Rocky 1

Mindy and I took the kids to see Happy Feet at the Lennox. Ding-Ho: A westside tradition. Mindy and I partook in some Chinese after the movie & without kids. I leaped to my feet just before 7:30am. And before I could even get the morning's coffee brewing, Lindsey arrived with Lil' Rocky. We agreed to watch him today while Lindsey works. He was eager to see Bella and Jacob, and the kids were awake and eager to see him. They began playing immediately. The house was rockin! Mindy joined me downstairs earlier than usual. She was up to help me with Lil' Rocky. The kids played well together all morning long. After my run Mindy readied for an afternoon of gift returns while I entertained the kids. Jacob kept to himself most of the early afternoon while Bella and Lil' Rocky played together. While Mindy was out, I broke the cordless sweeper but managed to fix it, too. She called to let me know she was on her way home after being gone only an hour and one half. She reported no significant lines at either place - Target or Toys R' Us. And in typical Mindy fashion, she came out ahead on the deal. First, the gave her 30% off of the Leapster replacement since it was now on sale, and she was given a full cash refund for the extra cartridge she returned with the keyboard, which she paid only one dollar for at the time of original purchase. Again, classic Mindy! When Mindy returned we organized ourselves around the 3:20pm movie. We were taking the kids to see Happy Feet. Jacob and Bella saw it before but seemed eager to see it again. I just wanted to get everyone out of the house together. We left around 2:45pm and arrived at the Lennox close to 3:10pm. Five matinee tickets, two large popcorns, and two medium drinks - $50. The movie better be good! We found seats at the top of the theatre before the movie began. The movie began minutes later. Although it was slow developing, especially for a kids movie, it was a fun, interesting movie. The animation was excellent. And most of the artic sea and snow graphics work was superbly done. The movie ended just after 5pm. Mindy called Jimaken to arrange for the pick-up of Jacob and Bella and I retuned Lindsey's call. She had already been to our home looking for Rocky. She told me that she was working OT until 7pm. I assumed that nothing changed. We promised to drop him at Kelly's after dropping J & B off to their daddy, who was waiting in our driveway. Suddenly, by 5:45pm we were all alone! After pulling away from Mindy's we chose a new dinner venue, Ding-Ho - a westside Cantonese tradition. I was excited to go there eventhough it was Mindy's idea. :) I recommended Minelli's, but admittedly, we do that an awful lot.. I couldn't resist the urge for a picture or two once at Ding-Ho. I got a couple of good shots. My favorite might be one of Mindy against the Motel 40 sign. I ordered a Mai Tai, and Mindy had only water. For dinner I ordered War Su Gai, and Mindy ordered Happy Family. We each ordered the soup and appetizer combo along with our meal. The food was really good. I was pleasantly surprised. And while the decor was old fashioned it was very clean and neat inside. I was keenly observant because of all the Ding-Ho jokes I heard growing up. We left for home just after 7pm. The kids and Jimaken arrived shortly after we walked in the door. Jacob asked if he watch at least part of the bowl game coming on at 8:00pm. We agreed that he could watch 30 minutes but only after a quick bath. He was happy with what he had negotiated.After the kids were in bed Mindy and I got in the hot tub. I mentioned to Mindy that we needed the Coyote to come back since Bella and I spotted geese in the yard earlier in the day. And almost as if I manifested it, I thought that I saw the Coyote moving in the shadows of the uplighting. Mindy and I looked aggressively out into the dark yard. Sure enough, there he was, about 30 feet off of the deck lurking in the dark. I barked like a dog. He only flinched then smoothly meandered into the neighbors yard. It was kind of early thinking that he was stalking us. Mindy got out of the tub shortly after he disappeared into the dark. I joked that she should keep an eye on me while I get out and put the top back on. Just as I was heading back into the house I spotted our neighbor walking her dog in the back yard. I yelled over to her to watch out for the Coyote. She has a little Bichon Frise that would make for a great night time snack. As the evening wound down, we threw in The Miracle on 34th St. DVD. I missed the final 30 minutes or so on Xmas eve. Cool movie.