The one with wins and losses

November 10 - 13, 2017
Hard to believe another weekend is already in the books!  There were a lot of sports contests, and some wins, and some losses.  Both girls seemed to have some illnesses along the way this weekend as well.  The weather was dreary and dark and a little bit more winter-y than we have had yet this year.  The seasons are truly changing - in so many ways!

Friday was a divide and conquer kind of night.  Lara and the Stillwater Pioneer football team were headed to Bixby for their first round playoff game.  Emma and the Lady Panthers were off to Carney for their first basketball contest of the season.  Since Finn has been struggling with his coughing and breathing a bit this week, he was off to Carney with Nana and Grandpa to see Emma and her team; while Jake, Dad and I went to Bixby for the football game.

It was a cool night, and a long drive over to Bixby.  The game was very one-sided right from the beginning, and after a lot of hard work, grit, and FIGHT, the Pioneers came up short, and *just like that* the football season was over.  So surreal.

Meanwhile, in Carney, the Mulhall-Orlando Lady Panthers were ready to open their season.  Although our Emma girl didn't get to see any court time, her team came out victorious after a close and hard fought game.  She got to hang out with Finn and and her grandparents and stayed in the gym to watch the M-O boys team play, but they did not come out with the win.  A late night for ALL involved!

Saturday, we all divided and conquered some more...  Nana had a meeting in Perry; Emma was home resting in Orlando, Lara was home in Stillwater with a friend over to binge watch TV, and we took Jake to basketball in Edmond - Grandpa and Finn met us there.  We got home after the OSU Cowboy game was already over (THEY WON!), so we watched the replay of that game and just hung out the rest of the day.  Emma was going to come to Stillwater with us for the rest of the weekend, but she had either some food poisoning or a virus, so she stayed home to keep the rest of us "well."  Lara's friend Erika was here for the whole day and well in to the evening.  She "taught" Lara to play chess, and the two of them had a fun time irritating Finn.

Sunday everyone slept in.  Finn had a rough night with his coughing, and Lara was starting the cold the rest of us had already passed around.  So Sunday was spent watching TV and resting.  We threw it back OLD SCHOOL and watched High School Musical and High School Musical 2 on Netflix.  Lara watched Camp Rock, too!  Thanks, Disney Movies!

This afternoon it was church, dinner, family meeting, errands, homework, showers, and bed!  SO thankful for these restful Sundays! Now, if everyone could just get well around here!

Don't Blink

I did.  Blink, that is.  Not on purpose, really.  I mean, "THEY" told me not to, too.  But I did.  And the girls grew up.  So fast.  My Twister babies are now twelve year old young ladies with opinions, and dreams, and drama.  And they have been 12 year olds for 2 ENIRE WEEKS! I guess I was blinking again...

I really have been in a bit of denial about this birthday.  As usual, since late April through the end of May is traditionally super busy, it snuck up on us a bit.  You known, someone said to me during the week of their birthday something about how "next year" when they turn 13 is the BIG ONE.  While I didn't say it out loud, my first thought, screaming in my head, was, "Holy Cow, if I am this emotional this year, I am going in to hiding next year!  And to me, this one is HUGE!  I don't even WANT to think about next year.  NEXT YEAR!?!?!  Let me get through this one first!". I cannot believe they are twelve.

They had a hard time deciding what to do for a "party." The last 2 years we have had a sleepover for them.  2 years ago was not a great experience, and last year was plain awful, so we had vetoed that idea.  The girls decided they wanted to take a few friends to see a movie. Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" was coming out the weekend after their birthday, so we decided to get a group together to go see that on Saturday afternoon.  They seemed pretty excited about it.  But, they have the coolest bonus dad EVER!  You know what he did Friday night as a surprise (to us all)? He drove around town to their friends' homes and let them "ambush" them - ring the bell, get parental permission, pack a bag, and get in the car as quickly as possible - for a sleepover!  The "Ambush Sleepover" was born.  Emma and Lara loved it, and so did their friends.  Such a fun way to celebrate!  And the movie on Saturday? SUCH a great story!  They all really enjoyed it - and so did Britt, Jake and I!  (We sat away from the girls and their friends - just watching them from a far...). After the movie, we took all the kids home, and the girls went with their Other Dad for the rest of the weekend.  So, without much planning and the usual fanfare, we had a GREAT birthday weekend with them!

