Saying Goodbye to Summer

It’s Labor Day weekend and since the water park at the amusement park closes Tuesday, I thought it would be fun for Marina to go one more time. I wasn’t really up to swimming, so I invited one of her friends to go with us. However, when we arrived both girls wanted me to playing the water with them, so I caved in and joined them.

We started by going down some of the slides. The girls we disappointed that the lazy river wasn’t open until later in the day, but they were happy to pass time in the wave pool.

We stopped for lunch and then went to the amusement park for a while. We rode the ferris wheel and then headed over the kids' rides. Marina will be too tall to ride these rides next year, so I told her to make sure she got them all in this year. So they rode most of them, taking advantage of the short lines.

After the kids' rides, the girls wanted to go to some of the other rides in the park. They were very excited for the Tilt A Whirl. The line was so short they rode four times in a row. The last two times they rode with a little girl who had to ride alone. They became fast friends.

 After a few more rides, we headed back to the water park. It had cooled down a bit, but the girls didn’t mind. They started at the wave pool, but the lines were so short that they got to go down one of their favorite slides twice before the water park closed. By then, we were all cold and tired. So, we headed home.

Melanie and the Mermaids

Our cat Melanie is 15 years old. Summer is not her favorite time of year. Usually you can find her in places where she tried to stay cool - in front of a fan, in the sink or the bathtub (the porcelain must be cooler for her).

This morning, I found her in the bathtub. Marina had taken a shower last night, so her mermaid toys were still in there. It made for a funny picture.

I can't help but wonder if Melanie thought of herself as the "Mermaid Hunter" as she lounged next to the seemingly helpless mermaids.

Summer Style

After a late night last night, it was tough to get out of bed this morning, but we had some fun plans. Marina was signed up for a doll hairstyling class at the American Girl store. The class was scheduled for nine this morning, before the store opened.

Marina decided to bring McKenna and wear her matching outfit. We were running a bit late, but we made good time on the drive over and we arrived a few minutes after the class started. The girls were set up in the styling salon.

The girls spent a while spraying water on the dolls’ hair and brushing it out. Each girl got three colored hair extensions for the dolls. They learned how to put them in, to braid the colors in, they made ponytails and buns with them as well.

The class ended when the store opened. Of course, Marina wanted to go shopping. We decided to have McKenna get a spa treatment. She didn’t look dirty, but after her cleaning she looked wonderful.

After shopping, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Our food took a while and Marina got restless. Once it arrived, she was very happy with it. I was surprised when she said she was too full for cheesecake. So we ordered a piece to go.

Movie Night at Mile High

Tonight was the Broncos Bunch movie night at Sport Authority Field at Mile High. Marina has been very excited to go. We got the invitation a few weeks ago and there were three movies to choose from. Earlier this week, we found out that Wreck It Ralph was the winner.

I was concerned about rush hour traffic, so we left right after we ate dinner. Marina wore her Bronco jersey and brought Julie along in her Bronco outfit. It was a beautiful night, perfect for watching a movie outside.

We were pretty early when we arrived, so we were able to sit on the field. We picked out a spot and spread out our blankets. The Broncos supplied the popcorn and water. Despite being nearly an hour early, the time before the movie went by fast.

Before the movie, they showed three Pixar short films. Marina was very engaged. The new big screen in the stadium is incredible. It may not have been installed for family movie night, but it served the purpose extremely well.

Fish and Family

Many of our Florida relatives are still in town, so we all decided to meet up at the aquarium. We haven’t been there in a while, so Marina was excited to go. Of course, she wore her Ariel costume.

We arrived fairly early and there was a huge line to get in. We made lunch reservations for everyone then waited to get our tickets. Once we were through the line we only had half an hour to go through the Aquarium. We went through somewhat quickly and we caught the end of the mermaid show. That made Marina happy.

When we reached the end we had just enough time for Marina to have her picture taken with the mermaids. Then we headed to the restaurant to meet the rest of the family for lunch.

After lunch, we went through the Aquarium again. When we reached the tank where the mermaids swim, Marina sat down to wait for the next show. The family found seats as well. We’d been talking so much about the mermaids that they wanted to see them for themselves!

We were a bit disappointed that we missed the meet and greet with the mermaids afterwards. But everyone seemed to have a good time. Our Florida relatives went straight from the Aquarium to the airport. We’d had a lot of fun with them. Hopefully we’ll get to see them in their state soon!

Before we left, Marina rode the carousel. Then we checked out the kids play area – one we didn’t even know was there!  Marina had a lot of fun climbing around on the sea creatures before we headed home.

Family Flower Girl

Marina has been in need of a haircut and since she was the flower girl in Emily and Brian’s wedding, she wanted to look extra special. So we went to get her hair cut. We also had them style her hair. Marina was happy to play with the Xbox while her hair was done. First she got a haircut. Once that was done, the stylist created a “heart braid” in her hair and then curled the ends. She topped it all off with ribbons and glitter. It looked so pretty!

We went shopping with some of our Florida relatives and spent a bit of time at the American Girl store. We picked up a dress for Julie that was very similar to Marina's. Julie also had her hair done in a heart braid.

Shortly after we arrived at the clubhouse for the wedding, it started raining. Marina stayed with Emily and her bridesmaids while I waited with the rest of the guests. The wedding was supposed to be outside but after a half hour delay it was decided that the ceremony would be under the pavilion where the reception was scheduled.

Marina was very solemn as she processed in. She was taking her role very seriously. During the ceremony, she stayed up front with the wedding party. Occasionally she would get my attention and motion for me to take more pictures! At the end of the ceremony, she threw a handful of flower petals at Brian and Emily for a confetti effect. Everyone laughed.

Marina spent most of the reception with her Florida cousins. They ran around on the golf course until it was dark then they played with cards at the table for a while. Marina was very excited when we lit sparklers to send Brian and Emily off.

It was pretty late when we finally left. I was surprised Marina didn’t fall asleep in the car on our way home.

Birthday Amusement

Today is Michelle's birthday, so we asked her what she's like to do. Her choice was to go to the amusement and water park.

We started at the amusement park. Michelle had promised Marina she'd ride some of the rides that my stomach just won't allow me to go on. Some of them she loved and some she said she never wants to ride again.

Today was very hot, so after lunch we went to the water park. That made everyone happier. They started off in the wave pool and then went down a few slides.

No one really wanted to leave, but we had a dinner to attend later in the evening, so we all had to get ready.

Family and Flowers

Since Michelle is only in town for a short while, we're making the most of the time with her. Today we went to the Botanic Gardens. Michelle hadn't been there before. She was particularly interested in finding lavender, so we spent some of our time trying to track those plants down.

We just did a brief walk around today. The water lilies were gorgeous today. It's amazing how different the gardens look month to month.

It was a warm and humid day, unusual for us. We saw a little bit of rain, but not much. During one brief shower we looked around at the greenhouse. Marina loved showing Michelle her "treehouse."

After a few hours, we headed out and stopped for ice cream. That's become a tradition for us.