Let's Go to the Movies!

I decided that the Pure Water Hollow crew needed a little break from all the mowing, gardening, fencing and farm chores, so last night we enjoyed a rare "night on the town"!  We ventured over to a town we seldom visit in a neighboring county.  We ate at a quaint diner/dairy bar and then found the movie theater located in the community center.

This is the Roy F. Collier Community Center in Inez which houses, among many other things, a movie theater!  It is a nicer and cleaner movie theater than the one in Paintsville.  The place we ate was across the street, so even though it took too long for them to bring our food out we were just minutes away from the movie.

I had originally planned on taking the family all the way over to the Mountain View Drive-In movie theater in Stanton to watch the new movie, "Monsters University", but there was a threat of thunder storms.  I doubt a drive-in movie would be very much fun in the rain!  Two years ago we went to that drive-in and watched the Pixar movie "Cars2".  We took our one-ton with the large 12 foot flat bed so there was room for the whole family.  We set up our chairs and cushions on the truck, ate pizza, and enjoyed the movie.  That was a lot of fun, and I was hoping to do it again this summer.  But, the possibility of rain took my thoughts in a different direction.

Thinking about "Monsters University", I realized that it was being shown in both the 2D or 3D formats.  This may sound odd to those of you who go to the movies all the time, but my family had never seen a movie in the now popular 3D format.  Instead of going to the drive-in, this would be our first movie experience in 3D!

Actually, Christina and Simon had seen Toy Story 3 in 3D when they stayed with Grandma up in Cincinnati during the summer of 2010, but Monsters University would be the first 3D movie that we would see together as a family.

I was pleased with the 3D and everyone had a great time!  I still have many of my old viewmaster reels that we get out and look at every now and then and this movie made me feel like I was watching a viewmaster reel with movement!  How fun! 

Actually I was surprised how quickly I got used to the 3D effects.  I realized this when I noticed that I was no longer being amazed, even though the picture was still in very life-like 3D.  If the 3D trend fizzles out, this would probably be the reason, coupled with the higher cost.  (I can't believe I actually paid $9 for each ticket.  $54 for my family just to see a movie, not counting any refreshments, is rather steep!  But my wonderful family deserves a treat every once in a while, and I thank God for blessing me with the means to make it possible!)

I wanted to get a picture of us in the movie theater with our glasses on. Christina really enjoyed the movie, even though she did not think it was "cool" to have her picture taken in the theater with the glasses on!  I'm glad she still puts up with me! 

The 3D glasses sure have come a long way since I was a teenager!  For the one or two movies in 3D that I saw in the 80s we had white cardboard glasses with one red lens and the other blue, if I remember correctly.  Talk about a "not cool" fashion statement!

In the same building as the movie theater, there was a McDonald's play place, which was pretty neat.  No restaurant, just the play area!  After the movie, Timothy had to try it out some.

  That's Timothy up there in the tube and also flying an airplane.

This is a picture of the seating area next to the play place.  Lisa and Simon are looking up at Timothy.

And here is Timothy at the bottom of one of the tube slides.  He had a great time playing here and I think he may have enjoyed this more than seeing the movie!  (Wouldn't you know he would have more fun with something free than something that cost money?)


But enough of play time!  Let's get back to some more work around the homestead!

Cooling Off River Style

We've already had some days here in the 90s and the last week of May ended with a string of days in the upper 80s.  On these hot summer days, we are usually very thankful to have a cool respite across the road in front of our homestead.  This year, Simon has especially been looking forward to making time for some refreshing moments in the river.  He went wading by himself last week, but has more fun when he can round up some companions to go with him.  So far, Timothy has been the only taker.  Matthew and Christina have not yet felt the need to "go swimming".

Here are some scenes from a couple of days ago.  The river was up a bit, so there wasn't as much shoreline as there is sometimes.  But there was plenty of room for some old fashioned fun!

Notice that Gusta is ready for a rescue if need be.  She seemed to be concerned that the children were in the river!

Simon had fun feeling the current rush against him.

Timothy was not as quick to get wet as Simon was,
and stayed close to shore at first.

Augusta decided that Splash wars can be great entertainment! 

(But I still think she was ready to save them.)

Let's try some swimming lessons out in the current!

Hello, Gusta.  I can get out by myself, thank you!

I almost drowned and I got sand in my shoe!

Should I throw this rock?

Am I in trouble?

I'll save you, Simon!

With the swimming fun done and everyone sufficiently cooled off, it was time to climb back up the slippery river bank.  I'm sure there will be plenty more lazy, hot days this summer, and the river will be waiting for the children's next visit!

Augusta had no trouble getting up the bank, of course, so she waited up top

to see if she needed to help Timothy.

It was a steep climb, but Timothy had almost as easy time as Gusta!

Two happy (and cooled off) brothers, above the river.

What a grand picture of summer!