Spring at the Zoo

Today was a beautiful day - over 80 degrees. So we decided to take a trip to the Zoo. We invited Brian and Emily to join us. And, as she has been all of spring break, Julie came along.

We learned pretty early that the warm weather made the animals sleepy. So we saw lions, cheetahs and mountain goats sleeping. The most lively animals were the brown bears.

After lunch, we went to Feline House where the tigers were playing in the water. You don't see that often. Then we went on to Tropical Discovery to see the snakes and fish. It was really warm, so we stopped for ice cream. That perked her up. We went to Bird World. From there we took a ride on the Carousel before heading out. We were all really tired and sunburned by then.

Mirror, Mirror

The new movie Mirror, Mirror opened today. Since Marina is still on spring break, I'd planned for us to see it. Yesterday, Marina came to me and asked if I'd heard of the movie. When I told her I was planning for us to see it today, she was happy.

Naturally, Julie came along with us. (She is having a fun spring break as well.) We went out to lunch before heading to the movie theater. I was surprised at how many people were there. Apparently a lot of other people had the same thought!

Marina was pretty restless during the movie. She didn't like the "scary" scenes, but she laughed at the jokes and admire the lavish costumes. After it was over, she said she loved it except the "bad parts."

Magic on Ice

After a day of getting prettied up, we had someplace to go tonight. We saw the Disney On Ice show 100 Years of Magic. Marina has been looking forward to the show for a long time. She decided to dress as Jasmine. And since Julie had been with us all day, she wanted to bring her to the show as well. She put the Belle dress on her (Julie's collection of costumes is not as wide as Marina's.)

We arrived a bit early an Marina was thrilled to see a little girl dressed as Cinderella in our row. The two of them chatted quite a bit before the show. Once the show started, Marina squealed with delight.

She really loved the first act. Her favorite parts were the princess montage and a tribute to It's A Small World. She sang loudly along to the songs she knew and cheered for every performance.

The second act featured the stories of Mulan and The Lion King, both which Marina loves. As the finale started she was disappointed. I think she could have watched a performance from every Disney movie! It took us a while to get home but she didn't seem to mind. She was happy to play with the Disney app on my phone.

Pampered Princess

Marina is on spring break this week, so we decided to have some fun today. She decided to wear the dress she got for her birthday which has a matching dress for her American Girl doll, Julie. So, Julie came along with us. We went to her favorite salon and she got a haircut. She's wanted bangs for a while so, even though I don't like them, she got them. She kept exclaiming that they make her look younger. I don't think she liked that, she insists she wants to be older. After the cut, they styled her hair in a ponytail and added some glitter.

Next, we went to the American Girl store. Marina hadn't been here before and she was so excited. She picked out a bathing suit for Julie. When she saw the hair styling station, she wanted to get Julie's hair done. We asked the stylist to make it just like Marina's hair. She did. Marina was thrilled.

After lunch, we went to have manicures together. Marina had gotten a gift certificate for them for her birthday. She was so excited. She had hers done first. She was patient and kept very still during the process. She was very pleased with the sparkling pink polish she picked out. While my nails were done, Marina chatted with the owner of the salon as well as some other customers. She was so cute!

Birthday Girl

Marina has been counting down the days to her birthday. Last night, she wanted to wear curlers to bed so she'd have pretty hair today. When I dropped her off at school this morning, she announced excitedly, "I get to be on the announcements!" Apparently students get to lead the Pledge of Allegiance on their birthday.

Near the end of the school day, I came to her classroom with cupcakes. Naturally, her classmates were excited to get them. Marina got the take the ceremonial first bite. She waited until everyone in the class was quiet before she did.

After school, we went out for dinner. When we came home, Mr. Chuck and Miss Judy came over for cake and presents. I made her another Tinkerbell and friends cake. I think by this time, Marina was a bit tired of cake, she didn't eat much. She was much more interested in her presents.

Marina was so funny as she opened her presents. She carefully looked at each package and tried to figure out what it was before opening it. But she was pretty happy with what was in the packages.

After our celebration, we settled down and watched The Muppets on DVD, one of her presents. It had been a fun day.

Broadway Belle

Many years ago, I saw Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. So I was thrilled when the show came here for a limited engagement. I couldn't wait to take Marina. Naturally, she wanted to wear her Belle dress to the show. I also picked up a matching dress for her American Girl doll, Julie. Marina thought it was "gorgeous." They looked so cute together! We received many compliments on her dress while we were there.

