Triple Feature Friday

I found it difficult to concentrate at work on Friday, for several reasons. First, of course, it was a Friday, and so the start of a weekend. This time it was a three-day weekend: a half-week respite from the stress of another week of work and getting everyone to their needed pratices, lessons, and concerts. On top of that, however, this Friday the family had plans for a "triple feature". Three movies, all sequels, in one evening. It was crazy, but just the kind of crazy this family is up for. So at 4pm, Jenn and the kids picked me up at work, and we headed to The Rave, a newly opened theatre in the "lifestyle center" not far from our house. We bought twelve movie tickets, 4 for 3 movies (4 at matinee prices, fortunately), confusing the poor ticket seller in the process. Then we grabbed popcorn, soda, and candy (our dinner for the evening) and headed for our first show.

Our first movie in the triple feature was Spider-Man 3. All four of us have seen the first two movies and loved them, and I was pretty familiar with the Spider-Man and his enemies from my time collecting comic books as a teen. So, we were all very exceited about seeing this third installment in the series. I had read about the basic plot, and I was a bit disturbed about one or two significant changes to characters compared to their comic book counter parts (I'm a bit of a geek like that). Determined not to let the changes ruin my enjoyment of the film, we all found a comfortable seat and waited for the show to begin. We sat through the normal "preshow" routine of commercials (no, Cris Angel, you didn't guess my card!) and trivia, but instead of starting previews, the screen switched over to a generic "Rave Motion pictures" message and bad muzac. This was not going to do at all. We had timed our movies perfectly, and if Spider-Man 3 started late, we might be late for the next show! So after 10 excrutiating minutes, I left the theatre, ran over to the candy counter and said "Um, our movie hasn't started yet and it's ten minutes late". Lo and behold, as soon as I sat in my seat, the curtains opened all the way and the previews started. I can't remember all of the previews anymore (good job, marketing execs!), but we did decide that we all wanted to see Ratatouille and Jenn agreed to suffer through Transformers with me. It appears, however, that I am the only one in the family who will appreciate Across the Universe, even though it does have Bono in it.

Spider-Man 3 itself was a pretty decent movie. It dragged on a little in the middle, and some of it seemed kind of cheesy, but in general it wasn't bad. Not as good as the first two, but better than Fantasitic Four. The ending, however, was heartrenching. Highlight for spoilers: Harry Osborne, who spends some of the movie trying to kill Peter, and some of the movie with amnesia, finally came to his senses and in the end helped Peter and Mary Jane to defeat Sandman and Venom, only to die a hero. This did not play well with the family, especially Kairi. Spoilers: "I didn't want Harry to die," she said. Yeah, well wait until "Deathly Hallows" comes out...

We ran out as the credits began rolling, all still slightly depressed (and Kai still crying), to make it to our next show: Shrek the Third. Seeing Shrek in a multiplex is a break from our usual tradition. We had seen the first two Shrek movies at Becky's Drive In, a great drive in with pony rides and a playground before the show, and very good fries. While I am sure we will get to Becky's sometime this year, we decided to make Shrek the Third part of our triple feature. Again, I don't remember the previews (keep up the good work!), but I think that's because we walked in halfway through. Fortunately, we didn't miss any of the actual movie. The humor in the first two movies was sometimes crude and sophmoric, so we expected the same in the third, and we were not disappointed. Jenn and I think it was a little cruder and a little less funny than the first two, with a plot that seemed to meander this way and that. Again, not as good as the first two movies, but not bad. I sensed a theme developing.

Our final movie of the night, beginning at 9:30 (with a promise to go on to at least midnight) was Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End. Part of Jenn's theme behind the "triple feature" was to see "3" movies, and we were all excited to see this final installment in the story of Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann. We had a harder time find seats for this movie than the other two, but finally found our way to four open seats near the top of the threatre. Again, we sat through a few minutes of the preshow (you got my card wrong again, Cris!), sat through previews (Ratatouille, Transformers, and again, I can't remember what else...), and waited with anticipation. Again, we were saying a "3" movie in a series we loved. Again, we would be disappointed. The movie started with mass hangings in Port Royal, including that of a young boy (who was probably twelve or thirteen). It wasn't explicit, but it was gruesome. This made Jenn unhappy, and I begain to think we may have accidently walked in without realizing this third movie was rated "R" (or is that "Arrrr", since it's a Pirates movie?).

