Branson on the Brain

Another Friday night, another movie date with the one and only, James Boland. James recently returned from a trip to Branson, Missouri, his heaven on earth, and that was practically all he would talk about. On the drive from our parents' house to the movie theater to see "Zookeeper" James covered the following Branson-related topics:

-Branson has Hardee's, KFC, and Arby's
-James plans to drive to Branson when he is in 12th grade
-James plans to go to college in Branson
-James like to sit in the red seating section at Branson shows
-James is going to be an uncle and live in Branson

A little tired of the topic, I said, "James, did you know that I'm going to Las Vegas next month?"  James said, "Nevada." Then after a slight pause, "I like Missouri...Branson, Missouri."

James insisted on pumping my gas for me.

Courtney's Wedding

On Saturday James attended the nuptials of Courtney Hurdle and Travis Whittington. Courtney and James' oldest sister, Venessa, have been best friends since high school. James listened attentively to the wedding ceremony and even tried to follow along with the scripture readings. After the ceremony James was very excited to talk to Courtney and asked her, "Are you married?" Although James was impressed with the beautifully deocrated reception, he was bothered by the noise. He tried to calm himself by listening to truTV on Vania's iPhone. To get the best view of the screen, he sat on the floor next to the wall. James started to have another meltdown when his chicken fingers kids' meal was served with fruit. Because he hadn't eaten all day, we ordered him a pepperoni pizza from Dominos. James left shortly after but was glad to share in Courtney's special day.

  

 



We Won!

Although Friday night is typically movie night for James, he was easily convinced to go to an Iowa Cubs game because he loves ICEE, popcorn, and baseball. Also, Mark and I picked James up in our truck, and James will go practically anywhere if he gets to ride in it. However, throughout the night he kept reminding me that he wanted to see "Zookeeper" and "Winnie the Pooh" in case I may have forgotten. James loved spending time with Mark's family and friends. He especially liked Mark's twenty-year-old cousin, Bree, and Mark's dad, Jeff, who watched a good portion of the game with James. When James got home, he kept jumping up and down and telling my parents, "We won!" 

 



Dressed for Success

With a little assistance from dad's closet, Vania, and a YouTube video on how to tie a tie (someone needs some more practice), James dressed himself in this outfit yesterday appropriate for 1982. I asked him where he was going in his tie. He said "the office" and "Dodge" to sell "Dodge Caravans" and "Dodge Rams". If passion for the product is all you need, then James is the man for the job!

4th of July Weekend

James doesn't let a holiday weekend get him off schedule. This Friday's feature film was "Mr. Popper's Penguins". When Jim Carrey came on the screen James said, "That's Lloyd!" In case you aren't familiar, James was referencing one of his favorite movies to quote, "Dumb and Dumber". After the movie James came back to my house to make Pillsbury Flag Shape Cookies and play his "How to Train Your Dragon" PS3 game. Really James, make yourself at home... 

Road Trip to Minnesota

James, Mom and Dad loaded up the minivan last Thursday to go and visit James' sister Venessa, and her husband Jeremy, in Minnesota. The original plan was for the visit to happen on Tuesday but due to severe weather the trip had to be delayed. This did not go over very well with James. He was adamant that "We are going on Tuesday, NOT Thursday!" A trip to the grocery store on Wednesday for a bag of cheese balls and his favorite pop in preparation for the car ride seemed to calm him down a little.

Thursday morning James was more than ready to go and packed the back of the minivan full of blankets, pillows, movies, his chess board and anything else he could think of to pile in. He patiently waited most of the morning in the back of the van until it was time to leave.

Mom, Dad and James arrived at Venessa's house before she got home from work. James quickly made himself at home. He found a spot on the couch, brought in his blanket, pillow and cheese balls, set up his chess board and ordered The Karate Kid from the satellite. James made himself so comfortable that he removed his socks. This would normally not be an issue but Venessa's dog, Lambeau,  loves socks! It took James awhile to figure out who was taking his socks and he had to search several hiding places throughout the evening.

For dinner we had to order pepperoni pizza (and breadsticks!!!)  from Papa John's pizza because James would have it no other way. This will likely continue for years to come. Hopefully Papa John's never goes out of business!

Racing Weekend

It is a big racing weekend for James. Tonight James and I saw "Cars 2", and he is spending Saturday with our parents at the Iowa Speedway. James memorizes the opening dates for all the movies he wants to see, and then thinks he needs to see each movie on opening day. He always gets a large Dr Pepper, skittles, and a large popcorn. Once I tried to get him a medium popcorn because I didn't think he needed a large. It really stressed him out and during the middle of the movie James yelled out, "I need a large popcorn!" I always get him a large popcorn now. James thinks he needs to police the Copper Creek movie theater premises. On the way into the movie tonight he told smokers, "You're going to need to put that out." He often shushes children in the movie theater, and then says "I'm in high school" as if that gives him some kind of authority.