Spooktacular

This year, Marina wanted to trick or treat with Ainsley. We made the arrangements to do go with her and her mother, but first we decided to go to the Halloween Spooktacular at the symphony. Marina wore her Harley Quinn costume. Ainsley was dressed as Vanellope Von Sweetz from Wreck It Ralph. We arrived early for the symphony and the girls enjoyed looking at the costumes of all the other kids. We also had fun looking at the costumes of the musicians as they walked on stage.

The concert began with “The Imperial March” from Star Wars and the conducted entered dressed as Darth Vader. W also heard a selection from the ballet Romeo and Juliet and A Night on Bald Mountain, Marina was excited because she knew this piece. After the main theme from Star Wars, the orchestra played the Superman March. During the music, the conductor raced off stage and returned dressed as Superman. The concert ended with Danse Macabre and music from the Harry Potter movies.

Once the show had ended, both Marina and Ainsley said they’d had a good time. It got even better when each was handed a bag of Halloween candy on the way out.

We met Ainsley’s mother for dinner and then went to their house for trick or treating. Ainsley has never gone in her neighborhood before and wanted to this year. The neighborhood is made up of winding streets so we ended up walking a lot. Many of the houses were not handing out candy, but several had scary displays set up. At one house the girls were startled by kids who crept up behind them as they got their candy.

We weren’t out long, yet both girls ended up with a huge amount of candy. We packed up Marina’s candy and went home.

Glow at the Gardens

This evening, Marina and I went to a new event, Glow at the Gardens. We both put on our Halloween costumes and went to the botanic gardens. Parking was crazy but we managed to find a space without too much trouble.

Inside the gardens were decorated with jack-o-lanterns everywhere. A path was lined with paper lanterns – without it the path was very dark! Along the way we found trick or treat booths and more jack-o-lanterns. Along the ways we checked out all the other costumes.

After we made our way along the path, we went into the pavilion. Marina colored a Halloween craft. She also entered the costume contest. She didn’t win, but she had fun with it.

After the contest, we went to hear a storyteller. Marina sat up front with other kids. The storyteller was dramatic and Marina loved listening to her.

After the stories, we walked back to the car. We had a fun time!

Elementary, My Dear

A new Sherlock Holmes exhibit just opened at the Museum and Marina has asked to see it. Since she is on fall break this week, it seemed like the perfect time to go.

When we arrived, we got our tickets for Sherlock Holmes and went directly to the exhibit. We were immediately cast into the 1800's.

First we learned a bit about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his inspirations for the character. Then we were introduced to the detective methods of the time: photography, ballistics, telegraphs, botany, optics and even cosmetics. From there we walked into a messy room and were charged with looking for clues. Some of them were not easy to find!

Next, we walked into a crime scene. We had to look at the clues and then search for the source. We looked through plants to match a seed pod, recreated footprint and dragging patterns, compared blood spatter and evaluated a broken statue. At the end we discovered the solution. It was a complex mystery, but we had fun looking into it.

We stopped for lunch next and then went to Marina's favorite exhibit, health. There weren't many people there so she got through everything quickly. Once we went through, we decided to see the dinosaurs, which we haven't seen in a while. After looking at the fossils, we decided it was time to go home.

Halloween at the Zoo

Boo at the Zoo is an annual tradition for Marina and I every Halloween. We've been so busy this month, but we made time to go this afternoon.

This year, Marina's costume is Harley Quinn, a villain in the Batman stories. She has had it for a while, but hasn't had an opportunity to wear it. My costume this year is Cinderella, from the live action movie that came out earlier this year.

The weather was beautiful today. We arrived after lunch and had a fairly easy time finding parking and getting into the zoo. Naturally, Marina was excited to collect candy. We did spend some time looking at animals. The big cats were very active while we were there. Marina got close up looks at a tiger and a serval. We also got to see a polar bear and the giraffes.

Our favorite activity was looking at all the costumes. We saw nearly every Disney princess and Marina gave all the Batmans an evil eye.We also enjoyed the families dressed in themes. And Marina loved the other Harley Quinns we ran into.

Once we made it to every booth, we were ready to go home. It was a perfect day.

Golden Dragon Acrobats

This summer I took Marina to see her first Cirque du Soliel show. She enjoyed that so much that when we had the opportunity to see the Golden Dragon Acrobats from China, I knew she would love it. She wore an Asian inspired dress and brought her American Girl Ivy in the Chinese New Year dress.

We arrived early for the show but Marina just wanted to go to our seats. She had a snack while we waited. Once the show started, she was completely engaged. The performance was a combination of dance, gymnastics and acrobatics. Clearly she was amazed at the skill level of the performers.

We stayed in our seats for intermission. Marina soon began a conversation with the woman next to her about her American Girl dolls.

The second act was more amazing than the first. One stunt involved an acrobat creating a tall stack of wooden chairs and performing balancing acts at the top. We were both breathless.

After the show was over, Marina ran into one of her friends from school. They spent a few minutes talking before we left.

Back to the Future

When I was a teenager, the Back to the Future movies were popular. In the second movie, Marty McFly traveled into the future, October 21, 2015 – today! To mark the occasion, many movie theaters are playing the movies. We went after dance class today, so I decided we’d go to see part 2 in the theater afterwards. Marina brought her American Girl doll Julie with us.

