Smurfistic

Last weekend I spent some time with Skylar and his family in Burley, ID. Our main activity was seeing the new Smurf movie---it was very cute! I think I enjoyed listening to the children laughing more than the movie itself. But now I have "la, la, la, la..." song stuck in my head! The movie theater(the only one in town) we went to only accepted cash for everything---how bizarre is that! It's not like Burley is some small town(and I've been to smaller towns than Burley with credit/debit card machines) so they need to catch up with the 21st century and have credit/debit card accessibility at a movie theater! But of course they had a ATM machine right there so the bank is making a fortune on all our $2 fees for withdrawing! Also, I was able to enjoy some playtime with the kids before the movie and meet their new great dane "puppy", Jazzy(who is huge already)! And I loved chatting with the kids(and as Lindsey said "let's talk" as she pulled me into the front room) about bugs and Smurfs and movies! After the movie we all went to Dairy Queen for ice cream(love that stuff)! In the end, I had a smurfistic time hanging with all of them!

Shreveport 2011

Last weekend flew down to Shreveport, LA to visit my nephew and his family(got to bed at 4am on Fri morn from HP celebrating and had to get up 1hr and 45 min later to catch my flight). That night we ate at Herby K's--I had a shrimp po'boy(sandwich) which was delicious and I got brave and tried some catfish--I was pleasantly surprised that it almost melted in my mouth and not fishy tasting(at least how they cook it here)!And later that night I also tried some hummus---not something that got me hooked on it---but I think if I ate it enough my tastebuds would get used to it. Later on, Rachel and I went to HP 7.2---she wanted to see it and I usually see the HP movies 3 or 4 times anyways. It was excellent again(and eyes teared up again)! It was a late night movie & I was still sleep deprived from the night before of no sleep, so I slept in late automatically that next morn! In the late afternoon, we took Diana to bowl for real(she has only done it on Wii)--I think she still prefers Wii(since much easier), but now she has had an authentic bowling experience! And on our way out I couldn't pass up a chance to play air hockey(my fave game)! Another fun thing we did was learn a new UNO game---UNO Spin--if the card you put down or pick has "spin" marks around the number, then you have to spin the spinner which can have you trade hands, put down multiple cards, etc---so game can change drastically with one spin! Plus we were able to just sit around, relax and chat in their new home(and enjoy AC)! I flew directly into Shreveport this time(with one stop along the way) so I didn't have to rent a car and drive 3 hrs to get to their place---so glad I did that(usually flew into Dallas cuz 'Netta lived there, then drove to LA--after Netta moved thought cheaper to still fly into Dallas but after renting car, it wasn't). Shreveport has small airport--on my way home, I arrived at Shreveport airport to catch my flight 3o min before take-off and only one person was in front of me in security! Anyway, I love to hang with my family members!

Harry Potter Palooza

The final installment of the HP films(8th one) happened last weekend. Mandy and Kristie came down to my area to attend the pre-movie party and the midnight showing. We attended the party in SLC and the movie in Ogden(3D no less). When we arrived at the party we were given 4 galleons to spend on butterbeer(cream soda/butterscotchy flavor with lots of foam), the sorting ceremony(I got Ravenclaw), a treat from the trolley(got grape stick), and pins of all the horcruxes. Plus there were other activities going on. I loved seeing all the costumes people wore---we tried to get pictures with those who looked really good! We also "rode a hippogriff" which was a mechanical bull---I could not, for the life of me, swing my leg up to face forward but my leg swung easily to face backwards onto the bull, so that's what I did---it actually was easier to hang on backwards because I could set my butt on the neck area of bull and wrap my legs around the head(and the guy controlling it, let each of us take over the controls for each other). Kristie and Mandy took advantage of the free massages offered while I wandered around. And then we left the party early and headed to Ogden to see our 12:30am movie. We had a 3D showing and the glasses were shaped like HP's! I thought that was clever! The movie was excellent--action packed and emotional! Not only was the story-line emotional, but realizing that this was the end to a 14 year Harry Potter era(that I have been involved in)!! I guess it's time for me to reread the books for the umpteenth time! But what do I look forward to now with HP?! JK Rowling said she was going to start some interactive kind of HP reading on-line this October--so maybe that will feed my addiction to HP! Needless to say, it was a bittersweet night!!

Rock Haus

I went with my nephew and his wife to the Rock Haus---a rock climbing wall venue. Our instructor was the same cool guy who taught me to rappel about a year ago! Anyway, we learned how to tie the knots and hook up as the belayer and we were on our own to choose whatever wall we wanted! I stuck with the simpler ones because I could at least be successful on those! My nephew and his wife did great on more difficult climbs(they would actually reach the top)! It was great fun learning and doing(and I had a great object lesson of why you do not let go of the rope end---sorry Mandy)! It was definitely a great work out!! Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with dinner from Olive Garden

Transformers 3

My nephew and I went to see Transformers 3 on IMAX 3D screen for his activity with me. Right now the closest IMAX theater is 40 minutes away---this year another one is being built closer to where I live(only 20 min). So before the movie we ate at a restaurant called 'Spaghetti Mamas'---I'd never eaten there before, but I loved the atmosphere it portrayed of an Italian Villa at night(food was good too). We had perfect seats for the movie(and I love the Megaplexes around Utah because they have reserved seating so you don't have to show up extra early for good seats). The 3D glasses seemed a bit too snug on the bridge of my nose and I was wishing I could take them off many times during the movie(and gave me a bit of headache). The movie was what you would expect from Transformers(my nephew loved it and I thought it was okay). But more importantly, I got to spend some time with my nephew(who I don't see very often)!