Bucket List Scorecard

We'll call it a Staycation kind of summer. (beach at Lumberman's Arch)

Thought I'd go back & look at our Bucket List for this past summer to see how we did now that the season is pretty much over. Not terribly impressed with our results, notes added in italics to the original list. Here they are:

1. Travel (via transit, as usual) to Victoria to visit friends. Nope.
2. Edit: Whoops! Forgot #2... Heh. Did a lot of forgetting of things. I blame baby-brain.
3. Go camping: probably tent camping with a car at a provincial park--nothing too strenuous. Didn't get to this one either.
4. Stay on at least one of the Gulf Islands for a weekend or more. Still nope.
5. Go hiking: likely not anywhere too ambitious--given my 'delicate condition'--maybe a quick one to Quarry Rock or something? Again, nope.
6. Visit Spanish Banks at low tide & play on the sand bars. We did make it to Spanish Banks but not at low tide.
7. Go to the Vancouver International Children's Festival at least once. YES, we did this twice! & it was awesome, as always!
   
8. Have a picnic dinner in a park somewhere. Brought Hawkers Delight takeout to VanDusen Gardens. Sadly, they forgot to include the rice with our order & some of the food included a piece of packaging in it, but we picnicked, yes we did.
9. Host a barbeque with friends. We had people over for food, but I think we didn't actually use the barbeque to do it. We'll still count it.
10. Make popsicles! I keep seeing great recipes for interesting & healthy versions online that I need to try. Inspired by the 50 pounds of plums, pears & apples we got from our Tinka Orchards CSA, I whizzed up some plums in the blender with cinnamon & a little cane sugar.
11. Go swimming in an outdoor pool like Kits or New Brighton. Done! We swam at New Brighton one very warm evening.
12. Visit the PNE. Should be fun this year with a rambunctious three-year-old & me at about 38 weeks pregnant. Gulp. We went on Vancity Member Day, August 29th. I waddled around with my 38-weeks-four-days-pregnant belly & it was a blast. Well, okay, Sprout had fun & we ate mini donuts. :)
13. See some outdoor movies. It was so much fun last year seeing The Princess Bride in David Lam Park, Monty Python & The Holy Grail & Labyrinth in Ceperley Meadows. I definitely want to do it again! Getting to these events is best done by transit plus a bit of a walk, or biking. Most of the movies happened once I'd gotten too pregnant to comfortably use either combination of transportation, so we just didn't go. :( Sprout & Oli did make it to a movie in the park near our house, but I was so tired that night that I stayed on the couch. Maybe I'll give us a half point for that one.

Hooo, 8.5/13? Not a brilliant score, probably would get us a grade of C. There's always next summer, I guess.

Did you write a bucket list for this summer? How did you do at ticking off the items? Care to share your 'score' below?

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SpongeBob SquarePants: The Great Jelly Rescue 4-D Movie at the Vancouver Aquarium

As part of their Jelly Invasion exhibit, the Vancouver Aquarium is showing "SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D: The Great Jelly Rescue" in their theatre. 

"Join SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy on a wildly hilarious 4-D adventure to rescue the Jellyfish of Jellyfish Fields from Plankton’s evil clutches. With eye catching 4-D effects, you’ll join SpongeBob on a rollicking adventure to free the Jellyfish and destroy Plankton’s terrible pollution-belching machine. See how SpongeBob’s big heart puts him oceans above the rest."

If you've never experienced the Vancouver Aquarium's 4-D theatre, you really should. It's a 3-D movie, complete with dorky glasses you borrow & the expected in-your-face visuals & surround sound, but also includes special effects that grab your other senses of touch and smell too.

Also on the menu (sometimes literally!) at the Jelly Invasion exhibit:

• Jelly Deli: the chance to eat jellyfish! Will you be one of the brave foodies chosen to step up to the plate and dive in? Every day during Jelly Deli these brave volunteers will sample some jellyfish dishes, describing their culinary experience to our guests. What does it taste like? What’s the texture like? Does the chef get top marks for presentation? What better place to be adventurous trying a foreign food than in front of an audience of hundreds.
• Are You Smarter Than A Jellyfish? It’s tough to compare…they don’t really have brains. However, jellies are more than simple gelatinous blobs that float around at the mercy of currents. Even a "trivial" look shows their complexity, fascinating interactions with their environment, and surprising connections with us. Put your jelly knowledge to the test in this fun game show style interpretive program taking place in the Underwater Arctic gallery. Step right up and prove that you’re a jelly expert. Not the competitive type? Cheer on participants as a part of the audience and get a lesson in Jellyfish 101.

For show schedules & more information on Jelly Invasion, visit the Vancouver Aquarium's website. You can also get updates via their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter or watch their YouTube channel.


Disclaimer: this is not a sponsored post.

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10 Best Movie Quotes

I'm far from a movie buff, but quotes from movies have become such a part of our culture that I use them in everyday conversations. Tell me you do too--I'm not a total dork, right? If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen some of these. So this list isn't so much the best ones but more the ones I find most useful. 

Just to make it that much more fun, I'm calling POP QUIZ! Which movie is each one from? No Googling! I'll post the answers in the comments below at the end of the week. 

