#3DSKidforaDay at the Nintendo Gaming Lounge

San Diego Comic-Con gets crazier every year, with bigger displays, more people and a myriad of outside events for the whole family. But the highlight for my kids is definitely visiting the Nintendo Gaming Lounge!

After a full day of experiencing as much of Comic-Con as we could handle, the kids finally had a chance to experience the Play Nintendo Tour through a special sneak peak of the new Nintendo 3DS XL.

We were treated to a much needed, delicious pizza dinner and then headed off to the lounge to play some games!

Beloved classic games like Super Mario were a big hit - just look at that face!

Bean was selected to take part in a super fun tournament for a chance to win prizes.

The lounge was decorated with awesome displays. Bean loved the giant Kirby and Pokemon ball. Luigi himself even made an appearance!

Pinga discovered a new (to her) show and game called Yo-Kai Watch. She spent a good part of the evening chilling and watching the show. Both kids are now kinda obsessed. I have to say that the physical watch that you can buy in stores sounds pretty cool!

She also found a girlie game that she loved called Style Savvy: Fashion Forward, which is launching on August 19th. How cute is this setup with the vanity?!

You can experience all the fun of the Nintendo lounge too, for one more day. Come on Sunday, July 24th to the Marriott Marquis Marina hotel and experience the fun from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Happy gaming!

Avengers 2 Movie Review by Hubby

Go see Avengers: Age of Ultron. That's what a savvy, cynical product review reader would expect to see here. Without sacrificing any journalistic integrity though, I can say that a great product doesn't rely on word of mouth. You don't need me to tell you to go see Avengers: Age of Ultron. If you're reading this, you've probably already bought your tickets. Good for you. A movie this big doesn't need me or you and yet it feels like it was made for all of us because it is. Just. That. Big. This isn't your usual plot-driven movie review because Avengers: Age of Ultron isn't your usual plot-driven costumed caper. Also, I'm going to make this shorter than my last movie review.

They say that a hero is only as interesting as the villain they must face. Speaking of faces, any villain without a prominent nose reminds me of Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise. Ultron, the titular villain in this Avengers movie sequel, doesn’t have a nose. He’s a robot so he doesn’t really need one. His creator, Iron Man, doesn’t have a nose either and this brings us back to the symbiotic link between heroes and villains. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man was already an interesting character, with or without a nose, and long before any sequels came along. What Ultron provides is an “ultra” version of Iron Man, a funhouse mirror of only his best and worst traits. It makes you wonder if “ultra” versions of Captain America, Thor, or even Harry Potter could make those less nuanced characters more interesting.

Is Ultron a better villain than Voldemort, or Loki from the first Avengers movie? I’m almost tempted to say yes, but I admit that his rage is far less meaningful. He essentially boils down to fear (which I consider to be a truer opposite of love than hate). He has no love for anything, not even himself, as he tries to “evolve” the mirror image of his creator. What he does have over Voldemort or Loki is direct contact with more and newer characters, and that’s what sequels are really about (Wakanda!). The Quicksilver character in Age of Ultron may not provide the laughs that the Quicksilver in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past did, but he (SPOILER ALERT) personally saves way more people. I'm just glad that Disney bought Marvel so that Ultron could sing Pinocchio's song from Stromboli's puppet show because every villain deserves good theme music.

Disneynature's Bears = Warm Fuzzies

This past week, our whole family had a date at the movies to see an advanced screening of the latest Disneynature title, Bears.
I've been wanting to see this movie for a while, solely for the fact that hubby kinda reminds me of a bear. Also, I thought that the trailer looked adorable and the kids would probably enjoy the movie as well.

Bears delivered all this, and much more. Yes, there is one bear in particular that looks almost exactly like hubby, and the cubs are almost too cute. The narration has a tendency to get a little cheesy (which I think the kids actually liked) and create unnecessary drama at times, but the cinematography more than makes up for it.

The movie is absolutely gorgeous. It felt like we were right there with the bears - the credits actually show that the filmmakers were in fact quite close to them, which surprised me. There are some breathtaking scenes, including one of the cubs playing at the beach, that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy. There are also a couple of good bear fights. It's fascinating to watch the bears catch fish, and to see the way they react to other wildlife. It's amazing to see the sacrifices that these bears go through, and the hardships that they endure.

Most of all, I enjoyed the parallels between the bears and ourselves. Sky, the mother bear reminded me of my own mother, with the love that she has for me, and the valuable lessons that she taught me. The cubs are exactly like my children; Bean is like the male cub, always running off and getting into mischief. My Pinga is exactly like the female cub. She sticks close to mom, no matter what.

