Yesterday when I walked in your classroom at KinderCare to pick you up, I noticed that a couple of your friends were helping you build the largest Lego project I’ve ever seen you do.
You showed me how the huge hospital only had one chair for the patients to sit on. I saw a Lego man leaned back; while a line of a dozen or so homemade Lego men (4 small blocks in a T-shape to represent a person) waited in line for the chair.
Another actual Lego man was hanging from the roof, though I’m not sure why.
It appeared as if you were the foreman of the construction project, as your friends Xavier, Jacob, and Joshua assisted you.
Turns out, that was the case.
When I dropped you off this morning, your school director Mrs. Tonya explained there was a slight disruption right before we walked in.
Apparently, one of your friends who was not part of your construction project tried to take a Lego piece off of it:
“No! That’s Jack’s! You can’t touch it! He’s still working on it!” your friend Joshua explained to other student; as Mrs. Tonya explained it to me.
It’s pretty cool to see you in this role of project manager among your friends. From what I’ve seen when I pick you up each day, you’re never the kid who is highly vocal; leading others in that way.
Instead, what I am seeing is you leading your friends through ideas and activities. I like that.
Anytime you receive a new Lego set, we build it together; only for you to take it apart a few hours later, using its unique parts to combine with other unique parts of other sets.
You love the wrecking ball you received with one of your birthday gifts from last months.
The way I feel, all these countless hours playing Legos at home are yielding the results in your play time at school.
I will gladly take pride in seeing you as a creative innovator.
Last year you expressed zero interest in seeing Santa again, so we let you off the hook.
But this year, your best friend Sophie just happened to be visiting Nashville again since she moved nearly a year ago, in February.
As expected, you brought your illuminating sword we had bought you the night before at Marvel Universe Live. Just as appropriate on her end, Sophie brought her Anna doll.
I enjoyed watching the two you play together in front of the fish tank with your gender-specific toys.
Having still an hour to go before your appointment with Santa, we decided to hang out at the Lexus RX 450h that our family was reviewing this week.
With Sophie’s 4th birthday on December 21st, we decided to give her both her birthday and Christmas gifts there in the back of the Lexus; which sort of transformed into a stage, as we parents watched the endearing entertainment.
Your birthday gift to Sophie was very special; a penguin from Whole Foods- the exact same one as you have, who you named Pingy.
We still had a solid 30 minutes or so after, so we headed back into Bass Pro Shop to check out the activities for kids; like coloring funny pictures, racing cars, engineering trains, and “hunting.”
When it came time to go see Santa, we learned that Sophie is troubled by gloves; she just doesn’t like them.
So I explained to Santa and he agreed to remove them for the picture, which he gladly agreed to as he did his best to hide the confused look in his eyes and as I tried not to laugh. Notice the picture below of him removing them…
As you can see from the picture at the very top, Santa was wearing no gloves for the picture of you and Sophie on his lap.
And of all random things, the one and only thing you asked Santa for was… a pinball machine.
Yes, a pinball machine. Granted, our new house is going to have more space than our town house that we’ve been living in all these years, but still, I don’t think you’re exactly sure of what a pinball machine really is.
Turns out, I learned that last week your teacher Ms. Michelle created a pinball machine concept for your class to play with. So that’s where you got the idea. Now to figure out how I’m going to arrange that with Santa. Time for me to start Googling “small pinball machines”…
Fun and unforgettable memories were made, that’s for sure. And if it all works out, we’ll be visiting Sophie again the day after Christmas, while reviewing another Lexus.
Love,
Daddy
Catch up on the entire series of the Lexus RX 450h Weekend. A lot of exiciting things happened!
Having visited the Wizard World Atlanta Comic Con this past June in Atlanta and seen all the Marvel characters there, Mommy and I decided it would be a good decision for our family to drive the luxurious Lexus RX 450h to downtown Nashville this past weekend to see Marvel Universe Live!
Even though we live in Nashville, as a family we only visit downtown a few times per year. So I took advantage of using the GPS to remind myself how to get to the Bridgestone Arena, while we all listened to classic Christmas tunes on Sirius XM.
I am pleased to say that the show was completely appropriate and relevant for you; having just turned 4 years old a few weeks ago.
You have recently gained great interest in watching Power Rangers on Netflix. It was that same type of thrilling, over-the-top action in the Marvel Universe Live show that you were exposed to, only instead of on a laptop screen, you got to see it live in person, while sitting in between Mommy and Daddy.
I paid attention to all the families around us and they seemed to be as excited as we were to be there.
