Movie Night: The Bosom Friends Edition

Last night we decided to have a Movie Night for Family Home Evening.  It was a perfect end to a very hectic day--THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!  I have had a countdown for this day since mid-June and I wasn't sure which would come first, the last of my sanity or the school bus to pick up the kids.   Thank goodness it was the school bus.   So yes, it was an exciting day but it was still quite a bit of work.   I had to get Chloe off to her first day of second grade and then get the other girls dressed and over to the school for Piper's kindergarten assessment (Tessa was an absolute beast the entire time we were there--she kept running away from me but if I held her she'd scream bloody murder.  I got a lot of stares, most of them quite unfriendly!).  Then, of course, there was the mountain of paperwork that had to be filled out when Chloe got home.  I signed everything from emergency contact cards to PTA membership donation forms and lunch money tickets.  By the time all Chloe's homework was done and dinner cleaned up,  I was definitely excited to bust out the boxes of $1 movie candy I found on sale at Target and cuddle up with the family on the couch.

We decided on Anne of Green Gables, one of my absolute favorite movies of all time.  The acting, the costumes, the Prince Edward Island local, and the music have inspired me since I was a little girl.  (Fun Fact:  Carter learned to play the theme of this movie on the piano to woo me early on in our courtship).  I wasn't sure if the girls were ready for this one yet, but I wanted to give it a try.  I'll be honest, it took them a while to get into it (and it required a lot of  commentary from me to keep them interested).  But by the time Anne was smashing her slate over Gilbert's head, Chloe and Piper were hooked. 

In fact, as Part I drew to a close, I started to realize they were a little too into it.  The girls started to physically react to the movie.  They had to hide their faces when Anne fell off the roof and had to endure the haunted woods.  When she realized Diana was drinking something beside Raspberry Cordial at Anne's tea party, Chloe leapt off the couch and started jumping around in fear.  And then it happened.  Mrs. Barry forbade Anne from ever seeing Diana again.  And Chloe and Piper lost it.  They both started bawling their eyes out.  Piper yelped, "First her mommy died and now she can't see her BEST FRIEND?!?!?"  Chloe was equally crushed by that prospect.  The girls cried right with the Bosom Friends as they said their tearful goodbyes and Anne took a lock of Diana's raven hair.  I, on the other hand, had to hide my smiles and giggles.  The fact that they were moved to tears by the movie tickled me to no end.  Unfortunately, the movie cuts off for intermission with the two friends cruelly parted from each other.  It was past bedtime by this point and we had to get the kids to sleep--there was no way we could get through Part II.  But they couldn't stop crying.  So Carter and I had to tell them real quick about how Anne saves Diana's little sister and they get to have a sleepover.  They settled down once they heard that news (sleepovers are such an exciting prospect to my girls!) and went to bed, but only after we promised to watch the rest tonight.

Let's just say I will DEFINITELY be fast forwarding through Matthew's death tonight.  I don't think their poor little hearts can take that.