movie morning

This morning I had the bright idea of taking the kids to the KIDTOONS movie they show every Saturday and Sunday morning at the movie theater near our house (2 miles). Every month they show a different movie. Tickets are just $2.50 each for these 45 minute movies. We've taken the kids once before when it was a wet day but only the one time. Today I wanted to get us out of the house for awhile so Mike could get some things done without distraction so I suggested to the kids that we walk to the theater. They were so excited about this different adventure. I figured we would walk down to the theater, see the movie and maybe grab a bite to eat nearby after the movie before calling Mike to come pick us up. I didn't know if the kids could do the full 4 mile walk without too much complaining -- but they did!
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They were amazing and I was so proud of them for walking the whole way. During the walk down we hadn't allowed much extra time so we needed to keep a steady walking pace to get to the movie on time. A friend drove by and stopped to chat for a minute, but other than that it was a pretty uneventful walk down. On the return walk, we took a different route to make it a full loop -- and we took our time. We talked about the flowers and plants we passed, met a ladybug and bumblebee, watched a hawk soar above our heads, and saw all the lovely things we don't see when we're driving these same streets. The kids did such a great job. I often find myself expecting too much of them, and then other times they surprise me when I totally underestimate what they are capable of.