Pea of Sweetness

VeggieTales Summer Movie Party: MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle

by

Disclosure: As a VeggieTales Blogger I received a VeggieTales Summer Movie Party Pack with the MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle DVD free of charge to facilitate my review and share my experience. My opinions are my own and those of my family.
VeggieTales
The latest VeggieTales movie, MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle was released on July 30th! To celebrate the new release we received a VeggieTales Summer Movie Party Pack for some family-friendly movie fun! In addition to the MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle DVD we received Veggie Tales cups and plates and activities to go along with the movie like Bob & Larry balloons (for water balloons), lyrics for the Singalong songs, activity sheets, cheesy snack ideas, and more!
We are big VeggieTales fans, so I am very excited to now be part of their Blogger team! VeggiesTales offers great family-friendly entertainment with important Faith-based lessons. I have always appreciated the main theme of VeggieTales which is “God made you special, and He loves you very much.” MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle is a really good movie to emphasize this very idea!
MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle is about two tribes of pranksters. MacLarry is the son of Chog Norrius the head of the Barber-barians and best prankster of all, but he is an inventor and can’t get the hang of pranking. Here is the movie Overview:

Larry the Cucumber stars as MacLarry, a misfit inventor who is stuck in the middle of the silliest battle ever between two tribes of perpetual pranksters! When the biggest prank of the century is unleashed, the feuding tribes are in danger of being overcome by the stinkiest cheese in the land! Will MacLarry realize that his God-given talents may be just what is needed to save them from the rotten cheddar??

I LOVE that MacLarry & The Stinky Cheese Battle Stresses that God created us to be different with different talents and abilities, and that it’s not only OK – it’s GREAT! Just because others are different doesn’t mean we can’t get along. In fact, we can find ways to work together and get along despite our differences and even celebrate and appreciate our differences. Our kids all have special needs, so many times they are “different” than the other children. What a great way to express that not only is that OK, but God created them to be special, and they are loved unconditionally! Sometimes each of their differences can make it hard to get along, so it is also a great lesson in reinforcing that it’s great that they are different from each other as well!
As always, VeggieTales delivers this wonderful message in a way that is exciting and fun! The kids were dancing and singing and having a great time, but the lesson definitely didn’t go unnoticed! We were able to discuss the lessons in the movie after when we were working on the activity pack! You can Download the MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle Activity Pack, to enjoy!
Get a Peek of MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle and Watch the Trailer: 
Unfortunately, our party ended up just being a family party because of some unforeseen circumstances with our oldest son’s tooth infection, dental work, and the dental bill! Although we hope to reschedule our “big” Summer Movie Party for another date when he gets to feeling better and we can have plenty of refreshments for our friends, I wanted to share our review of MacLarry & The Stinky Cheese Battle as well as our little family Summer Movie Party. It may have been just us for this party, but we still had a great time! (Yes, we have a screen and projector as a “TV.” Cool, right?)

MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle

MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle is another great family-friendly movie from VeggieTales! There is a great Lunchbox Bundle, which is perfect for Back-to-School and includes the movie, a padded lunchbox, a Sing Along DVD, and a Larry Learns to Listen book! Or you can purchase MacLarry & the Stinky Cheese Battle DVD by itself. Don’t forget to download your free Activity Pack!
For More: Be sure to connect with VeggieTales on Pinterest where you can find more information and more great printables and VeggieTales resources! You can also connect with VeggieTales on Facebook and Twitter

Ring the Bell movie Review and Giveaway

by

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in exchange for an honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Ring the Bell
Ring The Bell is about big city sports agent Rob Decker who enjoys his fast-paced life and luxuries. When he tries to go sign a high school baseball superstar, he becomes stranded in a small town where life is quite different from his own. It’s a small town where they love to enjoy the moments and appreciate their blessings. It challenges Rob to reconsider his own life as he learns more about the broken life the superstar he was pursuing emerged from and how God blessed him with a second chance. He finds inspiration in the stories of not only his life, but many of the lives of those at the boys’ home including the brother and sister that run the boys’ home and learns the meaning behind the excitement when someone rings the bell. God works through the boys and Daisy to challenge Rob to step out of his comfort zone and really step back and look at the big picture.
Ring The Bell also has a few of my favorite Christian music artists, such as Mark Hall (along with his band Casting Crowns), Steven Curtis Chapman, and Matthew West! That was really neat for me. Several former and current Major League Baseball all-stars are also featured in the film: ESPN analysts John Kruk and Rick Sutcliffe (a former Cy Young Award winner), along with Ben Zobrist. Ring the Bell was produced by Mark Miller, Beach Street Records’ founder and Casting Crowns’ producer. Miller, who is also the lead singer and founder of country music group Sawyer Brown, co-wrote the script with Thomas Weber and Weber directed the production.
The bonus of having a few of my favorite Christian music artists was definitely great, but the movie itself was so touching. I think it’s very relevant in today’s world where it’s so easy to get caught up in luxuries and the “riches of this world,” that people forget to step back and look at the bigger picture. I think this movie not only challenges the main character to do so, but all of us as well. I was moved at the ministering of Mark Hall from Casting Crowns at their concert in the movie (and teared up as our 7 year old was raising his hands in worship as they sang!). I think no matter where you are in your walk of faith there is something touching and relevant you can take from this movie. I really found that it is a great family-friendly movie that the kids enjoyed watching with us. When you have younger kids this can be hard to find!

For More Information:

Visit the Ring the Bell Website and view the trailer
Connect with Ring the Bell on Facebook

*Giveaway!!* {ended 5/16/2013} View our Current Giveaways!

Enter to win the Ring the Bell DVD!

This giveaway begins on 5/2 and ends on 5/16 at 11:00pm (times are CST) and is open Worldwide ages 18+. Please refer to the full terms and conditions in the Giveaway Tools.

Disclosure: My opinions are my own and those of my family and may be different than yours. Pea of Sweetness is not responsible for prize fulfillment.