At the Movies Finale

One more weekend of "At the Movies," and one more chance for Maddie to wear her Princess Leia costume.  She really enjoys it, for reasons you see above.  The kids love the big inflatable dinosaur, but they also go to Maddie who is happy to smile and high five and pose with pictures.  It was a little humid this morning, so we migrated indoors here shortly afterwards, mingling with a lot more people and taking pictures there before settling down at KidPak for our services.  Our movie downstairs was "Raya and the Last Dragon," which was our final message of the series this year.  Given the state of movies this year, I'm not entirely sure how long we'll be doing this sort of series at KidPak, unless of course we choose older movies.  Which of course is one of the trends of this year, with content that evolving in a direction away from the traditional Christian family entertainment.  And while on a whole, the movie industry has always been trending in this direction, now we have family and children's movies - animated movies - crossing lines and challenging parents.  Before 2017, there was largely a feeling a trust between parents and certain companies that made kids movies.  Since then, that trust has eroded to the point that instead of blindly going out to see a new movie from a certain company, instead we have to look up more details about it ahead of time.  Yesterday we saw a trailer for a new animated movie that comes out in November, and it looks great.  But rather than just go out and see it, we have to really check out parent reviews ahead of time and go from there.  Anyway, the point is, there aren't as many "kid movies" to choose from next time around, because movie studios keep insisting on putting in content that many parents, particularly those from churches, will object to.  We've seen a few movies this year, and certainly not as many as we used to.  Partly this is because there just haven't been as many movies to see, and perhaps there's been the cost factor.  To go to the movies for the four of us, it costs somewhere between $50-$60 each time.  So perhaps we're being a bit more selective there.  By putting in content we don't want to see, that sort of helps the process of selection along, I suppose.  

We had four good movies for "At the Movies" this year.  There were a few "edgy" moments for parents of younger kids, but Isaac is great at editing things down a bit so that we could get our points across.  And the points were really good - these movies were deeper with repeat viewings.

We got home after this and Mom had a feat ready for us, a wonderful Sunday afternoon meal.  We took a nap after this, but later on Maddie and I were doing a lot of exploring through the LEGO Star Wars galaxy.  We had gone to Hoth for a good bit, at least the Echo Base.  And we were also on Mustafar a lot, trying to avoid falling in the lava.  The game is glitchy.  It shuts down or freezes up frequently.  There must have been a deadline, because this just wasn't tested enough before releasing.  But despite these glitches - which happen about once per playing time - the game has a lot to do in it, with all kinds of fun references.  There are evil GNK droids, Christmas sweaters, and you can even play as Willrow Hood.  There are so many obscure Star Wars jokes, or references to things that Star Wars fans would get.

Tonight we moved Miyazaki Monday forward a day and watched "Howl's Moving Castle" before bedtime,  another steampunk classic.  I think next we're watching "The Secret World of Arriety" next, but tonight's movie we actually had very little memory of.  We remembered the castle, of course, and Billy Crystal as Calcifer.  Like so many other Miyazaki movies, there are so many creative elements to this story, and of course our favorite character is Turnip Head.  We would both love to have a scarecrow exactly like that in our yard, but we'll see if we can pull it off.  Not sure.  It depends on the schedule, of course.

Okay, moving on.  Tonight we read another chapter, and the Ten Men are back in the silent Salamander, and there's been a narrow escape from capture already.  We'll see what happens next, but the excitement has been building sooner in this next book, and we're all enjoying the story.  

We said our prayers tonight, and were off to sleep after that.  It was a longer morning at church, as there were some people that needed talking with, and there have been issues and pains left and right with our friends there.  But everyone is persevering, even after open heart surgery in one case.  In other cases, a wedding is coming soon, and very soon.  We've got a few things tomorrow, but this is the week of school beginning again.  It's been yet another challenging summer, and hopefully soon things will shift in a new direction for everyone.

Me Thor, You Jane

Today I got to say this phrase when buying tickets:  "Yes, I'd like to get tickets for four for 'Thor Four' at four."  Fortunately, the person behind the counter got the joke too.  Anyway, we were back "at the movies" again, this time to finally see the latest Marvel installment.  This was a nice chance to see Jane Foster as a version of Thor.  