One of my favorite parts was the getting to see the nonstop motorcycle tricks. Conveniently, most of the Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow, Bruce Banner before he becomes the Hulk, Wolverine, Spiderman. etc.) all drive motorcycles while constantly “popping wheelies.”
I was so impressed when Captain America jumped up a ramp unto a ledge; it had to be at least 15 feet high!
And of course there were constantly explosions going on; one of the bad buys even “caught on fire” and ran around on flames.
Mommy’s favorite part was when Spiderman “stood upside-down” on the Green Goblin’s glider.
Speaking of flying, there was a lot of that going on the entire show!
I’m pretty sure your favorite part was when Bruce Banner turned into the Hulk.
How awesome!
The crowd went wild when that happened. It was awesome to see. Our seats happened to be right where that was taken place.
However, my warmest memory of Mommy and I taking you to see Marvel Universe Live was during intermission. Our friends the Van Dykes ended up winning the giveaway I did on the Facebook page for Family Friendly Daddy Blog.
So as we were speaking to them, I happened to look down at you, as you were sitting on Mommy’s lap, looking to the aisle with your hand raised up in the air.
I then saw that a vendor was selling illuminating toy swords and you wanted one. It didn’t help that Jackson, the Van Dykes’ 3 year-old son, had gotten one at the beginning of the show.
I offered to buy you any $15 Transformer you wanted instead, knowing we were going to Target the next morning…
All I can say is you’re one lucky kid. It didn’t take much more than a frantic look from you, knowing that was your only chance to get one of those swords, and you had convinced Mommy and me to bascially beg the vendor to take our $25 so we could get you that sword.
And boy you were proud. Just as I expected, this sword was not simply an impulse buy.
The next morning, Mommy and I found you in bed, clutching the sword. From there, we went to go see Santa at Bass Pro Shop; and you guessed it, you took the sword!
We had a wonderful time as a family and I would recommend Marvel Universe Live to any families who would like to see non-stop action, explosions, fires, motorcycle stunts, martial arts, and “flying” Marvel characters.
I hope Marvel Universe Live returns to Nashville next year!
Love,
Daddy
Catch up on the entire series of the Lexus RX 450h Weekend. A lot of exiciting things happened!
For the rest of this week, go ahead and expect to see several upcoming exciting stories about events that took place last week, while our family was fortunate to review the 2014 Lexus RX 450h from a family friendly perspective…
But first, I would like to highlight the features of this vehicle that stood out the most to our family of three.
In my “2 Minute Walk Around” video above, I mentioned that driving the Lexus RX 450 is like when Super Mario hops in the cloud and drives it. With this vehicle being hybrid, you can’t really hear the engine, providing for an extremely quiet ride and idle.
As you can expect from a Lexus luxury vehicle, the cabin itself is like a really classy lounge. My wife always loves it when we review a vehicle with heated and cooled seats.
This was the first time I actually used them myself. Obviously, as you can see from these photos, things got a bit frosty; so I definitely took advantage of the “bun warmers” feature.
I know this may sound like a peculiar feature to highlight, but I really loved the gear shifter. Granted, this was an automatic transmission. But ergonomically, the shifter handle is in the perfect place and I really liked how the handle was a bit longer than most; it somehow made it glide more naturally than most vehicles I have driven.
Like every Lexus SUV I have ever reviewed, all I have to do is just press the button on the “fifth door” and it closes by itself. That’s always fun.
As for my 4 year-old son Jack, it was very obvious what he liked most about the Lexus RX 450h; the DVD screens on the back of the front screens, with Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound (15 speakers.)
It was like Jack’s own private theatre in the back seat.
One of his aunts just happened to send him a Christmas present which included a Berenstain Bears DVD.
After I saw how special he felt back there, I decided to cash in some points at Best Buy and let him pick out another DVD.
He chose Disney’s Dinosaur, which is perfectly appropriate and relevant for him at this age.
There’s my quick overview. If you have $60,190 to spend on a new luxury SUV, I can’t imagine how the 2014 Lexus RX 450h would be a wrong choice for your family. I didn’t even mention that fact it averages 29 miles per gallon!
So stay tuned for upcoming posts this week involving the 2014 Lexus RX 450h; including going to see Marvel Universe Live, Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shop, and a Nerf birthday party where they shipped in snow for the kids to play in!
Catch up on the entire series of the Lexus RX 450h Weekend. A lot of exiciting things happened!
To my surprise though, Warner Bros. reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked if I’d review Dolphin Tale 2… How convenient!
My son Jack just turned 4 and had never seen a movie that wasn’t a “kids’ movie.” That changed with Dolphin Tale 2; it’s not a kids’ movie, it’s a family movie.
