This morning marked our inaugural attempt to take our kids to see a movie at the theatre. Our standard course of action is to wait for a new kids’ movie to come out on DVD. Then we can watch it at our leisure, in the comfort of our own home…about a million times over.
I had heard on the radio that the Montessori preschool was hosting a fundraiser by renting out the local theatre for a 10:00 showing of Happy Feet. 10:00 was a perfect time, because Nathan usually naps after lunch. This conflicts with the usual matinee time of 1:00. Our friends Ross and Shelly and their four kids (including 7 month old twins) joined us on this exciting excursion.
We arrived right at 9:30 in order to get seats together. Turns out kids 3 and under are FREE, so it only cost $8 ($4 each for Matthew and I). A good omen, right? So you would think.
The theatre was full of kids running around and burning off steam before the 10:00 start time. Here’s a rundown of the timeline from this morning:
9:30 – We are the first to arrive, and people start filing in behind us. Emily is sleeping in her car seat.
9:50 – I have gone to get the treats, and waited in line for 5 minutes. I get to the counter and find out I need to buy the treats with cash, which I don’t have. I go back to where we paid to get in and take money out on debit. I return to the candy counter, wait my turn, and get the treats. We got Kid’s Packs of popcorn, pop and candy. Breakfast of champions. All the while Nathan is on my hip. Emily is still sleeping.
10:00 – People are still filing in, so the movie hasn’t started yet. Graham and Nathan are running up and down the aisle. Emily is still sleeping.
10:15 – No sign of the movie starting anytime soon. The theatre is packed to the brim. We are told that due to the volume of people, they will also play the movie in the room next door as well. There are 10 of us in our group, and we are settled in. We don’t move. Emily is still sleeping.
10:25 – The lights are still on, and no sign of the movie starting. Nathan starts asking to go in the car. I take him out into the lobby to give him a change of scenery. Emily is still sleeping.
10:30 – The lights go down. Yay! The movie is going to start! Wrong. A small clip of a preview plays, then the screen goes black. We exchange witty comments with Ross and Shelley about the gong show that is our lives. Emily is still sleeping.
10:32 – We LISTEN to a preview of some movie that Morgan Freeman is narrating. The screen is still black. It sounds interesting. Maybe they just want to tease us? Emily is still sleeping.
10:35 – We watch two scary previews of new movies coming out. Um…hello? These are PRESCHOOLERS. Seriously. Emily is still sleeping.
10:40 – They stop the movie again, and the lights go on. This can’t be good. The people that had moved next door come back in, because that projector isn’t working at all. Emily is still sleeping.
10:45 – The main attraction! Hallelujah! Finally! Emily is still sleeping.
11:05 – Nathan starts asking to go in the car. Matthew takes him out back. Emily is still sleeping.
11:10 – Emily wakes up and starts nursing.
11:15 – Graham has to go pee. Of course he does – he’s full of pop. I un-latch Emily and take Graham to the bathroom. We return and Emily continues the milk run.
11:33 – Matthew and Nathan return. Apparently they went to Canadian Tire to return something. All is well. Emily is still nursing.
11:45 – Nathan is DONE. We leave. There was probably about 25 minutes left to the movie. If it had started on time, it would have gone much better and we would have seen the ending. Maybe.
12:10 – We pull into the driveway with Nathan crying and saying, “Go back!” You have GOT to be kidding. We didn’t go back. We fed him lunch and fired him into bed.
BIG SIGH
We’ll try that again in another 10 years or so. I’m looking forward to Happy Feet coming to DVD. It seemed good, from what I caught.
The things we endure out of love for our kids. It’s a good thing these guys are so cute.
That was laugh-out-loud funny! Easy for me to say, I don’t have kids…
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Oh, I SO relate. We went to our first movie as a family of four in the summer when Cars came out. It wasn’t too enjoyable. I hung out on the side aisle with Liam most of the time, running in and out. Riley had to pee as well, and our popcorn was gone before the show had started. Yes, always an adventure.
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Too funny! I can’t imagine how Abby would do with all those other kids running around. When I took her to Over the Hedge we were nearly the only ones there.
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Isn’t that just the way it goes… I can see why you would want to wait another 10 years to try again.
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Funny! I took the boys to Cars this summer and Kamden talked really loud through the whole movie. We got stared at.
I was okay with that. The theatre was full of kids:-)
I with you, another 10 years and we’ll try it again.
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How brave of you. When I hear, cheap movie, I think way too many kids. DVD all the way.
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Sigh, sounds like an adventure I’d like to try sometime…. haha
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Hmmm, maybe I’ll leave the theatre experience with kids until they’re a bit older. I love the beauty of vicarious experiences!
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Oi.
I love the minute by minute replay. I kept expecting there to be some uncharacteristic moment that Emily wakes up and starts freaking out.
The day may have been long, but you hit a gold mine with that little girl!
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I love that story, and the phrase “gong show that is our lives”. If only the world was run by mommies.
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I saw Happy Feet last night – so good! I laughed out loud and your kids and you will definitely enjoy it once the dvd is released!
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Oh dear! That doesn’t sound like a very successful trip to the movies!
My boys love the movies and thankfully they sit happily through the whole thing. I think they would be a bit antsy if they had to wait so long for the movie to start, though!
Ah well, plenty of time for your kids to go to the movies in coming years
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LOL…
I have heard its a good movie however
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