AFK Yule!

I have been AFK and can you blame me the Holidays are crazy!
Now that all the hoopla of shopping is over we can sit and enjoy the gifts of the season! You know I mean all our new games!
I got my very own red and black DS lite with Yoshi, Brain age, star wars Lego and Flash focus.

Wii games that are new to us are Guitar Hero 3, pokemon battle revolution, Brain Academy Wii Degree, Mortal combat, Resident evil, Red Steel, Need for Speed Carbon, Ninja bread Man, and Mario Strikers charged.

Guitar Hero has been the most played closely followed by Need for Speed.
We also got two sets of Wii control chargers to help with the Battery drainage.
Three new Books for Little D a new Bow and Dartboard are keeping him busy while three new kimonos (one from Japan) a Japanese tea set and a pile of new clothes and make up are keeping Natsu occupied.

Mom is chilling out with her new Ds while she grills up something for dinner using her new grill set and can video the whole thing with her new Digital video cam and Dadio is trying out his new GI, leather jacket, and Air tools out in the garage.
I think its safe to say everyone here had a good Holiday thus far!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Gamer Kids and their Parents Wish list lol

Natsu♥
DS Lite, Wow game Card, Kohl’s Card, Harry Potter Phoenix Wii/ DS, Funky socks, Hot topic giftcard, Oriental stuff (tea Set, Kimono, fans etc.), Hair Sticks, SCA stuff (clothes for war),Scrapbook Stuff, Glow snowman (thinkgeek.com), Mortal Combat Wii,
Guitar Hero 3 Wii, Makeup

Little D the Terror
DS Lite, WOW game Card, Game Tap Paid account, Red steel Wii, Resident Evil Wii,
Dart set, Battle Ship game, Guitar Hero 3 Wii, Harry Potter Wii, Need for speed Wii, Pirates of Caribbean Wii, Nun chucks X2, Mario cart DS, DS lite Blue, DS pokemon Diamond Pearl, Excite truck Wii, Wow card, Barnes and noble Gift card, Skateboard

Nana~
DS lite in Crimson and Black
Brain age 2
Amber incense, Powder and oils
Guitar hero 3 Wii
Gift cards to Joanne’s fabric
Gift cards to Home Depot
SCA clothing or fabric for sewing
Video Cam

Midgard papa
Deep throat metal hand punch (Whitley punch)
CLECO'S
Cleco pliers. (Ebay)
English wheel with wheel set and anvil wheel die
PNEUMATIC PLANISHING HAMMER
Wrench set
Harbor freight gift card
Air tools

Black Friday Adventure

Got up 3Am and out the door by 3:30Am
Stores I hit were JC Pennys, Sears, Target, Harbor freight tools, Joanne’s fabrics, Frys, and Wal mart.

My friend and I had Breakfast at a place called Mimi's it was yummy and ya just know I got me a big Starbucks coffee!

The tree is up and gifts are wrapped and it's starting to look a bit like Yule in here~

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Gamer Parents and their Kids!

Hope everyone has their fill of Pie today and gets to bed early for Black Friday shopping! I'll be out EARLY in the AM!

MVG WINNER

Go to http://www.missvideogame.com to check it out for yourself!

The finalist girls have been at Arcadia from November 9-11, 2007 battling it out to see who would be named Miss Video Games 2007.

CONGRATS L337lauren!

Samhain 2007

Just a Post of some Gamer girls being silly on Samhain Night~ Nana~Natsu♥ and Eva wild1!

Hope everyone got some goodies!

TRICK OR TREAT!

GamerParents in new book by Jeannie Novak

(GamerParents featured on Page 149, 183,187)

Play the Game: The Parent's Guide to Video Games
by Jeannie Novak and Luis Levy
You can find this book here at Amazon.com

Book Description:
Redefine the way you look at video games and how they relate to you and your children! "Play the Game: The Parent's Guide to Video Games" explores how electronic games can be used to strengthen communication between parents and children as well as revolutionize the way we live. Written in an accessible style and language, Play the Game is perfect for any parent, from those who are unfamiliar with video games to those who are active gamers themselves. Through interviews and analysis with experts and families like yours, you'll discover how to use games to enhance parent-child and family relationships, for education, and as a career path. Provides parents with: - A comprehensive guide to the video games currently available on the market including ratings, genre, intended audience, and educational use - Tips, research, and advice from game developers, educators, psychologists, parents, and teens - Information on game development as a career, including examples of higher education programs and how to start building important skill-sets - A listing of useful additional references so that readers can continue to explore the role of video games in today’s society Discover new ways to connect with your children through video games with "Play the Game!"

Nintendo Shoe for 2007!

Legacy X Nintendo 2007
Colorway: blue-red-black-gray
Year:07
Limited to 400 pairs Worldwide
PRICE: $120

http://denimandsole.com/shop_details.asp?prod_ID=457&cat=OTHER

Looks like a nice shoe but for 120.- I'd have to try it on first!

MVG online tournament winners

"The top three gamers from this online tournament and two wildcard entries from the pool of online qualifiers will be flown to compete at the finals in Montreal, Canada from November 9-11, 2007."

CONGRATS!

L337Lauren

LadyLara

liPStiCK

Yvonna Lynn

Adelle Moore

Check out these Platform shoes!

“The shoes have been exhibited in some U.K. art galleries since the end of 2000, and can only be ordered through Nintendo.”
Helen Red Richards is the Designer of these awesome platforms!

Wild Card Questions

Here is a Snippet from the MVG site about the "Wild Card" questions.

"The top 3 competitors from the online tournament as well as two wild-card contestants will be flown to the finals in Montreal. In order to qualify for a wild-card spot at the finals, contestants must provide responses to both essays below. Contestants will also be judged on their participation throughout the event."

Here are the questions and my short answers~

Q. How could game publishers and developers modify or add to current games and genres to appeal to a larger female audience? Are there any publishers that have taken positive steps in this light? If so, what have these been?

A. Female characters in MMORPGS seem to take the back seat on story line cinematics. Perhaps the increase in female character involvement and Advertising to support this would work.

Q. Should parents be concerned with allowing their children to play potentially addictive games like World of Warcraft? What steps do you think parents should take to prevent their children from becoming addicted to video games?

A. Time management is a skill that we all must develop sooner or later.
Parental access should be available on underage accounts so that the parents can limit game time according to “their” family guidelines. As the Mother in a gamer family that plays WOW I can say that if our kids don’t make the grade in School they don’t play. Our kids also have chores to complete in order to earn money to “pay to play” World of Warcraft.

Did I forget to say...

The Ice cream festival truck came to see us yesterday!

SORRY I was so excited and exhausted yesterday I forgot to write about it!

I won a free visit from the Ice cream festivals ice cream truck with my Popsicle stick Mario and Wario sculptures back in August. I scheduled the visit for Natsu’s Birthday Party.

Right at 3pm the doorbell rang, it was the ice cream truck loaded with frozen goodness for our party! The kids went running wild yelling ICE CREAM WOOOOT!

The lady was so nice she even let the kids climb aboard the ice cream truck and pick what they wanted.

I know some kids had 3,4, and even 5 ice creams with in 45 minutes! CRAZY!

After the mad dash for free ice cream was over I sat down with a spoon and my individual size cup of old fashion vanilla blue bell ice cream and enjoyed every bite!

YAY Ice cream festival! YAY Mario and Wario! YAY FREE ICE CREAM!

Natsu♥ turns TEEN!

September 22^nd

This Gamer Family has its first TEENAGER!

Gamer girl NATSU turns 13 today!

A family and friends BBQ with lots of Gamer related things are what we are doing today.
We have classics like “Mario Brothers”, “Tron”, and “Street fighter” Playing on the T.V
In the Computer room you can hear group plans being made for World of Warcraft and in the living room tons of giggles from Kids trying out “Boogie” for the Wii.
Adults gathered in the kitchen eating yummy BBQ and chatting about everything from puppies to processors.
It was a great party- exhausting but great!

