Part II: Maryland
The day after the end of the retreat, we packed our bags and drove up to Maryland. It was very misty outside-so much for looking out the window to kill time! I ended up just listening to my Mp3 for a while. We finally arrived at the house of L, S, blogger for
Wii Little Movies, and M, who wasted no time in showing me an "epic" Wii game: Just Dance 2. This is one of the best dance games I have ever played. It has a nice mix of oldies, pop, instrumental, and cultural music to pick from. It's also a good workout- by the 3rd song I was sweating up a storm! So, we ventured upstairs to play S's favorite computer game, Plants vs. Zombies.
TIME OUT!
This is probably the 10th time I've brought up Plants vs. Zombies and haven't explained fully what it is. S, the gaming expert, could probably tell you in a heartbeat. I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to this game, but here goes....
You play a homeowner with a house that is about to face a typical zombie attack. You have no weapons whatsoever to defend your turf with... no weapons, that is, except plants. These are no ordinary plants, though- each one has special powers and defenses. The sunflowers produce sun energy you can buy more plants with, some mushrooms hypnotize zombies into helping the plants, and the walnuts are one of the ultimate defenses thanks to their tough outer shell. You circulate through the different levels (Nightime, Pool, Roof), collecting more plants and discovering more zombies until you defeat the Final Boss (
typical) and save your yard. The game doesn't end there, though, because there are also plenty of mini-games based on other games from Pop Cap, and even a Zen Garden.
I kind of like this game, but not with the burning passion and desire S does. (I think that game turns some of
us into zombies- we find ourselves playing for hours!)
TIME IN!
S also introduced me to two awesome books: The Field Guide to Monsters/Aliens. At first, I was thinking,
This is going to be WEIRD. But it turned out to be really cool! The guy who wrote them was super creative: he featured the monster/alien's habitat, "sightings" of them, journal entries from those who had seen them, and some very realistic looking field sketches. (I was afraid to go in the bathroom for days thanks to that picture of the "Toilet Snake"!) We would've made a whole video for Cousin Studios about monster hunting, but of course my camera
had to run out of batteries.
The next day was pretty much the same as the first- Plants vs. Zombies, field guides, Wii, more Plants vs. Zombies. We did three fun things, though:
A) That Jumpy Place
As it so happens, my cousins also happen to have this
good fun exciting epic AWESOME jumpy place by their house called That Jumpy Place. As soon as you walk inside, you see all the inflatables towering over you, and you think,
woah! There are huge slides that twist and turn, an inflatable basketball court, 2 huge obstacle courses complete with tunnels, mazes, hurdles, climbing walls, and slides, and so much more! S, L, M, H (another cousin that came from Massachusetts), and I had a great time playing a fun tag game that often gets played at jumpy places: Run From (insert name here). One person decides to chase everyone (in this case, L) and everybody else has to split up in groups and hide/jump away. S and I often took up residence at the tops of slides and in the heart of the obstacle course, and I secretly spied for L. (I didn't get any major info, though.)
On the car ride back to the house, H and I started our own radio show-The H Show! H reported on a sudden doughnut storm and a monster sighting of his that occurred the night before.
After we ate some lunch and watched a much needed redo of "Friday", it was time for...
B) The Egg Hunt To End All Egg Hunts (fine, maybe not)
Each kid got a basket and was instructed to search for a certain color of egg so we all would get the same amount of candy. I must say, the adults had us beat! They put eggs in the sneakiest of places: under the thick grass beneath the trampoline, wedged in between closely growing branches on a tree, tucked beneath the dirt in the mulch pile. Even though the policy was "No hints!", everyone soon gave in!
Our candy prizes consisted of chocolate eggs, jellybeans, and quarters. Since the adults had banned the computer (where was THAT policy when we needed it?), we started an (not taped, thanks to the state of my camera) episode of Trampoline Gladiators. I think L was the winner, because the rest of us had accidental injuries thanks to a fateful slip of the foot.
After a many more rounds of Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds, my mom announced that there was a contest to enter called....
C) The First Annual Easter Family Coloring Contest
We were all assigned a cheesy picture to color (think smiling bunnies painting 5 foot eggs), and had until dinner to draw our way to a prize. I had to color in some smiling bunnies hanging up colorful lanterns, and I tried to be as neat as possible. After all, it was a contest! My fellow competitors were L,M, and my sister R. (S and H were
still playing Plants vs. Zombies- the things that game does!) Before long, it was time for dinner.
It was Easter dinner, so it was about an hour before we could resume our previous activities. Soon, we all found ourselves lying in bed, wondering who would win- or would we all take home a title?
The next day....
Wow! After walking downstairs, we discovered that all of us had gotten a prize. I forget what M got, but L was awarded for "Most Realistic", me for "Neatest" and R for "Most Unique Color Scheme. All the kids also had Easter baskets filled with Lindor chocolate bunnies and carrots, along with a La La Loopsy doll or Lego kit, depending on your gender. After a frenzied flurry of activity regarding packing, we went home to VA to resume our normal lives. That concludes my spring break.
Blog ya later,
CJ
