Monster Pumpkins

In honor of Monsters University, Marina and I decided to carve our pumpkins this year to look like James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski. This year, Marina said she wanted to help and she meant it. Not only did she help me scoop out the insides of the pumpkins, but she helped with the actual carving. We used paper templates to mark the pumpkins and then cut out the designs. Marina stared with Mike but soon handed that one over to me and worked on Sully. She succeeded in carving half of Sully's face before giving up. So I finished it for her.

 We were pretty pleased with the finished products.

Passport to Paris

Marina and I went to the art museum today to check out a new exhibit. "A Passport to Paris" is a collection of French art. We've had mixed results with art exhibitions, but it sounded interesting, so we gave it a try. As usual, Saige came along in a matching outfit.

When we arrived, Marina was immediately was interested in the activity center. Several art stations were set up in the room. After looking around, she went over to an easel and started drawing. Her American Girl doll. Saige, is an artist. So Marina was very excited to draw at an easel like Saige does.

After two drawings, it was time for us to go through the Passport to Paris exhibit. The artwork was set up chronologically from the Louis XIII through the beginning of the twentieth century. At first, Marina was interested in the artwork. She used the audio tour quite often to learn more about the piece. But as the exhibit went on, she got bored.

Once we got through, we went though a room of sketches, which Marina didn't care for at all. Then we went back to the activity room, where she tried out several other types of art. She used tops to spin a design, tried several different media to create a picture and even got to draw on a wall. But eventually she ended up back at an easel for two more drawings. She even "helped" Saige with her drawing. 

I had hoped to see some of the other art galleries in the museum, but we were both tired. We agreed to come back in the near future to see other exhibits. Hopefully more trips will extend her attention span when it comes to visual art.

Marina the Mythbuster

Marina's fall break began today. We decided to check out the Mythbusters exhibit at the Museum. We actually don't watch the TV show, but the concept seemed like fun. As usual, Saige came with us. She and Marina wore matching outfits. We took a quick trip through the Egyptian exhibit to pass the time until it was our time to go into the Mythbuster exhibit.

We found some really fun activities inside Mythbusters. Marina made houses out of faux straw, wood and bricks to see how well they held up to strong winds. She laughed when she saw the straw house was completely obliterated. We tried out the running in the rain, Marina decided she would run and I would walk and we'd see who got wettest. It didn't seem to matter much. Marina wanted to go through again and again, but I wasn't so keen on that idea. Neither of us had much luck and throwing playing cards against a target or dodging a bullet, but it was fun to try. She sat on a swing held up by phone books and crashed while driving blind. She even pulled a tablecloth out from under the plates. (The second time she actually did it with out upsetting the plates!)

At the end of the exhibition, we sat to watch a demonstration. We were happy to see the actress who played Snow White on the hike we went on over the summer. She was nice enough to spend some time talking with us between shows. since we had that time with her, she asked Marina if she'd like to be a volunteer in the demonstration. She was one of three kids who had their reflexes tested. She came in second. The winner got to dodge paintballs. "I was so close!" she said afterwards.

After we finished with Mythbusters, we went to Marina's favorite exhibit - health. She tried out all the usual tests, her height, speed, heart electricity and the bike ride. We performed an experiment on the effectiveness of anti-bacterial products. We also managed to get to see the pirate bacteria show as well.

Before we left, we spent a little time in the space exhibit. There weren't many people there, so we fit in a lot of activities in a short time. Marina tried docking the space shuttle, created craters and experimented with telescopes.

We headed home after that. I think we were smarter than when we got there!

Spooky Symphony

Marina recently started playing the violin. So she's been much more interested in music that involves the violin. And since the symphony was having a special Halloween concert, it seemed the perfect time to go.

Marina and I wore our witch costumes from Oz the Great and Powerful. Saige also joined us, she was dressed as Ariel. When we arrived we found that many of the parents were also dressed up to coordinate with their kids. We even found a family dressed as characters from The Wizard of Oz. So we all had our picture taken together.

The members of the symphony were also dressed up for Halloween. The conductor was dressed as a Jedi Knight. When they played the Imperial March from Star Wars, he used his lightsaber instead of his baton!

Marina seemed to enjoy the music. She often used her wand to copy the conductor's baton movements. It was a fun show!

Zoo Witches

Halloween is just around the corner and it was a beautiful day for Boo at the Zoo.

This year Marina dressed up as Glinda the Good from Oz the Great and Powerful. We decided that we would coordinate costumes, so I dressed as Evanora, the wicked witch. Marina wasn't pleased that everyone thought she was a fairy princess. She let them all know she was a good witch!

The nice weather meant, however, that it was packed. We ended up parking pretty far away from the Zoo and arrived much later than we hoped to.

It was pretty crowded inside the zoo as well, but the longer we were there, the more the crowds thinned out. Marina collected quite a bit of candy and other treats. We spent a little time in the bird house and tropical exhibit but mostly we just stuck to the trick or treating.

We were ready to go home and the long walk back to the car. We stopped to talk to a police officer outside the zoo. He said to Marina, "I know who you are, you're the good witch." Marina was thrilled. With a little prompting, he recognized my costume as well.

When we finally reached the car, both of us were exhausted. Perhaps we should have brought our brooms.

Hockey Holiday

Marina had her last day of school before fall break today. We celebrated by joining some friends at the Avalanche game this evening. Marina loves going to the games, so she was thrilled to go.

