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keywords:Large Family, Parenting, Motherhood, Teens, Tweens, Preschool, Toddlers, Baby, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Loss, Miscarriage, Photography, Colorado, Denver, SAHM, Christian, Humor, Essays
description:Adventures of a large and fun family of 11, proving it is merrier with more. There are highs, lows, and sugary middles.
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Follow @lifenut I Cant Stay Away From:a deeper familya deeper storyadventureaidanarchiebabyninebakingbeatrixbirthdaycakecalendarcelebrationcelebrationschildhoodChristmascoloradodenverdesignfallfamilyflowersgrowing upholidaysjoellarge familylistslossmile high mamasmotherhoodmovie reviewsoliverolliephotographypregnancyryleysamsaturday siblingsschoolspringsummerteddyteenagersTommytravelwinter Zootopia is Cute as a Bunny, Sly as a Fox

The latest Disney heroine is not a princess.

Shes one of over 250 children, hailing from a humble farming community.

Like other Disney ladies, she has big dreams and big determination. Like most Disney ladies, she has outlandish amounts of hair.

Her name is Judy Hopps. She is a bunny. She is a cop. Dont call her cute.

Zootopia, which opens on March 4, 2016, introduces a big fantasy scenario: Animals evolved beyond their predator/prey relationship into a thriving society. They built an astonishing modern world without the aid of opposable thumbs. They have smart phones, are bi-pedal, and speak the same language. Rhinos can chat with mice and foxes can scam elephants. There are no humans, monkeys, or primates in this almost-perfect paradise. Wed just screw it up somehow with pestilence and such.

But Zootopia isnt a Utopia, which is why there is a police force. Can Officer Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, crack a perplexing series of crimes that threaten the safety and harmony of Zootopia? Being a Disney heroine means she needs and reluctantly accepts help from a clever, dashing bad boy type. Of course, its a slyer-than-sly fox named Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman.

Zootopia is packed with astonishing detail. Its the type of movie to watch more than once because so much is going on in the background. Its clever, cute, and keeps adults engaged with winks at pop culture and the human experience. Of course sloths work at the DMV. Of course rabbits have a veggie farm. Of course, the mayor is a lion. But youll never guess who runs the town mafia or why wolves make rotten guards. Owwww-oooooooooooo!

The moments between the plot-development scenes were my favorites. They could have made a film with twenty different vignettes of life in the city and it would have been delightful. The plot is purely a mechanism to trick out the worthy message that nobodyin any societyshould be judged by the circumstances of their biology. Being a human with opposable thumbs, a smart phone, and torturous visits to the DMV, its easy to equate Zootopias world with our own. The message has never been more timely, or obvious.

My major gripe with the movie is that the explanation behind the crimes made zero sense and was wrapped up a bit too tidily. This was where the movie went off the rails a bit for me, but I reminded myself that it is aimed squarely at kids who probably dont watch re-runs of Columbo on Netflix.

Is Zootopia worthy of a trek to a theater? Its the best animated film to come out in months and if your family is clamoring for a movie outing, it would be a great choice. However, its not a must-see, dont miss type of film like Inside Out or Frozen. Its pleasantly funny and artful. Im sure it will return in sequels, as the characters easily lend themselves to further adventures. Zootopia will be mandatory to own on disc or streaming. Repeated viewings wouldnt get stale because of the tremendous attention to detail and knowing nods to other Disney movies.

March 4th, 2016 | Tags: animation, disney, family fun, movie reviews, zootopia | Category: Life | One comment Dear Denver Broncos

Nearly six months ago, I wrote a post I never published. The Denver Broncos had just won the first game of the 2015-16 season. I was ambushed by my emotional reaction. My dads death was still new and grief was still a mysterious intruder with a rich life of its own.

All season, I watched the Broncos out of the corner of my eye. I cant think of them without thinking of my dad. I can think of my dad without thinking about them, though.

I had no idea how far theyd go and didnt bother speculating. Recent events made me focus more on getting through each day. To think about February 2016 would make as much sense as thinking about June 2361.

Here is what I wrote, but didnt share:

Dear Denver Broncos,

Thank you for winning your first regular season game yesterday. I had no idea how much it would mean to me until I saw the final score. When it popped up on my phone, I was away from home. I cried, which surprised me. I didnt watch the game because I had other plans, but you were on my mind all day because he was on my mind all day.

