26 posts tagged “ashli”

Yesterday, I took the day off work to take care of a few things.  The local theatre does free movies for kids during the days all summer long.  This week they were showing Firehouse Dog.  Since I was off, we took the girls and met a couple of others there for the movie.  The movie is about a dog that is a movie star (notably the star of "The Fast and the Furriest")  and he gets lost and is trapped in a building when an arsonist catches it on fire. 

The show the arsonist later making more of his timed fire bombs.  He sets one of them down on a table and the camera pans to show about ten more just like it on the table.  Also on the table are the remains of cigarettes and cigars.  When these were shown, Ashli states loudly, "uh oh, he smokes."  I almost couldn't stop laughing. 

Last Wednesday, I took the kids to see Iron Man.  We got to the theatre and sat down with about 10 other people.  The movie was showing every 30 minutes so people had a huge choice of times to see it.  It was also 3:30 on a Wednesday.  The movie was good and all except one scene toward the beginning with a reporter was appropriate for the kids.  It held Ashli's(7) attention all the way through, but Ally(3) just couldn't follow the movie completely.  They both loved the movie and I enjoyed it as well.  Someone told me it was better than Spiderman 2 and that is setting the bar way high.  It was not better, but was still very good. 

On the way home from the movie, Ashli was looking out the window and being very quiet.  I knew exactly what she was thinking.  I asked her, "What are you thinking about back there, how to create an Iron Man suite?"  She lit up and said, "Yeah."  Ally made up and Iron man dance where she shuffles her feet and then kicks.  They both run around playing Iron man now. 

With all the movies coming up, I think I will go broke.  They both want to see Prince Caspian, Indiana (or Indian according to Ally) Jones, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and The Incredible Hulk. 

    For some odd reason, yesterday, my wife took my daughter back to school to get a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest.  Ashli, along with every other kid, had noticed the bird hopping around while they were at recess.  No other parent, if even asked, gave in and went back to the school to look for the bird.  I said to my wife, "Don't, it will only die."  My protest via phone were either ignored or already too late as there was a bird in a box in my living room when I got home from work. 

     A quick internet search revealed that I was in fact right and that their was about a zero chance of survival with us nursing this bird.  The site I referenced also mentioned that in the State of Tennessee it is illegal to take a wild bird out of the wild.  I doubt wildlife management was running a sting, but it was another reason to be rid of the thing.  More research revealed that the mother would continue feeding the bird even after we had touched it.  It said we should try and put it back into its nest, make a nest to put in a tree for it, or, at the very least, put the baby in a tree or bush off the ground. 

     Of course it was up to me, the heartless dad, to take her back to the school with the bird and let the bird go.  Tears flowed for hours as my daughter explained that she could have kept it alive and that it would have been a great pet.  We put the bird on a thick branch in a tree, the nest was not evident.  Hopefully its mom and/or dad will find it there and continue feeding it. 

Last month Ashli was invited to attend 2nd grade at the Discovery School.  I think they had two slots open and over sixty applicants.  She was evaluated on her current grades as well as a two hour test.  Needless to say that we are very proud of her.  It is a charter/magnet school that focuses on technology about thirty minutes away from our house.  Luckily, there are two families with children in our neighborhood that currently attend and we will be able to car pool.  We didn't think we were going to get in after we got wait listed at the two other magnet schools in our county.  My wife is really excited about it.  Ashli is very non-chalant about the whole thing; she could care less where she goes to school. 

Ashli reaching out and attempting to pull Luke's lightsaber from the snow cave of Hoth with the force. 

HothWampaCaveLuke

if you have never gone and seen badger badger badger  you should check it out.  Warning it is addictive.

Ashli has decided that she wants a baby corn snake.  She has $19 saved up and they cost $29 at Petco right now.  I am pretty sure the wife's stance is a HUGE NO! I personally am okay with reptiles.  The cost to maintain them are relatively cheap as well.  I just know if we allow it, we are going to have a loose cornsnake in the house, and if the cats get it, a dead one.  The wife did make a huge step and hold a snake at Petco the other day.  They have a monthly reptile show up in KY and I am thinking of driving up to check it out. 

Ashli went to a birthday party for her best friend on Saturday.  Ashli wanted to see Spiderwick Chronicles so we talked to the girls mother about taking them both as a present.  So, Monday morning we load up the car and pick up her friend. After a stop at Dollar Tree for candy and drinks, we head to the theatre. 

There were some good previews.  Saw the Indiana Jones preview, which left me less than impressed.  Speed racer was shown but I had seen this one at Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Nim's Island looks like it is going to be good and we have the book at home. 

Spiderwick was pretty good.  It is a kids movie for sure.  There isn't any adult humor or anything like that.  The parents in the movie are going through a divorce.  There is lots of fantasy violence with green goo blood being splattered around.  Ashli said it was scary but that she liked it.  I really liked the ending to the movie.  There are twins in the movie and they are played by just one person.  I understand that this is done with relative ease, but why not hire twins for the role.  All in all it was a fun family movie that kids will love.

I let my children watch Hannah Montana, no, I watch Hannah Montana with my kids.  It is something that I never thought I would do until this school year.  We monitor what our kids watch.  My children do not watch spongebob, for example.  Actually, my kids were almost completely limited to PBS and what they see outside of our home (we can't really control that, and yes they have seen spongebob outside of our house).

I am not even sure how Hannah entered into our living room for the first time or where initial exposure took place.  I

Hannah Montana - One in a Million

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know that I was picking Ashli up from a sleepover the first time I saw a Zack and Cody episode and that we don't watch that show.  Some parents just let Disney Channel, Nick, or CN run constantly in their homes and trust the content.  I can not in good faith do this.  I don't supervise everything my children watch but I do try and exercise some jurisdiction especially for 7y/o Ashli.

Hannah made it on to our TV somehow and I have to say that I am completely suprised.  The show harkens back to

my youth and reminds me of shows like Growing Pains, Who's the Boss, Silver Spoons, Different Strokes, and Punky Brewster.  Every episode seems to have a lesson, and I play a game with Ashli to see if she can find it.  For example, Last night Miley lied to her friend Lilly about a party.  Miley, as a consequence didn't have fun at the party and had to go to great lengths to keep the fact that she went a secret.  Lilly in the end finds out and Miley realizes that she should have just told the truth in the first place.  The episode even hits on being loyal to your friends. 

Sure the show has some campiness.  It isn't really educational either.  It is fun for the girls and they love singing along to the songs.  As far as rolemodels go, Ashli could do far worse than Miley Sirus and probably couldn't do much better(at least as far as the teen girl rolemodel arena goes). 

I hadn't been to my friend’s house in quite a few months and hence my children had not been there either.  We were at his house to watch the superbowl.  We walked in and I take my contribution of snacks into the kitchen.  Ashli walks into the formal living room and exclaims, "Wow, it looks different in here!"  I walk in and look around with my friend and I ask him what he changed.  He isn't sure what she is talking about either.  We both turn to my daughter and ask her what has changed.  She looks right at us and says, "it is clean!"  I don't know whose face was more red, my friend's or mine. Maybe I shouldn't use exaggerated surprise when my daughter cleans her room either.