Summer Lovin', Havin' a Blast!

Something very depressing is happening as our marriage progresses and I think it's only fair that I write about it. The more frequently Mike and I play strategic board games (Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride and the like...), the more he hands me my butt served up in a little platter with a little "Oh, sorry Ashley.  I guess I'm just dominating at something else" (I paraphrase).  Each game I lovingly arrange my little wooden pieces as if that could prepare them for the brutal defeat that they are about to experience, and each game I allow myself a little shard of hope: that if I play the 'Maverick move' and wish hard enough, I will turn over the exact card I need in the moment of truth.  I've been sadly disappointed.

Sure, I have Boggle and Scrabble.  I still hold my own in Texas Hold'em.  But even my go-to games of Scum and Pounce have gone to the Man-of-the-House lately.  Ahh what Armageddon is this when I would rather read a book whilst Mike begs me to cast in my lots just one more time.  But seriously.  I'm really proud that Mike has not only taken an interest in one of my dear hobbies--nay, passions-- but has become The Don Juan in all of the strategic games we engage in.  I must say that while we may both get fired up in the moment, one of my favorite things about our relationship is our playful war banter exchanged during an impassioned game of I'm the Boss.

Well, Mike's beard is good.  We've been bumming for the past month-ish and have just been relaxing by:

-getting destroyed at board games (as previously mentioned)

-eating out until our pants buckle beneath their added girth

-watching the 'Boulderite Hippies' convulse (dance) at outdoor concerts and festivals
-Making Chibatta bread sammi's and my 'Al Forno pasta

-watching fireworks in the only place not Fired out in CO

-diving for toys at the public pool

-playing tennis with friends

-Making out at drive-in movies
-Putting donughts on every single doorknob at Harmony Square apts. (including our own);
Yes, tis true, we are prankster fiends! 

-napping. repeat.
-touring palaces at the Parade of Homes
-buying honey and pictures by awesome Argentinian street vendors

-treasure hunting at thrift store half-off days

-having a blast at the historic Lakeside amusement park

-fixing the car AGAIN (surprise, surprise)

-reading books or something
-adding to my feel-good notebook of magazine photos
-getting dirty camping
-wakeboarding and water skiing like a boss at Jordanelle Lake
-loosing our breath at Yellowstone National Park. ('nuff said)
-Pinteresting. repeat.
-discovering movies!!!

etc. etc.  

This is Mike's new favorite painting that we got at an outdoor market.  He framed it for our wall 

I LOVE the built in bookshelves in this eco-friendly million dollar home

"DON'T YOU EVER INTERRUPT ME WHEN I'M READING A BOOK!" 

Just loungin' on the third story private balcony/oasis  

Donut Dumpster Diving adventure!  Such midnight havoc-wreaking calls for stealthy, covert clothing

Sketchin' some artwork'

My feel good notebook 

Mike and I dig J-Dawgs.

So four things, thumbs up and down. 

I know these may not be new, but here are four experiences I've had in a personal discovery of some films this summer: 

1. Life is beautiful.  Thumbs way up!!!  What a moving film.  Best in it's original Italian, this movie moved me to tears as it not only explored the heart-wrenching sacrifices made and by individuals during WWII, but the love and passion infused in the gift of life that are so often omitted from these stories of suffering.  Gosh, Mike called me "Prinche-pessa!" for a week after watching the protagonists' uconventional love story and, I repeat, I cried again for all the sacrifices a parent lovingly makes for their child that really triggered thoughts of the Savior's sacrifice for me.  
2. Thumbs down...I don't care what people say.  I did not like The Amazing Spiderman as well as the 2002 version.  I know, I must not be a true Marvel fan.  I know, it stuck truer to the story line and that Emma Stone had more chemistry with Spiderman than Kirsten Dunst.   However, I didn't feel that it was an "epic movie".  I don't know if it was just the music or the fact Dr. Curt Connors' motives were not as well developed on screen as Norman Osborne's (I'm a little bit of a sucker for Willem Defoe as well).  I felt gipped because I didn't see a necessity to reinvent the epic wheel.  Call me crazy, but I have a plethora of reasons for sticking to my roots on this one. 
3. The Prestige!!!!  Thumbs up!  Besides the general cinematography and the splicing of past and present timelines of the main characters (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman), this drama had a 'Count of Monte Cristo' revenge vein that deeply infused each part of the story with a dark passion and intrigue.  Set in turn-of-the-century London, two magicians are driven mad with 'unrelenting envy for the other's skill.'  This movie was a beautiful balance of irony--sacrificing a full life in pursuit of the perfect illusion-- and realism that caused me to reflect on the nature of obsessions that rule our own lives.  Check it out.  5 Stars. 
4. The Help...Thumbs kinda down.  Sorry.  The book was great, but not life changing, or revolutionary for that matter to its genre, and never quite achieved the status of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' or 'The Color Purple.' While well-cast, the movie seemed to lack cohesion and skim the surface level of the plot without going in-depth in anything.  Subsequently, I didn't feel an emotional connection to the characters like I did when I read the book.  I had very high hopes for this flick, but felt that it achieved more of a 'summer Halmark blockbuster' rather than 'epic movie' status in my book.