The request went out this afternoon for a list of fun activities to do with the family. I received many different responses such as mini golf, a trampoline place, riding bikes on the beach, etc. We chose to go see a movie instead since we don't do that very often. There are a long list of movies we want to see starting next Friday, but there isn't anything showing currently that we were dying to see. After reviewing a couple of movies on Focus on the Family's PluggedIn, we decided to see Free Birds. I didn't review this one, but it was a kid-friendly animated feature. The preview made it look funny. That person must get paid big bucks because this movie was not funny in any way whatsoever. In fact, it was easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot of movies. Of course, the fact that we paid movie theater prices (minus our coupon savings) probably added to the disappointment. The writers just tried too hard to be funny. They failed. The jokes and tactics that make other movies of the same genre funny did not work in this one. They beat their unfunny jokes into the ground. The slap stick humor did not work when the main characters were turkeys. Some jokes I just did not get. I wondered if my kids did. It was just stupid. Strike one!
After leaving the theater, we decided to obtain some refreshment. We drove a few miles away to get milkshakes at McDonald's. We placed our order only to be told that the machine that makes shakes was not working. Strike two!
Denny's was just a few hundred feet away, so we stopped there. Three different people tried to seat us. They were very friendly. This was shaping up to be a pleasant experience, even though the clientele looked a bit shady. The paper place mat had some delectable desserts pictured on it. John and I ordered apple crisp to share. They had just run out. So, I ordered an Oreo shake. The kids ordered the pumpkin milkshake and red velvet cake balls that were on the place mat. Our waitress checked in the kitchen to be sure they had them. It seems that someone had set the place mats our prematurely, and none of the items were available until next week. We left. Strike three!
As we drove to our next destination, we passed a Sprint store. Paige has had some issues with her phone, so we decided to stop and ask if there was anything we could do about fixing it. We saw two people inside the store, so we knew they were open. When we pulled into the parking lot, there were no cars by the store, and the sign said they closed at 8:00. (It was 9:30.) It seems the people we saw were plastered on the wall behind the register. It was just a picture. Strike four!
By this point, I'm trying to figure out the moral.
I wanted to try a restaurant we hadn't been to before, so we pulled into Carrabba's and asked a waitress who had just gotten off duty and was walking to her car what their desserts were. They were all very Italian, nothing the kids would eat. We ended up at Wendy's to get Frosties. We ordered two medium vanilla, one medium chocolate, and two large unsweetened iced teas. After rehashing our order at least five times, she finally got it right. At least I hoped she had. The car in front of us was at the window for quite some time until the girl finally asked him to just pull forward and wait for someone to bring his order out to him. We received our teas and our vanilla Frosties, but the chocolate had just been refilled and wasn't frozen yet. Really? Can't we just get something right?
After that, we made a beeline for home. This has been one of those nights when we sit down to pray we will thank God that it is over and tomorrow is a new day. Of course, we were together as a family. We made memories. You know, those memories when you say, "Remember how bad..." or "Remember when we couldn't..." I feel like we have a lot of those. Hmmm.
What can I leave you with after our experience? The milkshake machine won't always be broken. The delicious-looking menu items won't be out of reach next week. The Sprint store won't always be closed. BUT, Free Birds will ALWAYS be a bad movie. Don't waste your time or your hard-earned money. You will feel like you've been robbed.
I can't wait until the second Hunger Games, Thor II, and the second Hobbit movie!!!!! I think I'll stick with what I know from now on.
