Movie Night

Ken had a routine established with his boys with Friday nights, and we kept the tradition going when the girls and I moved in. So, each Friday night is spent with the kids. If something adult gets in the way, then we'll move it to Saturday, but we're able to keep the tradition most Fridays. 

Typically, we watch a movie or play a game with the girls after supper.  Friday night is Pizza Night for supper, and I have to say, it's nice to never have to worry about what to make for supper at the end of the week. Other than holidays, Friday Night is the only other occasion where the girls can have a pop as well. 

This week, a new movie was coming out to theaters, Hotel Transylvania. The girls had seen the ads for it, and they were very excited about it.  Since Ken has been in New York visiting his family, I used the movie as a behavior modification technique which completely worked! The girls were on their (almost) best behavior in order to earn going out to see a movie and out to supper on their Friday Night. 

I happily picked up tickets in the morning, and after speaking with our friend Michael Gallagher, I got a ticket for him as well. Michael is slyly trying to make sure that the girls and I are OK during Ken's absence. He's a total doll about it, so I am enjoying the attention and male "safety." Michael figured he would enjoy a night out and enjoy the girls' reaction to the movie, but both he and I were surprised that the movie was actually so cute and enjoyable!

I loved the large display for the movie, and I was glad the girls settled down long enough to take a picture in front of it before we went into the theater. The girls were completely excited waiting for the movie to start, and Jordan was literally bouncing in her seat. As soon as the movie started, they were hooked. Michael and I were laughing as well during the movie, and by the end of it, everyone was wound up. 

During the movie, I was having a difficult time because I knew some of the voices, but I couldn't put names to them. I waited for the credits and loved it: Adam Sandler, Andy Sandberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, David Spade and Celioo Green. Holy cow! What a cast! And that's just the ones I remember!! 

After the movie, we headed over to Red Robin for supper. I had to take one hell of a detour because of a road closure, and sadly it turned out that Michael was right about it - there was a fatality on Bear Valley Road which explained the length of road closed and the amount of time. So sad, and yet, there were two other accidents that we passed on the way to supper. 

By the time we arrived at the restaurant, the girls were back to fighting, so I took great joy in making them squeeze together for a picture.

Talk about sisterly love! Taylor at least put on the major happy face for the picture, but the rest of the time, she was being the surly teenager. 

By the time Michael and I split the check (I had to force him to let me pay for the girls and myself, but he still overpaid for his own meal), Jordan was rubbing her eyes, and Mandy was staring off into space. Apparently, they just had WAY too much fun in one evening!

Michael and I enjoyed a beer in my kitchen chatting while the girls climbed into bed. Well, two of them did. Jordan fell asleep where she landed, and I couldn't get her to move to her room.

I was able to talk to Ken tonight. He was hammered, and it was great fun listening to him and chatting. Michael was laughing at the exchange that he could hear, and he died when he kept hearing Ken yell at me, "Tell him what I said!" So, I would pass along the message of love from Ken to Michael, and then we'd all be laughing.

My favorite was Ken telling me about his trip to the Ballet in Toronto. Apparently, he earned the admiration of a lovely young woman who gave him more dances than he paid for. Ken went on and on and on about it, and my favorite part of the story was listening to Ken's father yelling at him in the background, "Son! That's too much information! She doesn't love you THAT much!" Oh.My.God! That's so much more funny than the story itself. I knew that Ken wasn't going to remember what he said to me the next morning - and he didn't - and it was great to retell it to him with the added fun of his father's input.

When Ken is away, I miss him terribly as I know he does too, but I knew that Ken needed to get home and see his family and friends. Mike Donovan's graduation party was the perfect excuse to get Ken to go and put his feet back in his roots for a while. It's a short visit - only 6 days, but it's better than nothing. Now that Ken is there, he is fully enjoying himself and is glad that he went. I can't wait until he's home and back in my arms, but I'm glad that he's having a great time.