happy summer!

you’d think i was new to this blogging thing with how long it took me to write this post!

well, i’m back and have lots of things to share with you, but first…

we had our first backyard movie of the summer saturday night.

it didn’t all go as smoothly as planned…

lorelai had complained about her stomach hurting before we ate dinner.

i dismissed it.

she didn’t want to eat much dinner, but i asked her to eat 3 pieces of her hot dog.

she chewed…

and, chewed…

and, chewed…

and spewed.

she got so sick.

all over the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom.

this was a first for us.

almost 6 years of parenting, and this is the first time we had to deal with a vomiting child.

she fell asleep while i was holding her on the floor of the hallway after her bath.

she cried and cried about our friends coming over for the movie.

we texted them and let them know what happened.

we were still planning to watch a movie, but wanted to inform them of  lorelai’s sickness in case it was a virus.

luckily, they decided to still come over…they said, “it’s gonna take a lot more than a little vomit to keep us away!’

don’t you just love good friends like that?!

in addition to lorelai’s sickness, we also had a few technical difficulties:

1. peter pan was an HD movie and would not play through our projector, so we had to choose another movie (luckily we have plenty to choose from)

2. this time of year it stays light until after 10pm in the pacific northwest, so once we tried another movie we found it was still too light to watch it.

the kids thought it was fun to watch it on the laptop and that is when we changed our game plan…

we went for a quick walk around the neighborhood, regrouped, let it get a little darker, and chose a different movie.

jackpot!

the girls settled right in…it was the newest tinker bell movie, secret of the wings.

once we moved the cozy coupe and the “trailer” up from under the playhouse, the littlest of the bunch was happy.

eventually, we could all sit down and watch the movie…

or, sit back and relax in the chairs around the fire pit.

the movie ended, and shortly after that lorelai got sick again.

i took her upstairs to another bath and i snuggled her in bed with towels at the ready.

she was so sad.

luckily, that was the end of it for her sickness.

she ate fine all day sunday, and other than getting worn out from the heat, was back to her normal self.

so, i had a few questions from instagram followers and thought i would post a few tips for outdoor movies, so here it goes!

essential supplies

1. projector

2. laptop, iPad, or iPod

3. speakers

4. movie screen (i made ours from a painters drop cloth)

5. extension cords

you’ll want to get a feel for how everything needs to be set up…do you need a table for the projector? how far should the projector be from the screen? what connects to what (i.e speakers connect to the laptop, laptop connects to the projector)?

we always do a test run by ourselves or with neighbors for our first movie of the year…there are bound to be some minor glitches and you want those worked out before you invite the entire neighborhood!

fun stuff

1. snacks: last night we just did popcorn and popsicles. last fall we had a theme and centered the snacks around that. or, you can just have everybody bring their own snacks.

2. drinks: just like the snacks…keep it simple, BYOB, or provide something that goes along with the theme of the movie

3. blankets: thrifted quilts are awesome for backyard movie nights…i have a stash of them and put them on the air mattress and on the grass. in the cooler months i stick a few thrifted afghans on the chairs around the fire pit and in a basket on the deck in case people need one.

4. chairs: use what you have or ask everybody to bring their own

5. twinkle lights: twinkle lights just make the whole scene magical. we have ours up year round in our backyard and it just sets the scene for a festive evening.

backyard movies have become one of my favorite things about summer in our backyard. we hope to have a lot more movie nights well into the fall…as long as the rain stays away!

home is…back at it with backyard movie night (and blogging).