Today, Richie and Tedy began replacing our roof after February’s nasty storm.  I appreciate the help they’ve provided, and I hope they get things wrapped up tomorrow.  I’ve been relegated to clean-up duty and gopher during this project.  I’m not exactly a handyman.

So anyway, I definitely wanted to mention “Monsters vs. Aliens” that we went to see last weekend. It was a pretty good movie.  I’ve always liked animated movies, and this one’s good. Not great, but good.  The kids were entertained, and that’s the main thing.

To me, the one thing the movie lacked is “Aliens” — there was one alien, who cloned himself multiple times, thus creating “aliens.”  I would have liked five different aliens, one that could have been beaten by some special ability of each monster.  Like Susan could have fought some big alien, and B.O.B. could have fought some Jell-O-type alien, etc.  But I guess that would have taken away from the story a little bit.  But still when I hear “Monsters vs. Aliens” I picture an all-out battle for suprremecy.  But that’s just me.

The kids loved it, and the animation is amazing.  I didn’t get to see it in 3D because my local theater doesn’t support it, but the one in Morgantown does.  It may just be worth the repeat trip to see it in 3D.

Allison dances with a local dance group, and this year they performed their routine at Idlewild.  They usually have a trip at the end of the year after their recital.

Like I said, Idlewild is a nice little park.  There a few fun rides… quite a few for little kids in Racoon Lagoon.  There are no blazingly fast roller coasters, but there are a couple that are appropriate for kids around Ryan’s age.

He’s actually getting too big for the kiddie rides.  He rode around in the airplanes and drove the little cars, but he just looks too big.

We got quite a bit of rain in the afternoon, and our day was cut a little short.  But the kids had a good time while we were there.  More photos on the Photos page…

I don’t get much out of camping, although I did enjoy the company.  I had fun playing cards and riding bikes and generally taking it easy.  I don’t enjoy sleeping in a camper.  I didn’t sleep too well.  But at least my allergies were held in check this time.

The kids had a great time.  They did a little swimming and even did a little river rafting.  We did a little sight-seeing around the area and visited the fish hatchery.  The kids would wave their arms in the air over the fish and the fish would jump around like crazy, expecting to be fed.

You can see more photos on the photo page.

Now, the competition is on! It really is kinda silly, but unfortunately it is addictive.  Keep in mind, we are all beginners.  So those of you that rock at this, don’t laugh at our times.  For example,  right now, Allison holds the time for a best 3-6-3, at 6.74 seconds.  I had it for about ten minutes when I had a 6.90.  But I will be back at it again shortly…

This is what happens when your XBox 360 spends a little time in Texas.

I always hate to say "if you look on the sidebar" in a post, because I change this site so often that it’s probably not going to be there long, but "having said that…"

If You Look At The Sidebar you will notice a Biggest Loser-type scale.  This is because a group of us (eight, I think) are trying to lose weight along with the Biggest Loser Million Pound Match-Up.  Some of us (not me) are doing better than others.  I’ve lost three pounds so far, but at one time I had lost over five.  And I’ve put some back on.  You can see our Biggest Loser page here.

Hope you have a happy holiday!

-

-

-

–

It seems like a nice vehicle.  Only time will tell, I guess.

In other news… The Mountaineers escaped with a victory last night, beating Cincinnati 28 to 23.

Go Mountaineers!

Saturday was a very busy day this past weekend.

Ryan had to be in town at 11:00am to line up for the big Shinnston “Frontier Days” parade. His flag football team rode along in the back of pickup trucks and tossed out candy.

After the parade we decided to stick around in town and visit the carnival and ride some rides. I rode the Hurricane one time with Allison, and that was plenty. Ryan rode a few of the kiddie rides.

Then, it was off to Stydahar Field for Ryan’s first home flag football game this season. The team looked pretty good this weekend, much more organized than last week at Tygarts Valley.

Finally, in the evening we had a get-together at our house to enjoy a home-cooked meal made by Tina. The food was excellent and the company was wonderful. We all shared a few laughs and played some games.

My aunt Diana and uncle Derek are currently visiting us from England. They’ve been visiting friends and family and taking in some of the sights while they’re here.

Also, the Mountaineers beat the ECU Pirates Saturday 48-7. So they remain undefeated. They play again this Friday against South Florida, their first Big East opponent of the season.

I’m not much of a Mountain Man. I don’t fish, I don’t hunt. But even so it was nice to see some natural beauty. We took a ride on the “New Tygart Flyer” and rode to a secluded waterfall. See the previous post for a pic.

Then on Saturday night we saw a show at the “American Mountain Theater.” The show has only been running for a couple of weeks now, and it’s a brand new experience for West Virginia. There’s nothing else like it around. The show reminds me a lot of the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge, with a lot of singing and a little comedy. The AMT crew does an impressive job and they have a good foundation to build upon. The entertainment was great. Top notch musicians and a family-friendly atmosphere make this show a can’t-miss.

We visited Smoke Hole Caverns, Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob and Blackwater Falls to round out our Sunday. I will post pics soon.

- Posted by MobiBlogr from mobile phone.

- Posted by MobiBlogr from mobile phone.