Of the Drive-In

Yesterday afternoon, Micaiah sat in her small camp chair, in her pajamas (yes, in the afternoon, don't judge), combing her My Little Pony and asked, "Mommy, do you remember when we went to the movie theater and saw the Panda movie?"

I stared at her blankly, thinking, surely, she cannot be talking about when we went to the drive-in for Emmett's first birthday, when she was a mere 2.75 years old - an event to which she has not referred since the night it happened.  Surely not.

"And we ate popcorn and sat in Dia's big car.  Do you remember, Mommy?" she continued.

This girl's memory never ceases to amaze me.

"Yes, baby, I remember." But how do you?!

"Because I want to do that again."

Well, okay, then.

And as I marveled to her Daddy over instant message about how this conversation was born from nowhere and thinking, yes, I have been wanting to go all summer, it just hasn't worked out, and, maybe, we could go sometime soon, before it closes for the season.

And then I realized.  It's Friday.  We have no plans for tonight.  Philip has been telling me all day how beautiful the weather is.  So, why not?

Thus, it was.  We ate our Whole 30 approved dinner, packed up the car with chairs, blankets, pillows and snacks (popcorn for the littles, per Micaiah's specific request, and nuts and grapes for Mom and Dad - you should be proud - you have NO idea how hard that was for me!) and headed to the Drive-In where we snuggled with our bigger kids in the cool breeze of the less-than-100-degree evening while watching Ice Age 4 (which may have made a hair more sense had we seen any others in the series besides the original, but I kind of doubt it), with Joey sleeping on his blanket spread in the trunk of our SUV (I may have been excited about taking this car to the drive-in, for that very purpose, since the day we bought it).

Thanks, Micaiah, for motivating us to get out of the house and enjoy the waning days of summer.

1,000 Gifts:
745. A cool breeze on  summer evening.
746. Three kids snuggled in.
747. A small head resting on my shoulder.
748. Kids playing in the dirt.
749. The sweet taste of grapes.
750. Bacon - especially when wrapped around other foods
751. Whispers from a little boy
752. Airplanes in the night sky
753. A shooting star - God's entertainment is always better
754. Little Guy squirming in my lap
755. Avocados
756. Breezy Saturday afternoons
757. Fresh produce
758. Just what I need at just the right price

Photos of the Day:

Whole 30 - Day 3:
Breakfast - Eggs scrambled in walnut oil with Salsa and a mix of chopped red and yellow peppers, Banana
Lunch - Chunky Apple Chicken Salad (with Homemade Mayo), Grapes
Afternoon Snack - Zucchini Chips (these were supposed to be part of lunch but took much longer to bake than the recipe stated - but they were AMAZING)
Dinner - Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken (minus the sweet), Green Beans
Movie Snack - Mixed Nuts, Grapes

Worst Part of Today: Movies without popcorn?!  What kind of madness is this?!
Best Part of Today: Being full after dinner, but not feeling gross or heavy, as I would after being too full from carbs or sugar.  I don't think I ever knew you could feel a little too full but not feel yucky.

Day 4:
Breakfast - Eggs, Clementine
Lunch - Chunky Apple Chicken Salad (with Homemade Mayo), Grapes
Dinner - BLAT Salad
Dessert - Cinnamon & Nutmeg Banana Ice Cream

Worst Part of Today: Remembering not to lick the spoon while dishing up pudding for the kids.
Best Part of Today: Philip telling me, "I'm not very happy with you.  I'm not supposed to like this because it has avocados and mayonnaise.  I don't like what you're doing to me." Love it when he's surprised to discover the things he thought were bad really aren't so bad.