Marvel movies, the boys, and a little piece of my childhood

 Movie night became pretty common during Quarantine in the Spring, and it carried over some through the summer. Choosing a movie that the boys like and that Daniel and I don't hate is a real challenge. Recently I started thinking that it might be fun to go through all of the Marvel movies together as a family. I have seen one or two, but that's it. The boys hadn't seen them, but they like the Marvel characters. The only downside  is that the movies are rated PG-13. And we don't let the boys watch PG-13...

Ultimately, we decided to start watching the movies in chronological order (I highly recommend that way to progress through them)-- and Carson knows to tell us if anything bothers him or seems scary. I will say, that overall the content of the movies is fine. There is much more bad language in it than I am comfortable with for sure. It isn't terrible (it varies some by movie), but it isn't great. Some characters and scenarios could be scary for certain kids, but my boys have had no problem with it at all. 

To kick off our Marvel movie watching, we had a themed dinner and snacks for the first movie night! Any reason to decorate with a theme and I am all in.

We are now about halfway through the list of movies and I look forward to it every night. We all have certain spots on the couch, there is always popcorn (the boys), and iced coffee for me. There is some shifting around as Carver will lay with me for a bit and the Carson will come over. Bentley is always snoring on the back of the couch or on the floor. It really is just a sweet way to end the day.

A year or two ago I gave the boys all of my old Marvel comic cards. I collected them in the early 90s as a pre-teen. I loved them so much. The boys have enjoyed having them, but the real excitement came when I found 6 unopened packs that I have saved for more than 25 years. I loved sharing this with them. Having something to give them from my own childhood. Each opened three packs and having them was a fun addition to our Marvel adventure.

Sometimes it is hard to find something that every member of your family legitimately enjoys doing together. But it is so worth it to spend time together, to make memories, and maybe start new traditions. I'll be sad when we make it through the list, but maybe we'll find a new memory-making activity after that. 

Visiting Strong Rock

 The world has been so crazy lately. A lot of the side effects have been pleasant to me. I like being home with the boys, I like the extra free time and lack of any real schedule. Blessings for sure have happened in these last six months.

But there have been some pretty big struggles too. For the boys, one of the biggest disappointments came from camps being cancelled for the summer. The boys love camp-- both camps-- but I think Strong Rock is just a little bit extra special to them. Strong Rock opened for part of the summer, but had to cancel right before the start of the session the boys were signed up for. It was heartbreaking for them.

Daniel wanted to take them to camp for a quick getaway so that they could still be there this summer for at least a short amount of time. In August we headed to Georgia to spend one night at camp and do a couple of things in that area.

Our first stop was an escape room in Helen that is owned by one of Daniel's good friends. I have not ever really had much interest in the concept of an escape room, but we really had the best time. Thomas has done such a good job with his business and all of us enjoyed it so much. 

We also got to visit with Rebecca on Friday night. We have missed her so much since we moved back to NC. The boys love her and loved getting to play with her baby chicks :)

Otherwise we just hung out a bit. We ate at some of our favorite restaurants and played around camp. The boys are already talking about next summer. 

Date night with Carson

 I will always love getting some one-on-one time with each of my kids. They are completely different when they are separated-- easier to handle for sure, but also more talkative, more open, happier even. I try to plan some specific times when I get to spend some alone time with them as often as I can. This was a quick night out to get Carson a desperately needed haircut. We had to negotiate some-- he wanted to shaved completely and I was all hard pass on that one. So his hair is short but he isn't bald. It was the best I could do. 

Part of the negotiation was also to include dinner out, his choice. He picked Buffalo Wild Wings! It felt like a totally random choice but any place with nachos on the menu is fine by me. We grabbed an early dinner in an almost completely empty restaurant and we had a really good time! 

Back to the Lake

In early August we headed back to Lake Norman, about two hours away from Asheville. We first went to Lake Norman two years ago and the boys have not stopped talking about it since :) 

Lake vacations are definitely fun, but also not my ideal vacation destination. I get a bit sick on boats and I will not ever go tubing or even get in the water. So this is definitely me taking one for the team. Daniel and the boys really love going to the lake for a few days of boating and tubing. And I do love this cute VRBO we have stayed at twice now. It is quiet and a convenient location and a comfortable amount of space for us. Plus, Bentley can stay there too :) 

We really did have a very good time. We rented a large boat for two days. Bentley and I took a number of long walks. We ate breakfast and lunch at the house and tried local restaurants for dinner. It was a quick trip but some very good family time. I suppose I could be persuaded to go back again one day 😊

Our favorite restaurant!