Movies, Cooties, Patriots

Hola!  Today is the 16th of January...that would mean January is half over!  What have we done with the month so far...?

Elves...exceptional warriors :)

THE HOBBIT.  Yes, Frank and I held off watching "The Hobbit" until we could watch it at our leisure, and actually "finish" it, for Pete's sake!  None of this "3 separate movies, stretched out over 3 years, where you have to stay hanging, and wait a whole year in between each one" kind of thing.  Two weekends ago, we rented the first 2 Hobbit movies from Redbox and watched them, and then last weekend we watched the 3rd movie in the theater.  Amazing cinemetography.  Thoroughly disgusting "Orc" creatures.  And I really want those Elves fighting on MY side.

(P.S. I think Orlando Bloom -- photo above -- was born under a lucky star...how did he get the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, AND the Lord of the Rings starring roles?)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS.  Well this will be WAY more exciting for our cousin Dallas in Show Low than for people in our house (?!?!), since he is the die-hard Patriots Fan.  But the Patriots are one game away from going to the SUPERBOWL!  Around this sports-crazy town, there is much rejoicing.  We'll see what Sunday brings.

STREP THROAT.  I couldn't remember why last week seemed so short...now I do remember.  I lost 2 days to laying in bed wishing I could disappear!  I don't think I have had strep cooties before.  I will say, however, that I am EXTREMELY glad to be born AFTER PENICILLIN.  Wow, what a difference that awesome stuff makes.

MIDTERMS. Kara and Teresa gear up for midterms at the high school...those will take place next week.  It's a new and rather daunting experience for freshmen.  Kara has 5 big tests, over the course of 4 days.  The high school sets it up like a college schedule.  The students have two 2-hour testing blocks of time each day of midterms, and no other regular classes.  It's "old hat" for Teresa the Senior, but having done it 6 times before (midterms, then finals each school year) does not make it any less stressful.

NEWEST FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER. Teresa has taken some really cool pictures in her photography class this semester.  Here are some she took while we were in Florida...oh the first 2 are here at our house in Massachusetts.  If you click on these pictures, you can see them bigger.

alligator buddy in the canal behind Grammie D & Poppa Dave's

Creepy, huh?

Have a great weekend!
Love, Kari