And then, life with 12 year olds was under way.  It is dance recital season around here so we have all that going on with Lara.  She has had studio rehearsal, picture day, junior company clinic and tryouts, and dress rehearsal is today.  Emma ended volleyball season and has found a way to spend as much time as she can with her friends away from this house.  LOL!  School ended.  They both received certificates for being on the Straight A Honor Roll first semester and Lara received an outstanding music student award.  Emma scored highly on her math placement test and was recommended for Pre-AP math next year by her teacher, and she has accepted the challenge.  7th grade, here we come - ready or not! I simply could not be more proud of these two amazing orange haired, spunky girls!

But I blinked.  It all happened so fast.  There was a very real time in my life when I thought they would be the only babies I ever had.  It was not what I had dreamed, but I knew I was so lucky, and so very blessed.  Not long after that there was a time in my life where it was JUST US GIRLS!  The three of us, surviving on our own, trying to conquer the world; they were my world.  Then we ended up here - this large, loud family with an amazing man leading us in Christ and working his tail off to provide for us (tween girls are expensive), two little brothers in Jake and Finn to pester and love, guide and teach.  (Emma and Lara have changed HUNDREDS of diapers and gotten invaluable baby sitting experience - things I had no idea about at 12!). They are smart, happy, God-loving servants of Christ.  They are sweet and compassionate, and they both love to cook.  They each have very distinct differences, but it's in the similarities that my heart smiles.  They are 2 peas in a pod, even when life takes them in different directions.  I am so proud to be their momma.  So lucky to guide them as they grow.  So blessed by their love.

Don't blink. Don't wish away the hard stages of childhood.  Cherish them.  Embrace them. Then love the outcome...

I Shall Blow a Fanfare

(My review of Oz The Great and Powerful)

As a Spring Break gift, the Dean of my college encouraged all staff to take a 2 hour lunch each day this week.  Since I typically lunch with my husband and he was not afforded this luxury, it really meant nothing to me.  But, as the week wore on (and my kids wore my mother out), I had the idea to take a long lunch on Thursday, and take the big kids to see a movie.  I have been a Wizard of Oz fan since childhood, having seen the 1939 version with Judy Garland MANY times; and I can genuinely declare Wicked as my favorite Broadway musical of all time, having seen 3 different touring companies perform it in 3 different cities – 2 more on the horizon for the next 18 months!  Britt is as well, and we took the big girls to see Wicked 2 years ago in Dallas.  So, it was a forgone conclusion that the Weavers would see the new Disney prequel, Oz The Great and Powerful.  It was just a question of WHEN?  So, a two (or so) hour lunch on Thursday it was – and a complete surprise to the big kids!  We are not 3D fans AT ALL (especially since one Dream Weaver wears eye glasses and that makes it hard to wear the 3D glasses, plus it costs more), but to catch a matinee at out little theater, we had to go that route.

I went in with low expectations of the story, but HIGH expectations of the cast, scenery, costumes, make-up, set design, cinematography, and music.  LOL!  I really like the technical stuff!  And, since we have 3 elementary aged kids in our house, we watch the Disney channel A LOT, so I had seen countless trailers, as well as the little behind the scenes things they do between shows about the next HOT movie.  I am very pleased to say, I was not disappointed AT ALL!  It started with the opening credits, which were spectacular!  I am so glad we were watching it in 3D – it really added to the effects!  And the MUSIC!  I have been a Danny Elfman fan for a long time, and he did a fantastic job with the score – again from the opening credits to the last curtain.  And it just got more beautiful from there.  The first part is at a carnival in Kansas in 1903, and it is all in black and white.  But you can still see the excruciating detail that was taken with every scene, set and prop – as well as costumes and make up.  It was visually stunning!  Then, when they get to Oz?  Magnificent!  It was just so fun to watch and see all the colors and the creativity of the characters and the animation of the inanimate ones.  I think I had a smile on my face the whole time!  Except when things in 3D were scaring me, flying at my head, or causing one of my children to grab me as they were startled!  I loved it!  Visually, the move really had them mesmerized and drawn in the whole time.