Disneynature's Bears opens in theaters today. Go see it, and don't miss the end credits. Enter the world of bears, and hug your teddy bear a little closer tonight.

Fatherhood For Dummies

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for a guest movie review by Hubby of Delivery Man. But first, allow me to tell you about the best movie I saw earlier this year. No, it wasn't released this year. It wasn't even in English. It was a French-Canadian film finally released on DVD in the U.S. in anticipation of its upcoming American remake. The premise seemed a little too raunchy to be a heartwarming story about family, so imagine my surprise when I got choked up at the end, especially after an unwanted pregnancy, a drug overdose and a subplot about death threats. I'm referring of course to Starbuck (2011), the movie that Delivery Man is based on, and made by the very same director. Now I'm not one of those Americans that hates subtitles, nor do I believe that a bigger Hollywood budget makes much of a difference on a comedy, so bear with me while I spell out how unnecessary I felt this new Vince Vaughn movie would be. You see, Vince Vaughn is one of my favorite actors but I haven't really enjoyed any of the roles he's chosen. That's right, I just said that. I may not be a fan of such slacker "classics" as Swingers (1996), Dodgeball (2004) or The Internship from earlier this year, but I did think his Wild West Comedy Show (2008) was hilarious. What's more, I applaud his genuinely creepy roles on the unnecessary remake of Psycho (1998), Domestic Disturbance (2001) and Be Cool (2005). All that being said, I loved him in Delivery Man.

At first glance, the 6'5" Vince Vaughn doesn't seem to match the everyman quality of the original movie's lead actor, Patrick Huard. But aside from differing heights and a new biracial daughter, Delivery Man is almost a scene-for-scene remake and I mean that in the best possible way. There was nothing wrong with the original movie but who better to be the biological father of 533 kids than the hulking, fast-talking Vince Vaughn? (I did the math and if his character was a sperm donor 693 times and there were 533 pregnancies, that's a 77% success rate. Also, only 142 of his children take him to court over his right to privacy so that means he only has the chance to meet 27% during the course of the movie.) It's brilliant casting against type in the aforementioned scene of the drug overdose because he's physically powerless to help this help this poor girl and he's without any witty words to cut the tension. I'd never seen Vince Vaughn in such a serious scene and the lighting by itself makes him look pale and afraid. Stepping back for a moment, I'm a little afraid myself that I might be giving the wrong impression of what this movie is all about, so I'll do some more spelling out here: Delivery Man is first and foremost a comedy, but I'll do one better than that and call it THE feel-good comedy of the year. Boo-yah! Just like the title of this post suggests, it's everything you need to know about fatherhood wrapped up in a few days' worth of experiences, laid out for an audience with the emotional maturity of those man-children you see on other more popular Vince Vaughn movies: Is anyone ever really prepared for parenthood? How do you talk to your teenage daughter about the way she dresses? What do you do if your adult son is disabled, or out of work, or (drumroll please)... a goth?

*Thank you to Disney for providing press passes to Delivery Man.

"The very fabric of reality is going to be torn apart!"

If you like movies with lines of dialogue like the title of this post, I have a recommendation to make. My name is Hubby and I'll be your guest reviewer on Mama Sparkles today. You see, we're going to be talking about Thor 2: The Dark World, the new movie from Marvel Studios, which my wife sent me to watch in her place because she's a nice person like that AND because she knows I'm what comic book geeks call a "Marvel Zombie" (a person who prefers the Marvel brand to the DC brand - think Coke versus Pepsi). Now maybe you know nothing about comic books. That's okay! To be perfectly honest, Thor was always my least favorite member of The Avengers superhero group but there were other geeky things I enjoyed in the movie, like the new Marvel logo in 3-D and a steampunky clockwork field generator (about halfway through). Now maybe you prefer sparkly vampires to fantasy and science fiction. That's okay! When lead actor Chris Hemsworth is first reunited with his long-lost love Natalie Portman, it's raining and they kiss just like in that scene from The Notebook. You don't get passion like that whenever Iron Man or Captain America kiss their girlfriends!