Here are some of the things Natsu got for her Birthday today

Wii games- Boogie, Prince of Persia, Sonic and the secret rings, Inu-Yasha season Dvds, a new DVD player, a wonderful Mythology book cash and gift cards, but the most exciting things Natsu got were from her Grandfathers!
One got her a very special dangle ring that her and her cousin got to go pick out for their Birthdays and the other got her an Electric guitar and Peavey amplifier. She is so excited I think she just might POP!

L337 5p34K1|\|' P4R3|\|72?

Does the string of gibberish your kids type up on the computer boggle your mind? Or can you Leet Speak with the best of them?

I have here a great site for learning how to decipher Leet Speak, it's super easy to use like a normal language translator.
http://www.learnleetspeak.com/

I think Leet Speak is neat; it reminds me of when I was in School and we made those Alphabet number codes so we could pass notes in class and only those with the decoder sheet could read them.

It’s also a fun way to communicate to different factions in many games. So get out there and try it! You might just learn a new language!

Entertain Me!

It's called the "Prairie View" Entertainment Center and as of 10:30 Pm tonight it's ours!
I am so happy to finally get all our Books,Games, and Movies a nice home!
Okies I'm going to go start loading it up now!
Oh and we didn't get that center peice cause our T.V is a floor model
We got it at Ashley Furniture here in Austin Texas

My Deviant Art Page

I decided to open a Deviant Art page after my Sister in-law suggested I have one.
If you want to see some of the costumes and things I have made feel free to take a peak at my page here at http://trufolk.deviantart.com/

I'm still adding things slowly it just takes time and some of the stuff I still need to take photos of. Well I guess it will be an ongoing project.

Let me eat cake

Fantastic Game Themed cake!

Okay so technically this isn't a Gaming post BUT it could be Gamer related!
I seen these guys at "Frosted Art" make some freakin' awesome cakes on the Food Network channel. They can make anything you want and lucky me they are just three hours away in Dallas!

I'm thinking Game themed Birthday cakes a Huge Viking themed Wedding cake when we re-do our vows at 15 Years- we are on Year 13 now!Anyhow I just thought I say something about it cause I think some really cool Game themed cakes could get shipped out of there!

And the winner is...

NOT ME HA!

No really I didn't win first prize but I did win a visit from the festival ice cream truck! I need to decided when and where I want the truck to visit us. The visit I believe included free ice cream for everyone I invite! WOOT!

To see the first place winner of the contest and the other contestant entries visit http://austinicecreamfestival.blogspot.com/2007/08/and-winner-is.html

And you know what else?! We didn't even get any ice cream AT the festival! It was so muggy hot from the rainy weather and the lines we so long it was crazy! It was a very popular festival and I think it was their first year!We had a lot of fun making our Standing Wario and Mario guys they will have a nice home in our Game room!

The Popsicle Stick Sculpture Contest

On August 18th our family will be attending the “Austin Ice cream festival”
What kind of contest would an Ice cream festival have? Well they’ll have an ice cream eating contest, an ice cream making contest and the one I’m going to enter…The Popsicle Stick Sculpture Contest!
Snippet:
"Make anything, yes anything out of Popsicle sticks. No pre-notched sticks allowed. Make your creation at home and bring it to the festival or make it at the festival. Get creative and have fun! You can use adhesives and decorations, but the primary building material must be Popsicle sticks. Who wants to be the Popsicle Stick Building Champion? All ages’ welcome. Free to all.”

Here are some photos from my entry, I still need to do some touch up work on them but you can get the idea!
We had family craft day yesterday and I never had so much fun with Popsicle sticks! I worked off and on for 12 hours between helping the kids with their projects and working on mine.

They stand about 18/20 inches tall and are made with love, Popsicle sticks, glue, paint and other little details like buttons!
I’ll need to put a shelf up in the game room to display them after the contest.
Win or lose I think I did a great job and…..Now I have some real PRO’s to play Wii with!
Also the kids have just flipped over them they want me to make a luigi, princess Peach, and Bowser! WOW we’d have the whole family!
I doubt I’ll “really” make all those but make some other classics would be fun!

Game Camp

Austin Community College has A Game Camp for Children 10-17.

My kids would love to attend this summer camp but with a price tag of 500.00 - 625.00 we just can’t swing that for two kids with out getting a student loan! They do offer Scholarship Opportunities for who are nominated by a schoolteacher.

“Requirements: Applicants must submit an official GameCamp! Scholarship application that includes a nomination letter written by one of the applicant’s schoolteachers explaining why this promising student should receive a GameCamp! Scholarship.”

Here is a snippet of the three summer camp classes they offer.
Our Son wants to attend the “Hardcore Gamers camp” Shoot I wish I could go too!
I’m going to try and get the kids in on that scholarship deal next year!

“Basic Camp:
Basic Commuter - This camp is our basic introduction to the video game development industry. Designed for students from 10-17 years of age, we focus on all aspects of the game industry so that students take away a well rounded experience. Instruction covers the game development process from idea creation to a game design pitch. Students will take away knowledge of how programming, art, production and design work together to create video games. Students work in groups and with industry mentors to discover their skill interests and learn about the tools and processes used by video game developers.
Advanced Camp:
Advanced Commuter - This camp focuses on advancing the student's game development skills in a chosen field. Whether the focus is software skills, college preparation, leadership, teamwork, or creativity, students will go to the next level in achieving their college and career goals and eventually working in the game industry. The advanced curriculum is customized by parents and students with the help of the GameCamp! staff. Attendance at a 'Basic' camp or a personal interview is required for attending the advanced camp.
Hardcore Gamers:
Hardcore Gamers Camp - Students will learn game design in a more hands-on gaming approach. The hardcore camp is for students less interested about careers as game developers but more serious about playing games competively. Students will learn the tricks of good map and level design, compete in team-based tournaments to help build communication skills, and develop, test and play their own game modifications. “

There’s only three camps left this summer, so I don’t see them getting to go but I can start making plans for next summer.

Why does summer camp have to be so expensive :( I wonder if I could be a teachers Aid at the camp?!? I may have to look into that!

Play Attention

Play attention is a game designed to help families with ADHD children. Our son was diaganosed four years ago at age six. I found this website and found it interesting.
Play attetion is a learning system that uses a helmet to read brain signals weird hu! The game is supose to help adhd children improve on their concentration skills , improve memory, and learn to filter out distractions.

You can order a free demo cd which I have already done. As cool as this idea is it’s not for my family. Other than I’m not paying 2,000.00 for any kind of game alone the graphics didn’t look like anything my son would really be impressed with.
I could see how this would be helpful in younger grades as maybe a learning center in the classroom.

Snippet from the site
“Can I see a live demonstration?
Every Thursday evening, we offer a free online teleseminar. Our CEO and founder, Peter Freer, conducts a lively and informative presentation and encourages the online audience to interact freely during the discussion. Our free teleseminar is your opportunity to see Play Attention live on your desktop PC, and to get answers to your most difficult questions from an ADHD expert.”

Go check out the site read it over and give me your thought on this idea~

Pay to play or Pay Allowance?

What is the going rate for a Childs allowance nowadays? Do Parents still pay for a child doing chores?
I wasn’t one of the kids who got an allowance growing up. It was just expected that if you lived in the family house you helped with the family chores no compensation needed.

My Husband however was one of the lucky ones who got an allowance. He got enough money to buy one Star wars figure a week. If you think about that and the current costs of an action figure now (6.99 +) that means I’d be paying each of my kids 28.00 bucks a month adding a bill of 56.00 to our monthly budget! That’s 3 months of World of Warcraft! Or whatever pay to play you are playing.

