Movie Summer!

We aren't big movie-goers. It's cost prohibitive. But this summer, I took in several EXCELLENT movies. I thought I'd share. (I was hoping these movie posters would all be sort of the same size, but alas, my computer skills fail me. Deal with it.)

June: Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Think "Ground Hog Day" meets "Avatar". It was a slow starter, but got better toward the end. It's worth $1 at Red Box.



June: Cars 2. Not as good as the first but still really fun. The digital graphics are amazing. Definitely rent this on Blue Ray if you have the right player/tv. I will.

July: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I was so sad to see this series come to an end, as we've been enjoying Harry Potter for years and years. This is the BEST of the 8 movies--by far. It was intense, exciting, and even shared the book's sweet ending, which I was afraid they would leave out. I am so glad I got to see it on the big screen and will definitely purchase it ON BLUE RAY!!!

August: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Don't tell the kids, but one afternoon I snuck away and watched it again without them. It's that good!!!

August: Glee 3D Concert Movie. If you like Glee music then you won't be disappointed. The director mixed stories of people who have had positive life experiences because of the tv show with the concert footage. It was absolutely unnecessary to go to the extra expense of making this movie 3D. That was a waste of money for the studio. This is worth the $1 Red Box fee if you like the music, Finn, and Puck.

August: The Help. One of the best books I've ever read came to the big screen. Movies made from books rarely make the grade, but this one did. There will be Oscar nominations for this movie--mark my words. It did a good job of sticking to the story and getting the major parts of the story into the movie. READ THE BOOK FIRST, and then see this movie. You won't be disappointed by either.

That concludes my summer movie viewing. Next up: Twilight in November!!!

Rims

Sometimes they do other things on the Rims besides "neck". Here they are having a tea party earlier this month.

"Necking"

Prince (in a text): On the rims, walking w/friends.
Me (text): You mean necking?
Prince (text): The 1940's called. They want their term back.

Oh, I'm still giggling about that one.

First Day Of School

Sorry, no photo. The prince left for school at 5:45. But they both looked cute, and they both were ready to go back, though the prince won't admit it. They both seemed to have a great first day of school. The princess thinks her 8th grade teachers are "really laid back", which means she has finally reached the grade level where teachers appreciate her "maturity"--or so she thinks. Hey, if the princess is happy, everyone's happy. The prince has career center in the morning (sound board and history) and is back on campus in the afternoon. As an added bonus, if he carpools w/friends instead of riding the bus, he ends up with an hour for lunch. We'll see how that works out in the winter. And we'll see how his pocketbook likes eating fast food often. We aren't paying for that! So here's to a great year for the 8th grader and the high school junior!

Help! My brother locked me in a cage!

Grandma moved to a new place. It's a really cool apartment building for people in her age range. She had to scale down from her 3 bedroom house to a 1 bedroom place, but she did a good job of purging! Now she's all settled and will soon put her place on the block. While we were helping her move in, she showed us this storage area she also can use. The kids had a little fun too.

Uugggggg!

Can you see this little dude is crying? That's me! I need one more month of summer vacation to really feel like I'm ready to go back! It's been a great summer full of travel, family visits, time with friends, broken arms, first jobs, dance, awesome movies, baseball, and relaxation. I'm going to need just a bit more before I go back to work. No? Bummer. Guess I'll drink my coffee and get in the shower then. Happy Fall!

:( Sniff, Sniff ):

Isaiah started kindergarten Thursday. He's the last one. Oh, the sadness. And yes, that's Ariana behind him making sure he knows the ropes. She's a good big sister!

Fair Dancing

Last Saturday the princess danced at the fair. She'll dance there again tomorrow, and that will wrap up summer dance. She'll start learning some new routines after Labor Day. Competition tryouts start next week...stay tuned!

Old Time Photos

Yesterday the prince and company decided to do the old-time photo booth at the fair. They each pitched in $7 and each walked away with a 5x7 photo. Good times! I would like to note that this was his 4th trip to the fair in as many days. Last night he said he's probably done because, "it's so expensive!" DUH!!! Now he knows why we have only ever taken them once per year! But I love that he has his own money! He gets paid weekly from his new job and puts about 1/2 of each paycheck in savings. Smart boy!

Lost Photos

When we were at the wedding in May, the prince spent his birthday with Aunt Kathi and Uncle Rick. They hooked him up with this cute bday celebration! They are the greatest! :)

About The Red Queen

I just read "The Red Queen" by Philippa Gregory. She wrote "The Other Boleyn Girl" which I thought was a really good book. This was sorely disappointing. It only got 1 star. Don't bother. Now I'm not sure if I should read anything else by her. Any thoughts?

