Milestones: Suriving A Movie Theater.

Today we decided to embark on an extremely risky and dangerous adventure:

Taking the kids, BOTH kids, to a movie theater. 

And not to run wild and go crazy and jump the lobby counter to dump the popcorn machine all over the floor and climb the walls screaming like rabid baboons, but actually sitting still, being (fairly) quiet, and successfully WATCHING a movie.

We waited years to take either kid to the theater. Even Calen hasn't stepped foot in one (the free base movie theater doesn't count, because it's similar to the wildness mentioned above). We knew we had to wait for the right movie, one that would actually hold both boys' attention. And what better movie to sink my vehicle-obsessed kids into a drooling zombie than Disney-Pixar's PLANES?

Not that we didn't come uber prepared. I went into that movie theater packing. Packing licorice, Skittles, sandwiches, and two new Planes toys. Plus we bought popcorn and juice at the counter. It's a good thing that those 17 year old kids working there didn't check my bulging Mary Poppins purse because I probably would have been thrown out on the street for smuggling in so many snacks.

Our battle plan to survive the entire movie with a 4 and 2 year old was simple: keep stuffing food into their mouths so that they can't talk, and keep a toy plane in one hand and a cup of said food in the other to keep their hands full instead of all over each other. Then pray that the movie is entertaining enough to hold their attention. 

Also, we sat in the very back, so that if they decided to stand up, rock in their seats, bounce in their seats, throw popcorn in the air or otherwise be generally annoying, no one would see or feel them. 

And luckily for us, no one sat in front of us either. Maybe they knew better. 

Planes!

It worked. They ate popcorn and candy for dinner (showing was 4:40) and the movie was action-y and fun enough to keep the boys from blinking and slack-jawed (when they weren't chewing) for an hour and a half until the credits rolled. Except when they were commenting on the movie (even Camden, who kept saying "ready? Set? GOOO!!!"). They thoroughly LOVED the movie. It might be a new Disney favorite for them. 

Quiet. Still. Slack-jawed. Mission accomplished.

The Planes fun continued even after we got home, when the kids ran circles around the house with their new toy planes. 

Flying through the house with their new Planes planes. Notice Brother flying right behind him.

And also, candy and popcorn for dinner means and uber sugar/junk CRASH. I'm not sure if the kids are breathing in this picture. 

It was a runaway success. Not that I plan on risking my life in any additional movie theaters anytime soon, but for our first time, it couldn't have gone better. 

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