We don’t pay any allowance in our house. What we do is if you have pulled your weight around the house doing family chores we will pay for your pay to play game account for 1 month. Yes, there has been months that the kids haven’t played but it’s completely up to them. We don’t have a chore list (Well “They” don’t I do lol) If I ask someone to do something twice I don’t ask again I’ll ask the other kid and if neither do it 1. My husband or myself will do it or 2. I remind them that they wont be playing games and that normally fixes their attitudes real quick. Really we don’t get too much attitude when it comes to helping out. Our Daughter likes the inside chores like Loading the dishwasher, gathering the dirty clothes and Our Son likes the Outside Chores like Mowing the Grass or taking out the trash can that kind of stuff.
I think they are getting a really good deal. What do you think?

“Your Parents play video games?”

I hear that a lot whenever a new friend or classmate comes to our house. It just boggles their minds that parents are into videogames. You should see the look on their faces when their friends come to the door and the get told “I’ll be out in an hour were in the middle of a raid” What?! You want to sped time with your parents? How weird!
Our house is the most hoping place in the neighborhood! I will only allow 2 friends each at a time (Because that’s 6 kids!) so it’s funny to hear the door bell and my kids will say oh so and so is inside right now can ya come back? And they actually stand there waiting so they don’t lose their spot in line! That is so crazy lol
Every parent in the neighborhood has our phone number and we are the first people they call if it’s time for their kids to go home.
We bought a 52 inch T.V for the Wii (We didn’t have a T.V in the living room before the Wii) we have the N64 set up in our sons room, we have 4 game boy colors and one DS lite a few plug and play games as well as 5 PC’s set up in our house. So there plenty for 6 kids to do without arguing over who plays what.
Summer has been crazy too; it seems that every night someone is asking to sleep over.
I just love it!
If you future Gamer Parents want some advice- Buy loads of popcorn it’s a cheap healthy snack and I haven’t met one kid who didn’t enjoy a fist full of warm popcorn and a controller in their hands! Not to mention it makes your house smell like a Video Arcade in a theater hehe
Nana~

Is talking to your kids Via (IM) easier?

Is it really less pressure for kids to talk to their parents about "Hard to talk about subjects" online?

Personally I have found the answer to that; Yes. Sometimes kids really "Want" to talk to their parents but are afraid of "The Stare" or the sudden explosion of Mom or Dads head when they ask something completely off the wall.

We started of Basic with the Yahoo IM - Hey, How was School today? Small chat stuff we have no issues with face to face. Then I set up personal emails for them, and we would Email each other like " Hey mom I found this dress on hottopic.com think we can go look at it this weekend?" or "Hey Son Do you think you could Mow the grass on Sat.?" This alone helped our face-to-face conversations go much smoother than the typical "Eek it's MOM run away she won't understand!"

We also used IM's, emails and in game chats to study school work- Hey Son what's 9*9? Or we would yell out words and have them spell them in personal chat back to us. (This really helped our Daughter out in 3rd grade!) That and all the reading of quests in W.O.W really helped and Pronouncing some of their names was interesting!

Then one day came the "Mom can I talk to you for a minute" IM. ME: Sure Honey what's up? KID: I want to talk to you but I'm kind of scared too can we talk like this? ME: Okay, Sure :) Then (Kid) tells me about some personal stuff going on at School and wants advice from me "MOM" Sweet!
Ever since then this kid of mine (unnamed lol) will talk to me about some really personal things face to face and knows I'm not going to freak out- I'm just here to offer advice. Most of the time it's stuff that's really important to them and I'm sitting there bracing for some crazy hard to answer question and it's something simple like "So and So wont be my friend if I'm friends with So and So" lol Doesn't that bring back School memories!?

Both of my kids talk to me about Boyfriends/Girlfriends and crazy things I would never have told my Mom let alone ask her for Advice! (Things change! I call my mom everyday now!) and neither of my kids HAVE Boyfriend/Girlfriends just "crushes".

I am NOT saying, "Don't talk to your kids and avoid face to face conversations with them at all costs!" LOL. What I am saying is if you're a Parent and either You or your kids feel uncomfortable talking face to face give online chat a try, it could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with your kids! And it could improve their typing skills! :P

Now...What are your thoughts on this?

Harry Potter fans!

The time is near for us to pull out our favorite Harry Potter costumes or Tee Shirts and head to where ever you will be getting your copy of Book 7!
I am excited to find out that we have two local places that are doing something special for the midnight release!

Both of these places will be having a costume contest and well I’m pulling out my fabric pile looking for something to make! You know how crazy I am when it comes to costumes! And I work best under time pressures. So off I go to play dress up!
If you are a fan of if you are looking for a family event to attend pop in to these sites and push in your Zip code to see if your local stores will be doing anything~

Barnes & Noble says they will have:
· Enchanting Activities
· Prizes and giveaways
· Photo Opportunities
· And Unique items for sale in store!

Wal-mart has announced that they will be giving out wristbands to save your place in line so you can enjoy the entertainment they will be providing!

I feel like it’s the Day after Thanksgiving all over again standing outside with my little slip of Paper that says I’m number 16 in line to get my Wii!

Wal-mart says they will have:
· Trivia challenges
· Exclusive keepsakes
· Costume contests in select stores. Call your local store for further details

Please note that the Harry Potter wristband ensures a place in line, but does not guarantee book availability. Purchase(s) can be made while supplies last.

If you like to write this may be something you want to read! It looks interesting

Cerise Magazine
Here is A snippet from their site.
"Cerise is a magazine aimed primarily at women gamers. We are interested in work that engages with gender while addressing various facets of gaming, including the following:
Reviews of games, systems and gaming supplements
In-depth critiques, essays and opinion pieces about gaming
Interviews with industry professionals
Gamer Stories: personal narratives about gaming experiences
Modules and mini-adventures for tabletop games "
Interested? Click HERE

Armadillocon 29

Armadillocon 29

Aug 10 - 12, 2007 in Austin, Texas (United States)
Doubletree Hotel Austin, 6505 IH-35 North, Austin, TX 78752-4346, Phone: 512-454-3737
"ArmadilloCon is a literary science fiction convention held annually in Austin, with several hundred attendees. The primary focus of ArmadilloCon is literary science fiction, but that's not all we do -- we also pay attention to art, animation, science, media, and gaming. Every year, dozens of professional writers, artists and editors attend the convention. Sometimes they come to make deals, but more often they come to have fun"
Current 3-day Pass: $30($40 for at the door)
1-day Pass:Friday: $20Saturday: $25Sunday: $20
Kids:6 & Under: Free7 - 12: $2013 & Older: Full Price
Right here in Austin Texas you better believe we will be there!
Nana~

CPL Championships (TX)

"The Summer 2007 CPL® Championships will take place Thursday, August 30th to Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 (Labor Day Weekend) at the Hilton Anatole, in Dallas Texas."
Cplworldtour.com
We may try to attend this event if it works out with my husbands new work schedule and the Kids School schedule. It's on Labor Day weekend so I would think everything would work out fine!
It's in Dallas and we will be there (Pretty sure we will be) that weekend visiting family.
If you live in or near Dallas and want to check it out here is the link for the Dallas event!
CPL Dallas
If your going let me know maybe we can meet up for Coffee!