My dad, January 1998, on the day the Broncos won their first Super Bowl

My dad was one of your biggest fans. He never missed a game. In fact, on my parents honeymoon in Vail he retreated to the car to listen to a game on scratchy AM radio, leaving my mother in a resort hotel room. This might seem like a shabby thing to do, but she knew who she was marrying and when she married him. A beautiful October Saturday wedding led to a beautiful October Sunday honeymoon in the mountains. When that story came up, theyd laugh. Of course he had to go listen to the game in the car! Their room didnt have a TV.

I grew up believing Sunday mornings were for church and Sunday afternoons were for football. Sunday nights were for dreading school the next day. Without fail, my dad watched every one of your games through the years. I watched too, but football never captured my interest as deeply as it captured his. Over the decades, parades of quarterbacks, coaches, safeties, kickers, and linemen came and went and he had opinions on each. A bum! A genius! A braggart! Another genius! He knew statistics, injuries, history.

He knew you.

He wore your shirts and hats. He got new ones when you changed your logo to be more fashionable, but he always preferred the old. When he died, his shirts and hats were sprinkled amongst family members. We considered them treasures, not because of you but because of he wore them so often and so proudly.

When you won yesterday, I took it entirely too personally. You managed to put the football in the end zone of a giant stadium more than the other team. It wasnt a message from my dad to me from beyond because Im sure the other team has a bevy of its own deceased fans and their families hoping for the honor and wink of a win.

Your W in the column got to me because I could picture my dad in his brown rocking recliner, happy. Healthy. I could imagine him talking to my brother on the phone about how it was an ugly win, but well take it! I could picture him standing during commercials to go outside to smoke or refill his glass of iced tea. I could see this scene clearly. I could smell it and feel my own body in the cushions of the couch across from him. I could feel my throat hurt from yelling at the screen.

Had you lost, I would have seen him throwing is hands in the air with an eyeroll and some choice words. Hed shake his head and move on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thats where I ended. Today, my conclusion:

Dear Dad,

The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl.

Yeah, Im amazed too. It was all about defense, defense, defensemaybe the best in history, some say. You saw a lot of football over the years. Youd know. I cant ask you, though.

Mom wore one of your sweatshirts last night. She watched the game with your old neighbors, Bill and Shirley. I wished we were together, but she wasnt far from our thoughts because you werent far from our thoughts.

I wore a jersey Lee bought for me. He had your name printed on the back. The number on the jersey is zero. I think of it as a crooked halo, which is fitting. Can I confess something? When the Panthers kicker was going for that field goal in the third quarter, I reached around and touched your name and said, Miss it!

He did. It hit the right upright. I jumped around like a kangaroo and screamed like a howler monkey and scared the little ones.

Im not saying you or me caused anything to happen in the game. It was a funny moment, one of those winks I sometimes catch when I think of you. I even did one of those cheesy things where I kissed my fingertips and pointed up. I winked back.

Since youve been gone, I do stuff like that. I weep over football games. I see sunflowers and think of you. That never happened before. Weird, right? Ive learned, since youve been gone, that grief is a bizarre maze of memory and emotion. Ill be going through a normal day, happy enough, then Ill hear the tail-end of a Willie Nelson song and suddenly Im hurting or soaring; sad youre gone, thrilled I got to be your daughter.

February 8th, 2016 | Tags: cancer, denver broncos, football, grief, loss, super bowl | Category: Life, Loss | One comment It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis. ~Margaret Bonnano

On or around January 1, 2015, Beatrix asked if she could do the annual Lifenut New Year poster for 2016. I said of course she could. She did. Presenting a piece of art that exemplifies the happy hopes we hold for the coming year:

by Beatrix, age 9

Beatrix said, as she scratched her pencils around, I think 2016 is going to be a year of bright ideas!

Here is an ever-increasing list of years-past. I love them all.

2015 is here.
2014 is here.
2013 is here.
2012 is here.
2011 is here
2010 is here.
2009 is here.
2008 is here.
2007 is here.
2006 is here.

Happy Bright Ideas! Happy 2016.

January 1st, 2016 | Tags: art, beatrix, celebrations, new year, new year poster, new year's day | Category: Life, Little Ones | 2 comments Older Entries Follow Me?

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