Dolphin Tale 2 is aimed for the whole family. It is a completely clean movie; it contains no words that I would imagine would be particularly inappropriate for young children. “Heck” and “darn” are about as intense as it gets there.
The movie is rated PG, as opposed to G. My guess is because the movie begins with one of the older dolphins, Panama, dying of old age. Several shots are shown of the dolphin’s body lying at the bottom of the pool; though nothing graphic.
And thus begins the movie’s plot line: A companion must be found for Winter, the dolphin with the prosthetic tale, in order for her to stay at the facility; according to state regulations.
Dolphin Tale 2 is actually the first movie I’ve ever seen in Blu Ray. Definitely a step up from what I’m used to.
My son Jack obviously loved the movie; he’s never seen so much footage of dolphins before.
Our family felt good about watching this movie together; it was very appropriate and entertaining for all of us; but not in a cheesy “Hallmark movie” kind of way.
If you’re looking for stocking stuffers for children, I think Dolphin Tale 2 would make a much appreciated choice.
Our family also sat down together and watched the first Dolphin Tale movie as well. It contains the same clean, family-friendly kind of content along with the same cast of actors revisited.
In the first movie, Winter the dolphin is discovered caught up in a fisherman’s trap which ultimately causes her to loose her tale, so people come together to create one for her in order for her survive.
I have a feeling there will be a Dolphin Tale 3, and I hope there is!
“Dolphin Tale 2” reunites the entire main cast, led by Harry Connick, Jr. as Dr. Clay Haskett; Nathan Gamble as Sawyer Nelson; Ashley Judd as Sawyer’s mom, Lorraine; Kris Kristofferson as Clay’s father, Reed; Cozi Zuehlsdorff as Clay’s teenage daughter, Hazel; Austin Stowell as Sawyer’s cousin, Kyle; Austin Highsmith as Winter’s lead trainer, Phoebe; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) as Dr. Cameron McCarthy. The film also features Bethany Hamilton as herself.
“Dolphin Tale 2” is produced by Oscar® nominees Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson (“The Blind Side”), together with Alcon President of Worldwide Marketing, Richard Ingber, and Steven P. Wegner. David Yates and Robert Engelman served as executive producers.
“Dolphin Tale 2” will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and includes the film in high definition on Blu-ray disc, a DVD, and a digital version of the movie in Digital HD with UltraViolet. Fans can also own “Dolphin Tale 2” via purchase from digital retailers.
SYNOPSIS
The inspiring true story of Winter isn’t over. Several years after receiving a prosthetic tail, Winter loses her surrogate mother, leaving her alone, grieving and unwilling to engage with anyone, even her best human friend, Sawyer. Worse, she may have to be moved from her home at the aquarium due to regulations requiring dolphins to be paired. When Dr. Clay Haskett and his dedicated team can’t find her a companion, it looks like they may lose their beloved Winter…until an unexpected turn of events brings them Hope.
BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS
“Dolphin Tale 2” Blu-ray Combo Pack contains the following special features:
· Dolphin Tale 2: Underwater Magic Dolphin Tale 2: True Story
· Look Who’s Running The Show
· Bethany Hamilton Meets Winter
· Dolphin Tale 2: The Mission
· Cozi Zuehlsdorff – “Brave Souls”
· Gavin DeGraw – “You Got Me”
· Blooper Reel
“Dolphin Tale 2” Standard Definition DVD contains the following special features:
· Dolphin Tale 2: True Story
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS
On December 9, “Dolphin Tale 2” will be available for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Target Ticket, Vudu, Xbox and others. “Dolphin Tale 2” will also be available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.
ABOUT DIGITAL HD WITH ULTRAVIOLET
*Digital HD with UltraViolet allows fans to watch a digital version of their movie or TV show anywhere, on their favorite devices. Digital HD with UltraViolet is included with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs. Digital HD with UltraViolet allows consumers to instantly stream and download movies and TV shows to TVs, computers, tablets and smartphones through UltraViolet retail services like CinemaNow, Flixster, Target Ticket, VUDU and more. For more information on compatible devices go to wb.com/ultravioletdevices. Consult an UltraViolet Retailer for details and requirements and for a list of HD-compatible devices.
BASICS
PRODUCT SRP
Blu-ray Combo Pack $35.99
DVD Amaray (WS) $28.98
Standard Street Date: December 9, 2014
DVD Languages: English, Latin Spanish, Canadian French
BD Languages: English, Latin Spanish, Canadian French
DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French
BD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French
