Pirate Invasion

Marina and I always look forward to our annual visit to the Renaissance Festival. This weekend was themed “Pirate Invasion,” so Marina decided to wear her pirate princess costume. After so much fun last year, we invited Justine to go with us today. Michelle was also going with some of her friends, so we looked for her while we were there.

When we arrived it wasn’t very crowded, so we got a fairly close parking space and walked to the gate. Marina wanted to have her photo taken with two large king and queen puppets. Justine backed away, but the king puppet followed her and brought her back for the photos. We were all laughing!

When we entered the festival, Justine wanted to shop, so we started browsing some of the stores. She ended up with a leather belt for her sword and a corset. After shopping for a while, walked toward the arena for the first joust. On the way, we found Princess Elizabeth. Marina gave her a photo album of pictures we have taken over the years. She loved it!This year, Sir William was the master of ceremonies, not one of the jousters. We were a bit disappointed. We ended up sitting in Sir Tristan’s section today. We happily cheered him on.

We stopped for a turkey leg for lunch and then went to see the classic Puke and Snot show. Marina was bored in parts, but did enjoy some of the jokes through the show. After the show, we did more shopping until it was time for the next joust.

When we arrived at the arena, we had the opportunity to buy a favor for the knight of our choice. Marina was happy to get one for Sir Tristan. We enjoyed the joust and then waited until after the show to get the favor back. After chatting with Sir Tristan for a few minutes, we waited for a chance to say hello to Sir William. He greeted Marina with a big hug. We gave him pictures we took last year to add to the photo album we gave him last year. He was very pleased.
 
We made our way to the chapel for the daily knightings. Both Marina and I were knighted this year. We got a picture with the king and queen who had heard about the photo album we gave Princess Elizabeth. So we promised them one next year.

We picked up a snack and then went to see the hypnotist show which Justine was hoping to take part in. She was chosen as a participant and fell under deep hypnosis throughout the show. Marina and I laughed so hard throughout the whole thing. Later we showed Justine the recording and she was amazed.

We were only able to catch the very end of Princess Elizabeth’s tea party, but she had a special gift for Marina – her favorite flowers. Marina was thrilled. We bought ice cream and settled on the grass for the final joust of the day. Marina again gave Sir Tristan her favor and he won the joust to the death. He talked with us again after the match and we had another chance to visit with Sir William.

On our way out, we did a little more shopping and Marina rode the pirate ride. We were all very tired, but we’d had a great day!

Grease is the Word

When I was in fifth and sixth grade, my friend Heather and I constantly listened to the soundtrack for the musical Grease. So I was excited to take Marina to see it this summer. We invited Michelle to join us this evening.

Marina decided to wear her poodle skirt to the show. When we arrived at the theater she got plenty of compliments on her outfit. She was pleased with each one.

We went to our seats and Marina read over her program, looking for actors she had seen before.

Marina loved Grease from the beginning. She laughed at the silly antics of the T-Birds and enjoyed the high energy dance sequences.

After the show, most of the actors came out still in their costumes. Marina and Michelle had their pictures taken with Sandy, Danny, most of the Pink Ladies and the Teen Angel. Marina particularly enjoyed talking with the actors about the show and her outfit.

Once we had a chance to talk with the cast member, we went home. We'd had a great night in the 1950's.

Summer Princess Tea Party

Last year we attended the Frozen Tea Party at a "castle" near our house. This year they offered another princess tea party, this time featuring Elsa, Jasmine and Rapunzel. We invited Ainsley to join us. The girls decided to dress in the Anna and Elsa summer dresses.

We arrived early and took pictures around the property. We met two sisters also dressed in the Frozen summer costumes. The girls were all happy to pose for a picture together.

When the princesses made their entrance, Elsa stopped by our table first. She visited for Marina and Ainsley for a while. After Elsa moved to the next table, we all went to the food table for treats. Both girls picked up beautiful blue cupcakes along with the tea sandwiches.

Rapunzel also visited with us before the princesses gathered together to tell stories and sing songs. Marina and Ainsley sat together and participated in the interactive parts.

After stories and singing, the girls lined up for pictures with the princesses. We went back to our table and had a drink until the line got shorter. The girls had fun chatting with the princesses as we took pictures with them.

As we left the tea party, the girls played on Snapchat together. They had a fun afternoon together.

Tea Party with Snow White and Rapunzel

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to a Tea with Snow White and Rapunzel. She decided to dress as Snow White, which surprised me a bit. When we arrived at the tea party, we saw that most of the girls attending were dressed at Rapunzel. She seemed pleased to be the only Snow White there.

We went inside and picked a table different from where we usually sit. There were two other girls sitting with us. Marina chose honey vanilla tea which she liked. A little while after we started our tea, Snow White and Rapunzel arrived.

The princesses spent quite a while visiting with all the girls as they enjoyed their tea. Snow White was very pleased with Marina’s costume. The girls at our table were very happy to talk with them.

Once they greeted everyone, the princesses got the girls out of their seats and danced with them for a while. They showed them the dance styles of many other princesses. When they were finished dancing, they sat down for story time. First Rapunzel told her story, then Snow White told hers. During the stories, Marina had a little girl sit on her lap. After the stories, the Rapunzel and Snow White sang for the girls.

The tea party ended with photographs with each girl before they left. Marina even posed for pictures with her new friends.