This was probably my least favorite of the three movies we watched, which is unfortunate, because after Spider-Man, I had my hopes up for this last movie of the night. The plot, however, had major holes. It lulled in the middle, it was more violent than the first two (so I felt a little iffy about the kids seeing it), the "twists" were completely expected, and the ending, again, was depressing. Spoilers: Will Turner, who had to chose between saving his father and being cursed to captain The Flying Dutchman for eternity, or marrying Elizabeth, only to see his father serve Davy Jones for eternity, ended up being fatally stabbed. Will was saved only by Jack Sparrow, who forced Will's arm to stab through the heart of Davy Jones, killing Jones and causing Will to become captain of Jones' ship. So, Jack, the cunning but morally bankrupt character got what he wanted in the end (Jones dead), the mutinous Barbossa got what he wanted in the end (a payment of debt for his return to life), but Will, the sweet one, ended up completely out of luck. Jenn and I both think that movies should be uplifting (we hate sad endings, although she hates them more than I do), so this final movie really didn't go over very well. If we waited until after the credits, however, we would have seen an additional scene (which you'd think we'd learn by now, having seen the first two movies) which does help with the finale, but in a lame kind of way (Spoilers:Apparently, Will is only forced to be captain of The Flying Dutchman for 10 years, and can return to land a mortal once more as long as his woman remained faithful. This fact was in the movie at one point but was cut, which makes the final scnene confusing. But, this leads to the question of what would happen if Jack had been the one to stab the heart, since he had no lover to begin with...) So, while the four of us did enjoy ourselves, it would have been nicer if we had seen Spider-Man 1, Shrek 1, and Pirates 1. Ah, well, you can't win them all.

Time Travelling

Don't get me wrong. I KNOW the Middle Ages sucked. Plague, war, childbirth, and common germs were all deadly. No one knew anything about, well, nearly anything. Food was revolting, and hard to come by. And trust me, I know all too well that 40 pounds of brocaded dress on a summer's day is not a pleasant thing.

Still, every time we have the Medieval Faire at my school (a pet project of mine that I created five years ago), I wish for the days when men clashed on horseback for the honor of a woman, for glory, for fame... I know it's a romantic picture that bears no resemblance to reality.... but really - who cares?

This year's event went off without a hitch. It was once an all-consuming pile of work that took me days to organize. Now, it's like clockwork. Everything falls into place, and for once, I didn't even have to stay up the night before baking or sewing. This year, the kids all made their own costumes in consumer and family science. Since they didn't have to make them at home, that meant we could ask them to create medieval foods for extra credit. Not to mention, they looked freakin' adorable. But don't tell them I said so... they are seventh graders, after all!!

One really neat moment came at the end of the day. Kate from Round Table Productions (the jousters we use every year... if you ever need history re-enacted, call on them - they are FABULOUS) came to me and gave me a gift. Turns out that the one hard hit that smashed the lance to pieces during the joust wasn't part of the show. It was the first REAL (non-breakaway) lance they had broken on our "field of honor". Does it make me a geek that I will probably treasure the piece of broken wood she handed me?

Recital Weekend

That's how it's listed in my calendar. Three straight days, crossed off - "Recital Weekend". One LOOOOOONG dress rehearsal on Friday night. Two grueling weekend performances, each about 3.5 - 4 hours long. I have to make a packing list just to remember everything to take to the school: costume pieces, hair nets, bobby pins, hair spray, gel, tights, shoes, scissors, safety pins, makeup, thread and needle, water bottles, camera.... the list goes on and on, and yet I somehow forget batteries ("Please Scotty, PLEASE, can you get me some batteries??? I _need_ to take pictures..."), tissues ("Mommy, I HAVE to blow my nose...") and band-aids. Why the band-aids? Well, let's see. We have a seven year old boy ON stage for 6 minutes, and running around BACKstage for 3 hours. He must have cut himself on something four times this weekend.