Thoughts:  on one hand, the comic did a better job of establishing that she was worthy to hold Mjolnir, whereas this movie suggested strongly that the only reason Mjolnir chose Jane was because Thor wished it.  On the other hand, the better thing the movie did than the comic was suggest that she is not actually Thor.  Because oddly enough, she's not.  Thor is Thor, because that is his name.  Jane Foster is her name, even when she's holding Mjolnir.  Thor used to hold Mjolnir, but now holds Stormbreaker.  Yet he's still Thor.  And the other guy who is worthy to hold Mjolnir?  His name is Beta Ray Bill.  Not Thor either.  Sadly, Beta Ray Bill is not in this movie.  I keep waiting!

Maddie liked the movie, although I actually put this on the bottom of the Thor movies, yes even below "The Dark World."  It wasn't a terrible movie, just not my favorite.  We still had a good time though!

Moving on!  We were shopping today and Mom got something that she's been looking for and lo!  There it was at a thrift shop:  a quilt rack.  As usual, we looked it up upon getting home and discovered that we saved a lot of money with our purchase.  But the great news is that we have one, and Mom likes it a lot.  It was a fun challenge getting into the car trunk - we couldn't.  So I drove home, and then drove back to the thrift shop to get Mom and Nana.  But there it is in our living room now, a nice quilt rack.

Maddie spent the day playing LEGO Star Wars, cleaning her room a little, and of course tonight we read more from our current book.  We said our prayers and got a good night's rest this evening, because tomorrow we're going back to "At the Movies" at the church.  Should be fun!

But today was okay.  We were spider hunting, and also watching over our pumpkins, and spending some time out on the back deck.  Still, there are a lot of mosquitoes.  You have to spray yourself well before venturing out for too long.  But our yard looks great and it's been a nice day today to look over it.  It was a relaxing day, and tomorrow should be a nice one too.

A Most Sincere Pumpkin Patch

We have pumpkins!  Mom was out there pollinating and early on I was out there watering these plants every day.  Despite it all, we had huge growth with these vines but never any pumpkins.  Just last week we were adding fertilizer and I was noticing more bees going from flower to flower, along with Mom's efforts.  The end result?  We have pumpkins!

At last count, we have four little pumpkins just getting started.  These above are the smaller ones, but this one below is our largest, already weighty enough and growing.

And of course, as you'll see below, the flowers are still blooming and the vines still growing.  We might have more pumpkins soon, and that's just wild to think that we could have a lot more. 

 Imagine not actually having to go out and buy any pumpkins because we're growing our own!  That's part of the fun of fall though, going to pumpkin patches and taking in all the atmosphere.  But there's no question about our pumpkin patch right now - it's possibly the most sincere!

Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin to come to the most sincere pumpkin patch, and right now, ours is pretty sincere!  I mean, look at that pumpkin above, just getting started, still with a blossom on top.  It doesn't get much more sincere than that!

Anyway, that was our big news of the day.  We've got fledglings galore on the back deck - at one point, there was a cardinal feeding its two children on one side of the deck while at the same time another blue bird mother was feeding its two kiddos.  All the while a mourning dove was munching on the plate of seeds we placed on the deck while a hummingbird or two flitted about, pushing each other around because they're territorial and by gum, this feeder is the jackpot for free food.

I was out shopping for preschool stuff for the church, as we have that now coming at the church.  But we were also putting the last touches on the weekend, and of course writing for the future.  Narnia is coming later on, but here's a bit of fun writing that is in progress:  we're writing something for Camille's wedding that should be pretty fun.  Hopefully!

We had taekwondo tonight, and Maddie was sparring against some tougher, larger rivals.  But she holds her own, and although she's inwardly occasionally terrified, she still moves forward and spars anyway, which is courage of course.  We're super proud of her.  And she does well, talking about her exploits afterwards in the car on the way home.

Tonight we read, learning more about Constance's backstory.  And we said our prayers too.  Tomorrow we don't have much on the schedule, and that's okay.  School is coming soon, and soon we'll all be fairly busy!

