Star Wars Symphony

Marina has been much more interested in Star Wars lately. Most nights before bed she wants to watch part of a movie. So we have been seeing them mini-series style, an hour at a time. Because of her interest, I decided to get tickets for The Music of Star Wars at the symphony. She had a tough time deciding what to wear to the concert. Recently I bought her Rey from The Force Awakens and Jyn from Rogue One. Ultimately she decided on Rey. The hairstyle was difficult for me to replicate, but we finally got it done with a lot of bobby pins and hairspray.

We arrived at the concert hall early, so we picked up our tickets right away. After we did, we met the Symphony photographer, who asked if he could take her picture. She was happy to comply. Before the show started, there were cosplayers in the lobby. Marina was happy to have her picture taken with them. As I was taking her picture I saw other people also taking pictures. I think they believed she was one of the cosplayers!

Next we checked out the kids crafts. There was only one craft – making lightsabers out of pool noodles. They had a guide on the wall of what characters carried which color lightsaber. As soon as Marina saw that Rey’s light saber was blue, she knew she wanted that color. As she was making her lightsaber, we met up with a couple of other girls dressed as Rey.  Marina said if she had known there would be so many Reys she would have dressed as Jyn.

Once the craft was done, we found our seats. This concert was very popular, so they opened up the Parquet, which they usually don’t sell the seats for. I decided to give them a try. We loved the seats! We could see the conductor, very well throughout the concert. We were also right behind the percussion section. After the show was over, we were able to talk with a few of the musicians.

We both enjoyed the music. It was fun to be able to see the conductor’s face throughout and it was very interesting to see the percussion section in action. After the concert, the cymbal player borrowed Marina’s light saber to have a duel with a little boy near us. Marina told him he looked like Anakin Skywalker. He seemed pleased by the compliment.

On our way out we heard fireworks. It turned out that we could see the display coming from an amusement park. So we stayed and watched them. By then the parking lot had cleared out and we had an easy trip home.

Treasure Hunt

For her birthday and Christmas, Marina got gift cards for a clothing stores. she had never been to before, so we decided to go shipping. The store was huge and it took her a while to figure out what she liked. As we went through the store she picked out shirts and dresses to try on.

She was very excited to go on a shopping spree. In the end she got three shirts, a dress, a hooded sweatshirt five pairs of socks, a choker and a pair of cat ears. She used up all of her gift cards and was pretty excited about it.
We went to the food court for lunch,

Next, we went to the Disney Store. It’s been a while since we’ve been there and yet still some employees remembered us.  While we were there, they had a special Pirates of the Caribbean treasure hunt in the store. Of course, Marina wanted to participate. Each child had a map and they went through the store to find clues. Marina was happy to be “first mate” on the last trip. She even got to carry Jack Sparrow’s compass.

After the treasure hunt, she got a snack she likes. As we left the mall, it was raining pretty hard. We got really wet on our way to the car, but it didn’t dampen our spirits!

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Marina has been very excited to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Since school is almost out, I thought we could attend the opening tonight.

She didn’t feel like wearing a costume to the movie today. We tried to find her pirate hat, but weren’t able to figure out where it was.

Once the movie started, Marina was completely engrossed. She commented to me throughout. After it was over, she told me it was the “funniest, scariest Pirates movie yet!” She said it was “awesome” and was very sad to hear it is planned to be the final one in the series.

Belle On Stage

This afternoon, we had tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at a dinner theater. Marina chose to wear her Belle inspired Easter dress and the red cape.

Our friends picked us up for the long drive to the theater. I thought the girls would enjoy hanging out together on the drive, but both were absorbed in their cell phones.

Our seats were right by the stage. We were all pretty hungry, so we ordered our lunch quickly. We’ve seen Beauty and the Beast four times before this, so Marina and I are very familiar with the show. (Especially since we just saw the original film last night!) Marina especially liked Lumiere and Cogsworth.

Once the show was over, we asked the actors if we could take some pictures. As always, they were happy to pose. We were able to get photos with Belle, the Prince and Gaston. Marina also asked for Cogsworth. When the actor came out she greeted him with a big hug.

