Casa de Coats

Lots and lots going on at Casa de Coats (as usual).

Birmingham was great. Misty did wonderfully on all of her schoolwork. The kids and I did as much touristy stuff as we could. (McWane Center, Zoo, etc) I promised pictures so here are a few:

After the zoo the kids and I ate lunch with Heath. Purple Onion. Good stuff.

After lunch I took the kids to see The A-Team. I must, must, must recommend this film. It is funny, filled with over-the-top action, super entertaining, and well worth the money you will spend.

Men, go see it for the action, the comedy, and Jessica Biel (I’m not a huge fan, but liked her in this.) Women go see it for the action, the comedy, and Bradley Cooper shirtless. (By the way, I think it a contractual obligation that he be shirtless in every film. If it is not, it should be.)

I’ve decided to make it a personal crusade to get people to see this movie. There must be a sequel! Go see it. I want more Murdock!

Speaking of Captain “Howling Mad” Murdock, he was my favorite character on the original TV show. In my opinion, Sharlto Copley steals the movie as Murdock. (Followed by Patrick Wilson as Agent Lynch in a close race for second.)

OK, that’s all I’ll say about The A-Team. Wait…one more thing: Go. See. It. If not for me, then see it for Bradley Cooper’s chest.

On a related note, the theatrical trailer for Knight and Day made me want to see the movie as much as the TV commercials made not want to see it. Odd.

How about that US Soccer team? I think the game today could do as much as anything ever to boost the popularity of soccer in the USA. England won their match against Slovenia, which meant that the US needed a win to advance to the elimination round.

(If you recorded the game and plan to watch it, you should stop reading.)

After 90 minutes (regulation time) the game remained a 0-0 draw. Then in the second minute of added time Langdon Donovan scored a goal for the US. The Yanks won 1-0 to win Group C and advance to the elimination round. Nice.

Our office sounded a lot like the stands at a soccer game this morning. All we were missing were a few vuvuzelas. My mom and sister had the game on in their office. The whooped and screamed every time something exciting happened (or almost happened.) I had the game running on my computer, but then I switched to the TV because of the 10-15 second delay. Fun stuff.

On the way home yesterday my mom called to let me know that my grandmother had been released from the hospital. She is now back home in her room at the nursing home. Another comeback against seemingly insurmountable odds. I think she really is determined to outlive us all. I also really think she will succeed.

I’ve almost finished a book Heath let me borrow several months ago. It took me a while to get started, but I finally did. My Most Excellent Year follows 3 ninth graders (T.C., Augie, and Aléjandra) through, well, their most excellent year. I recommend it. Especially if you’re looking for some light summer reading. You can read more about the characters here.

Well, I had more to write, but I was distracted by my nephew, work, and an Australian corner kick. Not necessarily in that order.

So, to recap: Birmingham was fun, go see The A-Team, hip-hip-hooray for US Soccer, read My Most Excellent Year, and my grandmother will live to be 120. Have a great week!