Extra Snaps Around the House

Mom hung up the "Sunday Morning at Sleepy Hollow" picture above the mantle, and it's now replacing the Christmas picture that we've had there for a while.  I imagine the Christmas one will go there again in December, but this one is perfect the rest of the year.  We saw this one for years as we walked into the office area of the church, and now we see it each time we walk in the front door.  It looks great there, a bit of history, and a bit of family heritage too.

Here are a few other extra snaps from outside - we have a ton of these prolific flowers in front of our house, on either side of the steps as you walk onto the front porch.  The yellow finches like these a lot too.

And here's our fairy village.  Mom found a few extra pieces to add to the village, so we have them out there now, increasing property value throughout the fairy community.  Interestingly enough, there seems to be a squirrel or something doing some rampaging through the village from time to time, knocking one or two pieces down.  Another reason to dislike squirrels!

But the community is thriving, and of course enduring quite a rainy season too!  The villagers are not afraid of spiders, as I'm out there pretty frequently with that salt gun, blowing them to tiny spider bits.

Anyway, we had a few extra snaps and I thought I'd share them here.  It was a nice day today.  Of course we had taekwondo tonight, where Maddie did some training with the bo staff, and where she was helping with the one class, assisting other students and instructors.  It was a good day today, and another quiet one leading up to school next week. 

We read tonight, and we said our prayers as well.  We've got a busier season coming soon, so we're good with taking a break this week!

Luau

Maddie went to a luau tonight, or at least a luau-themed service.  It was super fun.  A lot of thought went into this , with flower leis and decorations throughout the church.

Maddie invited two friends, and the three of them walked through the door and into a fun night.  There were the tiki torches lining the sidewalk on the way in, and for a game tonight, I got them the limbo stick!

Okay, so it's just a piece of bamboo.  But it worked!  There are some folks that are surprisingly flexible and balanced for precisely this sort of activity.  I am not one of them!

Of course everyone who had a Hawaiian shirt was wearing one.  I still have my shirts I got in Hawaii, and we'll have to get Maddie there some day.  But in the meantime, this will have to do.  

There was even a fire twirler there.  I had to look up what you call this performer, as "fire juggler" doesn't quite cover it.  Nor does "flaming dancer!"  Anyway, he was out there after service, and there was Chick-Fil-A with Polynesian sauce too, and of course there was Kona ice.  Yes!  It was a fun night!

We had a decent day today, finishing up some things at work while Maddie was also finishing the LEGO Skywalker saga, or at least the story mode.  It's actually a pretty big game, as each planet has a lot of real estate to explore.  It's actually pretty fun, and we'll no doubt have a great time as we continue to search for hidden things or extra missions, going back to worlds to explore them.

We read tonight, and we said our prayers too.  Maddie mixed up my Rubik's cube again, and I've really got the hang of that, getting that solved quickly enough.  The next one that's a bit different that I haven't quite mastered yet is the Pyramix.  We have one, and each time it gets messed up I have to look up how to fix it with those final steps.  I'll master that one soon - I'm suddenly really into these 8o's puzzle games with a small collection.  Revisiting the "Whip It" game earlier, I realized how easy it is to actually solve.  We'll no doubt be adding a few of these types of puzzles to the collection here.

Anyway, problems solved and a fun day had by all.  Got some work done today too.  We'll head to bed, and start it all over again tomorrow.

Jicama Salad

So a bit ago we got a vegetable called jicama, and weren't quite sure what to do with it.  So we looked up a few different recipes, and you can see one of those above.  Mom peeled and cut the jicama into strips, and then blended that in with pineapple, carrot, cilantro, and I think there are some bits of cucumber in there too.  This is delicious.  The jicama is largely flavorless, but it absorbs other flavors around it, and adds a bit of a texture to a recipe.  Mom also used jicama in another recipe that involved peppers and lime juice, and that one was actually pretty spicy but it was also good.  We were adding jicama to our tacos too, adding a little more texture and taste to Taco Tuesday.  It's a neat little discovery!

