Back to School Essay

The kids are getting on board those YELLOW school buses! Now that we've headed back to classes for the 09-10 school year, and I bet some of you are dreading that back-to-school essay many teachers assign: What did you do on your summer vacation?

I went to New Orleans for a weekend.

I went to Lake Charles for a day.

I did a little swimming and took a few walks.

The kids and I went to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens Galveston twice.

I went to Schlitterbahn in Galveston once.

I painted and redecorated two bedrooms.

But mostly, I did crafts, watched movies, and read books. Three of my favorite things! I accomplished 29 traditional scrapbook pages, 8 cards, and 10 digital pages this summer. Read about that here.

I frequented the movie theater 10 times, usually early in the day since it's less expensive. I saw:

Angels and Demons - loved it, though not as good as book
Night at the Museum 2 - better than I expected, funny, extra touches and historical details
The Taking of Pelham 123 - suspenseful, but jumpy camera movement for effect
Imagine That - better than I expected, sweet family movie
17 Again - formulaic, but still cute
The Proposal - great movie! I usually like Sandra Bullock's movies.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - awesome!
Public Enemies - not bad!
The Ugly Truth - hilarious!
The Hangover - even more hilarious!
Descriptions of these movies can be found at Internet Movie Database.

I saw 16 movies/TV series on DVD and started 2 more. Here's what I watched:

Slumdog Millionaire - definitely different
The Spiderwick Chronicles - clever and cute
Lost season 3 - I'm a late bloomer where Lost is concerned, and I love it!
Prison Break season 4 - so sad to see this one go.
Sophie Schole, the final Days - subtitles are difficult, but it had a powerful message
Princess Protection Program - cute!
Confessions of a Shopoholic - eh, it was okay, not great.
He's Just Not That into You - the story of my relationships; eh, not that great, either.
Yes Man - eh, I'm not a big Jim Carrey fan, but it was okay.
Another Cinderella Story - Selena Gomez is cute, but the movie is not great.
The Other Boleyn Girl - very different from the book, but I liked it.
ER Season 10 - I watched ER until a few years ago when life just got too busy, so I'm catching up.
Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 6 - my husband's idea.
The Beach - different from the book & not that great
Cloverfield - really stupid movie reminiscent of Blair Witch Project
Isacc's Storm -historical account of the Galveston storm of 1900.
Started on Lost Season 3 and ER Season 11.


I also read 11 books, and I only have a small fine to pay at the library for overdue materials!
The Beach by Alex Garland - different than my usual read, zipped through it
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers - good concept but a bit redundant
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult - emotional with a surprise ending (way better than the movie that was out this summer!)
The Associate by John Grisham - good, but not his best.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - interesting.
Time Bomb by Jonathan Kellerman - strange, but suspenseful.
Darkwater Rising by Marian Hale - not one of the better books about the storm of 1900.
Fingerlickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich - made me laugh out loud!
Wicked Prey by John Sanford - suspenseful and edgy.

Dry Ice by Stephen White - one of my favorite authors.
Blood on the River-Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone - the kids and I had to read it for school.

All in all, I would call it a very productive summer!

The topic over at Heads or Tails is "yellow."

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