At the Movies with the Muppets

Disney has been doing a phenomenal job of promoting their new Muppet movie. Marina has been wanting to see it for weeks. She had the day off, so we went to see it today - opening day.

First we went out for brunch. It's been a long time since we have taken the time to do that. We also did some shopping for Thanksgiving.

To prepare for the movie, we've watched some of the older Muppet movies including the original Muppet Movie that I saw in the theater when I was her age. She really enjoyed them. Her favorite characters are Kermit and Miss Piggy.

She seemed a bit restless during the movie, but overall we both loved the movie. It reminded me so much of The Muppet Show as well as The Muppet Movie.

When we came home, I worked on baking pies. Marina had said she wanted to help, but ultimately she went and played by the Christmas tree.

Under the Sea

When Marina was three months old, I went with her to the local aquarium. I haven't been back since. In the past seven years, it's undergone new ownership since then so it's a bit different. Marina has wanted to go back for a while, so we decided to go today.

Marina was excited to get started. She skipped over some of the tanks that had local fish in them and found some river otters who were doing backflips. It was fun to see them playing in the water. We also found some active ducks which we watched for a while. We went through the exhibit and saw the many tanks of fish. We watched the tigers for a while, but they weren't doing much. Marina stopped to touch some horseshoe crabs and starfish.

Marina's favorite was clearly the shark tank. She spent a long time looking at them. She especially liked the glass floors where the sharks would swim under her. At the end of the exhibit was a pool of stingrays where Marina got to touch some of them as they swam by. But the coolest part for her was the three mermaids that were there for her to meet.

We stopped for lunch in the aquarium restaurant where Marina made some new friends and took pictures of the fish in the tank in the restaurant. She ate well and then we went right back through the exhibits. This time, the tigers were very active and we watched them for a while. By the time we got to the largest tanks there were divers in there. Marina loved seeing them in there. One even shared several high fives with her!

We spent more time at the shark tank and sting ray pool. But she didn't want to leave until she got a chance to say goodbye to the mermaids. They remembered her from earlier in the day - they even got her name right! Marina said next time she wants to wear her Ariel costume. She should fit right in!

Back to See the Cat

Ever since we saw Puss in Boots, Marina has squealed how cute he is and how she wants to see it in 3D. Funny, she never seemed that interested when she saw him in the Shrek movies! She had the day off today so we went to see it. We had lunch at McDonalds where she has nearly the entire collection of toys from the movie. It's not often she gets this excited for a movie. The 3D effects were very good and Marina was very involved in the story.

When we came home, Marina worked on a painting project for a while. She really seemed to enjoy the painting. I'm so impressed with how much care she put into it and her pride in her work.

The Princess and the Lion King

After Marina and I saw the movie The Lion King in the theater in September, we started listening to the soundtrack in the car. That led us to decide we really wanted to see the Broadway show. Fortunately, Cameron and Aunt Ann were able to join us. We all met for dinner before heading to see the show. We ran into heavier traffic than we expected and ended up being a little late. When we were seated, Marina was so mesmerized by the action on stage that she didn't even follow the usher to her seat. Once we settled in, she was completely absorbed by the show. She even sang along with some of the songs. Cameron was a bit restless through the show. At intermission, the two of them ran around and spun themselves around. (Fortunately, we were in a corner, away from most of the other people there.) After the show was over, I asked Marina what her favorite part was, she responded, "All of it!" Her favorite part might have come at the end. The cast were raising funds for charity and for a donation you could have a picture with the actor playing Simba. Of course, Marina wanted to do that. We were very fortunate, when we saw him, there was no one in line, so she got her picture.

What a Doll!

Our friend, Miss Judy, invited us to go to the annual Salvation Army Doll Tea today. She attends every year and gave us tickets. So we met her there today. When we arrived we had a quick snack together. Marina ate two gingerbread men while Judy and I had tea and lemonade. Then we went over to look at the dolls. We went through many tables of used dolls and toys for sale to benefit the Salvation Army. Marina found a Swedish Barbie she wanted, so we bought it. While we were there, we also ran into Santa. It was too early for him to wear his red suit, but he still spent some time talking with Marina. She also got her face painted by some teen volunteers. She asked for an orange tabby cat, like Puss in Boots. Marina's very favorite part was the model trains that were set up and running. She sat and watched them for a long time.

We got lunch with Miss Judy, then we went to see the new Puss in Boots movie. Marina has been very excited to see this movie. She thinks he is "so cute!" I think it helps that our cat is also an orange tabby with green eyes, just like Puss in Boots. She loved the movie and is already saying she wants to see it again in 3D.