Animefest 2007 DallasTexas

"AnimeFest is a non-profit organization for fans of Japanese Animation. We unite fans from around the country in our common interest and gather at our annual convention in Dallas, TX for the purpose of meeting fellow fans, viewing new anime, buying & trading merchandise, and just reveling in all that is anime."
Labor Day WeekendFri Aug 31st - Mon Sept 3th, 2007Location: Hyatt Regency at Reunion Tower Dallas Texas
CosPlay will be Saturday night! Oh man I can't wait to see the costumes! In case you have not figured it out yet I am a costume fanatic! I love making them and I will find every reason to get into one.
If you plan on attending this event let me know!
(This is the same weekend as the CPL in Dallas so why not plan on attending both events!)
Full Memberships: Valid from date of purchase through Dec 31st 2007
$15 - Child (8-12) Membership
$30 - If postmarked by July 31st
$35 - If postmarked by Mon Aug 13th or paid online by credit card by Fri Aug 24th
$40 - Purchased at the door
Single Day Memberships: Valid for one day only, only available at the door.
$25 - Friday Only
$25 - Saturday Only
$25 - Sunday Only
$15 - Monday Only

The New Miss Video Game Site!

Hey everyone go check out the New MVG Site!
It's got blogs- Live time chat- and GAMES!
I love the classic Games!
They are working on adding new features everyday so go check it out and sign up to beat the current high score!

GamerParents photo going to be in a book!

Found out last week that our Family Photo will be in somewhere in this book, that is some what exciting. Can't say we have ever been in a book before :)

I hope it's a good book!

Play the Game: A Parents guide to video games
Book Description:
Do you think your kids play too many video games? Can’t understand why your child is so addicted to video games? Or do you actually play the video games with your child? Play the Game: A Parent’s Guide to Video Games will help you understand what your kids play? and why! You’ll discover the latest research on both violent and educational aspects of video games that debunks all the myths sensationalized by the media. This guide provides everything you need to know to truly communicate with your kids about games. Play the Game will take you on a guided tour through this new universe that captivates your kids.

Our trip to the WSVG Dallas 2007

Our Family at WSVG 2007 Dallas TX - Dark photo sorry!

Our Son trying out the Intel Race Car (They took a photo in the car and gave you some really neat racing things!)

Our Son and his friend dancing at the Intel booth ( They got free flashdrives with your commercial one them!)
Our Sons friend won the Drawing for some free loot at the wsvg!(XFX headphones)

We had a lot of fun- Played a lot of games- watched the guitar hero contest and seen some badass 8-10 yr olds tear it up!
We got A LOT of free loot
4- 512 flash drives 4- 512 compact flash
Some Scion glowing necklaces in blue and in red and some Scion dog tags.
Tee shirts from all different vendors
Posters from Nvidia and door tags for the kids that say "Go away I'm gaming".
Some stress squishies from Comp U.S.A
The free photo in the Intel car and some neat racing fact cards.
Some Pens and some Bracelets
WHEW!

Once again we had a blast and people were complaining about the noise..
Last Year Creative had a booth that was set up like Jeopardy and they gave out some really fantastic prizes- They were getting people to scream Xfi- sound blaster- etc and people were cheering in general. People complained about the noise.
This year was the same..
They had a stage set up for a guitar hero contest and some of these people were really shredding it up! I loved it when the kids would jump or slide across the stage it was a lot of fun! Well afterwards I read an article where people were complaining about the noise...
Sigh...Get over it. You are at a Gaming convention not a Library
Sports in all forms = Music, Cheering and noise Bring earplugs if it bugs ya!
We had a GREAT time and the kids are already talking about going next year!

Laugh at us courtesy of Intel!

This year at the WSVG Dallas Intel had a really neat commercial making booth and if you danced they gave out free loot!
Well…We love free loot so we had to go make fools out of ourselves!
And now I’m posting it in public so the world can share our laughter!

We did end up getting 4 Intel 512 Flash drives so to me that’s worth the silly little dance!
Enjoy!
Can not wait until next Years WSVG!

Intel WSVG

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Space Invaders online!

“Neave Games” has space Invaders and it’s free!
This game is so addicting it’s hilarious!
I found this site and showed our son, we were playing when Dad got home we showed him the great fun we had be having and now I keep finding my husband playing it!
Really go try it I dare Ya!
Nana~

A Review of World of Warcraft by: Natsu♥

World of War craft or W.O.W for short is a fight to level game that you can play with your friends.
There are party groups of 5 but you can chat with anyone on your server.
There are also Battle Groups that can link a lot more people together in one chat group.
As you level from 1 to 60 you will discover many different things like Quests to do; some easy just delivering things, and some more difficult. You will also come across many different monsters in the game, Be careful some of the do what is called BAF (Bring a friend) and that can get you killed really quickly if your not careful!

Wow has two sides to pick from. The Alliance (The good side) and The Horde (The bad guys) and both sides have many different races and classes to pick from; I chose to make an Alliance Paladin Human.
The other classes are Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Warlock, Hunter, Druid, and Shaman.

As you level you will need to visit your “trainer” he or she will teach you new skills like new fight moves, or healing spells etc. and Once you hit level 40 you can train for a mount. A mount is a way to move around in the game faster than just walking. Mounts come in the form of a Horse, Battle Cat, and Mechanical chicken and more!

My Paladin girl is level 34 so I am close to getting my mount and I am excited about that not only that but my Mom and dad said that once I hit level 40 they will get me the new expansion “Burning Crusades” that is really exciting because when I get B.C I will be able to visit new lands, new monsters, and hit level 70 instead of 60. Also with B.C you get to make two new races for the Horde- Blood Elves and for the Alliance- The Draenei.

I played BC on the 10 day free trial download but I was not high enough level to go through the Dark portal.
Even so I made me a new toon just to see how she played and now I am even more excited about hitting level 40 so I can continue leveling her now that my free trial is over!

I know WOW costs real money monthly to play but I do chores to earn money to pay for my account and I ask for the WOW game cards at Holidays like My Birthday and Yule my Brother does the same thing and if we don’t earn our money or if we don’t keep good grades in school we don’t get to play.

I think World of Warcraft rocks!
It’s a great game to play with your entire family!
In our family this is how many play:

Dad- Alliance Rogue
Mom- Alliance- Warrior
Me- Alliance- Paladin
Brother- Alliance- Paladin
Cousin- Alliance- Rogue and Warlock
Cousin- Alliance- Hunter
Cousin- Alliance- Hunter
Uncle- Alliance- Mage and Paladin
Aunt- Alliance- Mage
Also my Aunt in Fla. is getting into Wow now too!

If you would like to read more about World of Warcraft visit
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/
Thanks for reading my review!Natsu♥

Father's Day Craft for the Kids!

Kids want to make something for their Gamer Dad’s this year?

Well here is an idea or two for you to try!

We decided to make Dad something for his cube at work.
A photo Cube and a Pen Holder made out of recycled Floppy Disk's!



What we needed:
(6) Six 3.5 floppy disks any color you want to use.
One sheet of cardstock any color you want to use.
Six photos that you are allowed to cut OR 6 copies of photos so you can cut them.
A hot glue gun
Scissors
A pen

How we did it:
1st cut the cardstock to fit the floppy disk (in the area the label sticker would go).
2nd cut the photos you are using a bit smaller than the card stock.
3rd Glue OR double stick tape the photos to the card stock.
4th Glue or Double stick tape the cardstock to the floppy disk.
5th Lay one floppy face down and hot glue the sides of the cube on.
6th continue gluing the disks together until you have a cube.
(Make sure all your photos are facing out and the disks are all going the same direction)

Top 10 Cheesiest Classic Game Commercials

Visit Yahoo Games to see these top ten cheesiest commercials now
Some of them are really silly and bring back the first memories of gaming!

Tek Republik in Austin Texas

Okay this place is cool!
We took our son and one of his friends here for his Birthday and it was a pretty neat set up.
We each made accounts and paid our 2.00 an hour fee then picked a computer out of the 20 they had set up for play.
We each did our own thing Hubby and I played Diablo LOD, Natsu played WOW, and Little D and his friend played War hammer but the list goes on they have many more games available to play! If you are more of a console person they also have big screen set ups for all of the consoles!
I’m telling you this is the place to be if you are a teenager or if you are in a gaming squad. It was a lot of fun!

