The Dragons - Game 1

Well...today was our first soccer game of the 2009 Fall season. Like last year, the games this year don't count toward any standings or anything, there's no score, and there are no goalies. But still...the kids (and parents) still somehow follow who "wins and loses." I guess that's competitive nature. Anyway, the kids did fantastic today and everyone played great. Ben kicked a few balls and gave a good effort. Then of course all the kids got to do their favorite thing at the end...running through the tunnel and eating snacks. On top of all that...the weather was perfect today. So one game down...7 more to go.

The Dragons!

It's officially soccer season again in the Frame household. Ben's team this fall is "The Dragons," and I'm the head coach. So far we've had two practices and Saturday is our first game. This is an all-boys team, and everyone is 5, or a young 6...so the skill level is a little better than last year. Anyway, Ben has a few friends on the team that he knows from school...and we're both quickly making new friends. As for me, it's a lot of work but it's fun...and it's something we can do together.

Art Time

As a toddler Ben was never really into drawing, coloring, or anything of the sort. However, Megan as a toddler is the complete opposite. She loves to color and doodle. She would do it all day long if we let her. Well...this has now rubbed off on Ben...and now he's become an avid colorer as well. We have their pictures on walls, doors, appliances...all over the place. They really enjoy it...and they like doing it together. As for me...I love it because it gives them an activity that's quiet. (By the way...the picture Ben is holding up is Jenny's...and not his.)

First Day Of Kindergarten

Well...today was the big day - Ben's first day of Kindergarten. Jenny and I were a little sad all weekend, and I didn't get much sleep last night...but it's really not a sad time. Just a big change for all of us. And besides...Ben is really excited about his new school and new class.
So this morning we all walked Ben to school for his first day, and at school we saw his friend Miles (who is also in the same class). Having his best friend in the same class sure makes things a lot easier for Ben. Anyway, he had a great first day. He said they read some stories, drew some pictures, and got everything ready for the coming year. Ben's teacher's name is Miss Wolanin...and she's one of those "grandmotherly" types of teachers who has been at the same school for 25 years or so. She's really nice and very patient with the kids. It was funny...all the kids this morning were kind of shell-shocked about everything, but she calmed everyone down and welcomed everyone to class.
Afterwards, we all had lunch with Jenny so we could talk about his day. And then when we got home I gave Ben a surprise bag of small goodies. Then tonight we're going to have Ben's favorite dinner...spaghetti. So all in all Ben has had a great first day of Kindergarten. He told me he can't wait to go back tomorrow.
Jenny and I were obviously sad after we dropped Ben off...but I didn't have too much time to think about it all because of Megan's on-going tantrum at the time. She somehow thought we were staying at the school and she wanted to get down and color and look around at all the stuff. When she realized she was leaving she threw a fit - a fit that lasted about 20 minutes. So while Jenny was filling out the paperwork I was trying to get Megan to calm down. But other than that...we all got through our first day of Kindergarten successfully.

Our New Master Bath

For years we've been wanting to re-do our master bath upstairs, but we always had other rooms to tackle first and we never knew quite what we wanted to do with the master bath. So it was always "left for later." Well...we finally bit the bullet and had some contractors do some work on it. The end result is a new vanity top and counters, a new toilet (low-flow), new flooring, new lighting, new mirrors, new faucets, etc. About the only thing we didn't tackle was the shower, which we found out was installed incorrectly by the home builder. So we'll put that off for now. But everything else came out beautifully. I added a coat of paint...and the end result is a master bath we can finally be proud of.

Children's Zoo in Saginaw

Yesterday we took the kids back to the children's zoo in Saginaw. Jenny hadn't been there this year so we thought it would be a good time to go since school is around the corner. I tried to get Megan to pet the horses but she didn't want any part of it. I did get Ben to finally pet the horse...but only once. They always enjoy riding the little train, but it had been broken for most of the summer. Luckily it was open yesterday so the kids got to ride it.

Hiking at the nature center

Well...kindergarten starts on Tuesday for Ben, so we tried to cram in some last minute summer activities this week. The other day I took the kids for one last summer hike at the nature center. Our new thing there is looking at the farm animals. The kids like feeding grass to the pigs. It cracks them up. And of course...looking for frogs in the pond.

At The Movies

GRAN TORINO - Clint Eastwood has still got it after all of these years. Here Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a grumpy retiree living in Detroit who shakes his head at all the changes happening in his neighborhood and in his life. The story picks up right after Kowalski's wife dies, and he is forced to adjust to living alone. He soon befriends his next door neighbors, an asian family with a lot of drama in their lives, and he soon finds himself involved in their family crisis. Eastwood wrote and directed this movie, and here he displays his classic style of storytelling. You're not going to get a lot of camera moves here, no "hand-held camera" jerkiness, and no quick edits. As always he lets the story drive the film, and GRAN TORINO follows Eastwood's classic formula flawlessly. The interesting thing about this movie is though it takes place in a modern day Detroit neighborhood, the film follows a very traditional "western" formula. The story arc here is right out of Eastwood's western classics, such as PALE RIDER for example. This is a great film that is beautifully told and perfectly executed. I rarely say a film is ever perfect, but I have to say this one is pretty close.

