The Hunger Games & Happy 17th Birthday to Caleb

Today my family and I went to see The Hunger Games. It was my 14th "new" movie of the year. I had never been more excited to watch a movie since I was 10 years old and wanted to watch Star Wars. We even bought advance tickets to watch the movie.

Before I continue...I want to wish Caleb, my son, a Happy 17th Birthday! I remember the day he was born. He had a very fuzzy head and the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen on a baby. I had a baby boy. Even though he is all grown up, I still love that kid! I know he is smarter than me and can't wait to see what he can do for the world. I am very proud to call him my son! Happy Birthday Caleb. I love you.

Now, back to the Hunger games review. The movie was worth the wait. It was fantastic. I'm trying to figure out just where to rank it in my top 100 movies of all-time. The movie was very moving and I either cried or came close to crying several times. My heart broke when Katniss volunteered to take her sister's place at the Reaping (seen in the trailers, so no spoiler here) and my heart pounded as the Hunger Games started. I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire movie. The acting was great. Jennifer Lawrence should get another Academy Award nomination for best Actress. Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci should all get Supporting Actor nominations as well. The musical score was great. The cinematography was great. The costumes and art designs were great. All of which means the directing was also great. This movie better at least have several Academy Award nominations coming to it.

If you have read the books, you will notice several differences; however, I think the director and screenwriters stayed very true to the books; much like in the Harry Potter series and unlike the movies Eragon and the Percy Jackson movie. I can't wait for the other two books to be turned into movies as well.

President's Day at the Dallas Zoo

Today my family and I spent mos of our President's Day at the Dallas Zoo. They were having a special "Penguin Days" promotion going on (due to the colder weather), where admission was only $5.00 per person.

We saw plenty of snakes, lizards, alligators and frogs in the Reptile House, including one big albino gator. We also saw plenty of birds in the aviary exhibits; however, most of the other animals were being a little elusive. Although the weather was over 60 degrees, some of the animals were inside the closed off sections of their enclosures or were grouped together in the farthest corners of their enclosures. I am assuming this was their, or the zoo's, effort to keep the animals warm. We did get to see some elephants and plenty of giraffes, which are always cool to see, and we saw some very smelly warthogs. The big cats were hiding out or sitting in places that made them hard to see. We really wanted to see the cheetahs, lions and tigers, but all we got were glimpses of them. The gorillas (photo above) were mostly indoors; although we did see one gorilla sitting forlornly by himself on a stump. The chimps were the same way. The lemurs were hiding out, but the flamingos were out in their full pink glory. We did see two very curious meerkats who came very close to the edge of their exhibit. Somehow we missed the kangaroo area. The new Koala exhibit opens in the spring.

Today was still a fun day with the family and we hope to return in the summer, when maybe the animals will be more active.

Woo-Hoo! I'm Going to See Jimmy Buffett in Concert

I am so excited; I just purchased two tickets to go see Jimmy Buffett in concert. He will be in Dallas on April 19th.

I used to listen to Jimmy Buffett as a kid, but I really became a fan when I was attending Tyler Jr. College. A friend of mine was a real "Parrothead" (fans of Jimmy Buffett are called Parrotheads) and he listened to Jimmy Buffett all the time. Now, after all these years I finally get to go see him in concert. I will blog more about later, as the concert day approaches. Yea!!!!

Death at the Doo-Wop

Tonight my beautiful bride, Jamie, and I are going to a Murder Mystery Dinner. It's theme is "Death at the Doo-Wop"! It is being performed by The Murder Mystery Company in Dallas who will customize a Mystery Dinner for audiences across the United States. Here is there description of our dinner tonight: "Grab your Poodle Skirts and Horn Rimmed Glasses; the class of 1957 is having one killer Prom! Before the King and Queen can have their first dance, tragedy strikes! You'll play detective in this 'swell' interactive murder mystery dinner. Can you bring the true killer to justice before this Sock Hop Prom is ruined? Golly Gosh!"

