Day 12: Popcorn for Dinner

One of my very first posts was about our hometown movie theater.  Specifically, the RC matinee and childhood memories of going there with my mom.

Tonight wasn't an RC matinee but it was a steal, as the 5:00 show is only $3.  And thanks to new owners, they have current, new release movies the actual weekend they premiere, complete with a booming surround sound.  There's still work to be done to fully upgrade but it truly is the best of both worlds.

The only semi-sad part is we can really no longer call it "Sticky Floors" as your feet don't magnetically connect due to decades of spilled pop and sugar babies glued to your shoes.  At least publicly anyway.  In our house, it'll always be Sticky Floors.

It is a rarity that our working teen has a night off, so our matinees normally have to wait for Sunday afternoons.  Being that they've had sold out shows of "The Secret Life of Pets" all weekend, we were fortunate to get there early on Tuesday night to scope out good seats.

It's a running joke in our family that we almost always get seated near someone funny.  Either they'll have an odd laugh, or they'll comment through the show, or they snort a lot.  Many of our movie stories include more of the person near us than the actual movie.  

Tonight we definitely had funny but in the truest sense.

Knowing they would be packed, we got there 30 minutes early.  Claustrophobia, a bum knee, and old rickety seats mean I need choices.  And being there almost as they unlocked the doors allowed for full reign.  We nestled into a sweet spot near the back with plenty of leg room, near what seemed a quiet family.

Within moments the little boy turned and started chatting it up with Noah, then Tim and me.  His sister kept leaning over their Grandma loudly whispering, "Do you know them?"  He ignored her and Grandma didn't seem to care.

But I could tell he was a lot like my guy, never one to meet a stranger.  He held his own in the converstation and had wise cracks overflowing more than my popcorn bucket.

Seriously this kid cracked us up.  He knew he was funny but not in an egotistical way.  Instead he just matter of fact stated, "I'm going to be a comedian someday."

And also, there's two reasons girls like him.  One he's cute.  Two he's funny.  One day I'll be able to say I knew him when.

He was a delightful pres-show to a cute, funny movie.  It was nice to nestle in with my guys and laugh with all that is going on in the world.

Movie night with the family is always a joy for me.  As was getting caught in a cool summer rain.  Driving through beautiful countryside.  Smiling babies with sweet hugs.  And two happy dogs who were glad to see us come home.

Night at the Movies

Have I said before how much I love movies?  I especially love a good tear-jerker, underdog story.  "Real Steel" was a movie I actually was willing to pay big bucks to see in the theatre.  I say "big" because the cost of a movie ticket, a coke, and bucket of popcorn at anyplace other than Sticky Floors is unreal these days.  It's rare that we shell out dough for a movie in a large cinema, even though I do love going.

Tonight I was in the mood for a movie.  We'd had a great family day, doing a little shopping and eating out.  Both the kiddos were on a high, finding just the right outfits to look 'super cool' and 'too cute' for their upcoming dances this week.  And those outings pretty much cancelled out any chances of seeing a movie on a big screen.  So, I improvised.

We swung into our local theatre, grabbed a $4 mega bucket of popcorn and headed to the video store.  I'd noticed on the way out of town this morning that "Real Steel" was in so it was easy to decide what to pick up.  Luckily they had a copy left and Tim quickly grabbed it for our viewing pleasure.  Once home, we slid into our pjs, turned up the fireplace, turned down the lights, and entered our own personal theatre.  Surround sound (check), Blue Ray on the flat screen (check), furniture scooted super close together (check). 

I don't know why shifting the couches around makes a difference but it does.  Seconds later, we are lazily and very comfortably enjoying the movie.  It's the best of both worlds.  The seats are much nicer, the price is way cheaper, but the effect is the same.  Best of all, there's a pause button when we needed to visit the concession, I mean kitchen, for a snack.  A family of sock feet stacked up on the coffee table, laps full of dogs and blankets, and being swept away in the story...my kind of Saturday night!

Dinner and a Movie

My thankful moment today was about veterans, in honor of the day.  However, I'm not writing about that tonight because last year I wrote about my favorite veteran, Grandpa Wavie.  If you didn't catch it, just click the blue link to read that post.

It's no surprise to my loyal readers that one of my favorite "date nights" or just any night of the week things to do is have pizza and a movie at the house.  Especially on a cold Friday night, when I've taken a 1/2 sick day, and exhausted from the week, I can't think of a better way to spend time with the family.  I'm grateful to kick back and do just that tonight!

The pizza has been ordered, the movies are on the table, and the fire is roaring.  We're just waiting on Noah to get home from practice and then we'll settle in for quality time together.  As such, my post tonight will be short and sweet!

Tonight's movie is Zookeeper.  I actually think Noah has seen it already (because he always sees more movies than us and was a frequent flyer at Sticky Floors this summer!) but he'll watch it again.  It's hard to find a movie these days that is family friendly and one my boys won't think is too girly.  They just don't make movies like they used to though....

E.T.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Goonies

Back to the Future

Field of Dreams

Old Yeller

Stand By Me

Karate Kid

Beetlejuice

Big

Honey I Shrunk the Kids

I'm happy to say I've exposed Noah to all of these.  He loved Karate Kid so much we had to rent the remaining sequels the next weekend.  Same with the "shrunk" series.  As we're settling in for "movie season" where we watch 2x as many movies than in the warm weather months, I'll have to think back to other oldies but goodies we can watch together.  Do you have a favorite family movie?  Comment below and share it with us.  For now, I'm off to share a slice with my family...and maybe pop a bag of popcorn for later!