Return of the Jedi, among other things....

I couldn't help but laugh at Star Wars: Return of the Jedi last night. The movies the original series, I still remember nearly all of the lines. Verbatim. My brother is among the biggest of the Star Wars fans and used to make me watch the trilogy with him. Over, and over, and over. To the point that people hate to watch it with me now because, as previously mentioned, I still remember nearly every word to every line AND can point out mistakes.

So, why did I laugh last night? Because it was actually the first time I've watched the movie through since episodes 1-3 were completed and released a few years ago. Therefore, I had yet to see the "new" ending. The vision Luke Skywalker has of his father, Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan standing together is certainly not the original. It took me a moment, the thought of "huh, he looks just like..." started in my head, then I realized what was going on. I literally laughed out loud. Don't ask me if it was truly at the movie, or if it was at my momentary example of being a true blond. I really don't know.

The days are also quickly passing in preparation for our camping trip to the Western Slope. The more I think on it, the more excited I become. I absolutely hate the fact that my dear husband has nixed my plans on including the dog, and I sort of resent him for it. In reality, not having Red there is probably wise because he is getting older and much less brave, meaning he'd be attempting to tear down the tent to gain "protection" from his female pet-parent at odd times, but I'll miss having my buddy there with me. He won't be alone, however, as Dublin, the cat, will obviously be here, and Joe will be taking care of him.

Despite it all, it is exciting. Preparation has been surprisingly light and boring, too. Since we're going with other people I am not required to pack cooking utensils, every last ounce of food for us, all forms of nighttime entertainment AND light, etc. I am, however, in need of finding all my fly-fishing stuff (except my rod & reel because I know where they are) and some spin-cast stuff for my husband. That's proven to be a bit of a task because I haven't touched either since August of '05. Sad, very sad. The tent, sleeping bags, pillows, air mattresses, lanterns, coolers and emergency survival stuff are all set.

Corbie commented on her blog about being too wired. She was telling of her trip to Africa and discovering just how, well, wired we Americans truly are. I've never considered myself overly-wired, but I think I'm sort of jaded. Among other things to be taken camping will be the camera, of course, the laptop to dump the pictures onto, various iPods (which may, or may not be utilized), and the ever-present cell phones. I seriously doubt the latter will work where we're going, but it seems to be a permanent appendage to all of us now. The beauty of it all, though, is that I always end up taking the stuff with and rarely miss actually having real use of them. Hence I don't feel too wired.

Luke must be in a growth spurt. He has been much too happy to take a nap on a daily basis. There are moments when he's wide awake, only to be crashed out in a strange place or position the next. A few days ago found him stripping his lower half naked, climbing onto the couch, and taking a doze. What a goofball! Currently he has bounced across the room, crawled onto my lap, and promptly placed his head on my chest to snooze.

I am very pleased to report that he only has one more tooth to come in. It feels like it is working well and I estimate we only have another 10'ish days of misery for the boy. I can't wait! I only hope he will have this final tooth in before the end of the month so that he can fully enjoy his first foray into Vacation Bible School. He'll have more fun if he's not in pain. It's much easier to run around with the other kids that way....