What’s more is Tek Republik is kid friendly! They have all night Lock in’s for 20.00 or BYOC for 10.00!

You really need to check this place out!

Counter Strike

A School Game Review by Little D the Terror!

In counter strike you get to choose to be on the terrorist forces or the counter terrorist forces. At the beginning of the game you choose your weapons and your crew. When you choose your crew you can choose high, ok, med, low, and bad. In the stats of bravery, skill, and co-op. Then it also shows what type of primary weapon, secondary weapon, grenades, armor, and night vision goggles and a bomb deactivating kit and a knife.

If you are on the counter terrorist forces then your trying to kill all your enemies and deactivate the bomb and you usually get 1-3 missions. If you are on the terrorist forces then you are trying to kill all your enemies and plant the bomb also don’t let the counter terrorist forces from deactivating the bomb. There are six rows of missions for you to do. There and on the way you unlock new crewmates.

There are also easy missions, normal missions, medium missions, and hard missions and after each set of missions you do you get a badge. You can also play counter strike as a two-player game online. But some people curse on online games that is why I can’t really play online.

My parents say that it’s to mature for me. That’s why when I go to a game the time someone curses I leave. On multi-player it’s the same as playing with computers accept you don’t always end up being the commander. They sometimes don’t help when you ask for it. Also sometimes it hard to find the bombsite so you can deactivate the bomb.

A Free Mother’s Day Gift from popcap.com!

Mother Day is May 13th!
Still don’t have something for your Mother? Shame on you!
Popcap.com is making it easy for the kido’s to give something special this year!
Get your Mom a free copy of Bejeweled!
All you have to do is subscribe to their newsletter and you will receive a registration code for Bejeweled Deluxe and it’s the full game not a demo!
You must use a valid email address and you must hurry the codes must be redeemed before May 30th!

I got this game and I’m hooked!
Nana~

MVG 2007- 1st Game CounterStrike 1.6

Over on the MVG forums last night the administrator announced that the first game we would play is Counter Strike 1.6!
This “Seems” to have a lot of the girls scattering to get a copy so they can get started practicing. I’m sure there are a few girls in the contest that are breathing easy on this one and have full confidence that they will kick our arses!
As for me…Yup I’m one of the Scattering ones. I’m going to head up to TeK Republik and play on their systems to learn more about this game!
Now it’s the end of semester and I "should" be thinking about Math homework and Finals but I really want to go run shower, jump in the truck and get to Tek Rebublik ASAP!
Well I’m off!
Wish me luck~

"My Mom's a Gamer" XBOX Contest

Is your mom a lifelong gamer, or new to gaming? What games does she play? Does she support your gaming habit? Is she a n00b, or can she hold her own?

The people over at XBOX are hosting a “My Mom’s a gamer” contest the object of this Contest is to write an original essay about your mother/female legal guardian and gaming.
The basic rules are...
You must be at least thirteen (13) years old at the time of entry
Your essay must be about your own mother or female legal guardian, but you may not use any personally identifiable information other than a first name or nickname.
Your essay must be submitted in the English language.
Your essay must be at least 250 words, but not exceed 500 words in length.
Your essay must be original, must not have been previously published or submitted as part of any other contest and must have been created and owned exclusively by you.

The contest ENDS at 11:59 PM PT on May 6th 2007 so hurry!

What does Mom get?
A U.S. $100 gift card to a florist of your choice.
One Xbox 360™ Elite video game and entertainment system

Good Luck Mama’s!
Head on over to XBox.com for full contest rules~

Miss Video Game- Platform announced

The Miss Video Game contest announced that the top 50 contestants would be playing on the Skill Gene Platform that will be hosted over at “TitanStrike”.
Here is a snipit about Titan Strike-
“TITAN Gaming is currently developing a next-generation Internet video gaming platform aimed at enhancing every aspect of online game play. The company has spent nearly three years designing the concepts, layouts, and system requirements for the platform and is ready to continue development in time for a beta launch during the summer of 2007. TITAN will launch a licensed version of its Skill Gene™ Platform after its beta test in the summer of 2007.”

Sounds like the MVG contestants just may end up being the beta testers!
I can’t wait to find out what games we’ll be playing!

Get the Meez!

I'm trufolkfamily!

This is the 3D me.
Make your own,
and we both get Coinz!

2nd life TEEN- Review by Emerald

A review by Emerald (age 121/2)
This is a review of my first thoughts about Second life teen.

My mom has had an account in Second life for a long time but when I asked her to make me an account she said it wasn’t for kids. That there were things I shouldn’t see around the world but she would let me watch her walk or fly around certain parts of the world and I thought it looked really neat.

I was very excited when I received an email from my mom linking me to Second life Teen!
Second life Teen is like the original second life world but designed for Teens ages 13-17 and the TOS indicates that only teens between this ages are allowed.

Mom set up my account for me and I began creating my second life persona.
I made a tall pale skinned girl with Dark brown hair wearing the beginning “Gothic” themed outfit.
The first area of the world is an info hub. This is where you get all of your basic first time questions answered.
Next I traveled to a lot of new places I’m still learning about.
To make money I “Sit in money chairs” or I can ‘Dance” right now I have 100 Lindens.
(Lindens are what the money is called in game)
I have not spent any lindens yet I’m saving up to get some new cool clothes.
I think the coolest thing about second life teen is designing my girl
The thing I don’t really like is some people don’t talk very nice
Will I continue to plat second life teen?
Maybe. I like it all right but I like playing World of Warcraft even More!Click the links to read more about second life or second life TEEN.

Nana~ number 30!

Nana~ has made it to round two of the Miss Video Game 2007 competition.
I am now MVG 2007 contestant number 30!
They have not said what games the next round will consist of yet, but I know all of us over on the forums are excited to find out!
Http://www.missvideogame.com
Come check it out!

Using WoW to teach English?

Go check out this article over at Gamasutra.com.

I think it's a interesting read on how they are using WoW to teach English to kids in Asia!
My Sister In-Law uses in game tatics to help my nephew learn phonics and I think it's fantastic!

I know that chatting in game with my kids has helped them greatly in reading and writing in School!
I can honestly say that since our Daughter has started playing WoW Daily she has gone from a D in Reading/Writing to an A! So as long as her grades make the mark we will continue to shell out monthly for her Pay to play service and it's cheaper than Sylvan! WOOT!

Prince of Persia for the Wii

Okay so I want to get this game like yesterday!
I seen the screenshots and review in last months Nintendo Power Magizine and thought "Oh man this looks like it will be good!"
I will add it to my list of games to get- but it may be May before I actually get it cause May is a double Birthday month in our house!
Here is the link- Check it out!

Nothing New!

I have not been posting too much as of late and I figured I'd let everyone know why!
We are still settling in after the War- Unpacking-Laundry- Garage cleaning etc. and I had to make up Math Homework from Spring Break and do the current weeks Homework and study for a test on Sat.!
Between classes I have been playing Animal crossing on the DS Lite and Sometimes the mini game on Super Mario (I like the card games)
Well I need to go do Mom things like Laundry and Dinner so I'll post when I can!
Nana~

Home from War!

Gulfwars in Lumberton Mississippi.
Every March during spring break here in Texas we load up and head to war.
10 days of Mississippi camping, bonfires, rainy and cold nights and hot and sweaty days.
3k to 5k people Drums til 4am and the clash of weapons and armor starting at 9am!
We love it and we are already making plans for next year’s war!

What I love best about Gulfwars is the people, there’s always a welcome fire to sit by and a bottle of mead to be passed around!
A ton of stories to be told and heard and sharing laughs with friends you only get to see once a year.

