HOP was a FLOP

Yesterday,  we had a fun filled day planned with our extended family (my SIL and the cousins).  We were going to see a movie and to the Virginia Living Museum.  The kids and I were all excited about going to the movies as it has been 8-9 months since we last went saw a movie on the Big Screen.  It has also been a while since we've been to the museum. So we had a fun filled day planned!

We start our day at the movies.  We are going to see HOP which looked promising from the previews.  My niece requested this movie as a reward for having done so well on her upper GI test this week.  I know what you're thinking..."A reward for a medical test."  You have to know my niece.  She's cute as a button, scared of almost everything, and a MAJOR DRAMA QUEEN.  We were all prepared for the hilarious story that was going to come out of this test.  My SIL has prepared herself for the worse expecting the drama level to be at its highest.  SURPRISE! SURPRISE!  My niece took the test without a single bit of drama not even showing the slightest bit of fear that day.   I'm sure she had plenty of questions as she always does, but she handle the test with flying colors! Great job, Little P!

So, back to the movie.  We went to see HOP which all five of the kiddos are excited to see.  Our movie experience starts well before entering the movie theater.  My kids are about to burst as we pull into the parking lot of the theater.  We get out of the car and head for the ticket booth.  We purchased our tickets ($5 each, which is a GREAT price these days) and head into the movie theater.   They think this movie theater is so cool with it twinkling lights on the ceiling and huge concession stand filled with all the junk that a kid could possibly want (not that mom will let them get any).  The girl takes our tickets, tears them in half, and we head to the concession stand to get our usual.  Popcorn and a drink to share amongst the 4 of us.   I head into the theater with our goodies.  My kids have gone ahead of me as they could not wait to see their cousins!

We watch the previews, which some look promising, and now comes the main feature, HOP.  Expecting this to be a very cute movie, we sit in our seats waiting with anticipation.  I mean how often do you get to see a rabbit drop jelly beans out of his ... well you know.  The movie was in fact very cute; however, most (like 90-95%) of the cute, funny parts can be viewed by watching the trailer.   I hate when they do that.  I mean who wants to go to the movies to laugh at the funny parts you've already seen in the trailer.  I'm expecting some new humor.    I can handle the 30-70 or 40-60 ratio of good parts viewed in the trailer to good parts viewed in the movie, but 90-10 or 95-5 is not acceptable.  I mean come on, I'm paying for this and this is the first movie we've seen in 8 months.

I am not writing to tell you what the movie was about, watch the trailer if you want to know that.  I'm just offering my opinion of the movie.  If you have the money and go see almost every movie that comes to the theaters, by all means go see it.  It's cute!  However, if you're on a budget and you've watched the trailers already, my advice is to wait.  It will be just a good on DVD watching it in your own living room.  If you really feel like you want to go see this movie, my advice is to NOT watch the trailers.  This will not make the movie a great movie, but it will, IMHO, make the movie more enjoyable. So for us, HOP was a FLOP as my SIL put it (http://lifewithmykidsandothermisadventures.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-know-what-you-did-last-night.html).

As for the rest of our day, it was great.  We had a blast.  We went BATTY and walked through the nature trail at the VLM.   My DS8 loved seeing all the reptiles, my DS 5 and nephew 5 enjoyed seeing the sea creatures, and my DD 11 and niece 8 enjoyed seeing the wolves.  The moms enjoyed that they were doing something educational.  It was a hit all around!

As we always seem to have a problem separating the kids once together, we ended our evening with dinner at my SILs house, more fun running around and laughing for the kids, and a game of Spades for the adults.  As the kids run around playing war (a cross between the Revolutionary War and a Star Wars battle between the Separatist and the Republic), we (the adults) place ourselves at the square table in the appropriate seating arrangement for an exciting game of Spades, guys (My DH and brother) against girls (my SIL and me).  It was a great game.  We, the girls, were just holding in there for the longest time with no real leaps and bounds ... just the slow and steady, but in the fifth round, I receive the hand I had been waiting on and my SIL had nothing (NIL).  Hence, we bid 9 and NIL.   I wanted to bid 10 for 2, but I wasn't sure if my SIL could squeeze 1 book out of her hand.  She bids well and was confident that she did not have a single book in her hand.   My DH decided that he too was going to go NIL.  My brother, in his attempt to set our Nil, failed to cover his own partner, my DH.  Here's comes our win.  I wish I could say that my SIL and I won because we are so good at playing Spades, but truth be told, we had a 3rd partner, my brother.  Thanks bro!

Thanks to My Peeps! Long Live the Blog!

Thank you so much for my peeps who have joined and/or come back to Blogging!  I'm sorry to all the Facebook / Twitter lovers out there but I much more prefer a blog.  I prefer to read the creative musings of my family and friends rather than the short blurbs that get posted on Facebook or Twitter.  On Facebook / Twitter, people say things like "I'm heading for Starbucks" or "I'm craving Chick-a-fila."  Don't get me wrong, I have a Facebook account and it is nice to digitally run into friends in cyber world that I haven't seen or heard from since high school or college.  I know a blog is part of cyber world too, but I just really enJOY reading your blogs!

I do see a purpose for Facebook and Twitter.  Sometimes it is nice to send a quick note to friends and family.  I especially like the way that my church is using Facebook to keep the congregation up to date on the latest happenings.   I also like the way that I've seen some use Facebook and Twitter to spread the Gospel.

So, for those who Love Facebook and Twitter, enJOY, but don't forget  about the Blog.

Long live the Blog!!!!

We're Insured!!!

Last week, my DH found out that he was to be released from his job.  This is no real surprise to us as he has been unable to work for two years, with the exception of a brief 2 month trial from his job in the beginning of 2010, due to a failed foot surgery.   Once again, God has provided.  Little did we know that his unsuccessful two month trial restarted his medical leave of absence.    We found out this week that he is unable to be released from his job until next year (~March 2012).  We will continue to have medical, dental, and vision coverage for another year.   Yeah!!

Gary Giggles Comes to Life!

Today, I am finding joy in my DH.  He is so funny.  Recently,  he decided to start blogging which is another outlet for him to amuse himself (He has many!).   If anyone knows my DH, they know that he loves to laugh!  It is so funny to watch him on the computer.  I can always tell when he is blogging because "Gary Giggles" comes to life.  (You have to watch Spy Kids 2 to know who this is.)  As he sits there typing, I hear this little giggle every now and then which sometimes results is in a full fallout laughing.    It is really the cutest thing.  I love him so much and this is one of the things he does that cracks me.  Gary Giggles!

Seeking Joy

My friend told me about the following webpage today:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/10-points-of-joyful-parenting-printable/
Scroll to the bottom of the page.

How powerful is that.  As I attempt to create a house of filled with joy, this really puts into perspective how to get there.   At the beginning of this school year, I told my children that we are going to work on "glorifying God in all we do."   As this school year is almost over, I have realized that the glorifying must start with me.

The thing that I noticed as I read each point of  "a parenting manifesto of joy", is that it all starts with "I."  Not what she will have her children do, or what she will have her husband do, or others do.  What I will do ...  I will seek to have a home filled with joy.  The joy that only comes from my father in heaven and time spent with Him.