After we got all our photos, we got into the car for the drive home. We'd had a fun afternoon with our friends.

Belle Adventure

This evening, we had tickets for Beauty and the Beast at the wildlife museum. Marina chose the blue Belle costume to wear for the show. While we were checking in, we met up with a little girl we had met at previous shows. So she and Marina hung around together for most of the event.

Belle was near the door when we arrived, so we got a picture with her right away. We chose our seats in the theater and the girls put together a rose craft. Then we went upstairs where we found a storybook craft. At that point, her friend wasn’t feeling well, so we went to rest and Marina and I went on a scavenger hunt. On the hunt, we met up with one of Marina’s second grade teachers.

After the scavenger hunt, we went to the theater for the movie. When the movie was over we said goodbye to her friend and her mom. There’s a good chance we’ll see them again at the next princess movie.

The Silent Princess

I recently became aware of a theater that presents shows based on fold tales from around the world. Their current production of The Silent Princess sounded interesting, so I made reservations for us to go today.

When we arrived we were welcomed by the playwright and manager of the theater. We had met her on several theater hikes in the past and we happy to talk to her again.

The Silent Princess was a Turkish folk tale and the while place reflected it. The theater was small but each seat was designed to look like a fancy carpet. Marina picked up a pink scarf from the lobby and wore it over her hair. Two musicians played music while we waited.

The play was funny and interesting. Clearly Marina liked the princess. She laughed at the jokes and paid close attention throughout. When the show was over she had a conversation with the actress playing the princess. Then we were able to get a photo of her with the entire cast. We both agreed we like this new theater.

Mother's Day Comedy

I hadn’t made any plans for Mother’s Day this year. A few days ago I came across a special all ages show at a comedy club featuring comedian John Heffron. I saw him on Last Comic Standing years ago and remembers he was very funny. Marina and I had never done anything like that before, so we decided to give it a try.

We arrived a bit early and we were shown to our seats. While we waited for the show to start we ordered drinks and some appetizers to munch on. The food was good and as we ate I explained to Marina what a comedy show was like.

We listened to the jokes by the host and two warm up acts before John Heffron, the headliner, came out. Throughout the show Marina paid attention and she laughed at most of the jokes.

After the show, she said she’d had fun. I was surprised that that John Heffron was in the lobby. We talked with him for a few minutes and took a picture with him. He was happy to hear Marina enjoyed the show because he admitted he was a bit nervous about the “all ages” concept.

It wasn’t a fancy Mother’s Day, but we enjoyed it.

Princess ParTEA

Last month at the Spring Fling Marina and I heard about a Princess ParTEA that was coming up. I talked to the organizer who told me it would be “a princess party on steroids.” Of course, we wanted to go.

The party was this afternoon. Marina decided she wanted to dress as Princess Aurora. I was a bit surprised at her choice. We arrived a bit early and we had to wait in line until it started. We enjoyed seeing how the other girls were dressed while we waited.

Once inside we saw many princesses with meet and greet stations. We started on the opposite side from the crowds in an attempt to avoid long lines. We started with Belle. Then we saw Tiana, Moana and Ariel. We spent a bit of time with Ariel because she remembered us from other events.

Marina was a bit disappointed that Princess Aurora was in her blue dress but the two of them spent a while talking together. We also saw Rapunzel, Snow White and the Fairy Godmother. The line for Anna and Elsa was huge, so we left it for last. As we were waiting, the princesses gathered for a sing along. While that was going on some of the other princesses were left alone, so we visited with them and got some great group pictures. After the sing along, the Anna and Elsa line was much shorter we finally got our photos with them.

We went outside and Marina got a chance to paint a small canvas. She painted a rose, paying a lot of attention to the details. After she was done, she gave it to me.

The other part of the event was a tea party with Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. Marina changed into her Alice costume before we went in. The room had crazy decorations and the animated film was playing on a huge screen. The tea party offered a huge array of food. Marina and I were pretty hungry by this time, so we both filled our plates a few times, We also had some fun interactions with Alice and the Mad Hatter.

