dollar movie

I took the kids to the movies today. It was almost fun...

Tinseltown offers kids movies throughout the summer for $1.00 admission. Score! I took all 4 of my kids to see Planet 51 today. I had never head of this movie before, so I looked it up online. It looked harmless enough, so we went. I still cant really tell you what it was about since I spent most of the movie hushing Rachel, pouring popcorn, digging Capri Suns out of my backpack, and opening Dum Dum's.

On the way to the movie theater, the kids and I discussed what behavior was and was not appropriate for this outing. Abby asked where we would be sitting and wondered if there would be a balcony. I told her I didn't know where we would sit, and I assured her there was no balcony. She asked again, "No, I mean what row are we in?" It dawned on me that she has spent more time at the Craterian Theater than at the movie theater and has only live stage performances as points of reference for what she was about to experience.

The Bigs were great. They sat still and were fully engaged in the movie. Rachel, on the other hand, was a handful. She was up, down, up, down, stuck, up, and down again in her chair. On one occasion, she slipped through my hand and ran down the aisle in front of a line of movie-goers. I hunched over and ran after her, barely catching her before she reached the other side. Hanging on to the squirmy baby with all my might, I crouched down again to make my way back to my seat without obstructing the view of too many people. Unfortunately, the WWF wrestling match that ensued between me and Rachel left her flip flop a casualty half way down the aisle, so I had to return for it. Sorry everyone for walking in front of you so many times.

Rachel's shining moment came at the end of the film. It was a quiet scene and two aliens kissed. Rachel happened to be watching the movie during this particular scene and said aloud, "Oooo, ya, ya!" Did I mention it was quiet? Luckily the theater was filled with other kids - and moms who can appreciate the nuances of a two year old - and amused laughing was their response.

It was a 3/4 successful outing. Abby, Gage, and Marissa were perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing this experience with them. Rachel, on the other hand, was just a little too little for this trip to merit 100% success...like I said, it was almost fun...maybe next year...