Evita

Evita is one of my favorite musicals. I was very excited when I saw it on the dinner theater schedule. It's a show for more mature audiences, but I felt Marina was old enough to see it. We decided to go with some of our friends today after church.

On the drive to the theater, Marina read the entire way. She had her latest Dork Diaries book with her. When we arrived she was very hungry which made her grumpy. It took some convincing to get her to eat, but once she did, she perked up.

As we ate lunch, I told everyone the story of Eva Peron, the subject of the show. They all seemed very interested. From the time the show started, Marina was completely caught up in the action. She liked the big dance sequences. But most of all, she liked Che, the narrator.

At intermission, Marina was happy with her dessert She also tried mine. After we finished dessert we settled in for Act 2. When the show was over, we all talked about what we liked about the show. We were disappointed that none of the principal actors were available for photos afterward. We did get one with our waiter who was part of the ensemble and had also been in Footloose, which we saw last month. We had a long drive home and Marina continued to read her book in the car. She has been quite a bookworm lately!

Washed Ashore Party

This evening we had tickets to the Washed Ashore Beach Party at the zoo. Since we knew there would be mermaids there, Marina wore her Ariel costume.

Washed Ashore is a new art exhibit made up of trash found in the ocean. When we arrived at the zoo, we saw the first piece, a fish. Marina was fascinated. We took a look at the pieces used to make it. Next we saw a seal structure. After looking at the first two pieces, we headed to the sea lion exhibit where there was a mermaid meet and greet. There was a huge line to meet them, but Marina was willing to get into it. Behind us was a girl with her mother. The two girls hit it off immediately and kept each other occupied while we waited.

When Marina and I finally got to the front of the line, the mermaids greeted her with a big hug. She happily talked to them for a few minutes and posed for photos. We then said goodbye to her new friend and went to see the rest of the art in the zoo.

We came to a shark design and were able to meet the artist, Angela Haseltine Pozzi. Marina told her about her own art and we talked with her about how she creates hers. We walked around through a pretty dark area and talked about how strange it was to be in the dark zoo with no one else around. We saw more of the artwork – a penguin, jellyfish, turtle and swordfish. By then it was late and we were very tired. We headed home.

Corn Maze

Fall officially began this week and to get into the spirit, we decided to go to the Corn Maze at the  botanic gardens. We decided to check out some of the activities and save the corn maze for last. Marina started out on the jumping pillow. She had fun jumping around and playing with some of the other kids there. She met a little boy who was afraid to try the pillow. So Marina took him by the hand, his father took his other hand and they led him onto the pillow. After a while, he didn’t want to go on with our her!

Next Marina wanted to try the inflatable balls. It was an extra charge, but she talked me into by telling me, ”It will great for photos!” She was loved it from the beginning. She was in the ball for a pretty long time. When it was time for her to come out, she gave me a sad face.

We found a picnic table and sat down for lunch. Marina needed a rest from all the physical activity. We ate our sandwiches and talked with the people who were sharing their table. We got in line for the wagon rides, which moved fairly slowly. Marina said she didn’t want to go, but when we rode by the huge pumpkin patch, she was pretty excited. After our ride, she said she was ready to go.

Marina didn’t want to go into the corn maze, but I told her we should at least try it. Inside was a search for six animals. We made good progress through the maze and found four animals. When we got halfway through, we started to walk a bit in circles. As we were trying to get out, we ran into one of  Marina's school friends and her family. We all decided to try to find out way our together. Unfortunately, that didn’t help much. We walked in circles for what felt like a long time. Then we finally found our way out – the same way we came in!


Her friend’s family was had just arrived, so they were headed toward the activities we had already done. Marina wanted to go with them, until I reminded her how tired she was. Once she decided she was ready to go, she couldn’t get to the car fast enough.

Once Upon A Mattress

For my birthday, we had tickets to see the show Once Upon A Mattress. We hadn’t been to this theater before and I had a bit of trouble finding it with the setting sun in my eyes. When we found it we found a place to park that wasn’t too far away and walked to the theater.

We bought drinks and Marina picked out a candy bar for a snack. The group behind us were friends of the actor playing the Jester, so we talked with them for a while.

The show captured Marina's attention from the beginning. She loved all the singing and dancing and laughed at the jokes throughout. At intermission she happily talked with the people around us. She asked the usher how she could meet the cast after the show and we asked if the Jester’s family could help her to meet the actress playing Winnifred.

Marina enjoyed Act 2 as much as the first. After it was over, she hugged me and said, “Thank you for bringing me!” We went into the lobby to wait for the cast. We met the actor playing the Joker and he pointed out where we could meet Winnifred. When we approached her, she gave Marina a hug and talked with us for a few minutes. We also got a chance to meet the actor playing Prince Dauntless.

As we walked to the car, Marina let me know she definitely wants to come back to this theater for more shows.

