Kung Fu All The Way

Well if you haven't seen this movie yet, you need to. As a parent, I have always dreaded having to take my kids to see movies that I really don't want to see myself. This was one of the movies that I actually wanted to take Ashley and Anthony to. I loved the first one, and so did they. And this movie doesn't disappoint with humor, action, a great story line, and all those phrases we can live by. I just love the morals in these stories!

All the "Furious Five" Kung Fu characters and Master Shifu are back from the first film, and of course there are some new characters to challenge the Dragon Warrior. The best word to describe this movie comes from Po (Jack Black) himself..."Awesomeness"!

I truly love Master Shifu...so wise yet so sarcastic. In this second movie he is trying to help Po find inner peace, something we all struggle with from time to time.  Yet the story here is that when we have inner peace, anything is possible. I guess that could be true because we've always been told "Anything you put your mind to, you can achieve." I have been proof this last year that the power of positive thinking is...well...POWERFUL.

Po is probably everyone's favorite, right? Who doesn't love a giant panda, who is the most unlikely to be chosen for greatness? But my favorite thing that he says in this movie is that "Scars fade, wounds heal." Such powerful words for a kid-friendly movie. But oh, so true. I just felt this movie speaking directly to me! And really, these are things we should be teaching our kids. They can learn a thing or two.

The best message that I think this story sends is when the Soothsayer, the elder, is talking to Po and she says, "Your story may not have such a happy beginning but that doesn't make you who you are, it is the rest of your story, who you choose to be." And then Po tries to help Lord Shen, the villian in this movie, and says, "You got to let go of the stuff from past, because it just doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now." Isn't that the truth for all of us. There may be times in our lives that we have to take control of our own destiny. It's not about what happens to us, it's about what we make of what happens to us. Words to live by!

Profound messages, but nonetheless, meaningful!

Never Let Me Go

I have finally finished the first book and movie off my summer list. I chose this book at my library mainly because it was one of the few available at that time. I have requested several from my list that our library needs to get. We have a pretty small library, but I love that I can request a book, and they usually get it for me. I've done that with many books for Anthony.

I really am not sure how I want to approach blogging about this "project" of mine. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who want to either read these books or watch the movies. But if I'm writing a "review" of them, I suppose there will have to be some sort of spoiler alert. So, here's your only warning.

When I saw previews for this movie, I knew it was about 3 friends who reminisce their childhood of being in a boarding school, but I didn't know much else about the story. After reading the first half of the book, I was still a little confused about what the real story was. That's how long it took in the book to finally get answers about what was going on with these 3 people. I'm not sure if I like books like that. I like suspense, mystery and thriller books but I wouldn't really categorize this book that way. It is categorized as a sci-fi book, but that didn't seem appropriate to me either. It just didn't have that sci-fi feeling to me. It was more just fictional.

Basically, the book skipped around way to much for my likes, even though it is divided in three parts. There seemed to be a lot of back-tracking of memories, when all I want to read was what happened going forward. And it did so in a way that never explained much until the latter part of the book. It is also told in a reminiscing way, with the memories of one person. For me, I would rather it be in a story-type mode. Instead, there are parts of the book that read like the story teller isn't really sure of some of her memories. And so you're kind of confused on what is true or not to her.
Anyway, in the end I did like the story that the author was trying to convey. It is about a type of boarding school where children are brought up with one goal in mind. As they grow up they find out they are meant to exist for one thing...to become organ donors. They basically are clones of others. I just wished the story had a little more conflict it in. It's about friendship and love, but where's the part when the people make a run for it? If I found out that's what I was in existence for, I don't think I'd be a-okay with it. I'm pretty sure I'd fight it. But that's me.
The movie followed the story of the book very well. But I think this is one of a few times I will say I liked the movie better than the book. It flowed so much better. The movie didn't keep jumping back in memories. It started when they were young and moved up until they were adults. You understood what the story was about within 20 minutes of the movie, and so your focus was on the characters the rest of the movie, not trying to figure out what the plot was until the movie was almost over.
I thought the actors did a great job. I absolutely love Carey Mulligan. She received praise for her role in An Education and was also in Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps. I'm glad she had the lead role over Keira Knightley (even though I enjoy her acting as well) who of course has been in two of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Atonement and she also received praise for her role in Pride and Prejudice. And Andrew Garfield seems to be one of the next up-and-coming actors, and I thought he also did a great job in this film. He had a part in Lions for Lambs and received praise for his role in the Social Network.

Carey Mulligan always seems so easy-going, so playing this part seemed perfect for her as Cathy, the main character, just seems to accept things and moves on. Tommy, played by Andrew Garfield, is more of a fighter and tries to figure out ways to "defer" his ultimate destiny. And Ruth, played by Keira Knightley, is the outgoing character. She definitely adds some drama to the story.

