Hunger Games

Dave and I had a date night and went to see the Hunger Games tonight.  I completely agree with everyone else and say that it was a great adaptation of the book.  One of the best aspects of the books are that they read like a movie and when that happens I sometimes wonder if the movie will oversimplify it or leave out vital aspects.  However, they did a wonderful job with it and I agree with Katie who stated that they did a fantastic job casting.   More than anything, I think they made a great choice with the ending by toning it down a bit.  The end of the book was super intense, more intense than it needed to be for the movie to have a similar effect, especially for a PG-13 audience.  The movie made me remember just how much liked it (I had mixed feelings after reading the second-half of the last book).  I really love it when the movie adaptation does the story justice.

Somehow this led Dave and I to discussing children.  Yeah, a movie about kids killing kids got us talking about having children of our own.  Yes, we're a strange couple.  Really, it got us discussing how it important it is for reading books to be a huge part of our lives with our children.  When I'm pregnant I want to read aloud to the baby in my belly.  I want Dave to read to us.  As they grow up we want to have designated book time when we spend an allotted amount of time reading: all of us.  The time increments will of course increase as they get older.  On long trips, it's important to us to listen to books on tape.  Also, reading a story before bed is not something I particularly agree with.  Reading is meant to stimulate, to get us thinking, imagining, and talking.  When my kids read, I want them engaged.  I want us to have discussions.  I want my children to read and then reenact the stories the way that kids make pretend after seeing a movie or watching a television show.  Luckily Dave is in complete agreement which made this a delightful conversation.

Of course, this expanded to other areas where we both realized that we are so not ready for us to raise children.  There are so many things we want to do.  There are so many routines we want to create.  Honestly, I need to figure out how to take care of myself first.  In the end, it makes me super excited for Katie and Jared's little one.  Adam and Ashley are also going to have a new baby in June.  So many babies!  Eeep!