The Force in Fort Worth

When Christopher was Nate's age, he went through a very intense Star Wars phase, in which we purchased every Star Wars action figure Target carried, and made a special trip to Disneyland just so he could ride Star Tours. Nate, a baby during this time, functioned as the Rebel Base more than once as Christopher and I staged elaborate battles using all the ships and figures he collected between Target and the Star Wars store that is strategically placed at the Star Tours exit at Disneyland.

Nate likes Star Wars, too, but mostly just the part in Episode I where Anakin is in the pod race, or the part where Anakin is fixing his speeder. He also likes the weaponry, but there's not enough of that to hold his attention for the duration of the films.



But both boys (and their parents) really enjoyed this Star Wars exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The actual costumes, models, and more are on display for the first time, and it's all part of a huge exhibit that is really fun and interesting, and I could easily go back without the boys to see all the cool stuff we missed the first time, while we were chasing the boys from one activity to the other.

In addition to all the cool stuff to look at, they had robots to build, magnetic cars to build and drive, and an "air car" that hovers above the ground that you really get to drive. If you're in the Fort Worth area before Labor Day, you should check it out.

Too Long, Too Scary, or Just Right?

One of the greatest of all summer pleasures, in my opinion, is going to all the blockbuster movies I can, and even more fun is going on opening night. Although I haven't made it to any grown-up type movies, I was still as excited as the boys to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week on opening night.


Upon entering the theater, Christopher took his candy and headed to the front row, and Nate and I found two seats together, even though we were only 20 minutes early and there were precious few seats available by that time. We chose the most magnificent of all theaters in our area, the Cine Capri in Southlake.

It was fortunate that we chose that location, because Nate made it about an hour into the show, when he announced, "I'm done." Conveniently, this theater has a really nice kids' play area, and they were kind enough to accept my $6.00 to take Nate in, where he played video games, painted, and played for the duration of the movie.

Christopher made it about another half hour, when I noticed he was running up the steps of the theater towards the exit. I stopped him, and he announced, "It's way too scary!" I tried to convince him that he had already read the book, and thus, knew exactly how it would turn out, and he did sit close by for a couple more minutes, but ultimately, ended up in the lobby waiting for me.

And that is how it came to be that I was in the theater alone, watching the end of what I thought was a great, although definitely dark and scary, summer blockbuster. Now ... will Christopher or I have the privilege of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows first? It could be a battle in our home ...

Independence Day

The 4th of July is a great one to spend in Utah, in my opinion. The weather is nice, there's a parade in the morning, balloon festival in the really early morning, a carnival, and many more activities at the Freedom Festival in Provo. Also, there's the annual tradition of a cookout on mom's deck, followed by viewing of the Stadium of Fire fireworks through the trees in the late evening.

Here is a slideshow of the day's events:

Practically Camping

Would you believe my boys have never been camping? I guess that's because we've lived in humid climates most of their lives, and it's hard to time a camping trip just right so that you miss the bugs and the heat, and that window of camping opportunity is a small one.

So they were really excited to hear that we were going to build a fire in Frank's backyard, a real fire with real wood and matches and everything, and roast hot dogs and marshmallows and have s'mores. Frank let Christopher help build and light the fire, and both boys thought it was really cool to cook their food over an open flame. Root beer and grape soda rounded out the meal, and it was just about perfect.


Would you believe my mom has never had a s'more? This was her first one!

So Good We've Seen it Twice

I love the Scera Theater in Orem. In fact, I would say that I saw most of my childhood movies there (well, there and the Fox theater, but it is now a McDonald's). The Scera is still a charming place, now run by pre-teen volunteers, so the service is a little slow, but it's fun.

We joined Nancy, Ty, Elliott, Harper, and Oma at the Scera to see Ratatouille on opening night. I thought it was absolutely delightful! The kids also loved it. Nate had been watching the preview online all week, so he was really geared up to see it.

The next night, we went to the Redwood Drive-In in Salt Lake. Surprisingly, when I told many native Utahns this, they responded, "That place is still there?" Or even, "You're brave ..." Sam's flight wasn't scheduled to arrive until after 11, so we thought the timing would be about perfect to go to the drive-in movie, then head to the airport late to pick him up. Silly me also thought that maybe the kids would fall asleep, and they did, but it was at 1 a.m., after we returned home.

We discovered that we're not very experienced drive-in movie attendees. The family next to us brought a huge selection of bratwurst, pizzas, salads, and all manner of additional snacks and drinks. They removed the seats from their minivan and had many seating options, which made for quite a party. The boys and I just sat in the car with Charlie, but we kept the doors and windows open and the weather was lovely. We all enjoyed the snack bar, too, which featured many tasty and delicious food items and plenty of candy for the kids. The entire bag of popcorn spilled on the floor of the car that night, and even Charlie couldn't eat it all. Sam thought that was pretty funny, and he was very helpful vacuuming it up the next day.

Unfortunately, we had to leave when there was still 15 minutes left in the movie, so we may have to go again. I'll bet Matt will want to see it with the boys when we get home to Texas!