Oh what shall I make for next year?
Nana~

WOOT DUN TYR! See ya Next Year!

About Gamer Parent Nana~

(Photo slide removed)

Nana~
Age 29
Interests and Hobbies:
Medieval Reenactment, SCA, Belly Dancing, Sewing Costumes, Corsets and cloaks, Ebay, MMRPG, World of Warcraft, Beta testing, N64, Wii, Comic books, Lady Death, Dawn, Books, Women’s Studies, Goddess Studies, Rune Making, Mead and Cordials, Cooking, Baking, Candy Making, (Love making Divinity), Hanging out and playing games with my family!

Review- Rampage Total Destruction

Game: Rampage Total Destruction

Console: wii

Rating: E for everyone 10+

Price: $29.99

My mom went to "Toys R Us" last week and surprised us when she got back she had bought “Rampage Total Destruction”.

The goal of the game is to beat each challenge, each boss and unlock all 40 monsters. You have to destroy each neighborhood in each town it sends you to. There are 40 different monsters but you only start off with 4 or 5.

The game is multi player but you need two controllers and two nunchucks. The Graphics are Cartoonish but I think kids and adults who like cartoons would like them. The game is very easy to play until you get far in the game then it gets kind of hard.

I think it’s a fun game and I bet you will too if you like destroying things. I have not played the game with friends as a multi player game yet because we only have one nunchuck my friends like to play it single player though.

I will continue playing this game and think it’s a good addition to our Wii games! My opinion is that people should rent the game and if they like it they should go buy it.

I give the game “Rampage” 6 of 10 stars for my personal game rating!

“Mom’s Opinion”I think that for the low price it’s a good game to add to your Wii Library!

News- Massively addicting Games WoW

In “Yahoo Games” this week there’s an article about massively addicting games namely “World of Warcraft”

Mike Smith at Yahoo asks “As millions continue to spend large quantities of time in virtual worlds, what effect is this having on the real one?”
“The eight million players of massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft don't really change the game's world. Even if you spend all night slaying an epic dragon, it'll still be alive again in time for the next team of intrepid adventurers. But in some cases, the compelling, addictive gameplay characteristic of many massively multiplayer games can have devastating impacts on the real worlds of their players.”

Read more of this article here.

Personally I think the problem begins with lack of self discipline. It would be easy to let the excitement of the game suck you in for hours and hours a day. Even I have been guilty of all night raids in WoW! You need to have a Game Play plan action plan!
Example? I will Play 1 hour of video games per 1 hour of studying my Schoolwork.

Rampage Total Destruction

Just went and picked up "Rampage" From Toys R Us!
My son will be doing a review on this game sometime next week since he is the one who can't seem to put it down!
It's looks like a fun game~ I have yet to play it. We need to pick up some more nunchucks!

Review- Nostromo SpeedPad n52

First I would like to let you read Belkins product description for the n52

"Built to conquer your enemy, the Nostromo SpeedPad n52 captures all the advantages of its critically acclaimed predecessor, the n50, and cranks up the juice with advanced options to dominate your game. It puts keyboard and gamepad functionality into one small and easy-to-use device, delivering more tools for customizing your game than ever. Using feedback from hundreds of gamers, our engineers designed the n52's intuitive nature and stylish versatility to give you easy access to your arsenal of deadly maneuvers. So start programming up to 104 functions now-and watch how dangerous you become."

My huge Mistake!
In my experience I have always used a keyboard and mouse while gaming. I saw one of these but never placed much stake into it. I didn’t think that it was worth it and never bothered to check it out.

Well Now!
I bought my Nostromo SpeedPad n52 about 2 months ago. I now have a hard time looking back and saying why didn’t I buy this along time ago. This Beast allows you to reach 24 actionable buttons with one hand. The D-pad replaced my old style of movement and allows the user to remain ready to attack on the shortest notice. The arch in the palm area lets you rest your hand
So those long hours of gaming never wear on me.

The programmable macros are not required to use the device. I currently only use them for Stealth. But there is a ton of opportunity here. With this fully configurable device you can map any Keyboard button or combo to 1 button on the Nostromo. The macros can also space out the amount of time between actions if needed

In short I will never look back now that I have this Weapon of mass destruction!
Game On
Severin

Wii- Wario smooth moves

I went out and bought "Wario Smooth Moves" last Tuesday afternoon.
I’m tickled pink at how well the entire family responded to this game!
Wario is a very active and fast paced game that has you doing plenty of fun mini challenges in a timed environment.

You begin your training in the town of “Diamond city” as you progress you can take the train to “Pearl square” where you can play multi player games!

Your not going to cheat the Wii controller and sit around playing this game that’s for sure! In some of the timed challenges you will begin by flipping your wrist making stir-fry in a wok- The goal? To flip the stir-fry onto the plate! Then next you may be running on a track field where you need to pump your Wii controller by your side like you are really jogging the track and the faster “you” jog in place the faster your guy goes! Remember you’re timed!

The one my son and I were playing today was “Darts” we both like to play darts and there are no holes in the wall to repair. :p

I love how Nintendo has brought “Movement” back into family entertainment!

“Wii” give this game two thumbs up!

News-Miss video Game Update

If anyone is following the Miss video game contest they may want to visit the MVG forums that opened up two days ago.
The forums give voters a chance to talk with the contestants and ask them questions that may help them decide who they think should be Miss Video Game 2007.

There has been a lot of static about this contest across the boards
Some people think the contest is dangerous and should be avoided.
Some think it’s a scam to get photos and emails of ½ naked girls.
Other people think the contest is just a harmless unorganized beginning of what could be a good thing in the future.
And there are a handful of people that just don’t give a flip either way (They are making “Myspace” friends galore!)

Personally I hope it’s the unorganized beginning of a good thing! I don’t see anything wrong with a Girl Gamer contest I only wish that the visual “Based on looks” part of the competition was last.
Either way I don’t think the winner is going to “Change” the world of video games.
They will probably get a crown, some flowers, a Tee shirt, they say a game console and some cash oh and the trip!

I witnessed the WSVG competition (because I was in it :P ) and it was basically a popularity contest no gaming at all and questions like “what’s your gaming name? And to the finalist “If you were going to off you opponent how would you do it?”

So I am pleased that there is at least going to be gaming in this competition!
Nana~

Here are some of the questions I asked Mark Donovan in an email last week.

Q. It seems that things have been updated, I mean like I don’t recall reading about the photo shoot when I signed up (awhile ago) but now there is info about this shoot. Can you give me more info on this? Is it Mandatory? What are the photos for? What do you have to wear? I mean is it a beach shoot type thing or a Basic wear what you want kind of shoot? Where will these photos go and what will they be used for?

A. The photo shoot has been up since the beginning of the competition. The photo shoot is for promotional materials for the MVG contest - they would go on the site for next year and other official MVG releases and only official releases. As for the location of the shoot - that will be up to the winner and the photographer to establish. If you are not comfortable having the shoot on the beach we would never pressure you to do so. The photos will be taken so that people can put a face to the name of the winner.

Q. The “Must like the beach” comment that caused so much stir over the net
I see it has been changed to “4. Loves a free vacation to the beach” *
First off I’m happy you changed it because I don’t love the beach I
hate the sun and hot sand! However I do like the beach at night! Cool
sand, big moon, glassy waters, and maybe even a bonfire! Does this
count?

A. LOL, that was a joke that didn't go over very well. But seriously, some
people had a real problem with that wording, so we changed it. The trip
is there for the winner to enjoy any way she and her guest choose- we
hope that whoever the lucky people are enjoy it very much.

Q. A question about the Gaming part and I'm not sure what you can tell me
about this but mainly I'm wondering how the online part will work.
Can you tell me about how the setup will work and how you’re going to
keep track of contestants?