And that's just the packing list. I still have to be amuser-in-chief for a very bored boy waiting his turn. The girls aren't bored. They're running around in the gym playing tag. You know, the gym with the big "GIRLS ONLY" sign on it? I have to be hair dresser and costume changer in chief for a very patient girl with far too many costumes and hair requirements. And somewhere in there, I'm supposed to watch the show.

Don't get me wrong. There are definitely rewards. But I am also definitely glad that recital comes but once a year!!

First up in the program was Kai and the other competition dancers in a big ensemble opening number. It was really cute and energetic, and looked like fun.

Here's Kai dressed for her second number, the jazz routine. This is the routine that won her gold at the Dancers Inc. competition in April. They dance to "9 to 5".

Nicky's first number wasn't until Act 2. He dances to "Under the Sea" in a peppy and fun jazz number.

Right after his jazz number, he had to RUN backstage, strip right there in the hall and toss on his ballet clothes for his next number only 5 minutes later! Poor kid! Somehow, he's the ONLY overlap between the two classes. Everyone was amazed at how fast he changed, but if it weren't for Kairi helping him, I never would have seen either of his dances.

A few dances later and it's time for Kai to shine in ballet. She has the most beautiful hand positioning - very graceful!

And of course, the best part... the smiles of triumph when it's all over. Shhh... don't tell anyone, but they both fell SOUND asleep on the car ride home. Gee, I wonder why?

Destination: Rock and Roll

Kairi's last chorus concert was definitely worth the price of admission. The elementary chorus is up to 175 members, and they surely do rock! They were asked to wear their hair in a crazy style with colors and glitter. I wasn't intending to go this crazy with Kai's hair, but... it WAS her LAST concert. Anyway, it was a truly great performance - the songs are all accompanied by dancing and motions, and Kai looked like she was having a complete blast in the back row with Sheri. Next year, though, both girls decided to give up chorus in favor of band every morning. Considering they're the entire fifth grade low brass section by themselves, I think that's a pretty good choice!

Still, I hope Kai doesn't forget how much fun it can be to sing out loud!

Dorney Days

It's good to have season passes to Dorney Park again. We had missed out for a couple of years due to financial concerns or the cost of certain mouse-ful vacations south. But Dorney is a scant 15 minutes from our new house, and since we aren't planning vacation until August this year, we thought it was a good investment for family fun. We headed over today for our first day of the season. The cute matching t-shirts were only $5 each, so how could we resist?

Here's a few pics. Kai ADORES this "horse" on the carousel. She's waited in line over and over until she got on it in past years. This year, we lucked out - we were there early enough to be the only people on the whole carousel. I think this steed is meant to be a seahorse - but Kai always calls it the "dragon".
Nicky's most favoritest ride (today, anyway...) was the Whip. Which is odd, because he was completely freaked by the corners on the Wild Mouse - but the corners on this are much faster! Guess that's the difference 60 feet in the air makes....
Good to know they both still like the kiddy rides... though Kai was disappointed she only got on TWO of the five roller coasters she wanted today. We'll be back all summer, girl!
The best part of season passes, though, is that we have time to see the sides of Dorney that day visitors miss. Like the swans and rainbow trout you can feed with pellets from one bridge.... ... and the tiny goslings watched over by their protective mama in this clearing.
So, while it was tough to call it quits after only about four hours, it was good to know that fun's just a short car trip away! And who knows? Maybe walking around in the heat all summer with food too expensive to waste money on will help me lose weight!

Kickin' It With Nicky

"A black belt is just a white belt who never gave up." -Grand Master Jhoon Rhee

It seems like we just started Nicky in TKD yesterday, and here he is already, at his first belt promotion. It actually WASN'T that long ago, but Nicky took to Tae Kwon Do like a duck to water. He is so used to following directions in another language - "plie, ronde de jambe, releve.." that "cha ryuht, kyung nae" came pretty easily. Once he had gotten his black stripe for positive attitude at home, and two orange stripes for kicking technique and effort in class, his instructor said he was ready to graduate with the group that was moving up on Friday.