The author is Kazuo Ishiguro, who also wrote The Remains of the Day which received the Booker Prize. I will read another one of his books at some point to compare his writing styles and see if he's an author I will continue to read.

No Matter How Much You Plan

Another adventerous trip this year up to Steamboat Lake! Yes, it was our annual camping trip with family and it did not disappoint with memories that will not be forgotten. It seems that every year we take this trip, there is always something that happens that makes the trip ever so interesting. Why should this year be any different? No matter how much we prepare for this vacation, there is always that little snag we hit.

As we began our drive climbing up Genesse Hill (right out of Denver into the mountains) our truck started acting strangely. The turbo kept shutting off, so we basically were going up the mountain at a speed of about 30 mph. Fabulous with pulling the trailer behind us! We had to keep pulling over, shutting off the truck, restarting it to "reset" the turbo function and get going again. I think we could only go about 5 miles each time before it would shut off again. We were eventually able to get up to Eisenhower Tunnel, but we just hoped that going downhill on the other side of the tunnel would be enough to reset the turbo on its own, which it did. We still had to climb Rabbit Ears pass to get to Steamboat. So we knew that if the truck kept acting up, we would just have to deal with it until we got to the campground and unhook the trailer. 5 hours after leaving our home, we finally arrived at Steamboat Lake.

Once we got everything set up, the muffler started blowing out white smoke. We knew then something was seriously wrong. Instead of beginning our "relaxing" vacation, we began stressing about how we can fix the truck. There wasn't much we could do at that point. It was a Sunday. Even though Steamboat Springs has a Ford dealership, they weren't open. We had to wait until the next day to call them and see if we could get the truck in to be serviced.

We mainly do this trip for the fishing. In the past years, Steamboat has been known to have great fishing. I felt so bad for Jason because he spent half the week dealing with the truck instead of being out on the lake doing what he so loves to do. We were able to get the truck in on Tuesday morning. We were so thankful they had the parts and were able to fix it by Wednesday. But it was one hell of an expensive trip for us this year! Almost 3k later, we had our truck back in working order. We still had to drive back home on Friday, with the trailer in tow, but I'm happy to report that went well.

Because of all the rain and snow we've been getting in Colorado this year, the fishing was not quite what we wanted it to be. Hard to have a fish fry when no fish are brought back to camp! There is still a lot of snow in the mountains, and it rained on us really hard the last 2 nights we were there. The wind was a bitch the whole week, but the first day we were there was beautiful and everyone got sunburned. So we'll just say the weather did not cooperate with us very well.

And to top off fantastic things that happen when you camp...Ashley broke her big toe the third day we were there. Nothing like adding more drama to the pot! I really felt so bad for her because there was nothing we could do about it. We go see the foot doctor this week and I'm sure there is not much they will do for it either. Unfortunately for Ashley, her feet are her life with dancing. (I just wish she would realize she needs to be more careful!) But a 13-year old girl will do what she wants. And if she wants to wear flip-flops while camping, well I guess that's what's going to happen. She was supposed to audition for the dance team last night and start summer dance this week, but instead she will be laying around at home for the next month or so. I'm sure she will be getting lots of reading done instead!

Even with all the problems we had this year, we still tried to make the best of it. It's always great to see and spend time with Jon and Sue, J and Erin (and now JT), the Buschy's and the other Hoyts. We always have good food, great drinks, and good family fun. Whether we are playing games or being around the campfire making s'mores, we always have fun camping. I just wish some year it would be problem-free.

Captain Jack Sparrow for President, Please!

If you ever asked me who my favorite male actor was, I always had a hard time narrowing it down to just one person...until recent years. If you ask me now, my answer would be of course Johnny Depp. He is absolutely superb as Captain Jack Sparrow, always has been! And seeing the 4th installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies has solidified it for me.

When I first heard that they were making the movie without Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first. I wondered if the movie would even be good without them. But then I realized that you could only make so many movies with the same cast for only so long, because then they just become ridiculous. But when you watch the first three movies, the one character who never fails is none other than Jack Sparrow. He is sensible, yet witty, and in his own unique way...charming. Only he could pull off the things he does with such flair. And there are many more of his adventures I wouldn't mind being taken on! :)

The introduction of other new characters, such as Blackbeard, Angelica and the mermaids also made this movie fantastic. But the return of Capatin Barbossa sealed the deal. Who doesn't love Geoffrey Rush? However, I have a new perspective on mermaids. (I guess that's no different than vampires or werewolves.)

Okay. I'm not going to spoil the movie if you haven't seen it. But I will just say, that if you liked the first 3 movies of this franchise, you'll probably like this one. I don't care what the critics say about the plot or the acting. It is a great family film that is very entertaining. If my kids like it, that's good enough for me. We are hoping for another one. I mean, who doesn't want to see more of Captain Jack Sparrow? It's one of those movies that have sequels that will keep generating money for the film industry. That's for sure.

