Aren’t bizarrely warm fall days the greatest? That’s certainly
been the case this week and I feel like I’ve made the most of it. Between
working on our deck (the project that will never end!), mulching twelve bags
worth of leaves, and helping my dad wean calves, I feel like I’ve certainly made
the most of my time outside. For most of those activities, Ethan has been right
there alongside me, patiently waiting for me to take a break to play football
with him. Don’t worry, I take those breaks plenty!
Of course, the thing about fall is that you’re not
guaranteed to always have those warm fall days. In fact, there are those times
when you instead find yourself subjected to a day with less-than-desirable temperatures
and/or precipitation. When those occasions happen, it’s only fitting to start
trying to figure out what to do. For Ethan and me, last week provided one of
those days which led us to perhaps the most unique movie theater experience of
all time.
Like most preschoolers, Ethan is a big fan of Paw Patrol. He
can name each pup by name, knows all about their vehicles, and even has a
favorite episode (Ready, Race, Rescue). Therefore, when the second movie, “The
Mighty Movie”, was released recently, he knew that he wanted to see it. We had
been content to wait for it to hit a streaming service so that he could watch
it on the projector at home. However, when I saw an offer for $5 tickets at the
B&B Theaters in Liberty, I knew we needed to make a trip to the movies.
I realize that a trip to the movies probably isn’t the most unique
experience in the world. However, I can basically guarantee that this was
pretty unique for us. For one thing, I can’t say that I had ever been to a
theater with a playground in the screening room before this trip. Yes, you read
that right. B&B Theaters offers a special line of theaters called “Screen
Play” that provides a kid-friendly experience across the board. There was the
aforementioned playground that opens 30 minutes prior to the movie starting.
There also was kid-friendly pre-show programming on the screen and get this, NO
TRAILERS!
Ethan, for his part, had been completely in the dark about our plans for the day so he was understandably excited when we arrived at the theater. As you can guess, his excitement level increased once he started winding his way through the maze of a playground built into one side of the auditorium. Over the next 30 minutes or so, Ethan went up and down the slide more times than I can count. Occasionally he would jet out of the playground and come find me just to check in.
Eventually, a large countdown clock appeared on the screen alerting
us that it was time for us to take our seats in the large recliners awaiting
us. As the lights went down, Ethan’s huge smile plastered across his face told
quite the story. While the last time we went to a movie, Ethan had tons of
questions about the subject matter (Kung-Fu Panda). However, this time, Ethan
was so familiar with the subject material that he was completely engrossed. Outside
of brief sips from his water bottle and the occasional bite of Skinny Pop,
Ethan’s eyes didn’t deviate from the action on the screen.
After the movie ended and we left the theater, it only made
sense that we could head to the car. However, I don’t know that I was ready for
the rapid-fire recall of Ethan replaying everything that had happened over the
past few hours between the playground and the movie. I also wasn’t prepared for
him to immediately ask what we would see at the Screen Play next. LOL.
#DaddyWrite
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| Also, after everything that happened that day, Ethan still found time to take a short nap in the car! |
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