Don't let the first mention of "dark" elves scare you away either. This movie is nowhere as dark as all the other recent movies to include that word in their titles (The Dark Knight, Dark Shadows, Star Trek Into Darkness) nor is it that similar to The Lord of the Rings even though these elves do speak in their own language and there are subtitles. No, I would compare this movie more to that totally '80s classic, Masters of the Universe, which was the first movie I ever saw that combined lasers and spaceships with swords and sorcery. If you're a mommy blogger around my age, can you really deny having fond memories of that He-Man spin-off cartoon, She-Ra: Princess of Power, if not of Dolph Lundgren dressed like a barbarian? Okay, maybe not that last part, but it does paint a picture that's not too far off from a naked Chris Hemsworth taking a sponge bath in Thor 2. What I meant to say is that there's just as much "grrl power" in this movie as there was in She-Ra, what with Thor's mom (Rene Russo) and childhood friend (Jaimie Alexander) adequately handling their weaponry. In fact, the thing I liked best about the first movie was that they reversed the cliché damsel in distress storyline at the end by making Thor the one who was stranded in his own dimension while his astrophysicist girlfriend had to come up with a solution.

If you're still with me up to this point and you actually have seen all the other Marvel Studios movies, you might ask me how this superhero sequel stacks up against all the others released this year. Then I would ask you if you prefer your action movies to include more comedy or thrills. To the former, I'd recommend Iron Man 3, since I think the little kid (Ty Simpkins) in that movie was funnier than the loopy scientist (Stellan Skarsgård) on Thor 2. If the latter, I'd recommend The Wolverine, because there are way more swords and the stuntmen seem to know better what to do with them. But Thor 2 is the best if you're looking for action with romance. Not that you asked, but I wouldn't recommend the Superman reboot Man of Steel to anyone, and not just because I prefer Marvel to DC characters either. And with that I've come full circle to the original comic books. To my fellow readers I will end by saying I liked the diversity they added to the Warriors Three, if any character gets a spin-off movie, it should be Heimdall (Idris Elba) because he's the man, and last but not least, I can't wait to see if they ever pull off the Infinity Gauntlet on the big screen.

*Thank you to Disney for my first-ever screening pass.

US Gymnast Shannon Miller Meet and Greet : Rueben H. Fleet Science Center

Sponsored by ScholarShare

A special event is taking place next Tuesday, November 12th at the Rueben H. Fleet Science Center. ScholarShare will be hosting Shannon Miller, who will share her journey from Olympic gymnast to Mompreneur to cancer survivor.

Her company, “Shannon Miller Lifestyle: Health and Fitness for Women” seeks to empower women to make their health a priority through programs, education and awareness. This inspiring and motivating event is free, and will start at 7 p.m. It will be followed by a Q&A session with Shannon.

Shannon's story on her journey from Olympic gymnast to Mompreneur to cancer survivor will inspire and motivate anyone! Regardless of their profession, all women struggle to find time for themselves. They are always on the go, and often serve as the primary caregiver to their family and friends. Shannon wants to empower women with the knowledge and education they need to make informed decisions on health and fitness for themselves and for their family. She asks herself every morning, "How will I empower one woman today?"

About Shannon Miller
Shannon Miller is the most decorated gymnast, male or female, in U.S. history. She is the only American to rank among the Top 10 All-Time Gymnasts and is the only female athlete to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame twice (Individual (2006) and Team (2008)).

After retiring from Olympic competition, Shannon received her undergraduate degrees in marketing and entrepreneurship and her law degree from Boston College. She then moved from Olympic athlete to advocate for the health and wellness of women and children.

Shannon launched her company Shannon Miller Lifestyle: Health and Fitness for Women which empowers women to make their health a priority through programs, education and awareness. She hosts her weekly talk radio show dedicated to health and fitness and authored a series of fitness books and DVD's. Her foundation is dedicated to fighting childhood obesity and she remains involved with the sports world as an expert analyst, mostly recently with Yahoo! Sports and a commentator for the Olympic Games in London.

Register for this free event by visiting http://www.scholarsharespeaks.com/events/winning-shannon-miller.html Space is limited so don't delay!

Family Night at Chick-fil-A

Earlier this week, we experienced the Family Fall Festival at the Chick-fil-A Sports Arena location. This was the first of their monthly Family Nights events and it was tons of fun! There were local businesses in attendance who provided numerous activities, games and prizes for the kids. And of course, the ever popular bounce house and Mr.Cow were there as well. We started the night with a scrumptious chicken dinner:

The Cobb Salad with its avocado dressing is to die for.

Then we went outside to jump on the bounce house and check out the rest of the activities:

Bean Bag Toss

Apple Bobbing

This apple is seriously awesome. Plus, it's squishy.

Bean always gets an American flag, and this one did not disappoint!

Pinga was given a cow for being cute. She sleeps with it.

Making a bookmark with Yellow Book Road

Marshamallow slingshot

Pumpkin decorating

Such a fun night out!

