List Items - #14, #16, #26, #29, #28, #33, and #77
Item #14 - Have breakfast in bed
With DH having to work nights we don't often all wake up at the same time. But due to an over-crowded schedule the day before, we were able to plan it so that the day started early for everyone. We were all still up in stages, but close enough that we could actually eat breakfast together! But we wanted to get started on the movies so we made a giant bed in the middle of the living room on which to have breakfast! I made homemade donuts and we sat down to the movie!
Combined Items #16 - Have a scavenger hunt AND #26 - Have a movie series marathon
We have been trying all summer to find a movie series that we could get our hands on without having to shell out a ton of money and that we could all agree on. It was a hard one! Finally we came across Harry Potter! Jareth had not yet seen them all but was willing to since he had liked the first one and my sister happened to have all of them! But then we decided to take it a step further, give him something to focus on for each movie, and have a little fun with them. So we did a scavenger hunt, making him "unlock" each movie with something to find! He loved it! Here are the movies we were able to make it through.
[NOTE: I do not recommend long series with younger kids, they get antsy. As you will see we went outdoors and did something to stretch between each movie and therefore did not finish the series.]
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
I know the "stone" is the wrong color, but we used only items we already had in the house! This is my quartz crystal.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The only problem with this one was of course Jareth wanted to read my journal to find out what it said! But we distracted him with the movie!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
We had to give him a couple of clues since he had no idea yet what a time turner was, but it was still great fun!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
While this object was in plain sight, as they all were, it was high up and hard to reach. We gave him a lot of help with it!
And that was as far as we got since the in between activities took up time. But the kids sure crashed hard when it was time for sleep.
Item #77 - Go to the park
During the first movie we had a lot of things go on with breakfast and a friend coming to stay the day with us so I took the kids over to the park for a little play time just as they were sorting the students. When we got back they were more than ready to sit down and enjoy the first movie.
Item #29 - Play Frisbee
After the first movie the the kids needed to get out again, so we went downstairs to play a little frisbee! It was fun, got the kids running, and was still not too hot! But we came back in wanting water and rest! Perfect for the next movie!
Item # 28 - Have a picnic
A perfect way to get away after movie number two was lunch, and with the heat starting to take over we decided to take it outside. DH was tired so we left him at home with the infant I was watching and I took the other kids to an open area of grass. But the heat had us hightailing it back home to lay the younger ones down for a nap and start the next movie!
Item #33 - Blow Bubbles
With movie number 3 done the little ones began waking up from their naps and one of them was about to go home, so we stepped out onto the porch for a little fun! We have an old bubble-sax that we obtained in a garage sale, so we poured in the liquid and made a little music, with each of the kids getting a turn.
And after the last movie we took the kids (our two and the lovely miss Jayden who is practically ours) over to the pool for a little sunset swim. The water was warm and a little high since it had just rained, but it wasn't too hot outside. So we enjoyed some family time there. (Sorry no pictures because we were not sure if we were going to get caught in rain!)
All in all it was a great day! We checked off a lot of items and got to enjoy the company of a friend who we don't get to see as often anymore. And then there is the joy of sharing something you love so much with your kids. I found myself watching Jareth more often than the movies to see his reaction to things. Maybe in a few years when Livia is old enough to get the movies we will have another marathon! I look forward to that as much as I did to this day that was 2 weeks in the planning.
Have you had a movie series marathon with your little ones? Or are you looking forward to sharing some particular fandom that you love and can't wait to get them caught up in? It will be Lord of The Rings for us next year! It's so much fun!
[Note: We will be finishing the series over the next few days, Jareth and I since DH has work. I will post another blog on Sat about the last four hunt items and Jareth's final take on the series!]
