'm looking forward to seeing this one when it is out on DVD, to catch anything I might have missed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hoping to catch the 9pm showing of Waitress at the base theater tomorrow night. Can't beat the $3 admission. I've heard good things about the movie and thought I was just going to have to wait to rent it.

Also, the base is showing a free preview of the new Hairspray Saturday afternoon, so we may be going to see it. The previews have looked pretty good. If I have to look at a guy dressed like a woman, I'd much rather see John Travolta than Divine any day.

Updates

For those waiting to see what was up with Emily's feet/ankles.... I'm not really sure. The swelling on her ankle had reduced considerably by the time we got to her appointment. I wound up staying in the waiting room with the other kids while her dad went into the appointment with her. The doctor apparently wasn't concerned with the foot that she didn't want to walk normally on, but did want an x-ray of the ankle on the other foot. After looking at the x-rays, he sent Emily home with an Ace bandage. We headed out and made a stop at the BX for some shopping when my phone rang (a miracle in our BX, which is notorious for the inability to obtain or hold cell phone service). It was Brian, telling me that we needed to come back to the hospital. Apparently, after the radiologist looked at the xrays, he felt Emily should have a splint. He felt like he could see a "spot" on or near her growth plate. Don't ask me what a spot is; I have no clue. So we finished up our shopping and headed to the brace shop, where it took all of 3 minutes to get Emily fitted. 2 weeks with the splint, and she goes back on the 22nd.

Garage Sale: Part Deux went very well. There may not have to be another sequel. That would make me a very happy person. After I closed up shop, the 3 youngest and I went bowling. They had a great time, although I think Halle and Joel enjoyed spending their garage sale money in the vending machines almost as much as (if not more than) bowling.

Later, I took in the last "matinee" show of the day at the theater to watch Ocean's Thirteen. I think this might have been better than the first two. The folks in my theater certainly enjoyed it. If you were a fan of the first two, I'm pretty sure you won't want to miss this one.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

So how do I review this without giving away important information for those who haven't seen it? I guess I should say that the only one in our group who decided to go to sleep during the movie instead of watch it was Halle. I wasn't surprised; it really was a long movie, and the plot twists and turns could be a little hard for younger minds to stay on top of. Of course, that didn't stop Joel, who loved all the action.

Aside from one very important plot point in this film, this might just be my favorite one in the PoTC trilogy (which could very well wind up with a 4th offering). There was plenty of humor in the form of one-liners and physical comedy. I guess it might be OK to say that we get a glimpse of what life could be like with more than one Jack Sparrow around, and it was pretty darn funny. Johnny Depp did not disappoint in this one, folks. Keira Knightley got to do a whole lot more fighting and we saw a side of Elizabeth we'd only glimpsed before; I think we could say the same for Will and Jack as well. The special effects were amazing.

I mentioned plot twists and turns... we were treated to learning a bit more about the "pirate code", got a brief introduction to Jack's father (Keith Richards, of Rolling Stones fame), and sailed a course of bargains and betrayal that left our heads spinning.

I have to say that that one plot point last night was enough to make Emily say that she hated the film. Whether a night's sleep has softened that impression or not is to be found. I imagine we might talk about it on the way to school this morning if she doesn't cocoon herself in the front seat with her IPod.

Oh, and for those of you wondering.... Even with a large bottle of water at my seat, I didn't have to get up even once during this movie.

Monday morning musings

Where did the weekend go? From Friday to Sunday, we had something going on all the time, it seems.

• Friday morning, we got together with the base homeschool group for "PE." We met up at the youth center, which let us use the gym for activities with the kids. Some of the older boys played half-court basketball, while a couple of moms wrangled younger ones into some indoor tball and kickball games. Joel especially loved the kickball. After tiring of basketball, the big boys headed to the racquetball courts; Noah wanted to give that a try, so he and I hit the ball around a little bit. It's been over 20 years since I've played racquetball, so that definitely put us on equal footing!
• After PE, we went to the BX to pick up a birthday present for one of Halle's new friends, put a little Popeye's chicken into the kids' bellies, and then I dropped Halle off for a birthday party there on base.
  
• We came home for a little less than an hour, then headed out to pick up Emily from school. Brian was actually getting off work early/on time, so he volunteered to pick Halle up from her party.
• We had tickets for the 5:55 Spiderman 3 showing, so we made a quick stop at the McDonald's next to the theater for dinner. For the first time in a long time, all 6 of us took in a movie together. My impressions of the movie (in short form): A little long, seemed to drag a bit in parts, and/or the action was so fast and furious that I often couldn't really see what was happening. Great moral, which was spelled out quite plainly for those who couldn't get it otherwise. It certainly made for good discussion with the kids. Still worth seeing, if only to watch Toby Maguire's little jazz dance routine.
• Saturday morning we took the 3 younger kids bowling, then lunch at BK, followed by a shopping trip to CostCo.
  
• Came home from that, helped Brian clean our bathroom, then he and I went to a retirement party for one of the anesthetists from the base. We stopped off at Nugget Market for cheesecake on the way home (the dessert at the retirement dinner was a *cold* fruit cobbler... ugh).
• Yesterday we went to church and lunch, and then I came home and worked on laundry.
  

This week isn't as full as some, but still plenty to do: gymnastics tonight, orthodontist for Noah one day, dentist for Halle another, and a ladies' prayer breakfast on Saturday. And the usual dropping off and picking up of Emily from school woven in between all of that.