So these spiders are relentless, which is what we learned about them last year.  You just have to be diligent about getting rid of the juro spiders.  The other spiders must be really confused right now, as the angel of death passes over them leaving them unharmed.  But the juro spiders are targets, and we just have to keep going out there with the salt weapon, which is so much more cost effective and less poisonous than the bug spray that we went through quite a bit last year.  

I was writing the "Raya and the Last Dragon" message today, and I must say I've enjoyed the four movies we've chosen for this series so much more as I watch them repetitively.  I've seen more in these than I did at the first viewing, and I believe this next message is going to be a great one at all of our campuses.  The other thing I was working on, weirdly enough, is Summer Xtreme.  Yes, we still have one campus left to do Summer Xtreme Nights, and that is the one in Orange County.  I've been sending over a whole lot of material and talking with them in California quite a bit lately.  

Free Chapel Youth is hosting another luau tomorrow, and Maddie is getting ready for that.  She's inviting some friends too.  Two of them are coming, so I imagine all three are going to have a great time.  I'm super proud of Maddie for inviting her friends so often.  It'll be a great time.

Tonight we were back in Narnia for the story of "Prince Caspian."  It's a pretty good rendition of the story, and actually very enjoyable.  Our only regret is that there's just one more of these movies.  Sure, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" doesn't stick to the book as much, but still it would have been nice if Disney had stuck with this series enough to see it through to the end.  Anyway, we enjoyed the story again.  I've been listening to "The Magician's Nephew" in the car, and am actually going through that for the second time now.  Soon we'll start writing messages for the new Narnia series, which should be fantastic fun.

We said our prayers tonight, this after reading about Constance Contraire and an attempt to figure out where she actually came from.  It's been a good book, and there's a bit of gravity to this third entry now, as there is a threat to take Constance away.  I think she's collectively our favorite character!

We were in bed after reading and prayers, quite worn out from the full day.  It was a good day though!

Girls Go Shopping

Maddie's friend Lily (and her mom) picked up Maddie today for a big day out shopping!  It was a super fun day for her, one that included a lot of shopping of course, but also a birthday celebration for Lily too.  They had boba tea, because you can apparently never have too much boba tea.  And there was lunch at Applebee's as well, a restaurant Maddie doesn't go to, and she wasn't sure what to expect, but she enjoyed it.  She got back much later this afternoon, and it was exactly time to go out to taekwondo at that time, so she was once again off and running towards Oakwood to be in her leadership class and her black belt class as well.  Meanwhile, Nana and I were off grocery shopping for a few items on Mom's list, but also a few items not on the list as always.  I'm frequently on the lookout for some new gluten free items for Mom to try out.  We've had a few good ones lately.  

Tonight's movie was "Castle in the Sky," because today is Miyazaki Monday, apparently.  We've been watching these Miyazaki movies this summer, somewhat of a marathon, or at least an unofficial cinema festival.  Anyway, we enjoyed the movie again, and the next one on the docket is going to be "Howl's Moving Castle."  This will wrap up the big four Miyazaki movies to us, but we still like the others that we'll get to soon enough.  It's all part of the movie festival we're having at our house.

We did some reading afterwards, and we said our prayers after that.  It was a quiet day today, but it was a super fun one for Maddie, who loves hanging around with her friends.  She'll do more of that this week, but for now... it's time for bed.

Dr. Grant and Company

This morning we were out there promoting our "At the Movies" series again, once more all dressed up as characters from movies - and a tub of popcorn.  I to to be Dr. Alan Grant this time, which went with the dinosaur theme that was a little stronger this week.  You can see two inflatable dinosaurs and then Daniel there with the baby dinosaur puppet once more.  The kids love that thing that Mom made, always running up to pet it or try and figure out how it works.  

It was a good morning at KidPak with a good message from "Spies in Disguise."  Next week we'll visit with "Raya and the Last Dragon," and then move on from this series.  But this has been a good break for us.  Maddie's Princess Leia outfit has been a hit.  It still fits, and that's great because she looks good with that, and it goes well with Camille, dressed as Rey.  Maddie has had a few people pose for pictures with just her, and yes, that's her real hair there.  She's wanting to get it cut before school and wants a particular style to it as well.  That said, she'll be heading to a stylist soon enough, a whole new world for me.  

