Throwback Thursday

I’ve never really partaken in the whole Throwback Thursday thing on Facebook, but with Father’s Day right around the corner, I figured today would be as good a day as any to start. And rather than bore my FB friends with more cute pictures of Greta…I’ll do it here instead! So, sit back, relax and enjoy a few of my favorite pics of my goofy girl over the years…

 

 

 

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Beating The Heat: Play-Doh Style!

Don’t know what the weather’s like where you’re at, but, it’s been a swampy mess down here and Greta and I have been literally melting in the heat. Proclaiming she was too hot to walk the other day, Greta actually crumpled to her knees and made me carry her to the car before ballet class.

The next day, she crawled to the back door to put her shoes on because “her feet stopped working.” and then yesterday it was so hot that it actually rained. Today too. And when I say rain, I’m not talking about deep, cleansing rain that makes the L.A. skyline all super blue. Nope. This was just enough rain to increase the swamp factor in the air and make your car looks like shit. Good times.

So, when the rain started today we decided to stay inside and color until it cooled down. And once it did, we hurried to the store to pick up something new and fun (and most importantly, cheap!) to play with. We only ventured as far as CVS, so, our options were kinda limited, but, today, luck was on our side. And somewhere between the kids crafts and fake Barbie dolls on the toy aisle, I found the perfect inside toy…the Play-Doh Fun Factory!

Longtime Play-Doh aficionados will remember the Fun Factory as the little hand pump machine with the plastic strips with different shaped holes in them. I don’t know if my brother and I ever actually owned one, but, man, did we love that thing when we were kids. Anyway, one of Greta’s friends has a vintage Fun Factory and we’ve been on the hunt for one for for weeks now.

Our only disappointment was that the 2013 edition of the Fun Factory doesn’t come with those cool little plastic scissors, but instead comes with a tiny knife. Weird huh? Other than that, the little pump still cranks out star-shaped snakes and long, curly Play-Doh hair with the best of em. So, hooray for indoor summer fun!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Greta’s feet did start working again the other day. All I had to do was promise her a Hello Kitty popsicle and she was cured. Strange how that works, huh?

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Location:Burbank, CA

Movie Night with Greta

Mrs. Yeti had to work late tonight so Greta and I did what we always do on those rare Sunday nights when we’re alone, we headed to our favorite old school video store, Odyssey Video in North Hollywood, for some dollar movie madness. Yep, that’s right, not only is there still an independent video store (or a video store period!) in the valley, but, Odyssey also stocks loads of cool movies and has 99¢ rental nights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Not bad, huh?

So, Greta and I head over there to rent Aladdin — which we don’t own on DVD and will probably have to buy on Blu-Ray when and if it’s ever released from the dreaded Disney vault — but it was checked out. Next on our list was the cinema classic Monster High: Ghouls Rule, which just came out last week. Unfortunately, they didn’t even carry that gem of a title, so, we set about looking for something else we could both agree on.

Forty-five minutes later (!) we settled on Kung Fu Panda 2, which, shockingly, neither of us had seen. I have actually spent much longer picking out the right movie with my brother, but, trust me, forty-five minutes in a video store with a very opinionated toddler can seem like a lifetime. We fought, made-up, cried, laughed, the full spectrum of human emotions in one visit to a cramped video store in North Hollywood. It was awesome.

And though I would have preferred if we’d gone with my first choice, a lovely Blu Ray of Mars Needs Moms, Greta’s first choice (or, you know, third choice after Aladdin and Monster High weren’t there) was the live-action version of Bratz. Blech, even I couldn’t handle that torment. So, after much spirited debate — the guy who runs the store kept chuckling at our “negotiations” — we finally settled on Kung Fu Panda 2. And man, am I glad we did because that movie rocked!

Not only was it a million times better than the first Kung Fu Panda (which I also loved, by the way), but, the backstory at the heart of this movie was very sweet and tremendously moving. I know it’s just an animated movie, but, wow, they did some really great stuff with the story this time around. I think my favorite thing was the way they deepened the already very strong relationship between Po, the titular panda, and his adoptive father. I’m not kidding, man, I was weeping in spots. Lord knows I’m a sucker for father-child stuff, but, this movie earned every punch it pulled, pun intended. I haven’t been that moved in a while, really beautiful stuff.

And the action’s not so bad either. Greta got so wrapped up in the spectacle of it all that she started Kung Fu chopping everything in site. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but, she was so moved by the father-child relationship in the movie that she kept telling me how much she loved me. So, who am I to complain?

Anyway, if you happen to have a real-life, non-chain video store in your neighborhood, support them by checking out Kung Fu Panda 2, or hell, even the Bratz movie, for yourself. I guarantee you’ll like it, even if you’re not a sappy old stay-at-home-dad like me…