We watched the first movie in the series on Monday night. Marina clearly enjoyed it. Even though she missed many of the changes, she was able to follow the story. I was looking forward to showing her what people thought 2015 would look like in 1985.

We went to the theater and ordered drinks and popcorn. The previews were a bit more mature than what Marina is used to seeing. They included one for the new Star Wars movie, which she seems interested in seeing. So we’ll have another series of movies to catch up on. We also saw some clips made especially for the showing of Back to the Future, which were fun.

When the movie started, several people cheered, including Marina. There was another when the date was announced during the movie. Marina was very focused on the story. She made noises of disapproval when a bad word was spoken and made comments about the story from time to time. Once it was over she made it clear we need to watch the final film in the series soon.

Fright Fest

Our plan was to go to Fright Fest at the amusement park today. Ainsley’s Halloween costume is not ready yet, so she asked to borrow one of Marina’s. Marina’s costume is Harley Quinn – a villain in the Batman comic books. However, since Ainsley was going to be a princess, Marina decided to be one too. They went through many of the costumes in Marina’s closet before deciding. Ainsley chose Rapunzel and Marina wore her Mulan costume.

We arrived early before the park opened, so we had to wait near the main gate. At opening time, the national anthem played. Both girls stood at attention with their hands on their hearts. Then we went into the park.

We started off on the teacup ride which was enclosed and somewhat dark for Halloween. The lines were short in the park, so we quickly got through Ghost Blasters, Turn of the Century and the Sea Dragon.

Marina has always been afraid of the Mind Eraser roller coaster, but she has come close to riding it several times. Today, Ainsley convinced her to ride it. This line was also very short, so Marina didn’t have time to change her mind. She seemed a little nervous, but not terrified. They chose the seats in the back. I could hear her screaming during the ride – in a good way. Once it was over, Marina yelled, “That was awesome!”

Next we rode the Twister and Ferris Wheel. By then the girls were ready to go, so we rode the Carousel and went out for ice cream before taking Ainsley home.

Pan

Marina and her friend Ainsley both wanted to see the movie Pan, a new adaptation of the Peter Pan story. Before we left for the theater, they went to Marina's room to pick out outfits for the movie. They discussed dressing as fairies, but ultimately decided to dress as lost girls. I wasn’t sure what that looked like. Ainsley decided to wear Marina’s Alice in Wonderland costume and Marina dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Then we headed to the theater.

The movie was action packed but also had a great message about believing in yourself. Both girls enjoyed it. When we arrived back at the house, they went back into Marina’s room and tried on even more costumes until it was time for bed.

Sunday Sock Hop

To introduce their new historical doll, the American Girl store had a sock hop today. Since Marina's elementary school had sock hops every year, she was happy to attend. And she already had the poodle skirt to wear. We arranged to meet her friend Jordan there.

Marina brought Kailey along in her new poodle skirt. They both looked so cute! We met Jordan and her mother at the American Girl store for Mary Ellen’s Swinging Sock Hop. The girls started by decorating their goody bags, which looked like juke boxes. Then Marina tried out the hula hoop – she is good at it!
Next, the girls went into the tent to learn some 1950’s style dancing. They learned the Pony, the Jitterbug, the Hand Jive and the Lindy. It was obvious that her favorite part was the freestyle dancing.

When the dancing was over, she and Jordan enjoyed a cupcake and some water. We went into the store for a little while and looked around. As always, they have a lot of new items which interested Marina.

Art in Bloom

Marina and I have been wanting to see the In Bloom exhibit at the Art Museum for a while now. Today we finally decided to go.

When we arrived at the Art Museum, Marina immediately wanted to go to the interactive studio. She was immediately interested in the drawing station, where she drew a rose. She also used watercolors and chatted the lady painting next to her. She even gave Marina her painting.

We went into the In Bloom exhibit. Marina loved the fresh flowers which were placed at the beginning. She even photographed them. She liked looking at all the floral portraits. I let her know which painters were very famous – Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh. We discussed which ones we liked best throughout.

When we finished with In Bloom, I suggested we check out the Native American art. Marina balked at first, but once we were there, she loved it. We saw baskets, clothing and even a tipi. We found an area with activities and stayed there for a while.

We went back to the studio where Marina tried designing clothes and jewelry with flowers. She spent a long time at that. Once she was done, the Art Museum was about to close, so we went home.

La Sylphide

Marina and I have been attending the ballet since she was five. We started off seeing the ballets based on fairy tales, but now that she is older, we have been seeing more of the classics. This year, one of the oldest ballets, La Sylphide, was on the schedule. Marina was interested in the idea of a sylph and the location of Scotland appealed to her. So, we decided to see it.

We arrived for the performance early, so Marina shopped around the souvenirs. She even tried on a pair of pointe shoes to see just how hard it is to be on your toes. After a snack, we went to our seats.

Despite being unfamiliar with the story line, Marina had no problem following the action on stage. Clearly she appreciated the dancing, especially the choreography of a dance at a party in Act 1.

After the ballet, Marina said she enjoyed it. It was late, but she handled that easily as well. She is growing up!