I bought our tickets in December, so we had really good seats. When we headed for the lower orchestra, she thought we were headed in the wrong direction. She was thrilled with our fifth row seats.

Once the show started, she was absorbed in it. She sang along with the songs she knew and laughed out loud at the jokes. At intermission we went to look at the orchestra pit. I was surprised at how few musicians there were - it certainly sounded like more.

We both loved the show.Once it was over, Marina didn't want to leave. She spoke to a few of the musicians and we took some pictures. We finally headed home well after the crowds were gone. It was as wonderful an event as I had hoped!

A Fairy Birthday

Marina's birthday is five days away, so we got ready for the big day by having her party today. She wanted a Silvermist party at the pool. (Silvermist is Tinkerbell's water fairy friend. They don't make Silvermist party supplies, so we stayed with a Disney Fairies theme. Marina was very pleased with her cake which I made with six fairies playing in a waterfall. Naturally, Silvermist was at the top.

We arrived at the pool a bit early to set up our tables. Marina couldn't wait to get in the water. She was excited when each of her friends showed up. They were so excited to get into the water. We had to make an effort to get them out to eat lunch.

On a scheduled break we had cake. The kids requested whether they wanted a piece with "grass" or waterfall" frosting.

The party was technically over at 2:00, but many kids stayed longer to play. Two hours later, after everyone else had gone home, I persuaded Marina to get out of the pool by telling her we could open presents at home. She was happy to do that!

At home she opened her presents and immediately started playing with them. I'm surprised she has the energy. I'm exhausted!

Springing Forward

The time change last night didn't sit well with Marina. I had a tough time waking her up in time for church. She was fine in church and afterwards she played on the playground for a while.

Ever since we went to the trampoline park a week and a half ago, Marina has been begging to go back. So I thought we'd go back and help her get to bed on time tonight. We invited her friend Sabrina to go with us. Sabrina brought two friends as well. They all got along very well while they played. We also ran into other kids we knew once we were there.

Marina and the girls jumped and ran up the ramps, but ultimately the other girls wanted to try the Dodge Ball. Surprisingly, Marina went with them. She did really well. I was impressed with her for trying something new.

We stayed until Marina was completely wiped out. She's been pretty quiet at home all night!

Birthday Creations

We had some time this morning, so, Marina and I went to the Disney Store to join in the celebration of their 25th anniversary. Today they were making party hats. Marina was happy to put hers together. But really, she just wanted to shop. She was interested in everything, but we finally decided to get her an early birthday present - a Princess Jasmine doll. She was very happy with that. We took it out of the box while we had lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the birthday party of her "best friend" Madison. the party was at Build A Bear. Marina was so excited to create her stuffed animal. At first she said she wanted a dog with roller skates. But when the time came, she picked the St. Patrick's Day bear. She picked out some shoes and an Irish costume. She named it Riley, a suggestion of one of her friends. The party was fun, they had games and activities as they put their bears together.

Marina was quite happy at the end of the day. It was a good day for her!

Jumping for Joy

Recently, a trampoline park opened near our home. Marina and I decided to give it a try today. Once we walked in the door, Marina was ready to get started. As soon as I had purchased her play time, she attacked the giant trampoline in the middle of the park. At first she was happy to just bounce along the lanes, but after a while she was running up the slopes and hanging out there. She made several friends while we were there. After her two hours were up, I could tell she was exhausted but she didn't want to leave. So, I bribed her with the promise of ice cream.

Pirates and Lizards and Snakes - Oh My!

The Nature and Science Museum has a temporary exhibit called "Lizards and Snakes" which we hadn't seen yet. Marina was excited to see it because she says she loves snakes. The exhibit was packed when we arrived this morning. Still,we managed to get through the exhibit. We even saw a show called the Snake Hunter. Marina really loved the play area where there were costumes and puppets.

After lunch, we went to Marina's favorite part of the Museum, Expedition Health. By this time, the crowds has left, so we were able to do everything she likes. We did a household cleaner experiment and tried out every station. We also got to see the pirate show about bacteria. Marina was selected to take part in a quiz. She didn't answer her question correctly and had to walk the plank. She did so with good humor. She was looking forward to seeing the Super Food Heroes, but the last show of the day was canceled. She got over that quickly.

At the end of our day at the museum, we went to the IMAX movie "Flying Monsters." It was all about pterodactyls and other flying dinosaurs. Once it was over, the museum was getting ready to close. So we headed home. It was a fun time.