Megan's First Field Trip

The other day Megan got to take her first field trip at school. Her preschool class got to visit the Tennis Center, where the kids got to hit lots of balls and run around. I was one of the parents who helped out, so I went as well. Megan was pretty excited for two reasons. First, like I said it was her first field trip. But second, she watches Ben at his tennis lessons all the time, so she was excited to get to play tennis as well. She had a blast. She's still too young to start taking tennis lessons, but we'll probably sign her up once she turns 3. She definitely enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Last week our friends the Manchesters had a birthday party for their son Nicholas, who was turning 5. The theme was space, which Ben of course loved. The kids got to color some space pictures, and of course enjoy a really good cake. The highlight was the "shuttle pinata" which all the kids got to pulverize. Ben was the lucky one who eventually broke it open. Everyone had a good time. Ben and Nicholas are a lot a like. They're both space nuts, they're both lego nuts, and they both read a lot.

Blades of Glory?

I love the Will Ferrell movie BLADES OF GLORY, and I always thought their costumes in the movie were over-the-top hilarious. But from what I'm seeing during these Winter Olympic games the costumes from the movie are not that far off anymore. Take a good long look at some of these costumes.

Basketball Jones

Today was Ben's last basketball class, and they got to play a few scrimmages. Ben thought it was cool that he got to wear a real uniform (one of the high school jerseys.) For most of the classes Ben got better and better. He had never tried basketball before so it was a good learning experience for him. Today he even made a few baskets, so that was cool. Man, watching a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds play basketball is hilarious. Multiple shot-clock violations, multiple traveling calls, etc. It's very funny to watch. Ben had a good time. Now we just need the snow to melt outside so he and I can play in the driveway. That's what he's looking forward to now.

Ben - The Olympic Hopeful

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Midland's New Figure Skating Duo

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Shall We Play A Game?

So...can you guess which house is the Michigan house, and which one is the Texas house? Both pictures were taken yesterday. So which one is which?

Seeing my home town of Dallas/Fort Worth get slammed with 9 to 11 inches of snow has just boggled my mind this week (as well as probably most of you who read this blog.) Never before can I remember so much snow in that area. All my years of living there I can only remember 1 or 2 inches of snow at a time, and that was enough usually to close schools and shut down the city.
To be honest, 9 to 11 inches shuts down OUR city up here in Michigan, and we're prepared for it. I can't imagine how 9 to 11 inches of snow impacted D/FW. I'm sure it was panic in the streets.

To quote Ghostbusters - "You can accept the fact that this city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. Real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky. Rivers and seas boiling! 40 years of darkness. Earthquakes! Volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. MASS HYSTERIA!"

By the way...the top house is the Texas house. Unbelievable!

Megan's Valentine's Day Party

On Thursday Megan's school had their Valentine's Day Party. It was Megan's first school party of any kind, so it was kind of special for her. The kids got to exchange valentines, frost brownies, eat snacks, and do some crafts. I was very proud of her. She's only been in the class for about a month now, and she's one of the youngest in the class. But already she seems to be enjoying herself and interacting well with the other kids. Anyway, as you can see it was a pretty big day for her.

"Q U" Wedding

Yesterday Ben's class had a "Q U" wedding. The idea behind the event is to show the children how the letters Q and U are always found together in words. All the kids wore their nice clothes. There was a "bride" (who was U), a "groom" (who was Q), a "ringbearer," "groomsmen," "bridesmaids," etc. There was even a reception, with cake and dancing. From then on the wedding turned into your traditional classroom Valentine's Day party. Anyway, the kids had a fun day. Ben was one of the guests. All the "guests" had names with QU words. Ben's nametag read "Mr. Quiet." It was a pretty big event.

At The Movies

BOOK OF ELI - Denzel Washington stars as Eli, the lone protector of a precious book in a post-apocalyptic world. This movie feels at times like a cross between the Clint Eastwood "man with no name" westerns of old, and Mad Max/Road Warrior. Directed by The Hughes Brothers (Dead Presidents, Menace To Society) the film can be best described as a religious tale set in the world of Mad Max. Believe me, this is not your traditional Denzel film. This is very different. But both Denzel and co-star Gary Oldman give strong performances here, and the twist at the end was very cool. Anyway, very good film.

ANGELS & DEMONS - Let me preface this review by saying I read "Angels & Demons" a few years ago, and when I finished it I threw it across the room. Yes, I thought it was that bad. Anyway, Jenny and I decided to rent this one because we saw THE DAVINCI CODE a while back (and we thought it was simply okay.) Famous symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) returns to the Vatican to investigate the theft of a vile of antimatter. The culprit this time seems to be the Illuminati, a mysterious secret society. And of course from then on we follow Langdon on a frantic search for lost symbols and coded messages through the streets of Rome. I will admit I enjoyed this film better than DAVINCI CODE, but I'm not sure that's saying a lot. Watching these movies makes me wonder why Hanks and Ron Howard (director) are even involved. They almost seem to be wasting their talents here. But still though, for a rental I thought this one was okay.

