Eat ALL of your Vegetables!

Paul put together a poster about why you should eat all of your vegetables. I thought that it is fun- kind of a mix of Calvin and Hobbs and Far Side.  The scan is really light, so I have written the text below each picture.  Enjoy- and don't forget to eat ALL of your fruits and veggies tonight!

When you eat your fruits and vegetables, eat ALL of them!  Cuz if y'all eat some or none, it ain't gonna look pretty.

Then they plot revenge!

Then they execute their plan!

So, it is just better to eat them all!

A Fun Day

Last Saturday we hosted my Dad's birthday party here, so Sunday was going to be a relaxing day with a much anticipated Tai Barbecue for lunch.  Daniel's brother Ben and his family came over to visit, so we included them in our barbecue.  Mieren and Alys put together an Easter egg hunt for everyone and we had a wonderful afternoon together.  The weather was beautiful and the barbecue was delicious.  Unfortunately, I sunburned my neck in the hour that I was out cooking the meat, but that was the only downside to the entire day! 

Ben and Jessica brought the fixings for strawberry shortcakes, so between the barbecue and the dessert, we were sufficiently full for the day! (Jessica used an egg slicer to slice the strawberries- it was genius!) 

Jane loves to read and she ever so sweetly asked Ben to read some books to her.  She loved the attention and I loved watching the two of them together! 

After all of the stress and anticipation of the birthday party, it was nice to have an impromptu gathering that went well and was a lot of fun! 

Sensitive

I will be the first to admit that I am sensitive to violence, suspense, war and corruptness in movies, television shows and books.  I still get frightened when thinking about the flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch on the Wizard of Oz.  Yes, seriously.  I just don't handle scary things well.  I know that about myself and I understand that I am quite abnormal.  You will never see me volunteer to go to a haunted house.  I did go, once when I was about 15- hated the feeling that surrounded the place- I knew that the chainsaw didn't have chains on it, that the 'ghosts' were images, but there was such a dark and evil feeling that enveloped the area, that I couldn't feel comfortable.  I have issues with some of the computer games that are played in this house (I don't mind when they are fighting a hunk of wood, a big rock or a big spider, but when they are fighting other characters that are more human-looking, I get upset).  I don't quite understand how it doesn't bother other people, but I can respect that other people enjoy environments that I don't. 

Daniel will go to a movie and screen it for me.  Most times (like 19 out of 20) he will tell me that the movie will bother me.  It doesn't surprise me because just watching the trailer for most movies tells me that I can't watch the whole movie. 

When the trailers came out for The Lord of the Rings, they terrified me.  I would go out of the theater until the previews were over.  I have watched the cartoon version of The Hobbit. It use to scare me, but it doesn't anymore.  I'm not quite sure what has changed.  (Scooby-Do use to scare me, too, but doesn't now- at least not every episode- so I'm not quite as sensitive now as I use to be!)

I really enjoy reading books, so I was excited to pick up a new series called The Hunger Games.  I had heard a lot of people rave about them, but I had a bunch of things on my to-do list before I could start the series.  I had no idea what the books were about, so I enquired about the story line and I was horrified! The description reminded me a bit of Lord of the Flies (I had to read that book two years in a row in school and I hated it).  I went home and took my name off of the library waiting list. This series didn't interest me in the least. 

The movie came out and Daniel went with his brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces.  When he came back from the movie, he said that it is one that I should never see.  We got talking about the violence in the movie and how surprised he is that it is so popular with certain groups.  He said that the movie is well done, but that he didn't enjoy it and isn't tempted to read the books. 

When Daniel was telling me some details about the movie (because I was curious if it was really as violent as the story line hints) I started to feel sick.  When he told me about when the game participants start and go towards the supply table and a handful of people are killed right there, I started to cry.  I've never been this emotional towards movies, but I was so saddened that this type of entertainment is accepted and applauded. 

Mark wants to see the movie and I don't want him to. Daniel doesn't want him to see it either.   A lot of his friends have seen the movie, so he feels a bit left out.

Last night I discovered that kids have been playing Hunger Game Wars at school during recess.  They get 24 kids together, assign districts, and fight it out until only 2 are standing.  I know that they aren't really fighting to the death, and that they are 'fake fighting',  but it really upset me.  I talked with the boys about how it isn't an appropriate game to play at school, as it can get out of hand very easily, but they didn't seem to be worried about it and essentially dismissed my concerns.  As soon as I got the kids in bed, I emailed the school principal and told her about the games, just so that she is aware of it and can impliment some rules about it or make the recess aides aware of it is if she chooses to.  Am I overracting?  I don't feel like I am, but others may disagree with me.


Here is a Facebook conversation that I had with a friend from high school:

• Christina: Finally finished the disgusting Hunger Games series. Now what am I going to do avoid my list of things I really really need to get done?

• Victoria Not disgusting. Fabulous.
• Sherron Are you being real about the disgusting part? When I heard the story line I was turned off from reading the books, but it hasn't seemed to bother others. If you are serious, I am relieved to find someone who thinks it is disgusting.
  
• Christina Sherron, very real. The disgusting storyline is what kept me from jumping on the bandwagon for so long. But just like Twilight, the entertainment factor won over the insanely horrible message.

I have found it interesting that some people find the story to be 'fabulous' and aren't disturbed by the violence at all.  At least I know that a few other people feel the same way about the disgusting storyline, but even then, most of them will read the books or watch the movie as a way to feel that they fit in with society.  I am not judging other people for what they are comfortable with, even though it may seem as though I am.  In all fairness, I am just perplexed that my level of comfort is so far off from what the comfort level of the people around me is.  That is all. 

My emotions are raw right now, my sensitivity higher than normal.   My sensitivity can make me feel isolated sometimes.  Lately, with all of the excitement with this movie, I have realized how different I am. 

Happy Birthday Dad!

On April 11th, my Dad turned 70 years old!  Last weekend we had a birthday party for him at my house.  All seven children and their spouses were able to attend.  I put together a slide show with pictures of my Dad and our family and had that playing on a screen in the living room to keep us entertained while we waited for everyone to come.  It was a lot of fun to look through the pictures and reminisce about the past.  Dad loves ice cream, so we had an ice cream bar with lots of toppings to choose from and waffle bowls.  My brother Daniel brought some dairy-free ice cream that is delicious.  It is a cinnamon caramel swirl and even those who can have diary liked it! 

After the ice cream, we played a little trivia game that I titled "Father Knows Best".  I took information that I got from interviewing him about his childhood and college years and put them in a multiple choice answer format.  We discovered fun information about my Dad (like his first job was to pull onions and beets and wash them for 15 cents an hour, and that he skipped 38 days of school his senior year!) 

I had all of my siblings submit ten memories that they have with Dad and I compiled it into a book (with seven of us, it made 70 memories!) I had the book printed in a hard cover and it turned out great.  It was a bit of stress getting it all put together, but it was so fun rewarding to have it done and give it to him!  I told him that we couldn't think of anything to give him that he didn't already have, so we got together to give him somthing that he already has but not in this format. 

Dad, Mom, Kris and Denise (She had baby Hailey two days after this party!)

Denise, Randy (recovering from foot surgery) Wendy, Jenn, Cory

Cory, Dan, James, Debbie, Kim, Blake, Kelly

Kim, Blake, Kelly, Daniel

Mark and my Mom were seeing who was the tallest and Dan came to tower over them! I didn't get any good pictures of the decorations, but I made some streamers from small paper circles that I sewed together.  The house had a very festive look and it was a lot of fun to put together!

I love my Dad so much and it was an honor to put this party and book together for him.  Happy birthday Dad!



Dad and Sherron