This was the first of many more Family Night events, so be sure to catch the next one! Keep up with Chick-fil-A and check for updates on fun events like this one on their Facebook page. Thank you Chick-fil-A for showing us a wonderful time and feeding us yummy food!

Chick fil-A Free Breakfast and Giveaway!

This is my friend, Mr.Cow:

Whenever I see Mr.Cow at my local Chick fil-A, he always greets me with a warm hug or a high five. He makes life a little better and paired with some delicious chicken, that's a winning combination. We also love going to the events that our store offers, like family night (complete with bounce house)! We don't mess around - we love good food and nice people, and that's exactly what Chick-fil-A gives us.

My favorite meal at Chick fil-A is breakfast! I always go for the Chicken, Egg and Cheese on a bagel because it's super yummy! Hubby's pick is usually the chicken breakfast burrito. And the kids are obsessed with the Chick fil-A Chik-n-Minis (mmm honey butter). Look at this picture and tell me it doesn't make you want to reach inside the screen and grab it:

Chick fil-A is doing free breakfast all this week! If you signed up on their website and have your reservation, you're good to go. If not, there will be more promotions like this one in the future. Be sure to sign up here so you can be notified of these events.

If you're a San Diego resident, we have a fun giveaway for you! Mama Sparkles is giving away a Chick fil-A Breafast Basket! It includes a Chick-fil-A T-shirt, a Plush Cow, and coupons for free breakfast entrees.

This giveaway is open to San Diego residents ONLY, and the winner will pick up the prize at the Chick fil-A Sports Arena location.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comic-Con=Vacation

Comic-Con starts TONIGHT! Which means that for the next four days I'll be spending all my time at the San Diego Convention Center and not blogging. I'll be back on Monday though. For anyone who cares, here's a neat article about Comic-con from MSN. Have a great week, everyone!

Closing Comments

I hope you all enjoyed "Countdown to Comic-Con" week! I'm happy to have had the opportunity to share some of my favorite things with you, and only wish I could have shared more. Don't forget to enter my giveaweays if you haven't already. If you happen to be in the San Diego area in a couple of weeks, you should consider going to Comic-Con. It's a great experience, one that you'll always remember. But you better hurry...tickets are nearly sold out! Hope to see some of you there!

Comic-Con Costumes

In case you don't already know, it's countdown to Comic-Con week here at Mama Sparkles. A major part of the convention are the costumes. There is even a Masquerade , an onstage competition designed to show off all these costumes. It's so much fun to see people dressed up, and some of them can be pretty creative. Here are some of our costume pictures from last year:


Daphne from Scooby-Doo


The Incredibles

The Ghostbusters


The Black Widow, Electro, and Spider-Man


And finally, my son the Spider-Baby

Countdown to Comic-Con

It's that time of year again - San Diego Comic-Con International is almost upon us, and I couldn't be more excited. This four day event has become an annual tradition for me and my family. Our first Comic-Con was in 2004 when we first moved to San Diego, and we've never looked back. This week, I'll be highlighting a few of my favorite books and comics that I've discovered over the years at Comic-Con. Be prepared for some great giveaways as well!
So, what exactly is Comic-Con? That's a hard question to answer, because it's made up of so many different things. In a nutshell, it's the largest comics and popular arts convention in the world. Thousands of exhibitors gather in the exhibition hall, where you can shop to your heart's desire and buy everything, including comic books, action figures, games, movies, celebrity photos and beautiful works of art. It's so big, there's no way you can see it all in one day. In addition to the exhibition hall, there are panels. These are interesting lectures given by special guests, artists, authors, major comic book publishers, TV networks, Hollywood movie studios, and more. You can also attend independant film festivals and get your porfolio reviewed. In 2007, 125,000 people attended this event! In order to compete with that many people, our days start early. We usually end up leaving the house by 6:00 am, snag a parking spot underneath the convention center, then eat breakfast downtown. Then we'll take a nap (if we can)and eagerly wait until the doors open at 10:00 am. It sounds crazy, but for us it's all part of the experience. To help you get a better feel of what's it all about, here are some of our pictures from last year:

An example of the huge lines that wrap around the building of people waiting to get in.


My son's first Comic-Con was last year when he was four months old. He's patiently waiting in line!


Every year there are celebrities at Comic-Con. Last year we got to see The Rock, Steve Carell and Kate Beckinsale as they discussed their upcoming movies.

Life-size movie and comic book characters are scattered throughout the giant exhibition hall.

There's so much to see and do at Comic-Con - I look forward to sharing some of my favorite things with you this week!