Movie Under The Stars: Take Two!

And just like that our summer is over. I can't even begin to tell you how fast it went by for me (having a child the week before summer will do that to you.) But since we like to end things with a bang we capped it off with another awesome outdoor movie party. We started this tradition last summer when all our children's friends and their families gathered for an outdoor movie lawn party. And it was so much fun that we decided to do it again this summer.

There was an excitement in our home all week long leading up to the party. From movie choice to banners, the girls were front and center with preparations and decision making. After all, this is their party and I adore that they take ownership.

Her comma cracks me up!

This year we got a little fancy and added a concession stand stocked with hot dogs, pizza, nachos and candy--ya know, cinema essentials.

We decided on showing the movie Up and based our decision on three factors: an extremely high Rotten Tomato score, a best picture nomination, and it's all-around kid friendliness. It also lead to some pretty badass theme decorations. As guests arrived they were greeted by balloons floating 50 feet overhead.

Like our 40 foot Charlie Brown Christmas tree? hahaha




Watching my kids excitement as they reunited with their friends solidified to me why having this party is so important--it brings us all closer together. Months of summer separation vanished and a hint of school spirit was in the air. Even I couldn't help but have fun!

The wine was chilled, the popcorn was popped and within a matter of minutes there were blankets, families and children everywhere.

While there are several themes in the movie Up, one that we focused on was adventure. As a pre-movie activity we asked each child what adventure they'd like to do this coming year and wrote their answer on each balloon....and I'm telling you it was precious.

I could take a lesson from these kids. Alaska, South Africa, space exploration and unicorn rides are just a few of the awesome adventures these kids want to take!

And on the count of three, each child grasping a balloon string excitedly let go and watched as the  balloons soared high into the sky. Don't worry, the environmentalist in me had it tethered to the coffee table, but to a 4 foot child, it certainly felt like they were releasing it!

Once the sun went down we pressed play and snuggled with our families, clinging on to the last of our summer memories.

The night couldn't have been any more perfect.

And we'll do it again next year.

Here's to another great year.

And here's a little movie about our movie!

Movie Under the Stars

Let me shout from the rooftops, "THIS WAS THE BEST DAMN SUMMER EVER."

Because, it really was. Late nights, sunscreen, watermelon, I could go on: swimming, dancing, lemonade--all the ingredients that made our summer perfect.

But just when we were getting a little too used to our carefree schedule, lazy mornings and playing until we're dirty-- ding! our summer timer went off, reminding us that the end is near.

But over here, we go out with a bang.

This past Friday we bid farewell to our favorite summer by hosting a "Movie Under the Stars" backyard party and invited all our friends and family, and the girls' school friends and their families.

We were giddy all week planning. In fact, watching my kids help party plan was so adorable. They had a say in every decision that we made, from decorations to which candy is most preferred--they were a part of it. This was their party.

Bella even painted a huge banner--after a little lesson in proportions and letter spacing, homegirl was ret-to-go but get this, she went back and forth for several days debating over whether her sign should say "so long summer" or "farewell summer." I mean, tough choices, huh?

Movie choice was another HUGE debate in our household. First it was Toy Story 3, then it was The Lorax both really good choices, but then in a moment of brilliance I thought about  The Muppets. 
Talk about a win-win. All us parents got a little mushy over reliving our childhood through the Rainbow Connection and all our children got to laugh along with Fozzie and the crew...it was full circle in oh so many ways.

After rescheduling because of thunderstorms the day before, we couldn't have asked for better weather. Picture perfect sunshine all day long that dried the grass and warmed us all.

The candles were glowing and the tiki torches were lit. At dusk, families descended on our yard, chairs and blankets and cookies in hand.

What movie party wouldn't be complete without freshly popped popcorn?  And we had plenty!

We even had a Popcorn Bar where guests could add some of their favorite snacks to their popcorn boxes. Which btw, THE KIDS LOVED. Okay, so did I. Have you ever tried M&M's with popcorn? Delish!

I scored those little chalkboard tin pails from the $1 bin at Target!

The crisp cool night air was perfect sweatshirt weather, befitting to our summer departure, we all glimpsed Autumn right around the corner and gathered together for a final farewell.

Looking out seeing a sea of neon glow sticks and glow necklaces being twirled and tossed around made me so happy, knowing that these moments, here and now, are defining my kids' childhood. That they'll look back and see that we really do know how to have fun. I swear, we do.

For a moment, I wanted so badly to get all the moms together and gab about the upcoming school year or gossip about the Real Housewives or coerce all the adults into a round of drinking games. But had that happened, then it would have taken away from the real spirit of the night--which was families huddling together as their own unit, cuddling under the blankets, sharing their popcorn, and enjoying these last minutes of freedom, together.

 I looked out and saw 10 or more families in our yard and I felt so grateful to be a part of a community that cares about their families as much as we do.

We're all on this journey of parenthood together, why not make the very most of it, right?

This picture might have been cute had Amy Adams not stole our spotlight!

Way past their bedtime, my kids fought off exhaustion running solely on sugar fumes and finally secumbed to their pajama's. As I pulled up their blankets and kissed them goodnight Bella waved me in closer and whispered in my ear, "look Mommy, I crossed off the last of our summer list."

I glanced to the closet door, the one that has safeguarded our summer list for these past three months and sure enough, there in white chalk, she checked off "look at stars."

And my heart lit up all over again.

Farewell Summer

2012