A Night at the Movies

On Friday morning Owen announced, "Better enjoy this day because it's one of our last days before school starts." 

Yes, today is back to (home)school for us and while some of us are not as dramatically dreading it as others, we did all determine to make the weekend full of small niceties.  As parents, Brian and I have a common goal of creating memories for our children in the everyday moments. 

At the last minute, Maddie and Alaine were invited to a girls' luncheon at my grandmother's house on Friday afternoon.

photo bomb!

Those of us who stayed behind enjoyed a homemade deep dish pizza, baked in our cast iron pot.

I used both yellow and white cheeses and topped it with pepperoni, the boys' favorite topping. 

Before baking, I brushed and sprinkled a little pizazz onto the crust!  It was divine!

Saturday was a dreary, soggy day so we declared a Movie Night! A family movie night is one of our favorite family rituals.  Owen and I popped some popcorn-- a little coconut oil, a little salt, 1/2 cup popcorn kernels-- in the small stock pot.  Maddie melted some butter for us to drizzle on top.  

We chose the new VeggieTales movie, Celery Night Fever.  (I received a pre-release copy from Grace Hill Media, but it is available to buy tomorrow, August 5.) My younger kids love VeggieTales and my older kids enjoy the occasional show, but honestly I'm partial to the old VeggieTales Classics. You can't beat the simplicity of The Grapes of Wrathor Dave and the Giant Pickle. While this newest DVD in the Veggie Tales line has a good message-- the importance of friendship and forgiveness--  I can't get past the new computer animation, the celebrity guest voices, or the over-the-top musical numbers.


My kids had no complaints, though they were a little puzzled at Laura Carrot's new look. At least Larry's look hasn't changed (at least not drastically).  I do think my younger ones will be excited to hear that a new VeggieTales TV series is premiering on Thanksgiving weekend.  It's called VeggieTales in the House and will stream exclusively on Netflix.  We don't have Netflix at home, but I guarantee they will be asking to watch it when they visit their grandparents!

Sunday was our last hoorah to summer break and we celebrated with another birthday party, but more on that another day.