Kite Day

The other day my parents and I took the kids to the park to fly kites. Believe it or not the kids had never really flown a kite before. For a while I've thought about it but I never got around to taking them until now. Anyway, they had a great time. We were out there for about 2 hours. The wind was on the "light" side so we all had to work a little to keep the kites up, but they flew nonetheless. Anyway, each kite cost $2. Hmm...let's see. $4 for 2 hours of entertainment outside? I'd say that's money well spent.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My parents are staying with us this week, and Thursday was her birthday. We ordered a cake for her, and invited my Aunt and Uncle over to help us celebrate.

The Blue Rockets - Game 7

Last night was another baseball game for Ben. The story of the night was Ben got to try out being the catcher. It was pretty funny to watch. I had to quickly dress him up between innings, and then he would run out there behind the plate. He did great for his first time, but he looked awkward behind the plate, and he had a hard time trying to walk around with all that gear on. We were proud of him cause he was a good sport about it. Afterward he was laughing about the whole thing. He thought he looked pretty silly.

Megan's Class Picnic

Yesterday Megan's preschool class held a class picnic at our park, which sits directly across the street from the school. The kids got to play on the playground, play games like "Duck Duck Goose," and sing songs. Afterward, everyone got to eat hot dogs and all sorts of snacks. Megan had a great time. She absolutely loves preschool, especially seeing her friends. She only goes 3 days a week (Monday through Wednesday 9 to 12) but she wishes she went all day everyday. In fact, sometimes she cries if its a Thursday or Friday morning and she realizes she's not going to school. Anyway, she loved the picnic yesterday. Here are some highlights.

The End x 2

In 2 nights two legendary shows (and favorites of mine) came to an end.

Like most people Jenny and I caught the series finale of LOST the other night. Overall I'd say we were a little disappointed with the final episode. The final explanations (or lack there of) left more to be desired. In fact, when it was all said and done I was left feeling more confused than ever. But while the finale didn't live up to my expectations, I'd say overall this was one of the best TV shows ever made. Each episode was cinematic and fascinating to watch. What starts out as a show about a group of plane crash survivors on a deserted island soon expands into a universe of time travel, science fiction, jungle adventure, monsters, cult societies, psychic powers, etc. Then by the time the show's finale came around Sunday night the storyline was mimicking a biblical epic of good versus evil and the end of the world. While I do believe the writers were basically making it up as they went along, I have a great deal of respect for the writers and producers of the show. Week after week they were trying to create a show that felt like a summer blockbuster, turning your living room into a movie theater. The show was entertaining and kept you constantly guessing and analyzing. I often felt like I was "studying" each episode as opposed to simply watching. I recommend this show to everyone I know (I'm looking at you Mom & Dad.) If you have never taken the time to check out this show I beg you to go out and rent Season 1 and give it a try. The bar has been raised. You will never look at network television the same way again.

There was a time when 24 was my favorite show. In fact, I can remember a time when I said "24 is one of the best TV shows ever made." But over the last 8 seasons this show has done nothing but deteriorate. This was the show that helped start the whole "continuing storyline" craze that's so prevalent on TV these days. Jack Bauer is a rouge U.S. agent for the "Counter Terrorism Unit," (CTU) a government security agency protecting the country from terrorism. Each season was basically 1 full day of Jack chasing down terrorists and saving the world. When this show began you were entertained by the high octane action and the plot twists and turns. But over time the show traveled a downward spiral into mediocrity and then eventually settled into ridiculousness. Instead of expanding the shows characters and storylines the writers oftentimes rehashed old characters and storylines, which soon became tiresome. Throw in a lot of bad acting from key characters and you have the makings of a one trick pony who never learned a second trick. So if the show quickly soured then why did I keep watching you ask? (Sigh) I wish I had an answer for that. I don't know why. I guess over time I grew to ignore its many flaws and just take it for what it was...a "soap opera" about spies and agents. If I were to recommend this show to anyone I would suggest checking out Seasons 1 through 3. After that it's up to you.

The Blue Rockets - Game 6

Tonight was a busy night for Ben. First he and I had soccer practice at 5:30. Then Jenny came by and picked up Ben early to take him over to a baseball game while I finished up soccer practice. So then Ben played baseball from 6 to 7. I'll tell you what...I know we're never going to do this 2 sport thing again (knock on wood.) We thought we could manage it, but the baseball schedule has been so sporadic compared to soccer.
Anyway, tonight Ben went 3 for 3 again, and he had some plays in the field. Knowing how this has been his first season playing baseball Jenny and I have been very proud of him. He's learning the game and slowly getting better and better. He's one of the few kids on the team who have never played before, and fortunately we have a good group of parents who all cheer him on and encourage him.