IT MIGHT GET LOUD - Watching this documentary was like watching a film made just for me...and I loved every minute of it. This film is not for everybody, but it's definitely for me. Directed by Davis Guggenheim (Training Day) this documentary brings together 3 of the most iconic guitarists in the world of rock n' roll. Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes) all come together and sit down for a discussion on why they love the guitar, and what the instrument means to them. In addition to the pow-wow there's also great jam sessions with the three (seeing Jimmy Page play a U2 song is a must see.) Like I said, the movie is mainly for the music lover and not for everyone. But man o' man, I literally watched this movie with a smile on my face the whole time. I loved it!

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 - Denzel Washington stars as Walter Garber, a subway dispatcher who is having a bad day. One morning Garber gets a call about a hijacking on a subway car. He soon becomes the go-between in a hostage negotiation between the terrorist (John Travolta) and the Police. Directed by Tony Scott (Crimson Tide) the drama here is thick. Things start to fall apart a bit by the third act, but overall I thought for a rental this one was pretty good.

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA - After watching this one I still think TRANSFORMERS 2 was the loudest movie I've ever seen, but I would say this was a close second. I would go into the details of what the plot is about here, but is it really worth everyone's time? I don't think so. There's a secret military squad (G.I. Joe), a global terrorist network (Cobra) and frankly...crazy antics ensue from there. This is based on the 80's cartoon so I guess that's why I was semi-interested in watching this. Glad I didn't spend full price at the theater. I guess if I was 13 I would have loved this movie. HA!

SUNSHINE CLEANING - Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are sisters who form their own cleaning company...uh...cleaning up after crime and murder scenes. The trailer for this movie gave me the impression it was a "dramedy," like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Both films even share the same producers. But overall this film was very disappointing. The laughs (if any) are few and far between. And in between are a lot of despair and grieving. This was a much sadder film than I expected. Like I said, very disappointing.

WHATEVER WORKS - I've made it known in the past that I'm a Woody Allen fan. Well, a fan of the writer/director...and not the human being. Anyway, when I heard Allen was teaming up with Larry David I was very interested. However, after I watched this I was not only greatly disappointed, but I was actually angry. Angry at Allen, angry at David, just angry. I was angry at myself for watching this train wreck. I was angry at David for playing his "Larry David" role from Curb Your Enthusiasm. I mean...come on...he's playing the same guy here. Then there's Allen. In the story here Larry David meets a young woman, Melodie, who is from Mississippi and looking for a place to stay. They eventually form a relationship (despite David's grouchy presence) and move in together. Soon after Melodie's parents from Mississippi (who are separated) make their way to New York looking for their daughter and attempt to bring her back home. Well, to make the long story short, by the end of the movie Melodie has an affair and leaves Larry David, Melodie's mother becomes a New York photographer who shares two lovers, and Melodie's dad turns gay. I mean...come on...how typical of Allen. So ridiculous. Anyway, I didn't like this one at all. I feel I need to go watch MANHATTAN or CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS in order to cleanse myself.

30 ROCK: SEASON 2 - A while back Jenny and I rented the first season of 30 ROCK. She liked it, and I thought it was okay. But we both liked it enough to give it another try. So we rented Season 2. Well, I'm glad we did because the show seemed to improve between seasons. I found myself laughing a little more this time around. I think we'll go ahead and check out Season 3 sometime soon.

Who Dat?

In the world of the NFL, what a difference a few years make. Back when we lived in New Orleans the Saints games were blacked out on local TV and attendance was one of the lowest in the league. Flash forward to today and the Saints are the Super Bowl champs. Anyway, that was cool to see. The team, and definitely the city deserve something to be proud of. Probably like you all, I too get tired of the whole "we did it for the city and the hurricane victims" angle. But still...it was great to see the city jump for joy like that.
Anyway, I loved seeing this moment with quarterback Drew Brees and his son after the game. I always like seeing professional players acting like regular people, and this moment really stuck with me. Here's Drew right after the biggest win of his career and he holds his son up in a waterfall of confetti. And what cracks me up is what the boy (Baylen), who's completely oblivious to everything, must be thinking in this picture. "Cool! Confetti. Pretty colors."

Lego My Legos

Ben is a fanatic for Legos. A few years ago I gave him my old Legos and he's been a "Lego Nut" ever since. He likes to build all kinds of things in his room, and we occasionally get him specific Lego sets that follow a certain theme. He even subscribes to the Lego magazine that comes in the mail once a month.
During our trip to Florida last week we of course stopped into the Lego Store at Downtown Disney. While we were there Nana told Ben he could pick out something special. Ben chose this submarine which is a part of the "Lego: Atlantis" line, which he seems to be interested in right now. With only a little help from us Ben basically built this thing mostly by himself, and the age on the box was "7 and up." And by the way...thank you Nana!
He loves Legos...and we love that he loves Legos.