Batman The Dark Knight opens today, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited about a film. In case you don’t watch TV (or live under a rock), this is a sequel to Batman Begins, which is certainly my favorite Batman film to date.

Some of you know I owned a comic book shop in Oregon (before I met Stef), so I have a history with the subject. Thought I would give some recommended reading to acompany the movie.

First is The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Released in 1986, it is still regarded by most fans to be the best Batman story ever written. An aging (and retired) Batman frustrated with the escalated lawlessness in Gotham, comes back into the fray with all the fury and vengeance of his youth.

Next is Arkham Asylum. A masterpiece of insanity diving into the mind of the Joker. I haven’t heard (and perhaps never will), but wouldn’t be surprised if this book was on the shelf of the late Heath Ledger.

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Found this while cleaning out Reilly’s school stuff from last year.

While Stef and I have been aware of Teagan’s condition for some time, we didn’t realize how alert Reilly was to this, or her ability to articulate it so clearly…

I wonder what her teacher thought…

Well, I’m not sure what the ‘g’ stand for in 3g, but after standing in line for a couple of hours with a hundred people (I know), I’m pretty sure it stands for geek.

As I stood with the denizens of Apple cultist fans, I waited in eager anticipation for the updates the store employees would give us while in line. I kept waiting for them to come out and say “We have 47 iphones left…and you’re all a bunch of nerds!”

Anyway, I got there early enough and Stef and I have now joined the group of screen tapping maniacs…

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More from our 1.5 days in the city. We decided to to a few ‘touristy’ things…(you know…for the kids and all…)and checked out the Fisherman’s Wharf area. A puppet store, ice cream stands, novelty stores and a carousel rounded off our visit to tourist central. Whew! I think the girls and I had more fun horsing around outside Cost Plus while Stef was sleeping getting ready.

Reilly was thrilled to get some of SF’s finest clam chowder and shrimp, Teagan was thrilled to…be Teagan.

Stef and I were just thrilled to be somewhere under 100 degrees!

My favorite photo of the carousel.

Stef took this photo of some hot guy…

Stef hard at work.

Yes, we went to Nanking (of course!)

You can almost hear this one happening. “Teagan! Take that

hood off right now! Mom’s going to be mad!”

Miss T was not amused..

Love this one. Ice cream gets everyone in their own world.

Happy Fourth everyone!

We got back today from a short get away to the city. Great weather, easy traffic, and good food always make a nice trip. Hope you all had a safe and sound holiday!

The view of the fireworks show from our driveway.

The girls and I went to the grocery story for some things, and in typical Reilly & Teagan fashion, they found an interest in nearly everything they walked past.

“Dad can we get this?”

“No.”

“Dad, can we get-“

“No.”

“Dad, can we-“

“No.”

“Dad, -“

“NO!”

…”But it’s a twirly thing.”

…”Hmmm. Well, we better get that.”

Reilly did fairly decent with hers. Teagan on the other hand, had an amazing ability to get hers into several knots.

She became frustrated…

Well I tried to watch a movie with miss T and it didn’t quite go as planned. Stef and Reilly were off at swimming lessons…yes Stef is still learning…

Anyway, I thought it was high time Teagan was introduced to Mr. Errol Flynn and his fabulous performance as Robin Hood. I was sure Miss T would be as enamored with the film as I was as a child…

One exception…I didn’t have an electonic ‘Leapster’ when I was that age. Fine. If that’s what you need to spur your imagination then so be it…

Hey, give me that thing…I want to try…

Well, not really, but it’s still kinda fun.

You may remember from this post the session we had with Reilly for the Silver Spoon children’s boutique ad. It hit the shelves this week and our superstar was thrilled.

“Hey, that’s me in a magazine!”

“Yes Reilly, they must really like you!”

Of course Stef and I didn’t bother to tell her the difference between an advertisement and an editorial but hey, she’s five.

Here’s how it looks.

We had an awesome time Fathers Day on Stef’s dad’s houseboat. The cousins rode waverunners while we took the girls out in the Spectra. Fun times. Thanks Ed for always being such a great host…the food was fantastic!

…another year older today! Had some work to do this morning, but then we all saddled up for a fab meal at the newly opened Cheesecake Factory here in Roseville. Yum! That place never disappoints. Then it was off to Scandinavian Designs to check out furniture for our redesigned living room/gallery.

Furniture store? Hey…it’s her birthday, she can go wherever she wants…

Happy birthday Babe!