Instead of wearing her Avalanche jersey, Marina chose to wear a matching outfit with Saige. Saige seems to go everywhere with us lately. I guess Marina wants to show her the town. 

We arrived just as the game began. The seats were fantastic and the Avalanche are playing very well. Marina and my friend's daughter got along well and both were actually somewhat interested in the game.

During the second intermission, we all went to meet Bernie, the mascot. The girls had their pictures taken with him. Our seats were very close to his doghouse, so it didn't take us long at all.

It was a fun game to watch and the Avs won 4-2 over the Carolina Hurricanes. We'd all had a good time. Fortunately, we were able to get out quickly and get on the road. It was late when we got home, but it was worth it!

Swimming Celebration

Every time we go to the aquarium, Marina points out to me that you an sign up to snorkle or scuba dive in one of the tanks. So she was very excited when she was invited to her friend Brianne's birthday party. The party was at the aquarium and they would be swimming with the fish in the same tank the mermaids use.

The girls spent much of the morning getting dressed and learning how to snorkle. They were told not to touch the fish but that the turtles tend to be friendly. The equipment they had did not allow them to dive into the water, so they had to stay near the top.

After the morning mermaid show, the girls got their chance to swim. Marina waved as soon as she saw me. Some of  the other girls did as well. Marina didn't explore the tank as much as some of the other girls did. She seemed to be doing as much socializing as swimming. After a while, she didn't put her face in the water much at all. She told me later that she swallowed a lot of water and it made her feel sick. After she got out of the water, she took her fins off - then they both fell into the tank! It was  funny to see them slowly sink to the bottom.

After the girls dried off and changed their clothes, they each got a t-shirt that said, "I Swam With the Sharks." (apparently there were a few nurse sharks in the tank with the fish.) Of course, they all put them on. By then they were all hungry, so they quickly settled in the restaurant for lunch.

I think that's one item Marina can check off her bucket list!

Hiking with Mr. Hyde

After the Snow White Theatre Hike we went on this summer, we were anxious to attend another performance. The fall show was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  It was a beautiful fall evening, but we were concerned about how cold it would get after the sun set. We brought Saige along with us. Marina dressed her in a warm pink sweater.

The gardens were closed for the day when we arrived, so we had the whole place to ourselves. When we got our tickets they offered to give Saige a wristband as well. Marina was thrilled. Saige wore hers around her neck. As we waited for the show to start, Marina befriended two little girls who were also there for the show.

Once the show started, the girls stayed together. The guide had requested that "little people" be allowed to sit in the front. The girls took that literally and set themselves up front for each scene.

The show was performed in five scenes which took us through the gardens. It was performed in a melodrama style. Mary Reilly was very funny and she lightened up the story. Two different actors played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so I'm not sure Marina fully understood they were the same person. Despite that, she enjoyed the show. When we met the cast after the show she was hesitant to meet Mr. Hyde, until I assured her he was just an actor playing a bad guy. She was most excited to meet the actress playing Mary Reilly. They spent a while talking, Marina even introduced her to Saige.

 

 

The show finished right after sunset so we headed home before it got too dark and cold.

Giselle Ballet

When I head the Colorado Ballet was preforming Giselle, I was interested. I looked up the storyline and found it a bit strange and dark. I asked Marina if she wanted to see it. At first she was enthusiastic until I told her it wasn't the same as the movie Enchanted. After telling her the story, she looked hesitant but said she wanted to see it.

Despite her misgivings, Marina was excited to go. She brought Saige along since she has never been to the ballet before. Naturally, they dressed alike. Several of the ushers checked in with Marina regarding Saige. They decided she didn't need a ticket as long as she stayed on Marina's lap. One even mentioned to Marina that she should make sure Saige knew how to act during the show.

Once the show started we were both amazed by the beautiful set and costumes. The storyline was not familiar to Marina like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, so she asked a lot of questions.

During intermission, they had two dogs which had been part of Act 1 in the lobby. Marina was happy to go and pet them. We had a snack and headed to our seats. There was a girl and her mother in our row a few seats away from us. Since no one sat in the seats between, they moved over for a better view. Marina showed them how the chandelier retracts before the show begins.

Act 2 was tougher for both girls - they were pretty wiggly. Still the dancing was hauntingly beautiful. It's funny that I had worried about Marina's reaction to the dark storyline, but I was the one who was an emotional wreck!

After the show we went down to see the orchestra pit. By then the musicians had left. But the ushers did allow us to take a few pictures.

Giselle was enjoyable, but I think we'll stay with stories Marina knows a little better in the future.

Pumpkin Festival

The Botanic Gardens held their Pumpkin Festival today. Marina and I had never attended it, so we decided to give it a try. We invited Brian and Emily and they joined us there.

At first, we were overwhelmed by the amount of activities they had there. Marina insisted we start by waiting for a balloon animal and getting her face painted. Both had long lines, but Marina didn't mind waiting for them.

Once those were done, she was ready for the rides. She started on the giant jumping pillow, then moved on to the rides. She had fun spinning and jumping for quite a while. Next, Marina tried out some of the crafts being offered. She made a monster hand out of popcorn and decorated a cookie.

Of course, we couldn't go to the Pumpkin Festival without visiting the pumpkin patch. We were all amazed at how big it was. Marina wanted to buy nearly every pumpkin we saw. We finally decided to get two little ones for "crafts." As we left, we took a hay ride to the car. It was the perfect way to end the day.