Review - The Hurt Locker

So yesterday, I got a chance to watch the movie, "The Hurt Locker". It's basically about a demolition team in Iraq who is assigned to dis-arming IED's. You get a real sense of the kind of danger these guys put themselves through every single day, and the pressure to save lives of others in harms way.

Movies like this are always good to watch once in a while as a remembrance that our troops are out there so you can sleep well this evening. If you get a chance to watch this, I highly recommend it. Excellent movie. Also, below the trailer, you'll see a video capture by a soliders helmet cam of a firefight in Afghanistan. To further remind us why we shouldn't forget our troops.

Family Visit in Sacramento

I had a great week last week, first my nephews came in just before my birthday and stayed with our family for a week. Then my brother and his family came in a few days later and spent a long weekend with us, while we visited San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno and around Sacramento. It was great seeing everyone, especially my nephews. Here's a quick and dirty slideshow we made for everyone just before they left. Enjoy!!!

Howard and John

I'm so excited for tomorrow. My nephews from Ohio, Howard and John are arriving in CA to spend a week with our family. It has been 3 years since we saw them last. It's going to be a blast!

Movie Reviews - Aliens in the Attic, Terminator Salvation

Well, got to see a couple of movies with the family today, and I actually liked both.

The first movie, Aliens in the Attic had its moments. Overall, it wasn't that great of a movie, the acting was just average, the plot was a bit confusing, but it did have some funny moments, such as the daughters boyfriend being controlled by her brother and cousins, or the boyfriend sparring with the grandmother. It was predictable, and I wouldn't recommend seeing it in the theatre, but it is worth an evening with the children on DVD when it comes out on Blockbuster.

Rating: 6.5



The second movie, Terminator Salvation, was an excellent film. John Conner isn't officially in control of the resistance yet, but is up and coming, and most everyone follows his lead anyway, is searching for his father. At this point in the story, he is in command of a small group, realizing he needed to find his father, for if he couldn't, then they had lost the war. Excellent, sound and special affects, nice plot and story line, leaves the viewer waiting for yet another episode of this popular movie series.

Rating: 9.0

Camping at Manchester State Park

When we were invited by our good friends (Lopez Family) to go camping, I had a difficult time containing my excitement. It has been a while since we went camping as a family at Lake Morena in San Diego, so I was really looking forward to this trip.

Manchester State Park is approximately 4 hours from Sacramento, driving approximately 25+ miles over winding mountain roads until you get to the park, which is by the Pacific Coast. Temperatures were no more than 61 degrees during the day, and as low as 49 during the night.

But that didn't deter us from having fun, going to the beach, checking out cliffs by the ocean, Point Arena Lighthouse nearby, campfire at night, and of course Glass Beach the following day. It was the first time camping for the Lopez family, but they seemed like seasoned veterans and I really enjoyed our time spent with them.

Check out the video I put together from our trip, so much fun.