It Lived Up to the Hype

Like so many others, we were anxiously awaiting the opening of a highly anticipated movie... the epic tale of a British boy and his faithful friends, who overcome so many obstacles to discover that love truly does conquer all. That's right.... Winnie the Pooh! I have been watching the trailer, dabbing a tear from my eye at all the wonderful memories Pooh represents and scoping out theaters. So, right after lunch today, we hopped in the car, declared it a "Matchel Family Fun Day" and we were on our way!

Part of the fun of "Matchell Family Fun Day" is that it's a surprise. They can't ask for it to happen, and when it does, they have to guess what we're going to do. So, when we got in the car, the guessing began.

Jakin asked hopefully: "Cherry Berry?"

No....

Anna: "The Park?"

No...

Kaiah: "Braum's"

No....

Jakin, just to try again: "Cherry Berry?"

(It was at this point that I realized that we MIGHT eat too much ice cream....)

Anna, in a hopeful, excited voice: "The library?!!!"

(This girl is DEFINITELY from my womb!!)

No....

After several more guesses of things like Devil's Den and The Science Museum (which isn't even around here), Jakin finally guessed it. And they were SO excited. About half way through the movie, Anna turned to me and said, "Mom! I just LOVE the big screen!" Too cute. (And it seemed especially large because the only spot with 5 seats together was on the front row. Yowza! We were close!) It was simply precious to see the joy on their faces as they watched. This was the second movie for the big kids-they had seen Tangled, but a first for Mikaiah (who spent the entire movie snuggled on my lap. Precious!), and it was the perfect choice. Even the most evil things the imaginary villian did were "wake up babies in the night, put holes in socks and turn out lights". The story was adorable with enough humor to make us quiet their boisterous laghter at times. And of course, the day ended it true Matchell style...with a quick stop for ice cream. :)

Here's the crew walking in. This is how we walk through every parking lot anywhere we go and I'm glad I caught it, because it will be a fleeting memory when they're all teenagers.

And a quick post-movie shot outside the theater.