Events
Michelle found a Ethan Allen bookshelf for Samantha’s room. Great addition and much needed as Samantha has a lot of books!
Jason got a A+ in his Using the Web as a Marketing Tool class that he has been taking at UCI Extension. Only two more classes left to take to earn a certificate in Social Media.
Samantha discovered the “Customer in Training” carts at grocery stores, they are the small carts just the right size for little kids to push around and do their shopping. She also loves the carts with the race cars on the front.
On September 18th we had Samantha’s 2nd birthday party. It was a tea party that Michelle’s immediate family and my immediate family attended. The next day we went out and bought Samantha some new shoes. Seems it only takes two months for her to go through shoes now.
On the 23rd we celebrated Samantha’s 2nd birthday, this is the official day. Daddy took the day off work and took Samantha out to the park in the morning. Then we went to Trader Joe’s where Samantha happily push around a miniature shopping cart and Daddy put in a few groceries. Afterwards we went home and played until mommy came home. At which time, we had to go the doctor’s office. It was Samantha’s 2 year check-up. And she had to get a flu shot! The rest of the day we just stayed at home and recouped from the doctor’s visit.
We almost went to Disneyland on the next weekend, but I’m glad we didn’t because temperatures went over 100 degrees! So instead of Disneyland we went to Tanka Farms, a real working farm. They grow their own pumpkins. It was the grand opening of the pumpkin patch, so we got free tickets on the hay wagon ride. Samantha had a good time and we stayed longer than I thought we would given the heat. It was fun to see a real farm right in Irvine. They even had a pumpkin cannon. On the 26th we spent most of the day with Michelle’s grandmother at a large gathering in Downey, where we saw a lot of the family.
Books
White Fang by Jack London – 3/5 stars. Not really fair since I had just read The Call of the Wild which is a great novel. I had expected more of the same from London, but I don’t think that White Fang was nearly as good as The Call of the Wild.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare and the Cliff Notes for the play – 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed this play. I’ve read it twice this year and I watched the movie with Mel Gibson as well. I think reading the play along with the cliff notes is a great way to make sure you get the most out of the play as possible.
The Associate by John Grisham – 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. A lot more than I thought I would actually. I was surprised by how much I liked it and now I look forward to reading more Grisham when I get the chance.
The Sherlock Holmes Theatre – 4/5 stars. This was an audio book that had a different actor for every character. It was really fun to listen to. I think it had four different stories. Some of them I had already read, some I had not. I was very entertaining!
Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins – 4/5 stars. This would have gotten 5 stars, but I didn’t like the ending. It was a good ending, I just didn’t agree with it. Did not think it was a nice way to end the series. But that said, if you have not read this series, DO!
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – 3/5 stars. I was surprised by how closely the most recent movie followed this book. It is almost exactly the way the book is. Having said that I was a little let down in the book since there really isn’t much new about it. But it is still a good read!
Movies
Hot Tub Time Machine – 3 out of 5 stars. Kinda funny. Can relate to the 80’s stuff.
Clash of the Titans – 4 out of 5 stars. Good action movie. Never saw the original.
Flight of the Phoenix – 2.5/5 stars. Ok, would not recommend it.
The Book of Eli – 3/5 stars. Just ok. I wanted this movie to be good, but it just wasn’t.
The Bounty Hunter – 2 stars. I think 2 stars for this movie is generous.
Green Zone – 3/5 stars. Good action flick but I expect a lot out of Matt Damon’s movies ever since seeing the Bourne series.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – 3/5 stars. Ok action movie.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 3/5 stars. Ok, but the book is great!
Iron Man 2 – 2.5/5 stars. Ok action movie.