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: SEASON 1 - Jenny and I have always been curious about this HBO comedy, so we finally decided to give it a try. Larry David, the former Seinfeld co-producer and writer, plays himself in this satire. Imagine the comedy of SEINFELD, sprinkled with the comedic dialouges you find in Woody Allen films. Mixed together you get CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, a comedy that follows the life of Larry David and his family and friends. It took Jenny and I a while to warm up to this one, but after a few episodes we found ourselves laughing out loud more and more. This is a very funny show. Very clever and great writing (though most of the show is performed through improv.) We'll definitely continue with this one.

STEP BROTHERS - Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are two men who live at home...each with their own parent, and both are basically the embodiment of a 30 year old child with no ambition. After their parents are married they are forced to live with one another in the same house and same room. As they try to get along they both struggle to find their paths in life. I had mixed feelings about this one going in, but I found it pretty surprising. It was a bit funnier than I expected. Ferrell has some pretty good lines here as usual, but Reilly really adds a lot as well. The end result is a movie that is funnier than it deserves to be. This isn't the best Ferrell comedy by any means, but pretty good for a rental.

2 DAYS IN PARIS - Written and directed by Julie Delpy, 2 DAYS IN PARIS follows the relationship of Jack and Marion as they spend...well...2 days in Paris. Marion (played by Delpy) is originally from Paris, and she takes her American-born boyfriend Jack (played by Adam Goldberg) home to meet her family and friends. But through the course of events, Jack soon discovers Marion has had quite a "flirtatious" past. At times the film felt a bit scattered, but overall the film was strongest when Jack was meeting a new "old boyfriend," or discovering some new wrinkle in her past. Delpy's writing, acting, and directing are fine here...but none of them are anything interesting. However, the real meat of this film is the performance of Goldberg. His neurotic paranoia is pretty funny as he tries to find the truth in her "suggestive" past. This one was pretty good.

DISTRICT 9 - This sci-fi film (produced by Peter Jackson) is a very different alien flick. In this film, a giant space ship appears in the skies over Johannesburg in South Africa. When the humans finally make contact with the aliens, they discover a ship full of dying and starving aliens in need of help. Instead of helping however, the humans exile the aliens to a "shanty town" village outside of the city limits...in an area nicknamed "District 9." Often times I find the sci-fi genre these days being tired and overdone. Rarely do I ever come across anything interesting and unique anymore. DISTRICT 9 is an exception. This is a sci-fi story...that much is true. But included here are topics of human rights and apartheid...which adds an unusual layer of depth to an otherwise ordinary sci-fi film. I really liked this one. It's a very different sci-fi flick, and that's a good thing.

SHOTGUN STORIES - It's hard to knock independent films. They have very little money to work with, so I'm often more forgiving when I watch one. Having said that, here's an independent that's pretty bad...and doesn't deserve to be defended. In SHOTGUN STORIES, you are tossed in the middle of an old fashioned "Hatfield/McCoy" family feud...set in a modern day small Arkansas town. In the film a clan of brothers and half-brothers begin to clash after the passing of their mutual father. The clash quickly grows to fistfights and then murder. The build-up throughout the film is somewhat interesting, as you are convinced an all out blood-bath is right around the corner. However, the 3rd act of the film delivers a huge letdown, and the result makes you wonder what the point of the story (and title) really was. Anyway, I admired the effort here...but the film just doesn't come together.

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR - Hey...this one's bad. I know. I knew it was going to be bad going into it...and believe me...it is. But I have a guilty pleasure for Jet Li films...so I'm always curious to see his latest. In this third installment of the Mummy franchise, Brendan Fraser ventures to the far east in search of the Dragon Emperor (played by Jet Li.) Joining him for the ride is his family, his friends, and a whole suitcase full of bad...BAD...jokes. The action and effects here are not bad...and offer just as much eye candy as the first two installments of the franchise (THE MUMMY, and THE MUMMY RETURNS.) But as expected the script is horrendous, and you really have to wonder why they would resurrect this franchise after 7 years. Anyway...this one was pretty bad...as expected.

EAGLE EYE - This is one of those "Man Who Knew Too Much" kind of stories, where a secret conspiracy is out to ruin the life of an unsuspecting victim. In this film, Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry...whose life is turned upside down when he gets involved in a conspiracy and gets mistakenly identified as a terrorist. Throughout the movie Jerry and another victim (played by Michelle Monaghan) get chased by police, the military, and secret organizations...only to escape with the help of a mysterious voice on a telephone whose always one step ahead. I fully expected to tear this movie apart, but I was surprised how decent it was. It's not a great film by any means, but it's not as bad as I thought. Pretty good for a rental.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON 4 - Well...after 4 seasons of this show I finally finished it. Season 4 is the last season of BSG, and it's a pretty good end to an otherwise up and down show. As I've mentioned in the past, BSG at times is a great show that tries to be something better than your traditional sci-fi show. However, on the other end some of the acting on BSG is sometimes laughable and unwatchable. But through thick and thin I've stuck with the show waiting for the big payoff. And the payoff comes at the 2 hour series finale which is better than a lot of sci-fi movies I've seen on the big screen. Season 4 is by far the strongest and best of the 4 seasons. And while many die-hards of the show may not be satisfied with the series finale, I was pretty satisfied with it. It didn't answer all the questions, but it resolved most of them. And as an added bonus, there were story developments that tied in this version of the show to the old 70's show that we all watched as a kid. Anyway, very good ending to a pretty good show.