Meeting Mermaids

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to a Mermaid Meet and Greet. We arrived a bit early. Ariel and her friend Cassandra were already there. Both of them recognized Marina immediately and greeted her with hugs.

When the event got started, the mermaids handed out mermaid tails for all the girls. Marina ended up with a blue one which was a bit snug. I could tell she wished she had brought her own tail with her!

The mermaids told stories and sang a bit. Then the girls took turns having their pictures taken with them. It was a fun night!

Wonder Woman

Marina has been excited to see the new movie Wonder Woman. We went to our favorite movie theater restaurant. We arrived early and ordered our favorite platter. It arrived quickly and we were nearly finished eating when the movie started.

Marina chatted with me throughout the film. Once it was over we were both blown away by it.

Unicorn Festival

For months we have been looking forward to the first annual Unicorn Festival. Marina chose to dress as Tinkerbell. She also brought her mermaid fin and Jasmine costume along.

I wanted to get an early start, but we were a bit later than I’d hoped. We arrived and crowds had already started to gather. It took us a while to get inside.

Our first stop was at the Mermaid Lagoon. Marina really wanted to swim with the mermaids. However, they weren’t quite ready to start, so we made plans to come back. Next we just decided to check out the festival. We ran into Prince Charming and Giselle. Marina posed for pictures with both. We found the Princess Palace and Snow White was there. So we took pictures with her as well. Marina then tried out the castle maze which led to a slide.

We went back to the Mermaid Lagoon and found they still weren’t ready yet. We took a photo of Marina with a mermaid and then went to watch a magic show. Marina volunteered to help out with one of the tricks. We also found a fairy king and queen who we had photos taken with.

We wanted to meet Moana, but the line was really long and Marina didn’t want to wait. So we hung out at the bubble tower for a while and had a snack. By then Belle was available, so we got photos with her. Marina changed into her Jasmine costume and we got to the Princess Palace early to see Jasmine. We were very close to the front of the line so we got a chance to meet her quickly.

From there we went to the Mermaid Lagoon and settled in for the wait to swim with the mermaids. It took a very long time, but Marina felt it was worth it. When it was finally her turn, she put on her mermaid tail but it was difficult for her to put the fin on, so she didn’t. She did seem to enjoy her time in the water despite the freezing temperature.

Once she was done swimming we found the festival wasn’t as crowded anymore. We had pictures with Cinderella and Marina petted a unicorn, then she rode one. She even took a turn in the “Crystal Balls” activity. We also got a photo with Ariel. We were about to leave when we saw Captain Jack Sparrow. Of course she wanted to talk to him!

We’d spent the whole day at the festival and we were ready to go home.

Princess Manicure

Today we had tickets for a Princess Manicure Event. Marina decided that she didn’t want to dress up. Instead she chose to wear a Belle t-shirt that said, “Beauty never goes out of style” and a sparkly white skirt. She looked really cute.

When we arrived we saw the other girls were quite a bit younger than Marina. She was very kind to them, but clearly she felt a bit out of place.

The girls all sat at tables and colored pictures while they waited for the Princesses. A short time later, Belle and Cinderella entered. Belle sat right next to Marina. Marina chose a bright yellow nail polish and Belle painted her nails.

After all the girls got their nails done, they gathered on the floor for story time. Marina sat in a chair nearby instead. After the stories, the girls lined up for pictures. