June Highlights part 2

We were invited to two other family weddings in June, but my cousin Chris's wedding invitation made it clear that the reception was to be for adults only. What are you supposed to do if you have a little one and the wedding is another state? Do what we did, I guess, and not go.

But we didn't stay home. We went back to Omaha. On Friday afternoon we went to the Omaha Art Festival. We bought gifts, so I can't show you those, but I can show you a picture of a woman roasting a hotdog with the blacksmith. I'm sure there's a story there, but I don't know it.

We went to Dixie Quicks for dinner. We found the place by checking the TV Food Maps web site.

We took Char to the Omaha Children's Museum on Saturday morning. Char wouldn't pose by the head of this T-Rex because it was menacingly moving back and forth. I can see why a little kid would be spooked by that.

But Charlotte wasn't scared of the x-rays in the medical exhibit. She's fascinated with her body and all of its processes.

I don't know if it's a result of all the time she spent in the hospital when Grandma Deb was sick, but often Char tells us she wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

But when we tried the "When I Grow Up" machine, Char didn't pick nurse. So who knows what she'll be?

Later, during Knight's Adventure in the Fairytale Theater, Char learned the five positions for holding a sword, and then used those positions to defeat a dragon and free the princess.

For Father's Day the gals took me to Jethro's for breakfast. The food was great, as you'd expect.

And then we took Charlotte to her first movie!

We watched the original How to Train Your Dragon at home the night before, and then we watched the trailer for the sequel in the morning to see if Char would be willing to see it on a "really big screen". She thought she could do it. Ideally, I would have liked her to see something rated G. Sometimes we watch PG films at home, and they can get pretty scary for Charlotte. We had to warn her that Dad couldn't fast forward the movie when we were at the theater. 

We chose the Merle Hay Mall Cinema for several reasons. For one, with 800 seats the place is huge, and we could move to a remote location if we needed to. Two, the theater is all but forgotten. Usually only a handful of people are seated around you. Three, they show about three trailers and that's it. Char wouldn't use up all of her attention watching thirty minutes of commercials. Four, the movie screen is the largest in Iowa (not counting the Imax theater in the Science Center - that place makes me wanna barf). And five, the popcorn is good. I know how many calories are in movie theater butter, but I always say, "As much as you can put on it," when I'm asked if I want butter on my popcorn (Daphne silently nods). We love movies, and we have been to a theater only three times since Char was born. I figure we're due a few extra squirts of liquid happiness. 

Here's Char in her first movie seat. 

I'm happy to report the movie was a big success. Char ate popcorn like a champ, and when it was all over she leapt out of her seat and declared, "I talked a lot didn't I Mom!" 

Luckily, the movie was loud, and no one noticed. 

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