Lookinglass Alice

Despite her maturing tastes, Marina still loves all things Disney. The announcement of an Alice in Wonderland play naturally appealed to her. Lookinglass Alice appeared to be a combination of theater and Cirque du Soliel. It sounded like a lot of fun.

Marina decided to wear her Alice costume and bring her Alice plush doll. When we arrived she received many compliments on how she was dressed. The lobby was decorated for the show with giant playing cards and chairs hanging upside down from the ceiling. A giant chair was also set up for photographs.

When we went to our seats, we found we were right up front. Marina was thrilled. The show was as whimsical as the story. It was filled with surprises, humor, amazing feats and special effects. Marina loved it.

Once the show was over, we went on a special tour we bought as an add on for the show. We were able to go backstage to see the many costumes used in the show. The stage manager also showed us how many of the special effects were accomplished. The backstage tour also included seeing a collection of the many awards the theater has won and photographs of the theater and the past productions.

At the end of the tour, we got to meet the actress playing Alice and take pictures. Naturally, Marina loved that. The actress admired her costume and doll as well. Today was clearly a very special one for us.

Jekyll & Hyde

As Marina is getting older, I am able to expose her to more mature subject matter in theater. When she learned a local theater was presenting Jekyll & Hyde, she was interested in seeing it. We saw an adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a few years back. Since I've seen this show before, I knew this version had much more mature content.

Before the show, we talked about some of the more adult themes in the show. I must have made Marina nervous because she decided to bring her Mulan plush doll in case it got to scary. When we arrived we found a family with kids Marina's age and she relaxed.

When the show started, Marina paid very close attention. Some of the scenes embarrassed her, but it wasn't too scary for her. The actress playing Emma we had seen before, so that naturally excited Marina. Once the show was over, Marina told me, "That was phenomenal!" The cast overall was talented and Marina was interested in meeting several of them - including the actor playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

We waited around after the show to meet the three lead actors. The actress who played Emma was pleased we remembered her and spent a few minutes talking with us. The actor who played Dr. Jekyll was also very kind. He recognized Marina's doll as Mulan and was very encouraging to her when she talked about her recent audition for her school play and plans to volunteer for the crew.

After we finished socializing, we went home. We'd had a fun night, but it was late.

Birthday Bowling

Marina has been looking forward to her friend Jordan’s birthday party this evening. Since Jordan is an American Girl fan like her, Marina brought McKenna and they wore coordinating outfits. Jordan brought her Grace doll, so the dolls sat together for most of the party.

It was a bowling party. Marina has been bowling before but I have never with her to see her do it. After the first round, it was clear the girls would benefit by having the bumper rails raised. Marina was clearly enjoying herself, despite not hitting down many pins. Marina switched to a heavier ball and her game improved (it helped that it was pink!)  In the eighth frame, she rolled a strike. She was so excited. In the second game she added a spare.

After they were finished bowling, the kids headed to the arcade for pizza and some games. Eventually they got around to cake and presents. By then it was getting late, so we said goodbye to Jordan and went home.

Matilda Musical

 For my birthday, Marina and I planned a fun evening. After I picked her up from school, we went home to get ready for our evening. Marina brought Saige with her and they wore matching black velvet dresses.

We started by having dinner at a steakhouse. Marina surprised me by ordering the kids rib plate. She also had a salad. I shared some of my steak with her which she enjoyed. She told our server that it was my birthday, so once we finished our dinner, she brought out a dish of ice cream with a candle in it.

After dinner we drove downtown to the theater to see a touring show Matilda. Marina has been reading the book, so she was especially looking forward to seeing this show.

When we arrived at our seats, we met a woman and her daughter who were sitting in front of us. It was her birthday which was really fun that we shared that reason for attending. The girls had fun hanging out together before the show, during intermission and afterward.

Marina loved the musical. She was very happy that her favorite scenes from the book were included in the show.  At the end, the audience was showered with confetti. Naturally, Marina wanted to stay for a while to collect some.

Despite all the fun we had, we were ready to go home. We are usually not out so late on school nights.

Saturday Science

Marina wanted to go to the natural history today. She brought Grace with her.
We started in the health exhibit. Not many people were in there, so Marina was able to go through all the stations easily. She even created a record for Grace. We also went through two experiments – See Your Cells and Extract DNA.

Next we went through the poison exhibit. Marina went fairly quickly through it. We ended up watching the mystery show again. This time, Marina was selected to help with the chemical mixing. She enjoyed that.

We planned to leave, but Marina changed her mind and wanted to go to the space exhibit. She spent a while at the Create a Crater activity and then moved on to the infrared light.

The Mission to Mars game was working and there was no line, so Marina got a few chances to try the activities. Then she found another game about star creation. She had a great time creating star collisions to make even bigger stars. She was even able to create a couple of black holes.

Once she finished with that game, we started for home.

Tea Time

Marina and I didn't have plans for lunch today, so I suggested we have high tea. She was very enthusiastic about that idea. I made reservations for us at a small British shoppe suggested by a friend. Marina dressed up, including a pretty hat. She also brought Grace along in a matching dress.

When we arrived we saw our table was reserved. We started by picking out our tea. I got butterscotch flavor and Marina picked chocolate orange. Marina enjoyed hers once enough sugar was added. We enjoyed all the British memorabilia around the store, including a cut out Queen Elizabeth.

We started our tea with a nice salad. Then we were brought cucumber sandwiches, egg salad and sausage rolls. It was a lot of food and despite eating as much as we could there was plenty left over. Then we each enjoyed a scone with clotted cream and jam. We finished off with French pastries. Marina happily devoured a rich chocolate one.

As we ate, we chatted with our server who was born in England. We asked her about traditional English tea and the royal family gossip. It was a lovely way to have lunch.

Labor Day Fun

For the Labor Day holiday, Marina and I invited Ainsley to join us at the amusement park. Both girls were excited to go.

Fortunately we got an early start and got to the park without dealing with huge crowds. We started at the water park. Some of our favorite attractions were closed until afternoon, but we went over to the wave pool. Next we went down the four slides. Then we decided to try the new slide. The wait was long but it was worth it. It was like a water roller coaster.

By this time, the water park was crowded and we were ready for lunch. We all dressed and headed to the food court. The girls got bacon cheeseburgers which they declared were delicious.

After we ate, we went to the amusement park. The girls rode some of their favorite rides. By this point, the winds had picked up, so we went to an indoor ride. Apparently many others had the same idea, the line was huge.

Since Ainsley had to be home, we decided to head out. By then the winds had whipped up a heavy rainstorm. So we walked through the rain to the exit. By then we were soaked.

On the way home, we stopped for frozen yogurt. Then we dropped Ainsley off at her house and then went home. Marina was pretty worn out by then.