Doggone good

Firehouse Dog is something of a cross between a classic Lassie movie and Backdraft. If you've seen the previews, you know the premise: spoiled canine movie star gets lost and mistaken for your average mutt. He winds up being taken in by a firehouse captain and his son. But the previews don't give you a clue as to the rest of the story (the Backdraft part). Suffice it to say, there is a mystery to solve and bad guys to catch. Plenty of action for the kids, along with the requisite doggie flatulence jokes (if you have a dog, you know it happens). The little movie reviewers in my house gave it 2 paws up. We'll be adding this to our video library when it is released on DVD.

Meet the Robinsons

As promised, here's my take on Meet the Robinsons. This was one movie where the previews didn't give everything away, for which I am thankful. The movie was a delightful jaunt into an improbable future (think The Jetsons), but definitely a future kids would love to see happen. People being transported by bubbles, singing frogs ("genetically enhanced frogs"), time machines, and wise-cracking robots are all a part of the world of Wilbur Robinson. Wilbur goes back in time to retrieve Lewis, an orphan boy with a penchant for imagining and attempting to invent out-of-this world gadgets (and a wish to find his birth mom). Throw in a couple of villains (Bowler Hat Guy and a robotic hat named Doris... and just who is the brains behind that outfit?) and a plot twist and you have a fun hour and a half for the whole family. Best of all is that the moral of the story isn't hard to find. If you miss it during the movie (and I don't know how anyone could), John Lasseter (head of Disney's animation division) puts it out there in print at the end of the movie for all to see:

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
–Walt Disney

Reminds me a little bit of something a wise man named Paul once said... "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on..."

Thank someone in Hollywood

My jaded self is fairly convinced it all boils down to the almighty dollar, but the more optimistic side of me would like to think that Hollywood's latest entry into the family film arena occurs because there truly is a sector of Tinseltown that believes we need more wholesome family entertainment. Based on the book by Jim Stovall, The Ultimate Gift fills the bill incredibly well. With well-known names like James Garner, Lee Meriweather (okay, maybe only well-known to those of us in the 40-and-up age range.... Barnaby Jones anyone??), and Brian Dennehy, plus cute-as-a-button Abigail Breslin and eye candy Drew Fuller, the film is packed with acting talent. But we all know it takes more than talent to make a good movie. You also need a compelling story with believable characters. It's all there.

Here's the synopsis from the movie's website:

When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens anticipates a big inheritance. Instead, his grandfather has devised a crash course on life with twelve tasks – or “gifts” – designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways, sending him on a journey of self-discovery and forcing him to determine what is most important in life: money or happiness.

Not having seen Little Miss Sunshine yet, this was my introduction to Abigail Breslin. I now know why she was nominated for an Academy Award. Drew Fuller, another new actor to me, brought great believability to his role as the spoiled rich kid. Watching his character change and grow throughout the film was really rather inspiring. As one person commented at the IMDB site, "It's more than a "must see" movie, it's an "I want to do better" movie. " Visit the movie's website for a host of information and activities based on the film. There are discussion guides to download, youth and family activities, movie clips to share, and more.

We can thank the folks at Fox Faith Movies for this one.

A view of a Bridge

We just got back from seeing a wonderful movie a few minutes ago. I can't think of anything that would have made Bridge to Terabithia a better film. Anyone who hasn't read the book might think it is just a film about 2 kids and a magical place; that's certainly all the trailer would lead someone to believe. So I worried a little about exactly how the movie would handle the real story, and whether my kids would feel cheated or upset by the unexpected turn in the action. I needn't have been concerned. My kids (11, 8, and 6) all loved it. My 6-year-old whispered to me that "We're going to buy this on DVD, and when I grow up and move out of the house, I'm taking it with me." I'd say that's pretty high praise. I appreciated the film's sensitive handling of some difficult themes... bullying, grief, abusive parents, financial struggles... I loved what one reviewer from the NY Post had to say: "Since there aren't any dumb jokes or hip visuals, it's easy to get caught up in the simple messages: Be good to your sister, don't be a bully, use your imagination in a pinch." There's an especially good scene in which the 2 main characters are discussing Jesus/God/the Bible after attending an Easter service... one of them has never been to church before and the other has been raised believing in God. Which one do you think "gets it" more?

The film could easily provide you with hours of discussion with your family. I'm looking forward to talking to my kids about it some more.

There is a lot I could say, but I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read the book or seen the movie yet. I just don't see how someone could walk away from the theater dissatisfied after seeing it.

If you'd like a professional's opinion, I liked this one.

Everyone's Hero

Joel had a great day today. He was the first one up and ran to me saying, "Today's my birthday!" I tried to convince him that today was Saturday and that he slept through his birthday, but he wouldn't buy it. It was good for a few minutes of laughter and teasing, though. Mornings with him are usually full of teasing, like when he asks for breakfast and I tell him, "Nope, today's an odd-numbered day; you only get breakfast on even-numbered days." So of course, he wasn't buying my "slept-through-your-birthday" scam.

Joel opened his presents after Brian got home from work. He was quite thrilled with everything. I played another sneaky trick by hiding the GameCube game inside one of his PoTC toys. He got quite a kick out of that. He and Noah have spent quite a bit of time playing it tonight.

We did go to Godfather's for pizza and then off to see Everyone's Hero. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It was a true G-rated film, with a message of "keep swinging" to encourage kids to never give up. My kids thought it was great.

Everyone was too full from dinner and movie snacks to eat cake tonight. However, we did sing Happy Birthday, light the candles, and have Joel blow them out; we'll eat some tomorrow.

Tomorrow looks to be busy. We plan on going to a Kidfest in downtown Vacaville, plus Halle is invited to a birthday sleepover over in Antioch tomorrow. Brian and I were hoping to finally go out to dinner to celebrate our 20th anniversary (we'd only be a month late if we do it tomorrow). We'll have to see if we can fit it in.