Movies...

The movie store here is not that great... they tend to cater to the very religious crowd who only want to watch wholesome Christian movies, or to the "White Chicks" crowd who only watch... well, movies like "White Chicks". It's very hard to rent a good movie that isn't a blockbuster, or that's more than a couple of years old... and certainly no Academy Award winners, that's for sure. So, I asked Cory to pick up movies while he was in PG last weekend and hopefully we'll remember to return them this weekend (although apparently Roger's Video has done away with late fees) so we don't have to make a mid-week trip in just to go to the video store.

We just finished watching Pan's Labyrinth. I'm baffled. Ummm... okay... first off... SUBTITLES!!! I hate subtitles because I tend to multi-task while I'm watching tv, which means I miss a heck of a lot of dialogue when there are subtitles. Drives Cory nuts. But at least I have the ability to multi-task, thank you very much! But I thought, okay, I can give my full-attention to this one, and I did. I didn't even think about the dishes on the counter, or the laundry wrinkling away in the basket. And I must say... the two hours went very fast. Wow! Beautiful, crazy sets. Fantastic job with costuming. Very haunting soundtrack. Definitely deserving of the Awards it won. And yet, I'm sitting here now, thinking I should be going to bed, but I can't decide whether or not I liked this movie. It was not what I expected at all. By the end, I wasn't even aware that I was reading subtitles though, so it captivated me, that's for sure. I covered my eyes for a couple of scenes. I'm glad I did... I heard Cory say "ugh" a couple of times. It's certainly no fairy tale and NOT something my sons will see for years and years. Horrific, but so imiginative at the same time.

And on Tuesday we watched The Number 23. That's another head-scratcher. "Did I like it... did I hate it? What on earth was this director thinking?" It was entertaining, I suppose... but again... not for young eyes, and definitely not one to multi-task through. I think, also, that it requires a second viewing. Kind of like Memento... watching it once isn't enough to figure out what is going on. It was definitely not what I expected.

Maybe we should stick to renting "White Chicks" and the "Ten Commandments".

"Camping"

We weren't really camping. Cory's parents were. We thought it would be fun to drive out to the lake and spend some time with them, though. It was a great day... a little windy and chilly, but no rain at all. Alex went for his first ever boat ride (unless BC Ferries counts) and enjoyed dragging his arm in the water and splashing me. Connor just hung out and enjoyed the fresh air.
There is a mother duck and her 12 babies in this photo... you just can't see them that well.
Alex enjoyed the playground equipment, such as it was. When you're 3, climbing on anything is fun.Connor enjoying the fresh air.

And Alex learning how to play Bocce Ball with the kids in the next site. He's wearing my "too long" sweater because his got too wet in the boat ride.

Keeping busy...

Wow... I'm just about to call it quits with this blog. When I started it I felt like I had so much more time on my hands... but now I just don't feel like waiting for the pictures to upload... caption them... print them... scrapbook them... AHA! There's the problem, I spend almost every evening scrapbooking after the boys go to bed and not much hanging out at the computer. Maybe I should be blogging what I scrapbook instead...

Here's a project I made for my girlfriend whose just adopted two daughters. I can't wait to meet them! Congratulations Alison!

A double rainbow... we were fortunate enough to look out the window at just the right time, because it only lasted a few minutes and then it was gone. One benefit to all the thunderstorms we've been having.

Slimy baby... hmm... wonder if he's teething?

My belated birthday cake from Mom and Dad.... it was yummy! Alex helped me blow out the candles, since it was kind of his birthday cake too. Doesn't he look thrilled?

Phew!

Well, it's over! Yay! The last two weeks for our family are very chaotic! Cory's birthday, on the 23rd, then Alex's on the 28th, then mine, last Saturday... it's enough to make one want to swear off of birthdays altogether --- almost! We had a great time, of course, and we are absolutely loving the barbecue that Mom and Dad gave Cory (thanks again, by the way)... heehee... I have just cooked steak two days in a row! Yum... before the barbecue I couldn't cook a steak to save my life, unless it was chopped up and disguised in a stirfry. These ones, however, are fabulous! (Wonder if anyone remembers my brief stint as a vegetarian in grade 11, prompted by that nasty Slaughterhouse video Mr. Theilmann showed us in Geography).

Then was Alex's party... lots of kids and lots of adults. I almost survived the day keeping everyone outside, but towards the end, when it started to rain... we had to move the event indoors to serve the cake. That was the end of my clean house...

My birthday was a cakewalk (pardon the lousy pun) in comparison, as Cory was in charge of dinner, so of course we drove to PG to go to Kelly O'Bryans! :) We left the boys with my in-laws for a couple of hours and went to the Simpsons movie... the second time I have left Connor with a baby-sitter... the first, of course, being to go to the Harry Potter movie. The movie was hilarious and Connor apparently didn't cry too much (hopefully Judy's not minimizing the crying to spare me the guilt).

Our nephew, Brandon's, first birthday party is on Friday, but since I don't have to do anything but attend, it won't factor into my stress levels. So... officially, we're back into routines, the cake is out of the house, and we've returned to some level of order.

I had a lot of fun planning Alex's party and filling the goodie bags... I thought I had all the treats purchased until I found a 12 pack of these at the grocery store... what summer backyard party is complete without "shades"... modelled by my adorable model (who promptly pulled them off and put them in his mouth).
Here's Connor sitting up at 7 months old... actually, it's 7 months and 3 days --- my 31st birthday, but close enough to count as a 7 month photo, I hope... hey, I was busy! He sits up all the time now... and it's getting really difficult to get him to do "tummy time" cause he is constantly rolling over on to his back and squirming around... so maybe he won't be crawling any time soon.

And, also taken on my birthday... a train collision in PG. Just as we were driving into the city two trains collided and went up in flames... we saw the smoke first so we drove to Fort George Park to investigate... maybe not the smartest thing to do, but we weren't the only people checking out the source of the fire. It kind of put a damper on the day, but I'm happy to report that (according to the news, anyway) no one was injured, so we're feeling a lot better about what we saw.

Hmm... pattern developing... also on my birthday. Dad gave Alex a transformer (his very first, we're so proud... sniff!) for a late gift... he was thrilled! Just today he said "I wish I had more transformers". Here he is at Kelly O'Bryan's, just tickled with this new toy.

And, there you go... maybe I'll have some neat photos to post of Brandon's birthday party after Friday... can't believe he's already 1... and yet my own baby is over halfway there... so I guess I can!