movie night

Sometimes the anticipation is nearly as exciting as the event. I would say that our neighborhood movie night fell under this category. Last week a bunch of parents thought an outdoor movie in preparation for back to school might be fun. Fast forward a week and we picked a day and things just fell together. I loved the non-planning awesomeness that arrived with this one. We weren't even sure it would work out until a couple hours beforehand. But rumors have a way of spreading and around 1pm, kids were out in full-force, doing slow ride-bys on their bikes. Playing in the cul de sac and keeping an eye on all the houses. Jeremy and our neighbor Kristen taped a sheet to our garage door in the late afternoon and kids scattered and came running back with chairs and blankets. It was hilarious.

We planned to show The Lorax around 8:30 when it got dark. By 5:30, about 20 kids were sitting in their chairs staring at a blank screen. Everyone was forced to head home and eat dinner by their parents at one time or another, but by 7:00, they were all back, eyes focused on the blank screen. A little while later a wise older child suggested everyone go home and get their jammies on. Things revved up at that point! Kids came running and riding back, parked their bikes in the parrallel parking that cropped up behind the chairs and by this time popcorn and pillows and airmattreses were out. Oh, the glee, the giggles, the hushed whispers as the movie started to play. There were over 40 kids and adults there, everyone wide-eyed and grinning huge. The kids because of the happiness of watching a movie outside and staying up 2 hours past bedtime and the adults because I don't know that I've ever seen a group more excited than them. There were individual bags of popcorn passed around, extra blankets laid on them as the evening got colder and trays of hot-chocolate served halfway through the movie. Oh, the cuteness.