Comic Con

After I showered and dressed for church, I checked my Facebook and saw a friend had posted a link to Charlotte Comicon that was happening today. I knew Jesse would be excited about it. As soon as I told him, I decided to skip church so our whole family could attend the convention. 

I learned a few lessons from yesterday during our comic book frustrations. Today I made sure that we had food, drinks, extra diapers, and could better navigate crowded, narrow aisles.

Jackson was completely in his element all day. He was elated when I asked him if he wanted to wear one of his costumes. He selected the Winter Solider (Bucky Barnes), who is Captain America's enemy. Of course, Clifford had to participate as well. Jackson draped a cape around Clifford and called him "red and black". 

Jackson was animated before we even entered the building. I'm not sure if he was more impressed by Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine,

or Jesse was by the Ghostbuster's ambulance.

I wanted to go to comic con so I could share in the excitement, though my comic book knowledge is extremely limited compared to Jesse and Jackson. Jackson's face lit up each time he saw someone dressed in character. I was excited about the characters I recognized, but some of them I had never even heard of. Jackson would shout, "There's Ms. Marvel!"  "Look, Dr. Doom!"

By far, the coolest costume was this homemade Transformer.

A woman dressed as Belle came up to Amelia and Maddie. The girls kept waving and touching her dress, but were shy as soon as I got the camera.

It wouldn't be a comic convention without comic books. After the narrow aisles yesterday, I refused to bring the double stroller today. In crowded places, I wore Maddie in the Ergo and pushed James in a single umbrella stroller, while Jesse held Amelia's hand or carried her. We navigated the rows with ease. There were thousands of books, ranging in prices from $0.50 to $200+.

We spent $2 on comic books, then found a spot in one of the rooms to let the kids look through the books.

Our last stop was the toyroom. Jesse and I used to watch the TV show, Toy Hunter.  I kept thinking of hidden gems that might be found in the toyroom. Jackson selected five figurines for $10. We joked that he could have found the same ones in Jesse's parent's basement. 

Maddie made friends with the toddler-sized Batman while the boys identified all of the figurines in the bins.

I apparently didn't take any pictures of James. He was in the stroller the majority of the time, since he is the runner of the group and cannot be trusted to hold our hand.

The comic con was located in a hotel in South Charlotte. On our drive home we stopped at Airport Overlook Park for a picnic lunch. James and Maddie cried at first when they heard the planes taking off. We made it a game and dramaticlly waved goodbye at each plane so they wouldn't be frightened. 

I could spend hours watching the planes land and take off. I always wonder where the passengers are travelling to and what they might be doing. I had to set an alarm on my phone to make sure we had enough time to get back since I still had to lead youth group this afternoon.

We had another fun day making memories with the family!