A. I think I answered some of these questions in the interview with Becky,
but I will tell you that we will be using a new online video game
software that is currently in development. The software will take care
of keeping track of all aspects of the tournament, including winners,
scores, brackets, etc. We will provide more details on the software to
contestants before the tournament begins so that they will be familiar
with the system before the tournament begins. It is not in our interest
at this time to reveal the feature set or functionality of the platform,
but contestants will have a first hand view of it before we ask them to
play on it.

Q. Are you working with another site? Or once the contest is ends will we
not see you again until MVG 2008? *
I'm asking because I see this site, but the only info about MVG I see
elsewhere on the net is on people’s blogs or on a few gamer forum
type-sites.

A. We will be adding much more functionality to the MVG site over the
upcoming months to make it a place for gamers to stay and participate
year-around. We will roll the features out in beta as they are ready and
look forward to feedback and help from the community to make them
better. After all, the people in the community are the ones using it.

I hope that I have answered your questions as much as you wished. Of
course, I would very much like to stay in contact with you and you're
more than welcome to post the questions and answers on your blog, I
simply as that you provide me with a link to the post.

Thanks again for your questions and I hope to hear from you soon,

-Mark.

GamerParents 1st full month!

Woot! Today is the last day of January! That means GamerParents have kept their blog rolling for one full month!
Midgard_papa is working on a review and Emerald_Dee is still working on her review. Little D the Terror did his first ever review! Great job D keep up the good work!
The kids earn Money for writing their reviews (like allowance) to pay for their Pay to play accounts, Skateboard parks, what ever they are saving for.
They are still pretty shy about writing but I'm sure that soon will pass and they be posting alot more!
As for me Nana~ I should be working on my math homework but instead I was playing Wii and adding Wii friends!

Tek Republik in Austin TX

From the site itself-"Tek Republik" is a full service computer shop offering repairs, upgrades, and high end custom PC builds. We also offer data recovery, virus and spyware removal, as well as home and SOHO networking installations and repairs.
We also offer in store computer rental for basic printing and MS Office and other applications. We offer wifi on site for laptop users, and all computers are connected to our high speed fiber internet.

We also are a gaming center offering players PC gaming and Xbox 360 gaming. Our top games are Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2, World of Warcraft, Company of Heroes, Titan Quest, Unreal Tournament 2004, Quake 4, Counterstrike 1.6/Source, Halo, NCAA 2007 and more. You can find our full PC games list here, and our Xbox360 games list here."

My husband took a friend of ours here tonight! It's just the guys going out for a bachelor’s party! I’ll have to get him to tell you a little bit about the place in a bit but from the website it looks pretty nice~ I’m thinking Birthday Parties!

Wii- Weekly games added! 1-29-07

Today the Nintendo Wii shopping channel added four more classic games! Nintendo adds new games to the shopping channel at 9am every Monday!
This Mondays games that were added are-

Mario Kart 64
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Bonanza Bros.
Comix Zone

Click here for a list of games available for Wii online shopping.

How to beat your children @ videogames

Too funny! I love the strange colored "Water" he brings back to his dad!

Via: VideoSift

Video Games Live!

This has got to be the coolest thing I’ve heard about since “Pink Floyds” laser light show!
As of today Texas shows are still TBA but there are 50 shows said to be opening in 2007!

Here is a snipit from the front page-

“Video Games Live™ is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras & choirs perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience!”

There’s going to be a
-Costume Contest!
-Meet and Greet!
-Game Competitions!
-And more!

I know I will be getting tickets and Costumes for the four of us asap!

They also have Tee-Shirts and Game Soundtracks on their website!
So Check them out HERE watch the video and get your tickets!
WOOT!

About the SCA and Gulf Wars!

What is this thing called the SCA? And what is Gulf Wars?

The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international non-profit educational organization that is dedicated to the research and recreation of pre-16th century European History, with a particular focus on its practical applications in arts and sciences, including costuming, cooking, martial arts, dance, calligraphy and illumination, metalwork, archery and music just to name a few.

“In our family we have two fighters (Soon to be three!) And Two Dancers (Middle Eastern) I sew all of our costumes called (Garb) and my husband makes all of our armor! To see photos visit our costume page Trufolk.com”

GULF WARS is an annual war between Ansteorra and Trimaris, being hosted by Meridies. It takes place at King's Arrow Ranch near Lumberton, MS. It is currently held during "spring break" in mid-March each year!

An estimate of 3K people attends Gulf War each year and many of them start packing in January!

“I am sewing for the war already! Out with the old and outgrown and in with the new! I’m even taking Middle Eastern Dance in college this semester to brush up on dancing skills.”

To attend Gulf War you need to register either by mail (postmarked by January 31st) or online by February 14th.

Here is a nifty video clip about the SCA!

WoW- Blood Elf Review

World of Warcraft- Burning Crusades
A Character review by Darick (age 9)

My review is on the New Horde character the “Blood Elf”

I don’t have the Burning crusades yet; Mom and Dad wont get it for me until I hit 60 so I made a toon on my Mom’s account.
I decided to make the Horde Blood Elf because I think they look cooler than the Alliance Draenei.
What I really like about the blood elves is how they look, move, jump, and their cities and last of all there gear.
They’re easy to play and their quests are pretty easy.
HINT: When you go to the second town and go through the big door and go west; don’t try to kill the undead by your self!
I decided to make a Hunter because my Dad said I should make a pet class.
My favorite thing about playing a hunter is that you get a pet.
Right now my Blood Elf Hunter is level 7 but I don’t get to play him very much cause my mom uses her account a lot.
When I reach level 60 on my account and I get Burning Crusades I will most likely make a blood elf or Draenei depending on the server.
On a scale from 1 to 10 I give the Blood Elves a 5 in my list of Favorites.
To read more about WoW and the Blood Elves Visit the Burning Crusades site Here.

Wii got our Adapter!

Woke up this morning to find a package from Nintendo on the Dinner table! It apparently came in late last night. So we are now all hooked up in the living room. YAY!

I added our 2k Wii points and downloaded Mario Bros!

Downloaded the trial Internet and set up our weather channel.

started adding emails to the address book too~

Would you like to add GamerParents to your address book?

Our Wii number is

8932 4250 9566 7301

Voting for Miss Video Game 2007?

A while back I entered this “Miss Video Game” Contest and the time has come for voting to begin.
So get your tail over to the Miss Video Game site to sign up and vote for me!

The Grand Prize for MVG 2007 is pretty nice (I sure wouldn’t mind getting it!)

“ $1000.00 USD Spending Cash , Trip for 2 to Riu Palace in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico ,
A Gaming System (Said to be a Nintendo Wii),Featured in an upcoming video game.”

The site also says
“After the online gameplay and voting from the user community. The five finalists will be flown from their homeland and stay a week in Montreal, Quebec with all flight and accomodations paid, scenic trips, and $500.00 USD for shopping. You can buy video games with that money or clothes. Whatever you'd like."

Hmmmm Lets see if I win I get a trip all paid and 500.00 spending cash- I think I’d better get my Gaming Laptop ordered ASAP! That’s a lot of time traveling I have to have a way to game on the road!

Miss Video Game Online Voting Begins Midnight EST January 20, 2007

SCENE IT?

Emerald asked for this game for Yule this year She didn’t say what one she wanted so we got her the basic Movie Scene it-
Come to find out she wanted the Harry potter one…Go figure…
We didn’t see the HP one in Toys r us where we got hers. If you are considering getting this game there is a site that you can actually test it out first- SCENE IT
Just click the title you want to tryout and it pops up in a different window-
Also if you to bought the wrong scene it game (like us) you can buy attachment games for the one you have, This is what we will do because The movie one is cool- it has questions from movies we know (EX: Shrek) and we will order the Disney one because Mom is a Disney FREAK! Possibly the Bond one because well it’s Bond!
Also coming soon is the Marvel Scene it- now you know we just have to have this one!
Family Review soon~

Warcraft themed flash games

WoW DDR
I found this game fun to play. And great workout for finger coordination!
Catchy music, Dance pad background and well it’s WoW themed!
Wonderful to play while you’re in Queue!
You can also add your guild name to make it easier for others in your guild to compare scores!

