Movie Day

Last night David and I sat on the couch and started planning what we were going to do with THREE consecutive "daddy stay home days".  We took the following into consideration.

1. It's going to be HOT.
2. We need to get the girls some active playtime
3. It's going to be too hot to be outside from 10-5, especially for a pregnant lady.
4. We want to have fun!
5. Did I mention it's going to be really really HOT?

My sister's family called and invited us to spend the 4th poolside at their house so we'll be BBQing and swimming on Sunday.  Check off physical activity for at least 1 day.  So what were we going to do with Saturday and Monday?  We thought it would be fun to take the girls to see a movie.  I pictured us with ice cold drinks and yummy popcorn in hand, hiding from the nasty afternoon sun in a chilly darkened theater. There's only one problem...there isn't a single age appropriate movie playing this weekend.  I checked early showtimes and dollar theaters within a 25 mile radius of my house and there is nothing. Major bummer.  Unless...we make our own movie theater at home!  David and I estimated that if we played our cards right we could milk the "movie day" concept for at least an entire afternoon.  

After breakfast we got the girls thinking about their last trip to the movies.  What did they see, smell and hear? What were their favorite things about going to the movies?  Who worked there and what were their jobs? 

We started by having the girls make movie tickets and posters.  Then they created a ticket booth.  We had to plan our concessions, make a list and shop for the supplies.  I use a projector and big screen for my client presentations and we set it up in the family room.  I prefer to watch movies and tv shows our considerably smaller television but the screen and projector definitely added to the theater ambiance.  We made a concession stand that included popcorn, jolly ranchers and soft baked pretzels.  Kate was very particular about the display and Elise monitored the food production process carefully.  Finally I whipped up some powdery snow ice in the blender and drizzled lemonade over it to make homemade lemon slurpees.  Then we dimmed the lights, closed the shutters and let the good times roll!

Movie run time: 115 minutes

Total time devoted to "movie day": 8 hours 

I would consider movie day a huge success! We finished out Saturday with pizza night.  Elise helped her dad work the dough and sprinkle the cheese. 

(Here's a shot of the girls from their royal Saturday morning.  Thanks to Madz for lending the girls her fancy princess clothes.)

My daily grateful

• Kate's enthusiasm and creativity
• AC on a hot summer day
• An afternoon nap under the fan - movie watching at home has its advantages!
• Three days of family togetherness