1. "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"
2. "Say hello to my little friend!"
3. "He's only mostly dead."
4. "You talkin' to me?"
5. "Help, help! I'm being repressed!"
6.  "...get me the machine that goes PING!"
   
7. "They're heeere!"
8. "Bueller? ... Bueller? ... Bueller?"
9. "Go ahead. Make my day."
10. "If you build it, he will come."

What are your favourite movie quotes? Do you use them in conversation? Don't forget to leave your guesses about which quote comes from which movie in the comments below! 

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A few new additions to The Sprog

Free movies!

Did you notice a couple of little changes around here on The Sprog? I'll forgive you if you didn't, they're not obvious at first glance.

First, I've updated the Events + Fun Stuff page to include a few fun & free events in the next two weeks. Check it out here or click on the tab above.

Next, I've been interviewed a few times lately & thought I'd make a little place to toot my own horn: I added a Press tab to my blog. If you're curious, take a look here or click on the tab up there.

Something that isn't too new is The Sprog's Facebook page. Have you seen it yet? If not, head over & take a look! I post content--links, photos & updates every day--that you won't see here. I'd love it if you'd 'like' us.

The Itch of the Golden Nit

Tonight we're headed to a sneak preview showing of 'The Itch of the Golden Nit'. What in the world is that, you ask? It's an animated film created by children, for children then brought together by the creators of Wallace & Gromit as part of the Cultural Olympiad leading up to the London Olympic Games. The Tate galleries' creative team came up with the idea as a way to get elementary school age children excited about art & learning about the process of making an animated film.

The official North American debut will be at the Vancouver International Children's Festival but it has already received world-wide praise as well as a Guinness World Record for most individual contributions to an animated film. Literally thousands of children contributed drawings, sound effects & story ideas to the project.

While you're waiting to see the movie, check out the creators' Tate Movie Project website for some interactive online fun or watch a short making-of documentary here to see how in the world they turned over 20,000 kids' artwork into a film.

Disclosure: my family & I were invited to go to a special advance screening arranged by Limelite PR to promote the festival. I am part of a team of bloggers promoting the festival through writing about our experiences with it. My posts & opinions are my own. :)

Review: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Like many people, I've been a Dr. Seuss fan since my childhood. I grew up reading The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs & Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish & And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, among others. The Lorax, just in case you didn't know, is a story with an environmental message. I've always intended to add a copy of it to Sprout's growing library. I'm not a huge movie fan, but I did get excited about getting to see a sneak preview of the latest version of a Seuss story on screen. Plus, the screening was at 10:30am on a Sunday--it fit into Sprout's nap schedule perfectly! 

Nifty: booster seat also prevents theatre
seats from folding & 'eating' your toddler.

Sprout loved taking the Seabus over to the theatre in North Vancouver. When we arrived, we got our Buddy Holly style 3D glasses (including kid-sized ones for Sprout), picked up our free refreshments, grabbed a booster seat & sat near the front of the theatre. After a short spiel by the sponsors, Seventh Generation, the movie began. Predictably, Sprout kept taking his 3D glasses off. I guess the annoyance of having something sitting on his face was too much--he preferred to watch the movie blurry. He did sit through all 95 minutes of the film, half the time on his booster seat, then on my lap. 

Directors Chris Renaud & Kyle Balda kept The Lorax movie true to the ideas in the book, while wrapping another layer around the original story. Our hero, Ted (voiced by Zac Efron), lives in 'Thneedville', which is run by the evil O'Hare corporation. Ted goes on a quest to find a real, live tree (there are none in his town) for a girl (Audrey, voiced by Taylor Swift) he has a crush on. The story Seuss wrote forms the basis of the tale told to Ted by The Once-ler. The curmudgeonly Lorax is played perfectly by Danny Devito. 

The movie was fairly fast paced & appropriately Suessically colourful. I noticed a number of little pop culture references for parents to chuckle at, slipped in by writers Ken Daurio or Cinco Paul. I think anyone three or four years old & up would probably like it. Sprout was definitely a little young for a movie, though he seemed to enjoy most of it, except when he got a little upset in one scene as the Lorax flew away. 

I haven't seen many 3D movies & don't really feel it adds that much to the experience. That said, I think Art Director Eric Guillon managed to use Seuss' characteristic no-straight-lines style as a jumping-off point for The Lorax's digital animation, resulting in a film that's got touches of photorealism in the midst of all the stylized fantasy. 

I liked the environmental message in the film & how it empowers kids to do something about it. I like how there is an anti-corporate message in there. However I was annoyed to see the usual gender stereotypes trotted out for us again. You know: 'boy meets creative dreamer girl, he falls for her, then goes on a quest to get her the object of her heart's desire'. Aren't we past the whole knight-in-shining-armor story yet? Wouldn't The Lorax have been better if Audrey had just gone off in search of the tree herself?

My verdict: If you've got kids or you're a Seuss fan, celebrate what would have been Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday on March 2nd by seeing The Lorax. Then stop by the Sprog Blog here & let me know what you thought in the comments section below!

*Talkshop Media gave us free passes to see an advance 'Green Carpet' screening of the Lorax, sponsored by Seventh Generation. We also received free popcorn & drinks, plus detergent, baby wipes, coupons, a Lorax stuffie & three cloth bags from Seventh Generation.