"Shrek the Third" and "Worlds of Fun"

It was a busy day. We started out our Saturday with a visit to Worlds of Fun, our local amusement park, for the Caravan Ingredients (the place that I work for) annual picnic. We had a blast, hanging out with the Dana clan and riding on all of the kiddie rides. One funny note, we (the parents) had to expain to the boys (Darren and James) that you can not hug each other while you are walking, or you will end up with skinned knees. James and Darren tried to walk and hug at the same time and ended up falling over and getting mild knee boo-boos.

James passed out cold in the car on the way home, immediately after we left the park. As soon as we got home, it became nap time for all of us. Post-nap, we ate a quick dinner and headed off to go see "Shrek the Third". It's funny, just like the first two. In fact, the whole movie is just like the first two. It's not new any more, but it is still entertaining. James loved it, but I don't think he understood many of the jokes. Somehow, being scared about being a father for the first time is not something he can really relate to. If you're a Shrek fan, go see it, you'll like it. The little Dronkeys (Dragon + Donkey) are very cute, as are the little Shreklings.

More on the van story: I still really don't want one, and Karen still really does. I think we should drive our cars until they become either unsafe, unreliable, or more expensive to repair than replace. Karen wants a van, regardless of what she currently drives, and thinks that we need a van for a family that may one day require two car seats and two adults. I am still hoping this minivan craving passes, but I think Karen may resort to using more "jedi mind tricks" on me to win this battle. She tried it once, but I didn't fall for it. I am not kidding at all, she really did. Ask her about it.

VW Eurovans are pretty cool, I must say. I really wonder why they aren't being imported any more. They aren't 40K, as Karen suggested in an earlier comment, they are in the same range as most of the other foreign vans. I also like the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey as well. Karen likes the Mazda 5, but I think it is kinda like buying the teenager's version of the minivan. The Mazda 5 is kinda tiny, and fairly inexpensive. It makes me think "pop can" when I see it. I think I say this because I currently drive the original "pop can, teenager-mobile" -my old Honda Civic. The new Civics are not in the same category, by the way... There's nothing wrong with it, but a seven year old Civic with a pile of miles and a couple of dings is definitely not your average "thirty-something year old's" car. I even taught James to refer to my car as "Daddy's junk". Every time James sees a silver car, he points and says "Daddy's junk!" Whenever James hears a car that needs a muffler, or even one of those funny "tuner cars" with the loud exhaust, he does the same thing, since my car has needed a muffler for almost a year.

At bedtime, just a few moments ago, James kicked Karen. Not a nice thing for a little boy to do. James apologized to Karen and gave her the requisite kisses afterward. Karen was trying to tell James that it hurts when you kick people so that he would not kick people any more. She was trying to explain it to him by having him recall one of his own boo-boos, and then she was going to tell him that it hurts when you kick people, just like your boo-boo did. It didn't turn out quite like it was originally intended, she said, "James, do you remember when you hurt your knee?", and he said "I no hug Darren while I walking any more, Mommy." At this point I fell over laughing. I couldn't help it, it was funny. I think any chance at a lesson was pretty much lost to my inability to control myself.

Since I have already written a novel, I might as well go the Forrest Gump route, and keep on talking. Here's the running update. I did 13.5 miles last weekend, and I am going for 18 tomorrow, starting at 5:30AM. Movie quote time: "I'm not right, in the head." I am looking forward to tomorrow's run. I really dig the long runs when the weather is nice. They are a lot easier than the short, fast ones during the week. I am still working on picking out my next race. Karen and I will probably be running in the "popcorn panic" at the annual Popcorn festival in Valparaiso, this fall. Orville Redenbacher was originally from Valparaiso, as seen in the commercials, in very fine print. They still have the festival every year, even though the operations have pulled out of Valparaiso, and Orville is long since dead. After the "panic" run is over, I am hoping to do a full marathon, possibly in New York, with Karen's Uncle.