All guest are encouraged to dress in 50's attire to promote the theme. Jamie and I went to a local Goodwill and a Salvation Army Store to look for anything that remotely looks like 50's clothing. What we found may not be exactly 50's; but it is close enough for us anyway.

Click here for the menu...MENU. I have a feeling we are going to really enjoy ourselves!

An Updated Version of a Classic Disney Film

Yesterday, my family and I went to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the theater. This time the movie was in 3D. I could tell little difference between the original format and the new format; still this movie is a classic movie that deserved it's nomination for Best Motion Picture when it first debuted.

Is it just me, or does the prince look better as a best than he does as a human?

2012 - Day 2 -- Please Approach the Elephant, Your Adventure is About to Begin

Today my family and I took a trip to visit Jamie's aunt in Lewisville. (We actually went to seen her new cats). After a short visit, we went to the Grapevine Mills Mall, where Rachel used her Books-A-Million gift card and we ate lunch at The Rainforest Cafe. While waiting almost 40 minutes to be seated, I purchased a stuffed King Penguin at their Build-a-Bear Workshop. I named the penguin "Nero" mistakenly thinking I got an "emperor" penguin. The guacamole hamburger I got was so big I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to bite it. As a result, a lot of the fixins fell out of the back onto my plate; it was sort of like eating a burger and a salad.

Despite the delicious food, the cost of the experience was a little pricey, which is probably why we don't visit there very often. It was fun though. I think I want to spend the rest of the afternoon, just sleeping off the burger, before heading out to do a little grocery shopping for the rest of the week.

Go Roughriders!

Today the family and I went to see the Frisco Roughriders (The Texas Rangers' Double A Team). As part of Friends and Family Deal we got four tickets, four Roughrider baseball caps, and four $5 dollar food vouchers, all for under $50. The manager of the Roughriders is Steve Buechele. He is a former third base man for the Texas Rangers. I remember watching him play when I was in college.

We let my son Caleb drive part of the way to Frisco and back to get him some experience in driving in "Dallas" traffic. He has his learner's permit and he hopes to take his actual driving test for his license later in June.

The Roughriders defeated the Tulsa Drillers 9-3; however, we did not get to stay for the entire game. My daughter, Rachel, got sick during the game and we had to leave during the 5th inning. We still had a good time being together as a family though.

Upcoming Movies I Wish to See in 2011

2011 promises to be yet another good year for going to the movies... Now that Thor is out, the summer movie season is upon us. So far this year, a tight budget has limited my movie going; however, I have seen a few. The best movie I have seen so far this year is Rio. It is a great family film full of music. I am still waiting to see Thor. Here is a list of some other movies that are coming in 2011 that I wish to see, along with their projected release dates. (Saw Thor on May 19)

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides -- May 20 (Saw on May 28)

2. Kung Fu Panda 2 - May 26

3. X-Men: First Class - June 3

4. Green Lantern - June 17 (Saw on June 28)

5. Cars 2 - June 24

6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - July 1 (Saw on July 11)

7. Winnie the Pooh - July 15

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - July 15 (Saw on July 15)

9. Captain America: The First Avenger - July 22

10. Cowboys & Aliens - July 29

11. Courageous - September 30

12. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - December 16

If for some reason I can't catch these movies at the theater...I can always watch them on Netflix.

Updated on July 7, 2011

Spending Some Quality Time with the Family

This weekend, the family and I plan to get away and spend some quality time together. We are going to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. Great Wolf Lodge is a combination, Hotel, Indoor Water park, Spa and Restaurant, that is great for families. We hope to have a great time! It makes up for the lack of a birthday party for my daughter Rachel, who turned 12 on January 16th.

As an "early" birthday event for my son, Caleb, who turns 14 on March 24th, we recently purchased tickets to see the Christian Rock Band, The Newsboys! We (Mainly I) have been wanting to see them in concert for sometime now. They are performing in Longview on March 6th!

I am looking forward to these events! The family and I really needed to get out and have some fun, instead of sitting at home becoming addicted to the Nintendo Game Animal Crossing: City Folk.