Last week, I took Anne to see her first actual in-the-theatres movie. We were very excited about it -- so excited that I ignored a little bad behavior the night before that I really shouldn't have just so that we would still be able to go. We were that excited. We looked up the showtimes to see what was playing, watched some trailers together, and finally decided that we'd go to a matinee showing of Planes, at Military Circle Mall.

Going to the theatre at Military Circle Mall was important to me. It's where I went to the movies when I was growing up, before MacArthur mall was built-- I have so many memories of being there with friends, and going to see scary movies with my Mammaw, who would smuggle in McDonald's hamburgers in her purse and even bring her own pillow (!) so that she could get extra-comfy in the seats.

Anne told everybody she met that she was going to her first movie: the people in line with us, the ticket-taker, the cashier at the concession stand. But as soon as we walked into the dark theatre, she faltered a little. When the previews came on, she covered her ears and said, "It's too loud! It's too BIG." I managed to convince her to give it a try by plying her with M&Ms (and covering her eyes during the Dinosaurs 3D preview OMG). There were a few hairy moments and we had to take a break during a battle scene with lots of gunfire and mean-looking planes but she did manage to make it all the way through. By the end she was dancing in the aisle and clapping "Go Dusty!" with all of the other little kids in the audience.

As for me, I thought the movie was adorable. Of course I cried when Skipper, the rusty WWII Corsair, found his wings again and took off tremulously into the sky. I'm lucky that A. is still young enough that this wasn't awful and embarrassing for her. If my mom had cried like that in front of other people I would have died.

We're already planning to head back in November to see Frozen (the preview with the melting snowman looked too cute). Have you taken your little ones to the movies lately? What did you see?

Last Thursday, we went back to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth -- this time with some friends in tow! We had a fabulous time seeing some of the things we missed on our first visit (which was a lot -- don't be a hero and try to do everything in one day, this is my advice to you) But I think our favorite part of the visit and the most memorable by far was catching a show in the museum's planetarium theatre.

The show consisted of a short movie called Zula Patrol: Down to Earth, a cartoon that followed space explorers through time from the creation of the earth to the present day. The themes focused on recycling and caring for the planet, which honestly went right over Anouk's head but she enjoyed herself all the same, mostly because the experience of seeing a movie projected onto the high, domed planetarium ceiling was so new and novel in itself. It was a little incredible, watching a movie in surround view, even I have to admit. As our friend Miss Brenda said, it would have been nice if the seats reclined for a better look at what was going on overhead, but even with this small flaw, I have a feeling A's first movie theatre experience is going to be a hard one to top.

The movie was only about 25 minutes long -- the perfect time frame to hold a toddler's attention. And after all of the other exhibits, which are so interactive, it was nice to have a quiet break to reset and revive ourselves for the next one.

Tickets to the planetarium show are free with museum admission (you just have to request them at the admission desk). Zula Patrol runs twice a day, at 11 AM and 3 PM, Thursday through Saturday. In between times (at 2 PM), there's a show for slightly older kids, called Dynamic Earth, which uses real-life satellite data and images to explore the planet's changing weather. The next time we visit the museum, I might put J. on baby duty and catch that one myself. Because I'm a dork like that.

Photos weren't allowed in the planetarium, so the ones for this post were taken elsewhere in the museum. See this pic of the kids all together on the big purple chair? About a second after it was snapped Anouk tumbled right to the floor, got up without shedding a tear, and took off running toward the bubble room. "Bubbuhhhhhs!" Of course.



I'm thinking we'll have to pay a visit to the Chesapeake Planetarium soon. Have you been? What did you think?

Happy weekend, everybody!