Mom wasn't feeling well this afternoon, after we had lunch together, so we scratched our plans to go out.  But I went to Middle Zealand for a bit, walking on the treadmill there.  I chose today's destination based on all the Narnia that's going around here lately - we've been listening to the Radio Theater version of "The Magician's Nephew," and talking about messages from Narnia for KidPak.  We've talked of returning to that cafe in Buford, the one where you enter it through a wardrobe.  And tonight, we once again watched the movie, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."  Afterwards, we even watched a half-hour special about the props that had a visit with some of the actors of that same movie.  

All of this is in preparation for a Narnia series, which I'm all aboard on.  It's going to be fun to write all this.  I'm wanting to get a lamp post for the woods outside now too - wouldn't that be cool?  Pointless, but cool.

Anyway, we read tonight, and we said our prayers.  It was a restful, quiet afternoon, but it was a good and decent day.

Florida Alligator Bug-A-Salt Gun Rack and Electronic Zapper Racket Hanger

A few years ago we had a white elephant exchange at Christmas time, and I wound up with this Florida alligator mini-shelf that my dad made, and it looks so tacky that I actually really loved it.  Note:  he intentionally made it to look odd.  Anyway, I loved it so much, I kept it around, but obviously it didn't really have a place anywhere.  UNTIL NOW!  Mom hung it up in the garage and it makes the perfect gun rack for our bug-a-salt weaponry and electronic zapper racket.  This is so redneck, and I was so happy to see it all when I got home.  It's perfect!

Today we had a few chores to run, starting with a visit to the optometrist for Maddie.  She's now fitted with contact lenses, and she's doing reasonably well with the adjustment process.  While out, we were doing a bit of back-to-school shopping, starting outa  dollar store that used to be a bit nicer.  Now it looks like the victim of some rioting, with a wandering smell floating through the premises and a bathroom that will destroy you.  I kid you not:  this is one of the seven worst bathrooms in the United States, and it is right here in Gainesville, Georgia, according to people who keep track of these sorts of things.  It's a dubious honor, and it takes a bit of work to create a bathroom experience that checks off all the things that make for a terrifying bathroom experience.  But an hour later, I was still repressing the gag reflex as I reflected on the horror in that one room.  I digress.  

We did get some boba tea earlier, and that was really good.  I'm settling in on a few flavors that I feel are reliable favorites, as is Maddie.  Although we still branch out and try new things quite a bit.  We were using our gift card for the visit, something Maddie got for her birthday.  She's still going through those gift cards, and probably will do so some more as we continue doing some shopping for school.  But today we went to a few more places for back-to-school shopping, and checked off a few more items from the list, the usual standard items needed.  We've ordered some online too, and are fairly ready for the school year, which starts very soon.  It's crazy - crazy I say! - for back-to-school shopping in July.  That is not right.  At all.

We didn't see any zedonks today, or do much interesting really.  I was on a spider hunt for a while, because the juro spiders are getting out of control now.  None are huge, mainly because I destroy them early here.  We've had some a little bigger, but no ginormous ones yet.  Still, I must have terminated about seventy of them on our property just around our house.  I am not exaggerating.  My neighbors and I were talking about the attack of these jurors, and I think they're all convinced to get one of these salt guns too.  It's cheaper in the long run, cleaner than poison, and of course, there's something satisfying about the shooting gallery aspect of it.  They were all lined up like target big and small, far and close, and my job is to knock them all out of their webs.  In pieces!

I was walking today, starting a pretty big POV journey through New Zealand, which looks just like the areas they were filming for the "Lord of the Rings" movies.  I've got to get my HDL up a little higher, and the blood pressure down somewhat.  Things have been stressful lately, so long walks on the treadmill have some nice benefits.

We've got church tomorrow, and it should be a nice service.  I got some compliments from the other campuses on these messages.  We've got one more for our "At the Movies" series, and it's been a fun four weeks.  These go by so quickly.  Anyway, we read tonight from our current adventure, and we said our prayers after that.  Once a week now we have to set the alarm, and that's for Sunday morning.  Soon enough though, we'll be back-to-school and back to setting it more often.  Yikes!