Birthday Tea Party

Marina and I decided to do something special for my birthday this year. We've been to a nearby "castle" for tea parties before, but all of them were outside. So we went for "High Noon Tea" inside today. We were both looking forward to finally seeing this beautiful place from the inside.

Marina wanted to wear a new pair of white fingerless gloves to the tea, but was disappointed when the white dress she wanted to wear no longer fit her. She tried on her Giselle costume and found it fit well and looked like a fancy party dress, so she decided to wear it. She looked beautiful.

We arrived at the castle a little before tea time. We had a table in the middle of the Great Hall. It was gorgeous. Marina had peppermint tea and we were brought an assortment of sandwiches, muffins, scones and desserts. We immediately dug in. As we ate, Marina kept exclaiming how happy she was to be there. She tried most of the food and found a few things she didn't like. But we both were soon full.

After we finished tea, we went on a tour of the castle. We learned the history of how it was built and the story of the owners. Each room had antique furniture and impressive artwork. Marina especially liked a portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, who we've been told is one of her ancestors.

After the tour was over, one staff member took Marina on a "secret tour" to a balcony that overlooked the Great Hall. She was very excited by that. Once the tea was over, Marina said, "I want to live here!"

The Music of the Night

A few years ago, Marina and I watched the 25th anniversary performance of The Phantom of the Opera. Ever since then, she has been dying to see it performed live. In the meantime, she has often listened to and sung along with the soundtrack.

About six months ago, I learned Phantom would be coming to town and Marina was excited to finally see it. We had to wait three months from when I bought the tickets to tonight, when we finally got to see it.

We arrived at the theater before the ushers were seating people. So we got drinks and Marina picked out chocolate covered pretzels for a snack. We also looked at a display of costumes designed for the show. We went to our seats fairly early and sat to wait for the show to begin. The curtain was up, so we could see the set on the stage. To pass the time, we talked with people around us.

When the show began, Marina grabbed my arm and held it tightly. She said, “Thank you for bringing me here!” as the overture played. During the entire show, she watched intently. Occasionally she leaned over and made a comment about the show. She was particularly excited when the title song started. At the end of the first act was startled by the dropping of the chandelier.

We stayed in our seats during intermission and when the second act started she was excited again. She was particularly interested in the costumes and dancing in the song ”Masquerade.”

Once the show was over, she said she loved it. I asked what her favorite part was and she said, “That’s hard. All of it!” At home I had trouble getting her to settle down for bed. Apparently she was filled with too much excitement.

Butterflies and Bugs

About four years ago, Marina and I went to the Butterfly Pavilion. We haven’t been there since, so we decided to go back today. It took quite a while for us to get to there. One reason we haven’t been there in so long is that is it far from home. During the drive, Marina happily sang along with the radio. They seemed to play all of her favorite songs today. But we were happy when we finally arrived. Marina said she felt like we were “going on an adventure!”

After we bought our tickets we went inside. We started by looking at the underwater exhibit where Marina was fascinated with some unusual looking lobsters. She also liked looking at a little crab who seemed to wave at her.

Next we went in to look at the insects. Marina took interested in a honey bee colony with glass sides. She watched the bees come and go through a clear tube. She shuddered looking at some of the insects – especially the black widow spider. But she was still happy to hold Rosie, the tarantula.

We went outside to the garden for a Monarch Watch. We went with butterfly nets looking for Monarch Butterflies to help study them. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any. So we went back inside.

We went into our favorite part of the Pavilion – the tropical exhibit. We both remembered this part – a warm environment where butterflies fly freely everywhere. We found butterflies on flowers and leaves and fluttering through the air. Marina sat down in an area where many butterflies were flying around and was delighted when one landed on her hat.

Next, we went into the invertebrate exhibit. Marina watched an ant colony, dug up and held a meal worm, placed a bee game and climbed a spider web. We also spent a bit of time browsing the gift shop. Then we went back into the tropical environment for the Butterfly Encounter. We watched as newly emerged butterflies were released into the exhibit.

On our way out, we stopped again at the underwater and insect exhibits. Marina held Rosie again and said goodbye. We were happy it didn’t take as long to drive home as it did to get there.

Mermaid Friends

Ainsley got a mermaid tail for her birthday in July. Since then, Marina has been anxious to go swimming with her so they can both be mermaids. We arranged to get together today – Labor Day.

We picked Ainsley up at her house this morning and decided to go to a recreation center we like. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found the lazy river and slides were closed. But the girls seemed okay with that, so we went in anyway. As soon as we got to the pool, the girls put on their mermaid tails and got in. There weren’t many other people in the pool, so they had quite a lot of space to play.

After a while, they came out of the pool for lunch. At each break, the girls got out and ate a bunch of Oreos. We had two new flavors to try – cinnamon roll and chocolate. They often sat by the pool as they waited. They we sometimes were told to keep their tails out of the water.

After four hours, the girls were tired and ready to go home. We all went to our house where we had dinner. They girls played in the Wii for a while before it was time to take Ainsley home.