Going back to school wasn't so bad this week knowing I had a date night to look forward to. We were blessed with several gift cards from students, friends, family and neighbors for Christmas and they are burning a hole in Mo's pocket (even if I am the one carrying them). We don't normally go out on Friday night because we are too tired from the work week, but since the Eagles were playing Saturday night... Let's not talk about them!
Peyton, one of the kids favorite sitters, came by around 5:30 and worked her magic so we could go eat 3 courses for $20 at Chili's and finally see Avatar. The restaurant was already so crowded, Mo suggested we sit at the bar. Great idea because we can never do that with the kids, even better because a booth behind us opened up about 5 minutes after we sat down. Nice, we could sit in the bar area but comfortably. We ordered from the choices on the 3 for $20 menu; Onion String & Crispy Jalapeno Stack, Buffalo Chicken Ranch Sandwich (Jo), Half Rack of Ribs (Mo), and Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie® for dessert. We normally would pick the Brownie Sundae, but I had just made a batch at home so we went for something different. The appetizer wasn't too great but the rest of the meal was so delicious! I was craving greasy bar food so it was just the right night for Chili's, we hardly ever eat there so it was a nice treat. After all that food, a beer and a frozen raspberry margarita our bill was only $35. We thought we only had $25 worth of gift cards but when we turned them over to see what Mo had written on them, they totaled $35 the exact amount of our bill. Sweet, leave a $5 tip since service was pretty slow and headed up the road to Aliante Station for the Imax version of Avatar.
Mo has been dying to see Avatar, but he put his kids and wife first, joining us to see our movies before he would see his. He sat through Alvin & The Chipmunks and Sherlock Holmes (mmm Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law) over Christmas break and said we had to go see Avatar for our January date night. Don't get me wrong, he enjoyed each of those movies, but every time we went to the theater he would say I'm going to see Avatar, enjoy yours. I was hoping we would wait until a little later in January to see another movie, but Mo couldn't wait. He was going to see it alone if we didn't go this weekend. I had heard all these girls say they did actually like it; now I had to see if I would enjoy it too. A girlfriend said it was awesome in 3D and since I can't remember the last movie I saw in 3D I was all for it! I wasn't sure we were going to be able to use our movie gift cards for an Imax 3D movie but we were and only had to pay an extra $10 for the Imax/3D fees. When we went into the theater, it was packed. We thought showing up 30 minutes before the movie began would be enough time to find a good seat but nope there were hardly any available. Mo spotted two on the end of a row second from the top. He grabbed them and I headed to the restroom; no way would I make it through a 3 hr movie without a bathroom break. A couple from the middle of our row went to get snacks and everyone thought the two seats they left were open. After all of these people kept walking across me to get them and then turn around and come back, I finally started telling people they were taken. It was really annoying, didn't they get the hint when coats were laying across the seats? Finally, the lights started to dim and the previews started. I was so excited to see the preview for Alice in Wonderland (mmm Johnny Depp) because I can't wait to see that one!
Avatar was super fantastic, I really enjoyed it. It was an entertaining science fiction flick, not crazy gross or wierd. I enjoyed the chic aspects, the love story and how the magical mother tree within the Pandoran ecosystem added to the film. I am not surprised by this quote: "Within three weeks of its release, with a worldwide gross of over $1 billion, Avatar became the second highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, exceeded only by Cameron's previous film, Titanic."
I can't wait for our next date night, Valentine weekend. We only have enough in the budget for one date night a month. No complaints here, babysitters are expensive and we need to save our money for our summer vacation...
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