The actual graduation ceremony was lots of fun. Nicky was highlighted by Sahbumnim Periera, who explained how he had earned his attitude stripe. She recommended him for the Leadership Academy. We got to see many really cool demonstrations of breaking by the various students, and some "martial ballet" (forms to music). Nicky got his new belt, "Advanced White" which is white with a gold stripe. All in all, it was a pretty cool evening. We're very proud of Nicky - he not only really loves Tae Kwon Do, but he's trying hard to do what he's supposed in class and out.

Mini Miracles

Last weekend, I was finally able to plant all the perennial seeds I had bought for my garden. I have never really grown perennials from seeds - usually, I'll buy them already sprouted at our local garden center. But the cheap price and "do-it-yourself-ness" of the seeds struck me this year, especially since I'm starting a garden that will hopefully bloom in front of my house forever.

But here's the thing with seeds. You need a LOT of faith to plant a seed. With a plant, you can watch it grow and say, hmm... that one looks healthy... ohh, that one's not gonna make it... But with a seed, you have to TRUST that it's growing in there somewhere. So a long, slow week passed. My "garden" looked like a patch of dirt. Monday: nothing. Tuesday: nothing. And so on. Was I watering them enough? Too much? Was the area not sunny enough? Was it too cold?

Today, though, my patience was rewarded. All over my garden patch, variations on a theme are appearing - a shoot here, two leaves there, a little green growing thing still trapped in its cracked seed. Daisies and black eyed susans, hollyhocks and columbine...twelve little varieties of brightly blooming plants are pushing their way to the sun.

Each one feels like a little miracle.

Oh, the Drama

I spent a good chunk of this week on finishing out the year for Drama Club. The actors did a great job at Springfest, and a really good job during the performance Thursday night. We had a lot of laughs in these last two weeks, and I'm sorry in one way that the performance year is over. Of course, I'm really, really glad it's over in terms of exhaustion factor!!

Just a Saturday in Spring

Today is notable for being a rare day with nothing at all scheduled. Sure, there are many things we COULD be doing, but nothing that HAS to be done RIGHT NOW.

So, we've goofed a bit, we've worked a bit, and generally enjoyed the beautiful weather and the schedule break.

A picture's worth a thousand words, so here's a few. (The extreme close-up on the flowers is a plea for help - Mom or anyone, can you identify that tree?? It's in our front yard - who knew we had a blossoming tree there?

Photo Safari

Woohoo! I got a new digital camera, so the blog is back in business. I'll backtrack and add the kids' art contest, Kairi's dance competition, and my front garden as I get that nasty film stuff developed. But for now, I'm jumping ahead to today's photo safari at the Philadelphia Zoo.
I've always felt guilty that I can't attend my kids' during-the-day events at school. I never get to go because I only get two personal days a year, and they are usually saved for emergencies or trips. Not to mention, I always miss open house because their school and mine have it on the same night. But today was Kai's last field trip as an elementary student, and I just wasn't going to miss it! Better yet, my group as a chaperone consisted of Kai and her best friend Sheri (we were later joined by Emily and her chaperone).

It was definitely a field trip to remember. From the extremely rare weeknight sleepover to the final giggly bus ride home, the girls had a fabulous time. They rode on draft horses and a safari simulator, had their faces painted and ate pizza, shopped for souvenirs, and, of course, saw lots of AMAZING animals up close. The Philly Zoo is shaded, well-kept, and never smelly. The animals look well cared for and (relatively, anyway) happy. We'll be back at least twice this year, and I can't wait - my only complaint about today was that we just didn't have enough time!

Here are some photo highlights. Well, a few, anyway - it's less than 10% of the pics I took!

Amazing Love

Wow. There's not really much else to say. 'Cause when your husband remembers the day you started dating, 12 years ago, and sends you a dozen gorgeous roses to commemorate the occasion, at school, in front of your whole class and all your teaching buddies, wow is pretty much the only reaction.

Until you read the note. And it says "A rose a year for my Irish rose - I love you more than anything." Then the only appropriate reaction is tears. Even if all your seventh graders are watching. And applauding.

I don't know what I did to deserve someone as wonderful and loving as Scott. I lost my country side a long time ago... but the only appropriate reaction seems to be suggesting itself with a twang:

Every little thing that you do,
Baby, I'm amazed by you.