These are just my opinions, which don't always amount to much. But if I had anything to say about it, I think this country could use a little Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm.

The Summer Movie Lineup

As you can probably tell from all my posts, I am a big movie fan. I'm not sure why I like movies so much. Is it the art-imitating-life aspect? Is it the escape from real life? Is it the fantasy plots I so love? I for sure know it's not about the celebrities, because I really don't envy their lives. I mean they seem to be more messed than me! I think what draws me to the movies is that it's something we do as a family. I think it goes back to when I was little. We didn't go to the movie theater often, but when we did it was to see a major blockbuster like E.T. or Star Wars together. And when we watched movies on VHS at home, it was together as a family watching movies like Superman or some fabulous comedy like The Naked Gun. Good times, great memories!

I do not consider myself a "critic" because I won't go see just any movie. I do have my favorites and I can be pretty particular with what I spend my money on in the movie theaters. But there are some movies that you just have to see on the big screen. The rest, I will wait for them on DVD. And lately, there are movies that I want the whole family to see together. I just love the summer movie lineup!

Now that Anthony is getting older (and can, for the most part, behave himself in public) we seem to be frequenting the movie theaters a little bit more. Of course, he is also becoming more vocal about the things he likes and doesn't like. So if he sees a preview for an upcoming movie that he likes, we might just go see it. Any superhero, animated or computer generated movies seem to top his list. As for Ashley, she has been wanting to see more grown-up movies and her favorites are romantic and horror flicks (definitely not my favorite!) But that is what her and her group of friends are all into. Whenever there is a sleepover, we know horror movies will be watched. I find that so interesting because she used to get so scared, of just about anything. Now, she loves to be scared...as long as she is with a group of people. Funny how things change as we get older! :)

For this summer, we are developing the list of movies we will be seeing at the theater together. There are some movies that we may see at the theater, but will be more likely to end up on our netflix list. I won't even talk about the "absolutely not" movies. There are quite a few of those as well.

* Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
* Kung Fu Panda 2
* Cars 2
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

* X-Men: First Class
* Green Lantern
* Captain America: The First Avenger
* Transformers: Dark of the Moon

These are just the movies we want to see at this point through Labor Day. Then, we will be making our list of movies to see during the holiday season. Looking forward to those as well!

Life Taking Over

As expected, the beginning of our summer has been packed with doing lots of things. It's all those things that have kept me from blogging as much as I can. Yes, life has taken over! I've been running around like crazy this past week and not doing the things I've really want to do. Of course, there are those things that I've been needing to do as well that have been put aside too. Not that laundry and cleaning bathrooms is what I want to spend my summer doing, but there comes a time that it becomes necessity. We've been trying to throw in some fun activites too, but that seems to be a bit of a struggle when we already have so many things on our plates already.

As I've said many times in my blogs, writing for me has become theraputic, even if I'm not really writing much, saying much, or even writing about such obscure things. It still helps me in my own silly way. This past week has been the week I've been dreading since this same time last year. It was the week that Ashley had ALL her dance photos for the upcoming recital. She just had to be in 8 performances this year! It's a stressful week to say the least. Costumes, hair, make-up...it's no picnic. Even though the end result is beautiful, I am the one to say it's not always worth it to go through all that. And to not be able to blog the whole week...well, I felt like I was insane by the end of the week. But, it's over now and I'm grateful for that. Ashley and I actually got through the week with very little arguing, and that is a miracle in itself.

With Ashley's dance season for 2010-2011 coming to an end, we really have not fallen into our summer schedule yet. She is still having dance classes at night M-Th, while Anthony has begun his swim lessons during the day, and he will start baseball this week, which will take place at night. So, it's been A LOT of running around all day long. (not that it will ever go away) Never a dull moment for us I suppose, but it's times like these I am looking forward to when Ashley turns 16 and can drive herself. I'm sure when that time actually comes, I may feel differently.

I am such a stickler for schedules, mainly because it keeps us all on track for whatever needs to be done. I can't stand when a wrench gets thrown into my life and throws off that schedule, but it happens quite often in our lives, doesn't it? We started the summer school program, but it has been like pulling teeth with the kids. They have been more resistant to it this year than last. I believe that is because we have so much going on, I have not been able to stick to the morning routine like I planned. However, we still have been doing it. I think when Ashley starts her summer dance schedule, that will help more because she will switch to daytime class times. But that won't start until later this month.

I keep telling myself to persevere and keep pushing forward. I'm trying not to let the little things in life take over too much. However, I wouldn't mind life sweeping me away to some place peaceful. But then I would probably complain that there isn't enough to do there...nah, probably not!