Summer Swim

The weather today was hot and Marina wanted to go swimming. So we made arrangements with our friends Angie and Jake to swim with them. As soon as we arrived at the pool, Marina put her fin on and dove in.

At first, Jake didn't want to swim, so Marina played by herself. Angie threw her some diving toys. In the past, Marina has not liked to put her face underwater. But the diving toys seemed to inspire her. At first she tried to get them without going underwater. Eventually she was able to make small dives to get them. After a short period of time she was pulling them up from the deepest part of the pool. She was so proud of herself.

We decided to have a cook out at the pool as well. Angie made chicken and potatoes. Marina must have been hungry because she ate three pieces of chicken. As soon as she was done, we went back into the pool.

By this time, Jake was ready to swim with her. The two of them had a great time together. They played in the pool until dark. After getting out, they spent time by the fire pit to warm themselves. Despite the late hour, neither of them seemed tired.

Robot Revolution

Marina has been interested in seeing the Robot Revolution exhibit at the Natural History Museum this summer, so we decided to go today. When we arrived at the museum we decided to go straight to the exhibit.

Fortunately, it wasn't crowded when we got here. So Marina was able to try out all the robot demonstrations available. The first robot she played with had facial recognition software. She loved seeing how the robot face mimicked her expressions.

She had an opportunity to control robots that climbed stairs and moved through obstacle courses. She played against a robot in tic-tac-toe and blackjack. Near the end of the exhibit, Marina got a chance to build her own robots. She made one with a moving searchlight and another that traveled by her hand directions.

After we finished looking at the robots, we went to Marina's favorite exhibit - the health exhibit. She ran quickly from activity to activity. We also saw a short film.

We spent a little time in the animal dioramas. Marina spent most of her time playing on a computerized river catching fish like a bear. She involved many younger kids in her game. Once she finished playing she was ready to go home.

Minions at Mile High

Marina was excited to attend the Bronco Bunch Movie Night this year when she learned which movie was showing - Minions. We started out for the stadium after dinner.

During our drive there, we got caught in a huge hailstorm. Marina seemed concerned but fortunately it didn't last for long.

When we arrived at the stadium we were greeted by Miles, the Broncos mascot. Inside, we found lots of giveaways for the kids. Marina picked up a backpack, a pillow and even ice cream!

As we were about to find a spot on the field to watch the movie, we ran into a friend of mine from high school. We all decided to sit together. Marina and their daughter Ivy hit it off right away.

We found a spot close to the front of the field and settled in for the movie. The girls sat and talked until Minions began. And when the movie started, Marina shared her pillow with her new friend.

Once the movie was over, we talked with our friends for a while longer. We'd all had so much fun we promised to get together again soon.

Magic in the Woods

Into the Woods is one of Marina’s favorite musicals. When we saw one of our favorite dinner theaters was presenting it this summer we planned to go. We found out that Sarah, an actress we know, was playing Red Riding Hood in the show. Marina was thrilled.

For the show this evening, Marina wore her Red Riding Hood costume. She also took her Easter basket to hold her cellphone and a few other items.

Marina ate a good dinner, but she was more interested in when the show started. She started to count down the minutes to the start time. We saw Sarah waiting tables before the show started. Marina was excited to see her.

Once the show began, Marina gave it her complete attention. She was happy during all the scenes with Little Red Riding Hood. During his song “Giants in the Sky,” Jack performed in the row of tables where we were sitting. He started far away from us, but he ultimately arrived at our table. He knelt down in front of Marina and sang directly to her for quite a while. Once he moved on to the stage, she turned and beamed at me. Clearly she was pleased.

At intermission, Marina enjoyed her dessert but she was anxious for the second act. She did seem to be getting tired. However, once the show ended, she was happy to find characters to have her picture taken with. We started with Snow White and the Prince’s Steward – who had been our servers. We also met up with Red Riding Hood's Granny, who I had known many years ago.

We went into the lobby where Sarah found us before changing out of her costume. We also got a chance to chat with Jack. He loved Marina’s costume and we got to tell him how thrilled Marina had been that he sang to her. We also got a chance to have pictures with the Witch and Cinderella.

Once we met with all the actors we could find, we started on the long trip home. Marina told me she would sleep in the car. She was right. She fell asleep early in the ride and woke up shortly before we arrived home.

Fireworks and Fun

The Independence Celebration at the local historic park is a must do every year for July 4. This year Marina wanted to dress in period clothing. She decided to wear her Red Riding Hood costume (without the hood) and a pioneer style bonnet.

As we entered Marina picked up a scavenger hunt bingo game. We immediately started looking  through the park for the items on it. It took us a while, but we managed to complete it. As a reward, Marina got an old fashioned candy stick.

Once the hunt was over, we spent time checking out all the activities. marina seemed to enjoy watching the dancing,m but had no desire to try it herself. She panned for gold, tried to walk on stilts and joined in a group of kids on tug-o-war.

We spent some time looking at the animals on the property. Marina was especially interested in the goats. Although the wild rabbits running around always captured her attention! She also took a ride in an old fashioned horse drawn wagon.

The meadow was filling up, so we picked up a snack and found a spot to watch the fireworks. Marina was a bit bored, but she entertained herself by dancing with other children in front of the band playing there.

As darkness set in we settled on our blanket and Marina checked the time frequently. She was very excited when the fireworks finally began. It was a great display. We both enjoyed watching them.

Once it was over we were able to get to our car quickly. It wasn't that late, but Marina fell asleep on the drive home anyway.