The move was long.  We went to a 1:00pm start time, and we left the theater at 3:30.  The run time is listed at 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes), so I guess we endured 20 minutes of previews and commercials (which were all PG-13,and 2 were basically the same movie with different actors – about post-revolution futuristic America with space ships and aliens…  SO not my thing, but I digress…).  The opening credits were quite possible the longest I have seen in AGES, but they were so entertaining and delightful I was OK with it.  Then, as I previously mentioned, it opens with a black and white scene in Kansas.  That lasted FOREVER.  It was to construct the back story, but it was painfully drawn out.  I don’t know how long it lasted, but I would guess 20-25 minutes.  Could have all been covered in 10.  Once we (finally) got out of Kansas, and into Oz, the story ran at a much more tolerable pace – although the slow spots crept up several more times.  Honestly, what kept me hooked and paying attention was the visual aspect of it.  It truly was a superb movie as far as the sets, costumes, make-up, props and CGI animation went.  Quite charming, and stunning at the same time.  I had a little trouble with the writing as well.  This movie is supposed to take place during the turn of the century, but the language was very current and almost too modern-day at times.  It was as if they forgot what time period it was.  It was strange at times, and off-putting at others.  My favorite characters were Finley, the flying monkey in a bell hop’s uniform, and China Doll.  What can I say?  I am a kid at heart!  I also enjoyed the sour attitude of the herald and trumpet blower, Knuck.  I think James Franco did an amazing job as Oscar Diggs (Oz), and I loved how he portrayed his character.  A classic tale of a con-man turned good because of a woman.  I also think Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz were perfectly cast as Theodora and Evanora, respectively.  They were GREAT!  I had a little trouble following the story of the 3 sisters, since I have the other 2 stories in my veins, but I did figure out the hook pretty quickly on that one.  Once I could predict how the story would unfold and quit obsessing about how they were not Elphaba and Nessarose (Nessie), I really enjoyed watching them!  The power struggle is great and an exciting plot to watch unfold.

Now, I am a Glinda girl ALL THE WAY!  I like the good girls!  I love that Kristen Chenoweth played her on Broadway.  I love the blonde hair and the sweet, caring manor.  I do not, however, like Michelle Williams.  Didn’t like her on “Dawson’s Creek” back in the day – never have.  So, I was already predisposed to not like her as Glinda.  And it worked.  She was drab.  Made the character dull and uninspiring.  *YAWN* In this version of the story, there was a lot riding on her shoulders and she was under considerable pressure.  But you couldn’t tell it by the way she acted.  And of course she loves Oz, and that was prophesied in the opening black and white scene, so we all knew it was coming – like a brick.  But, I suffered through the performance and did enjoy the way it all worked out for them in the end.  Open ended for a sequel (2^nd prequel?) for sure!

As for the kids – they are still talking about it a day later!  Jake loves movies. LOVES them!  Watches movies endlessly.  Quotes them tirelessly.  And he has favorite things from this movie that he has already worked into his everyday vocabulary!  The girls are both very skittish and easily startled, so they were “mad” at the movie for scaring them! LOL!  It was a very intense movie.  I would not have taken the girls (now 10) at Jake’s age (6) because of how jolting it was at times.  But, they loved the story and really got in to it as well.  Lara had the same trouble I did with the witch sisters’ storyline, since she too has seen Wicked and tried to make this movie fit with that retelling.  They want to see it again in 2D this time, and Jake wants to make sure we buy it “in case” when it comes out.  (That’s what he calls a movie on DVD that we own at home.)

Overall, it was a success for our family!  It was a GREAT break from the monotony of a Spring Break with nowhere to go, and it was a fun movie to see together as a family.  It had its weak spots, but my love for the Emerald City made it a must see!  There are some GREAT lines, wonderful scenes, and it was simply stunning to watch.  It’s also fun to see a new spin on an old familiar story.  (This story takes place 20 years before Dorothy hits Oz, so in that sense it is completely separate.)  It was a little sinister in places, and very intense in others, but if you have ever read any of L. Frank Baum’s works, he is dark and twisted.  I would recommend it to Oz fans, fantasy fans, fans of the visual aspects of movies, and anyone who wants to get away for a long 2 hour lunch to see the “Number 1 Movie in the World 2 Weeks in a Row”!

(Oh, and the title of the post is a line from the movie by Knuck the Trumpet Blower.  He was funny!)