Japanese Tea Ceremony

This afternoon, Marina and I attended a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at the Botanic Gardens. Marina was excited to go, she picked out an Asian inspired dress to  wear today and brought along Ivy, her American Girl from Chinatown.

We were running a bit late but the ceremony hadn’t started when we arrived. We had a guide who explained all the traditions as we went through them. We started by symbolically washed our hands and faces before we entered the tea room.

Once in the room, we learned about the tools used in the making of tea and some of the Japanese words. Then we watched two people in traditional dress go through the ritual. It was very formal and Marina watched intently. The tea ceremony was repeated and a few volunteers went onto the mats. Marina did not want to go, but we were able to participate from where we were. She thought the sweets that were served were okay but she didn’t want to try the tea at all.

Near the end of the ceremony Marina was getting restless. Once it was over, we walked around the gardens for a while. The fall blooms were really spectacular. Marina insisted we stop by the children’s garden before we left. She played around in the wading river for a little while and had fun on the little stage.

On the way home, we picked up Chinese food for lunch. It wasn’t quite right, but it seemed like a good way to end our adventure.

Harvest Festival

The Conservation Center was having a Harvest Festival, so we decided to check that out today. When we got there, we found many booths set up. Marina looked at two buffalo on display and read about them. Then we went to a birds of prey demonstration where we saw a horned owl, a Peregrine Falcon and a hawk. After the bird show was over, we rode a wagon to the “soddies” where they transported us back to 1887.

At first Marina wanted to check out the chickens wandering about. They led us to a blacksmith shop where Marina got the turn the crank and the fire grew. Then the blacksmith pulled the metal out of the fire and we could see how hot it glowed. Next we found a weaving station. Marina carded the wool and spun it into yarn. She enjoyed that.

We moved on to the craft tent where she made a corn husk doll. Then she played with some old fashioned toys. Then we found the kitchen where they were making caramel corn on a wood burning stove. Marina helped make a batch of it. She popped the corn in a wooden skillet and helped measure out honey and sugar. The funny thing was, she actually didn’t like the taste of the caramel corn.

We went back to a few of the displays before getting back on the wagon and heading for the Cherokee camp where traditional Native American dancing was taking place.  Marina loved it. She was especially enthralled with the Powwow Princess. She also took a turn on the archery station. I was impressed with how much she remembers from the classes we took.

The Harvest Festival was over about that time. As we headed back to the car, Marina said, “That was awesome!”

Fall Fun

Marina had the day off today, so we decided to have a fun day. We didn’t really have much planned, but we ended up doing a lot.

School picture day is coming up, so our first stop was for a haircut – her bangs were too long again! She was happy to play on the X Box while her hair was done. The stylist the same one who cut and curled her hair before Brian and Emily’s wedding.  She remembered us and was happy to look at pictures of the wedding and her matching American Girl hairstyle.

We had lunch at and then we set out to have her picture taken. We never got pictures for her birthday and Easter, so we did them today. The studio near our house wasn’t available, so we tried one out further from home. We took along McKenna and Julie, so we could have pictures of Marina matching her favorite dolls. (We are saving Saige for the Christmas pictures.)

We were a bit late for our appointment, but otherwise it went well. Marina was happy to ham it up for the camera and even help out a bit with the poses. The pictures with the dolls turned out especially well.

The photo studio was not far from the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. I had not been there before but it turned out to be a great place to visit. Marina enjoyed a wading pond with her dolls. We also had a chance to check out the playground and an old fashioned farm. Naturally, Marina was drawn to the animals on the farm.

Later in the afternoon, the Fall Corn Maze opened. We had a snack of kettle corn and checked out the activities. Marina tried out the giant jumping pillow. I could only convince her to stop with our chance to take a hay ride. It was a long ride and we got to see even more of the gardens. After the hayride, Marina went back to the jumping pillow. She met a few other girls who she played with. They also tried out the spider web.  We’d had a fun time, but we never even tried out the maze itself!

Splurging on Saige

Marina has wanted to get the American Girl doll of the Year, Saige, since she first learned about her on January 1. I’ve been selling some of our old things on ebay lately and Marina has been cooperative in the effort. So I told her we were going to “splurge.” I asked her last night if she would like to get Saige tomorrow. She looked stunned and asked me, “Did you say what I think you said?” She was so excited she didn’t want to go to sleep.

This morning Marina wanted to wear her Saige dress. It didn’t take long for me to get her going this morning. When we arrived at the American Girl Store she headed straight for the Saige display and got a doll off the shelf. I asked her if that was the doll she wanted and she said yes. She didn’t even want to look around, she just wanted to check out. So we headed to the register. Before I even paid for her, the cashier took Saige out of the box for Marina. She was so happy. Once Saige was paid for, then Marina decided she wanted to look around. She still has a long list of things she wants from there.

We went to lunch at a "doll friendly" restaurant nearby. Saige sat with us while we ate. Marina was really hungry now that her excitement had worn off a bit. After lunch we went to the Disney Store, the Lego Store and the brand new Build a Bear. Marina was dying to create a bear, but I reminded her that she got an American Girl doll today. She ended up helping a girl she met create one instead.

We stopped for milkshakes on the way home. We drank them outside because it was such a beautiful day. However, that changed shortly after we got home. Marina set Saige up in the salon chair and was brushing her hair when a rainstorm began. It was heavy rain and hail. At times it got a bit scary. Marina held Saige and McKenna closely to her until it let up. Quite a lot of excitement for one day.