So are you a Level 1 Human or a Level 60 Undead?

If you don’t like the flashy lights and funky music in the DDR game then maybe you would rather try an older style Warcraft flash game.

Flash Element TD is one of those games I just can’t stop playing!
I said I’d try it out and before I knew it I had played for over an hour!

“The aim of the game is to kill the creeps before they reach the end of the maze, do this by building attacking towers on the grass around the maze. To build click on the one you want to build on the right, then click on the map where you want it to be built. Once built you can click on them to upgrade or sell. To get a high score keep as much of your gold in the bank as possible, at the end of each round you earn interest on the gold in the bank. Special levels are where the creeps are none-normal, they include FAST [6, 13, 19, 26, 32] AIR [8, 17, 27] IMMUNE [10, 21, 32] BOSS [11, 22, 33] You get wood every 7 levels use wood to research upgrades.”

I give these two games a thumb up!

News-Video game playing may fulfill innate human need

“Playing video games can satisfy deep psychological needs and, at least in the short term, improve people's well-being, new research shows.”

To read this Article visit the Yahoo News Article

The first level 70 dinged!

At 4:04 am (CET) on January 17, 2007 Burning Crusades got it's first level 70!

Time played from 60 to 70: 28 hours Video: http://files.filefront.com/The_70_challengewmv/;6553143;;/fileinfo.html

Player name: Gullerbone Character name: Gawell Class: Mage Server: Archimonde (EU - PvP) French Guild: Millenium


All I can Say is WOW…
And I was all excited I hit 61!

To read the interview notes visit World of Raids

Burning Crusades @ Midnight!

After venturing out into the ice last night to get our copies of WoW Burning Crusades from our local Gamestop…

We played until 5 Am and Woke this AM to wonderful snow falling in Texas!

I'm so happy that we went last night or I may have been crying this morning instead of hugging my husband with that goofy snow smile on my face!
Aren’t we cute Sleepy Gamers?

Okay our thoughts on the Game so far?
IT FREAKIN’ ROCKS!
We have so far trained higher in our First aid , Herbalism, Alchemy, and Skinning!
Just doing Quests and discovering new areas of the map; we have made 70-80 Gold and 7 bubbles of Experience! Not to mention I am wearing better gear than I had Yesterday!

We have seen some crazy new Monsters in game too!
Beware the floating rock piles! LOL
Too funny they scared us! REALLY!

Wii getting tennis racket, golf club and baseball bat controller attachments!

The sport pack for Wii will cost you an estimate of $23 and you can pre-order it at Visavis for a late January release. You’ll get four head-mounts for the Wii remote. These plastic attachments are 16 inches- No boxing or bowling gloves included though. It Sounds cool and We will be getting them :)
however…
I really like the steering wheel that comes with the racing games.
PRO: The Wii Remote fits into the wheel horizontally with all buttons accessible, so tilting the wheel will tilt the remote. The player is able to steer the wheel just like an actual car.
The CON: Every time we use our Steering wheels the black foam inside of it that’s meant to protect the Wii sensor peels off and leaves a nasty mess over the end of our controllers and the controller wont work until we clean the gunk off!I hope the other attachments don’t do the same thing because it’s a pain!

"Hold your wee for a Wii" A Tragedy!

28-year-old Jennifer Strange, of Rancho Cordova, Calif., is believed to have died of water intoxication after competing in a radio station’s contest to win a Nintendo Wii.

To read more about this sad story visit "The lede"

Game Stop phone call recording

Game Stop just left a message on our phone-
Midnight release of WoW Monday~
Show up @ 11pm for pre-pay and games, limited amounts of guides and 20% off when you buy it with the game-

I am So excited!
Monday is going to be a long cold day around here!

Love the skin your in!

Today I was reading over at TechEBlog when I came across Skin Bag

Skin bag is a company that is making faux human skin garments and accessories for men and women “GORE + CHIC=TRES CHIC!”

I am torn between being grossed out by all the images of “chainsaw massacre” and “the Devils rejects” in my head as I look thru their photos however; I am also intrigued as some of the items do look very pretty. You can even add alternative tattoos and piercing to your product!

Logically my mind says, “Oh this is cool! It’s faux skin not real animal skins” on the other hand my mind is saying “I feel sick thinking about wearing human skin even if it’s faux”

I know my husband will find this terribly Goretastic and would most likely want a nifty skin laptop bag to take to work!
What do you think?

WoW, Kids, and the TOS (AFK Parents)

Just posting because we were talking about this in Guild chat-
Someone had their kids playing while they went to make dinner and was /gkicked after the Guild Master contacted them and got jibberish as the reply.

My thoughts are TOS says 1 minor child Can share the account- so zip it on the kid was playing the toon- They were not afk a Human was sitting at the computer playing.
2nd- If you need your child to play your toon while your AFK (It happens to all of us!) Teach them the color codes of Chat! "If you see "This color" Come get Dad or Mom!
Anyways not much else to say
If you want to read more about the TOS visit the WoW Legal TOS page here

Eligibility.
You represent that you are an adult in your country of residence. You agree to these Terms of Use on behalf of yourself and, at your discretion, for one (1) minor child for whom you are a parent or guardian and whom you have authorized to use the account you create on the Service.

2007 Austin Area Happenings

This is just a rough draft list of things I found interesting for 2007.

G-Kon & Expo- Dallas Texas- Jan. 26th-28th- Oakridger Country Club

Ikkicon -Austin Texas-Feb.2nd-4th-Woodward Hotel & Conference Center

Corflu- Austin Texas- Feb. 9th-11th-Doubletree Hotel Austin, 6505 IH 35 North

JMV Entertainment- Austin Texas- March 4th- Holiday Inn -Town Lake, 20 N. IH –35

A-Kon 18- Dallas Texas- June 1-3- Adam's Mark Hotel

CPL- Dallas-July

AnimeFest- Dallas Texas- Aug 31st - Sept 3th - Hyatt Regency at Reunion Tower

Austin Game Conference- Austin Texas- September 5-7-Austin Convention Center

Fantastic Fest- Austin Texas- Sept. 20th-27th-

Wizzard World Tour 2007- Dallas Texas- Nov. 16th-18th-1200 Ballpark Way Arlington, TX 76011

CPL-Dallas Texas-Dec

Our Gamer Family New Years Resolutions 2007!

Ya I know we are late making our resolutions this Year…
We run on SCA time!

Dad:
1. Hit Level 70 in “WoW”
2. Get in the Arena in “WoW”
3. Build Nana’s Armor!
Mom:
1. Hit Level 70 in “WoW” and get nice gear!
2. Learn “Shooter” Games. I’ve never been one for them but my brother’s are really into them, He is Cool enough to play games with me; I can play their games with them!
3. Get into Armor and give it a Whack! “Literally” – Prepare for WAR!
Daughter:
1. Hit level 60 with my Pally in WoW
2. Learn more about the Sport Football
3. Get better at Trauma Center- and Wii in general!
Son:
1. Hit Level 25 in WoW
2. Fight at Gulf Wars this year!
3. Improve on my Skateboarding!

WoW- HighLord Kruul!

Are you Ready for HighLord Kruul?!?

Hit just one shot killed our High King!

Kruul has been stomping around Ironforge for about an hour so far killing everything in his path.

As you can see he killed me trying to catch a photo op~