Chestatee Wildlife Preserve and Zoo

Here's Mom feeding a bison.  That's a great way to start the day, right?  This was hilarious, because rather than feed out of your hand, this big guy would open his mouth and stick out his tongue like he was Michael Jordan about to put in a slam dunk.  And that's what we did with the food we brought along to the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve and Zoo.

Roughly a half-hour away from us is a small wildlife preserve and zoo, one we actually hadn't been to before. But why not go visit, right?  That's what we did, and as you can see above, there were buffaloes and also zebras there.  In fact, the zebras were plenty.

 

The zoo itself is a much smaller scale than others, so the bar was pretty low in my mind upon arrival.  But we had a pretty good time there, walking from area to area.  I think it was the option of carrying along food to feed the horses, donkeys, zebras, longhorns, buffaloes, emus, and other creatures.  We had a few bags, but then we got a few other bags from leaving guests who didn't use up their bags, and in the end, we wound up feeding these animal friends quite a bit!

Maddie brought along her camera and took some pictures too.  As you can see above, the weather was all clear.  One one hand, we didn't have rain to contend with.  On the other hand, it was pretty hot by the end of the visit.  Mom was ready to leave by the end, ready to get something to drink and get into the car where there was air conditioning.  But let's take a look at some of the photos from our small getaway, and see some commentary along the way too.

Maddie took this photo.  I didn't hear any doves crying, but they were cooing quite a bit.

This stop sign is enforced by that small officer in a hat.  

It was feeding time for the tortoises, and they were moving pretty quick to get lunch!

Maddie walks in front of a building that has sloths inside.

The buildings had murals painted on them which looked pretty nice.

Maddie and her new monkey friend.  

I just want to put this out there:  emus are terrifying.

We were friendly though, feeding these guys too, very carefully though!

We really liked this friend.

A longhorn goes for a walk.

Feeding the ravenous bison!  

There goes that tongue again.  Nom-nom-nom-nom!

I love buffalos.  I just wanted to put that out there too.

This buffalo tongue is crazy!  He'd just sit there with his mouth open, and Mom would put food on his tongue, or I would just throw the food into his mouth.

Maddie was not a fan of all the licking though!  More on that in a bit...

Such an impressive span of distance with these horns.  How does he go through doorways?

All the while, the buffalo keeps wanting more food.

Mom was having a great time this morning at the reserve.

The horses were nice too, including this new friend.

Look who is saying hi to Mom!

Ah!  Mega-camels!  This guy was wanting some food too.  Just watch out for the slobber!

I remember riding one of these in Israel.  I think these are used occasionally in December for church Nativity presentations.

This is a zedonk, a cross between a donkey and a zebra.  I'm not sure if we've ever seen a zedonk before, but we had plenty of food for this friend too.

I like this picture of the zedonk.  It's a fun word too!

The girls take a break under the trees, surrounded by zebras.

Mom and Nana pose in the shade.

These zebras were aggressive, really anxious to get the food we had.  Beautiful creatures, but pretty pushy!

We were all feeding the zebras today, but this part was hilarious...

Maddie didn't like the slobber on her hand, mixed with mud!  Gross!

This picture says quite a lot.  If Maddie is ever looking at you like this... she's not happy!

But she did enjoy it.  It was nice to see all the animals.

I think I'll remember the zebras the most.  They had quite a few of them!

Periodically, you'd come across cages with monkeys or bears inside them.  Or in this case, turkeys!

Here are the doves again.  Apparently they bite!

This baby donkey was super cute!

There were plenty of horses to say hello to!

Mom shares her meal with a few more new friends.

They had some nice bamboo areas there too, shady and cooler.

The rest of our day was a bit average.  Of course we had taekwondo tonight, and that was fun.  We all watched an old movie tonight, "Wargames," just because the phrase has been repeated so often lately, "Do you want to play a game?"  The movie is a good one though, a classic I remember watching over and over again because we had it on glorious VHS.  I knew so many lines in this movie tonight before they were even spoken!

Anyway, we read tonight and prayed too.  We'll try to do something else outdoors tomorrow, but we'll see how that goes with the weather and other appointments.  Until then... goodnight!