Family at the Falls

My grandmother passed away earlier this week. So Marina and I went to Buffalo, New York for the funeral. After three days of attending the funeral and spending time with family, we decided to go to Niagara Falls with Mike, Brian and Emily. Marina has been to Niagara Falls before, but she was only two, so she didn't remember at all. She was looking forward to seeing it again.

We bought tickets for the Maid of the Mist boat ride. Neither of us had ever been on it and we were looking forward to it. The view from the deck was spectacular and we were covered by plenty of mist. It was a trip well worth taking.

After the ride, we went to the observation deck and looked a little more. By then we were all tired and hungry. So we went out for some famous Buffalo wings.

Fashionable Fun

The art museum is having a special exhibition of the fashion of Yves Saint Laurent. I thought she might enjoy seeing the pretty clothes and jewelry. She liked the idea, so we invited our friends Christina and Christiane to come with us. Marina picked out a fancy dress to wear in hopes she could be part of the fashion show. We all went to a French restaurant for brunch before we headed to the Museum.

We had a little time before we could enter the exhibit, so we checked out an interactive area near the front. Inside were dolls the kids could dress and mannequins to drape cloth onto to create fashions. Marina jumped right into the activities until it was time to go into the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit.

We had audio devices to listen to commentary through the exhibit. Marina was very good at using hers. Overall, she seemed to enjoy the fashions. We both agreed we liked the ball gowns best.

After we went through the exhibit, we returned to the interactive area. Marina tried more designs on the dolls and full size mannequins. There we checked out the runway. They had a selection of scarves and other dress up items for the kids to put on, then they could walk the runway. Marina loved this! We put together many different outfits and she strutted and posed for me. Someone told her models don't smile, so she didn't in any of the pictures

 

After her time on the runway, Marina tried her hand at sketching. She spent quite a while on her drawing before she completed it. By then everyone was tired, so we headed out.

Fishy Friday

 Marina had the day off from school, so I took the day off too. We decide to go to the aquarium. Just like the last time, she wanted to wear her Ariel costume.

Once we arrived, we started looking through the exhibit. The otters were in a fun mood - they were putting on quite a show! Some of the fish were being fed, so we watched that for a while as well. We arrived at the tank for the mermaid show about 10 minutes before it was set to begin. Some kids were already staking out their spots, so Marina joined them. We had some rays and a turtle to entertain us while we waited.

As always, Marina loved the mermaid show. We went through the rest of the exhibits until we reached the end. Then we found the new Mermaid Cove for the mermaid meet and greet. When we arrived there, the mermaids were alone with no line. So Marina was happy to have pictures taken and chat with them for a while. It's always her favorite part of the Aquarium to meet the mermaids.

Marina wanted to get her face painted. She settled for a purple and blue mermaid airbrushed on her arm. We went to lunch in the restaurant. We were seated fairly close to the fish tanks. Shortly after we ordered, the mermaid restaurant show began. Marina was so excited she was jumping in place as she watched.

After lunch we went back in to the exhibit. We were partway through when we heard the mermaid show music. So we quickly made our way to the tank to watch again. Once it was over, she hurried through the rest of the exhibit. She was anxious to get to the mermaid meet and greet in Mermaid Cove. There was a line this time, but a group of older kids allowed all the younger ones to go through before taking their turn. So, Marina didn't have to wait too long.

We went to see the Yogi Bear 4D movie which Marina loved. Then we headed back into the aquarium. This time Marina spent a long time at the shark tank. Before we left, Marina added a yellow and orange airbrushed fairy tattoo to her other arm. She was quite happy with that. We stopped for ice cream on the way home. A sweet ending to a fun filled day!