Summer is a Bummer!

Really, summer is boring. It’s too hot to go outside, and indoors it’s just the same old thing—TV, Video Games, etc. I mean, since I’m not a kid, I tend to be busy working, taking care of the house, etc., but the kids seem to have lazy, repetitive days.
Here are some of the highlights of the past month:

Maddy’s Birthday
I cannot believe I have a 10-year old. Seriously. It’s crazy to me. So, Maddy’s plan for her birthday was a Movie awards-themed birthday. We went to Zurchers and bought movie-themed decorations, plates and cups, etc. Everyone was going to dress up like movie stars and do movie-themed games. Instead of a big party with family, she wanted to invite some friends from school. In the end, she invited 3 girls, but only ONE could come. So we quickly overhauled the plans, and I took Maddy, Joel, Abe, and Dylan (Maddy’s friend) to Trafalga. Maddy had a coupon that she got from school for a “Family Fun Pass,” which gave all 5 of us the following for only $10 per person (and Abe was FREE):
-A pizza and soda
-a round of golf
-a ride in the 3-D motion simulator ride
-30 arcade tokens EACH
We also each could’ve gotten a bowl of Dippin’ Dots for dessert, but we ran out of time.
So not bad, all things considered, although a Saturday afternoon in June is NOT the best time to take kids to Trafalga. We waited 20 minutes just to get our tokens.
Maddy got to decorate her own birthday cake, which she really enjoyed. She used her Littlest Pet Shop toys to do it:



She got some Hannah Montana stuff, some Littlest Pet Shop toys, and some practical joke stuff, including a hand buzzer and some goofy glasses:



Andy and Amanda’s 11 Anniversary
After the big 10th Anniversary Celebration last year, we knew this year would pale in comparison. Boy did it. With Amanda sick and me busy working on freelance projects, we didn’t do ANYTHING. I was going to take Amanda to see “Up,” but she didn’t feel well enough to do that. We’d already bought presents for each other/ourselves for combo Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/Anniversary, so there weren’t even gifts exchanged.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for sympathy. Just reporting the events in the blog for posterity.

4th of July
For the Fourth of July, Amanda and the kids went to a barbeque/swim party at the McTeers. I hung out at home, doing who knows what, probably working on Chico or playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook.
Later that day, Amanda and the kids made tie-dye shirts:



At night, we went outside and from our condos, we could see 3 different fireworks shows (mostly the Pleasant Grove one, but also some in Lindon and American Fork). Meanwhile, mosquitos devoured Amanda. Oops.


Sleepovers
One recurring event this summer is the “Sleepover at Maddy’s.” The boys get blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, stuffed animals, and books and set up beds on Maddy’s floor. Then they basically spend all day and night in there watching shows, reading books, sleeping, and yelling at Abe to stay in his own area.



Chico
I finally finished the Chico Music Video animation. Here’s the final version (It’s got the same intro as the previous one, but it’s got all-new animation!):

The Adventures of CHICO Episode ONE from Toby and Cody McClure on Vimeo.

I’m really pretty proud of it. In general, I’m not a fan of my drawing/painting abilities. But I feel like I’ve made some strides on this project and have developed my talents further than they’d been. I’m more confident in my design sense and ability to get the “look” I’m going for, rather than settling on my usual mediocre quality.

Harry Potter
Of course we saw the new Harry Potter movie. We all loved it, except for Abe who just complained about being hungry/thirsty/bored/tired/having to pee/etc. Maddy and Joel were much less annoying at movies over the years. Not sure why Abe’s such a pain. But the movie was really funny, and Maddy admitted that she cried at the end. This was the first time Maddy had READ one of the books before seeing the movie, so the whole time, she was noticing all the scenes that were left out or changed from the book.
In the days prior to seeing it, we watched the first couple HP movies, and tried making “butterbeer” (a drink in the HP universe). It’s basically hot cream soda with butterscotch syrup and sweetened condensed milk. WAY too rich. The next day we made “butterbeer floats” which were like root beer floats, but with cream soda and a hint of butterscotch syrup. Much better.

8Fish
The last half of July, I’ve been (and still am) doing some freelance/contract work with 8fish. The project isn’t anything as creatively rewarding as the Chico video has been, but it pays well and it’s steady work for the next few weeks.

Contests
I’m currently attempting to enter two animation contests, both of which have deadlines at the end of August. They’re both featured on ANIBOOM.
The first one is for Fox, which is looking for a funny, edgy, Fox-type cartoon (2-4 minutes long) that’s a “holiday special.” Mine is based on the Nutcracker, but with some very funny (and edgy) twists. I’ve got to have the whole thing animated by the end of August.
The other contest is for the History Channel. They’ve provided a selection of historic speeches read by celebrities, and you’re supposed to pick a 30-second snippet from one of them and animate it. I chose a section from Frederick Douglass’s “What, to the American Slave, is Your 4th of July?” read by Morgan Freeman. It’s gonna be awesome. That one, I only have to have the animatic (that’s a simple, animated version of the storyboards, set to the audio) done by Sept 1. If mine is picked as a finalist, I have a month or so to get it all animated.
It’s gonna be tight, but I think I can do it. It’s totally worth it. Here are the prizes for each:
Fox Holiday Special:
5 finalists receive $5,000
Grand Prize winner gets $10,000 and a development deal with Fox (valued at up to $25,000).

History Channel Contest:
5 finalists receive $5,000
Grand Prize Winner receives $10,000 and a development deal with History channel (valued at $15,000)
Voting in these contests is primarily by official judges, though I think one of the finalists in each is determined by “audience vote.” So, I’ll let you know if/when you can vote!

Joel’s Teeth
Finally, Joel has lost his two front teeth (though I’m sure for Christmas he’ll be asking for video games rather than “his two front teeth”):