A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, learned, tried and remembered.
1. Snow Day/E-Learning Day=A Necessary “Field Trip”. Our school made the dreadful decision to do away with “snow days” this year. Ugh! Why don’t you just steal ALL the joy out of this already difficult school year? So, when we got a glorious dumping of 9 inches of snow this week, I called the school and said: “You know what? My boys need to take a field trip today instead of staring at their screens for online learning. I think it’s necessary for them to test the speed velocity of sailing down a hill on fresh powder while squealing for joy. It’s science.”
2. Family Night at the Movies. We have a new movie theater in town called Roadhouse Cinemas. It’s a dine in theater and also has a restaurant and large arcade attached to it. Super Rockstar and I tried it out a few weeks ago and loved it, so we decided to take the boys for a fun family night. We got there early so the boys could enjoy the arcade before our movie. As with all indoor places, masks are required unless you are seated at a table for eating and drinking. Also, there was a 30-40 minute wait because they can only have a certain number of people in at a time. They have a large variety of arcade games and you can purchase cards that vary in price depending on the number of credits you want–most games are about 4 credits each. They also have corn hole and 10 pen bowling that cost extra.
We then headed to the theater so we could order dinner and get ready to watch the movie. The prices for meals are an average of about $10 each–they have burgers, pizza, salads, and sandwiches, plus many appetizer type foods. There are flavored popcorns as well as regular–we went with the bottomless bag of regular. If you need a refill on anything or want to order during the movie, they have a call button at each seat (Pro tip: Don’t tell your kids about this or your poor waiter will get worn out and grouchy). The wait staff is very friendly and discreet and it doesn’t seem like much of a distraction to have them serving throughout the movie. The boys loved the whole experience–feeling like they were living in the lap of luxury as they reclined in their heated seats. It’s not something we will do often–games, dinner, and a movie all in one night can be a little pricey. But, we sure had fun.
3. What I Read in February. I enjoyed so many good books this past month. For my inspiration/self help I read a book a friend of mine wrote. Mary Kaye Podschweit is the wife of SofaKiller’s (Super Rockstar’s band)magical keyboardist-Matt. She has a traumatic brain injury and this is her story. It’s called Broken Hallelujah and I LOVED it! It will make you laugh (she is so funny), cry (she has been through so much), feel inspired, and cheer her on. She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most generous people I know. After reading her story–I have a whole new appreciation for her.
For my learning book, I read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. It’s a tiny little book, but is packed full of rules on writing. It’s been around since the early 1900’s and is considered a “bible” of sorts to those who wish to learn to write.
For fiction I read the final one in the Hunger Game series–Mockingjay. I love them all and now feel ready to fight for my survival–should the need ever exist.
I also read a book by Mary Higgins Clark called On The Street Where You Live. This is the first time I’ve read one of her books, which is surprising since she’s known as the “queen of suspense” and I LOVE mysteries and suspense. I enjoy her story telling. This one has a very creative story plot and had me guessing until the very end.
4. What We Watched. Super Rockstar and I have been into “themes” lately. Last week it was Jason Statham movies, this week we started with all the Triple X movies (XXX, XXX-State of the Union, and XXX The Return of Xander Cage). The first one has Vin Diesel as the main character and has all the elements from him that one would expect and love. The second one was pretty disappointing–it has Ice Cube playing the lead–the whole plot line and most all the acting is pretty terrible. And then the final one is the return of Vin Diesels character–Xander Cage–complete with the obnoxiously big fur lined coat. Good luck in searching them up on your favorite movie watching venue–you WILL get an eyeful. Best not to attempt while the kiddos are present.
We also started the Jack Ryan movies. We watched the most recent one first–Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. This has Chris Pine playing the main character. It doesn’t really fit anywhere in the timeline of the other movies made about this character–it’s like a new beginning on his story. Jack Ryan is introduced into the CIA as an analyst and he discovers that a Russian mad man is trying to collapse the US economy with a terrorist attack. There is a lot of really good intense action and is very good.
We also watched The Sum of All Fears. This one has Ben Affleck playing Jack Ryan and would be considered a prequal to the movies made earlier. I had forgotten how good this one is. He uncovers a plot by an Arab group at a football game that the president of the united states is attending. The president escapes moments before the bomb goes off. The Russians are blamed for the bomb and then it then becomes a battle to keep the US and Russia from going to nuclear war. It’s highly intense and is so good.
With the boys we watched Mr. Poppers Penguins. We LOVED this! It’s rated PG and I think it’s appropriate for kids of all ages. It has Jim Carry playing a man whose father had been a world traveler. Now, as an adult, he finds out his dad has passed away and left him a parting gift–some penguins. It is a really fun story and we were laughing out loud through much of it.
We also watched the next in the Jack Ryan movies–The Hunt for Red October–with the boys. To be honest, the other two we watched would be just fine for tween/teenage. There’s some foul language and some of the action can feel intense, but I feel all else is age appropriate. This one has Alec Baldwin as the lead character. There is a Soviet Union nuclear sub that has gone missing because of a silent propulsion system. Jack Ryan is convinced the Soviet captain is trying to defect to the US and has to convince the powers that be of this before they or the other Soviet leaders can hunt it down and destroy it. The boys absolutely loved it–it’s definitely one of my favorites.
And finally, we watched the new Tom and Jerry movie. This is what we went to see for our family fun night at Roadhouse Cinemas. It’s all you would expect from a Tom and Jerry movie. My boys had never seen nor heard of them–so it made it extra fun for Super Rockstar and I to be there for their first experience with characters we grew up knowing and loving. It’s really cute and kids of all ages will love it.
5. My Favorite Memes of the Week.
As always, I would love to hear from you. I hope you have a great week!