A Party Fit for a Prince

Nicky was definitely royally treated at Putt U. He had a truly wonderful birthday party. The fun started as we drove toward the mini golf course - it's on the other side of a Jersey wall, so we had to go past and turn around to get to it. The big marquee out front read "Welcome Nicholas"!

Once we arrived, (and once the guests arrived) the kids got a personal lesson from a member of the staff. He helped them learn to putt and play (which of course the boys completely ignored for the rest of the course. Ah, well...) He made sure the birthday boy got first pick of ball color, and got to pick which course we played. The kids had an absolute blast playing the well-maintained course. Although I think they were AIMING for the water hazards.

During the game, the loudspeaker announced a very happy seventh birthday to Nicky, and everyone clapped. He thought that was pretty cool.

After the game, we returned to a warm, covered pavillion with awnings to block the wind. The kids donned their "winner" medals, and got ice cream and soda. The staff member even let us substitute chips for one girl who didn't like ice cream - without us even asking! (Oh, and that last minute store cake got eaten as well. Although, truthfully, I think the kids might just have been happy with the ice cream. And no cake. Don't let's go there.) Nicky got a Putt U T-shirt and a special golf ball with Putt U on one side and Happy Birthday on the other. After opening presents, the kids returned to playing on the stationary golf cart, which had amused them before the game started. Since no one wanted to leave, I guess it was fun!

Here's the kicker. For Nick, 6 of his friends, Kai, and one of her friends, the whole party cost a grand total of $63. (Not including goody bags, or anything associated with a certain dessert that shall remain nameless.) I think that's a pretty darn good deal!

Here's some pictures: (Let's not go down the road about how bad they are, either, 'kay?)

Pride Goeth Before A Fall...

So. Serves me right for bragging up my cake in the last post. Serves me right for making a cake for selfish, boastful, look-how-cool-my-kid's-party-is reasons.

The cake fell. And crumbled. Too much weight, and frosting. Too light cake batter. Generally, an unqualified failure. It happened slowly overnight and into the morning, but the final catastrophic failure was only moments before we SHOULD have been leaving for the party. And I was trying, and trying to fix it, getting more and more frustrated every second. Scott tried to remind me we should just forget it and go. But no. I had to get myself all frostingy, trying to salvage the last remains, and then tossing it in the sink in disgust. So I had to change, didn't I? I ran through the house, trying to get ready and not make us late, especially since we now had to pick up a cake on the way.

Well. Scott decided to be helpful. He grabbed my filthy clothes and tossed them in the washer. I came down about two minutes later, and started frantically looking for my camera for the party. Not in my bag. Not next to the computer. Not on any surface I could see. Wait...

That's right. My camera, which I love, was in the washing machine. It's completely broken. Beyond all repair. And there's no way I can afford another one until my drama salary in June. No dance recital pictures. No Springfest pictures. Maybe even no fifth grade graduation pictures.

All because I had to be a show off. And lose my temper and toss my clothes on the floor.

You see, I know I was just showing off with that cake. Because Nicky had the best party of his life with a plain old boring store bought cake. I'll post about that soon. When I'm in a better mood. And when I get the disposable camera pictures *shudder* developed and put on disk.

I'm having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I'll move to Australia.

Eat your heart out, Charm City Cakes

Or maybe not. :-) Okay, so I'm no Ace of Cakes. And my sister could kick my butt at cake decorating with one hand tied behind her back. (In fact, without her phone coaching, I never would have even managed this cake.) But I like the way Nicky's golf cake looks. I liked the way it looked in my head better, but we takes what we can gets. Here's a closeup.

We spent our Friday evening bustling about getting ready for Nicky's party at Putt U tomorrow. I have 7 confirmed RSVPS, 2 "no"s and 11 people who might show up since they didn't tell me either way. We put together little goody bags of sports themed pencils, erasers, and paddle balls, and added cool actual size chocolate golf balls from Josh Early. I even decorated the bags.... at least, for the kids who RSVP'ed. Beyond that, they'll just have to live with plain ol' green.

Nicky considered this birthday hat, but I don't think it would stay on long at the golf course tomorrow, so it stayed at the store. (Phew.)

I'm crossing my fingers all goes well.... and that the cake survives the car ride!!