a first

Yesterday we had a non-traditional July 4th kind of day. It was raining cats and dogs here, so we opted to not go ahead with our picnic and firework party plans. Instead, we had a movie date :) For the first time our entire family headed to the movie theatre! We are kind of picky about what we let our kids watch, but Toy Story 3 was rated G and had good reviews and our boys love Toy Story 1. So off to Toy Story we went! To begin this beautiful date we all napped on the huge couch in our family area. I LOVE napping with all of us piled into one area. We woke up in time for the matinee, packed a few essentials in a bag, and took off! Holy cow, apparently everyone else in our town had the same idea! We stood in line outside of the movie theatre doors and by the time we got up there they told us we could not sit together because they were so full. Rats! We decided to drive to a nearby town showing the movie an hour later.

Turns out, this was the best thing yet! Pulling up to an old theatre with the magical movie lights and sign gleaming was so fun! The kids loved it! (okay, so did I!) It had a small town feel inside... first names between most of the people inside, best customer service at the concession counter, and the small cozy theatre. Sure, we missed the stadium seating and the surround sound and the super duper big screen with a picture perfect clear view... but, we got a quiet, cozy, laid back, friendly, old time feel for the movie scene. I was so happy we came here with our kids for their first movie together as a family! It proved to be a great back up plan!

The movie was cute and our 2 year old even sat through it (happy!!). There were only 2 times I cringed when they used the word "idiot" and the rest was a wonderful story about growing up, friendship, serving one another, and fun adventures. We highly recommend it! But, you must watch the first 2 before you see this one!! At first I was a bit bummed we didn't do our July 4th festivities. But by evening I was totally thrilled with what our day had become. What a great surprise!

Sometimes, the back up plan is better then our original plans. Often times I think I have the ultimate plan for my life and become frustrated when it doesn't pan out. If only I'd let go from the beginning and let God show me His plans... maybe I'd find another cozy classic old movie theatre to snuggle into!