Denmark

In an effort to be educational as well as entertaining, I am posting these photos from Denmark. Okay, truth is I just was awed and hope you are too. My friend, Katrina, went to Denmark this summer for a family wedding. I know very little of this place except to proudly announce that I am part Danish. I cannot tell you where any of these photos were taken, but I can tell you that they are stunning. They were taken by her brother, Erik Jensen, who is a graphic artist as well as a photographer. He has a great eye! Enjoy.

Odd

In a short, 20 minute drive to ballet camp this morning, the princess and I saw 3 odd sights:

1. A man of middle eastern decent, walking by a park, in long white clothing and wearing a white turban. Cool, I guess. We're diversifying. Maybe not so odd.

2. A woman at a bus stop bench, rocking an 80's BIG hair style, dressed in business attire, a brief case by her side, and a GAS CAN? Odd.

3. A man wearing ONLY a green speedo and moonboots (at a distance they looked like stilettos), handing out pieces of paper at a busy corner. Definitely oddest of them all. Turns out he was with a local radio station and was just BARELY legal enough to not get an indecent exposure ticket.

What a way to start out our morning. I can hardly wait to see what I see when I go to pick her up this afternoon!

"Fancy Footwork" Video

Grandma taped a little of the "Fancy Footwork" dance at La Fiesta.

La Fiesta

The princess danced at La Fiesta again this year. It was not quite as hot as last year, probably only 95*, but the pavement was scorching. Luckily for the princess, she was able to were shoes this year so there were not burnt feet. We enjoyed the good food and great dancing as well as taking the opportunity to check out the classic car show. The princess was especially excited to be made an honorary member of the Contreraz family as she was the only "white" girl in the group. Her dream to be part Mexican has come true, but she still doesn't tan!

"Chillin'" and waiting to dance with Grandpa and Grandma.

"Fancy Footwork"

"Misterdobalina"

"Smooth Criminal"

There was a dance injury that resulted in lots of road rash on her elbow and a bruise on her cheek (hip hop can be brutal), but she soldiered on...the show must go on!

Great Shot!

Shelley wasn't happy with the photo I posted of her the other week, though, in my defense, she did take it, so I thought I'd post this one that I just found on fb. I thought this was a fun shot of both these beauties!

I'd Rather BBQ In The Sunshine!

In May Grandpa helped Marty bbq...in the rain.

Last week Grandpa got to help the king bbq...in the SUN!!

Much better!

"On A Bicycle Built For Two"

Last week the princess went to Fairmont for a few days with her bff. There was shopping, swimming, and this cool bike. Thanks for the photos MB. And thanks for the good times. She had a blast!

Ode To The Birthday Girl

We have been friends since our children were little

I hope we're still friends when on our chins we do dribble

We are not close in age, though I do look much younger

We get along well in part because Dos Machos we both hunger

Many trips to Vegas we must still make together

Jesus and lice will only make it better

Enjoy this day made especially for you

Hammer time and gold lame pants are certainly your due

Happy Birthday my friend!

That's Cool

Here are Mark and Amanda at an airshow last week. What's really cool is that this is the plane (or ones just like it) that their dad flies for Fed Ex. Nice!

Here's Your Sign

Grandma left our house (sad face) and headed to Colorado to visit. She was greeted by these two yahoos holding these signs when she got off her airplane. The first one says "Welcome to crazy town. Enjoy your stay." The other says, "Mrs. Parsons, your limo is waiting." Heehee.

What to have?

When you're hungry, everything at Applebees looks good!

Summer Friends

It's always good to have friends!

Ally and the prince.

The princess and Madison.

Internet to the rescue!

On Thursday the king found out he would have help at work from out of town and that he needed to make a hotel reservation for this person for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Easy enough, right? WRONG. He started calling hotels, choosing the ones closest to work first. All were booked. He finally asked why and was told there was much going on in town including the PBR, fair, and oil spill workers. He then started calling hotels on the other side of town. Still no luck. Econolodge did have a room, but they wanted $268/NIGHT. Yes, you read that right. $268/NIGHT. Yowza! I happened to be on the computer at the time so went to Travelocity. There were 5 hotels listed that still had rooms available. He was able to secure a room for all 3 nights for $165/night at the Hilton. Phew! The internet saved his employer some money, and really, where you rather stay? Econolodge or Hilton? That's a no-brainer to me.

Wall Street Madness

Yes, the market's been crazy for a couple of days. And yes, I'm sure it's not done, but I am glad that, as I post this, it is showing gains over yesterday's losses. I just read something that really cracked me up, and is, in my opinion, spot-on:

"The market's got ADD," Rebecca Patterson, chief markets strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Institutional, told CNBC.

ADD--Love It!

Baseball

Last night was our final game of the season...there are more games, but we ran out of tickets. It was a good time, as always, and we were even able to finally win last night. Go Mustangs!

NO MORE BRACES!!!

Today was the big day, and luckily for all of us, it went off without a hitch!

Before our 11AM appointment.

And after our 11AM appointment!

She says this day is better than Christmas! ;)