Move over, Mr. Pricklepants!

Yesterday we had some family time, a day for Lex and Loki before Gabrielle comes for the summer, giving them a little Momma and Daddy attention before things change for a while.

The day started off with us all leaving for eastern Massachusetts, since I had to work until 1PM. We stopped for donuts and coffee (donuts for the kids, coffee for us in case you were wondering). After dropping me at work Mad Dog took both Lex and Loki for a little visit to Nana Sandy's to see Nona and Papa Stuart, before going to South Shore Mall to meet Michael (Baby Finn's Daddy according to Lex). They visited the Lego Store at South Shore and they managed to talk Mad Dog into buying them another Disney Cars set of Duplo, which they would surely fight over (and did). They had a little pizza at the mall before heading back Mansfield for me.

We had made a plan to take the kids to see Toy Story 3 that afternoon. This would be Lex's 4th movie in the theater (Spider Man 3 {he was a baby and lasted to the first big fight scene}, Horton Hears a Who and Wall-E) and for Loki her second (Wall-E). We decided to forgo the 3D experience and opted for regular. Before going Mad Dog and I grabbed sometime to eat at Whole Foods (I had a New England Turkey Sandwich - which is amazing with their cranberry pecan bread). I also grabbed some Pirate's Booty for the kids, since I don't like giving Loki popcorn still and it wouldn't be fair to let Lex have it.

Tickets purchased we headed in, taking a row of four on the side (kills me not to sit center). Loki against the wall, Mad Dog next, with Lex and me on the end. The preview started. Okay let me stop and say something here - I'm a HUGE preview fan, if it's something (preview) I'm dying to see (when I able to go to a movie) I sit up in my seat, pay attention and ingest every little detail. Having said that, I am a mother of two now and every second counts when it comes to keeping them focused. Kids go into a movie theater and they think they are going to see Buzz and Woody as soon as they walk in (I know they need to learn patients -which they are) just like they do when we turn on the DVD at home, but to expect kids to sit through 15 to 20 minutes of preview before getting the the main event is just cruel and unusual.  Needless to say, after every preview Lex ask "Toy Story 3 NOW!"

They were both amazing. Loki make it 3/4 of the way through without a peep, sitting on her own seat before getting a little antsy. She then bounced from Mad Dog's lap to mine where she settled for the end of the film. Lex did wonderful, getting a little scared/upset at the climax of the film (which was complete understandable- hell I was scared/upset too). The movie itself was great! Both Mad Dog and I loved it. We both hope Loki will grow-up to be like Bonnie (one of the characters in the story). I will also say it is official I cried at ALL three movies in the theater. In the first I cried when Buzz lost his arm. I can't watch the second without crying if I listen to the Sarah McLachlan version of the Rand Newman song "When She Loved Me" - I sob. Even if I start to talk about the song I cry. I won't give away anything about the 3rd, but if you come out of this one with a dry eye, should honestly go see the Wizard for a heart! 

After the movie I decided we needed a little toy love. We took the kids to Toys-R-Us. We checked out all the new Toy Story 3 toys. At home we have a Woody Doll which I bought when the Toy Story came out (I did have a Buzz Lightyear, but I don't know where he is) which has my name on his boot like Andy in the movie. Before leaving Toys-R-Us we bought Loki a Jesse and Lex a Buzz Lightyear. They haven't let them out of their sight all weekend. They have even shared them with each other (a bit). We put their names on the bottoms of the feet just like in the Movie. Last night at bedtime Lex took Buzz to tuck-in and Loki took Jesse, but before going to sleep Lex made sure I was taking my Woody doll with me.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE! Take your kids, take your friends, take you parents. If your going off to college take your parents- they won't be only crying because of the toys and characters the will fall in love with, but they will cry because of you! One last thing...The Gypsy Kings doing "You've Got a Friend in Me" BRILLIANT!