When the party was over we were both tired, but we’d had a lot of fun. We always enjoy our time with Princesses!

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

 Marina had a case of the Mondays today, but I gave her some incentive to get her work done. A local library was having a Mad Hatter Tea party this evening and I offered to take her to it. She got her homework done after school. Then she changed into her Alice in Wonderland costume.

Marina started by trying some of the crafts that were set up. First, she made a man out of a playing card. Then she decorated a mini Mad Hatter hat. She liked it so much she put it on and wore it for the rest of the event.

The last part of the party was a performance of Alice in Wonderland. Marina chose a Cheshire Cat cookie and sat on the floor with the rest of the kids. Clearly she enjoyed the performance. She especially liked that at one point Alice tried to hide from the Queen of Hearts behind her.

After the show, she wanted to meet the actors. There were only three performers and they were happy to talk with Marina. One even put his costume back on to pose for a photo. Despite being the oldest child there, Marina really enjoyed the evening.

The Secret Garden

This afternoon we had tickets for The Secret Garden. Marina wore a flowery dress for the occasion. She wasn’t familiar with the story, but she was pleased to see lots of other young girls at the theater.

We arrived a bit early, so we got drinks and a snack before finding our seats. Ours were off to the side but we had great view of the stage. When the show started, Marina paid close attention to it. The story wasn’t as straightforward as she is used to, so I whispered to her through the performance to help her follow what was going on. Of course, Marina loved that a girl was the center of the story.

At intermission, I talked to Marina more about the story to make sure she could follow Act 2. She listened as she ate her brownie. She was excited to see the rest of the show. She seemed to enjoy the rest of the show. Once it was over she told me how much she liked it. We took a few pictures before heading home.

Mermaid in May

This afternoon we went over to Angie’s place to use her pool. When we saw Angie last night, Marina made a point of asking her if we could come over today. We brought chips, salsa and queso to share. Jake wasn’t around, but Marina had fun with Angie’s nephews.

Shortly after we arrived, it started to rain. We hoped it would blow over, but it picked up. We all hovered under a patio umbrella and ate the chips we brought.

After about 30 minutes, the storm passed us and the kids got back into the pool. Marina brought her mermaid fin and Angie’s sisters watching her use it. She swam until it started getting dark. Then we packed up our stuff and headed home.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

This evening, Marina and had tickets to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert with some of our friends. We decided to get all glammed up for the occasion. Marina wore her gold dress and put on extra makeup for the show.

The theater had lots of props for photos, so we checked those out. While we were in the lobby one of our actor friends. It was fun to see him too!

After picking up some drinks and snacks, we went to our seats. Once the show started, Marina seemed completely engaged. She enjoyed the dancing and recognized many of the songs. She still blanches when foul language or suggestive themes come up but none of that dampened her fun.

Marina laughed at most of the jokes and sang along with the songs she knew. After the performance ended, the actors came out quickly. A group of them gathered in front of Priscilla, the bus, and we took a photo.

Before leaving the theater our whole group posed with the props in the lobby. We’d all had a fun evening together.

May Flowers

Marina had the day off from school today, so we decided to spend the afternoon at the botanic gardens. We always like to see the Lilac Garden while it is in bloom. When Ainsley heard about our plans she asked if she could join us. Fortunately, we were able to make that happen.

Once we arrived at the botanic gardensAinsley quickly braided Marina’s hair. Then we picked up some drinks before starting our journey.

The girls seemed to be easily excited by every flower they saw. They stooped down to look at the ones close to the ground and pointed out the further ones from the path. As a result, we proceeded very slowly through the garden.

Ainsley wanted to see the Japanese garden, so we made our way there. The girls spent quite a while looking at the koi in the pond there. It was a beautiful day and we were all getting hot but we still decided to check out the tropical garden in the greenhouse.

Before we left, we stopped at the children’s garden where Marina and Ainsley waded in the stream for a while. Once they cooled off, we went back to the car for the ride home. Ainsley came over to our house for a while. We all had pizza for dinner and Marina showed her some games on her computer before she went home.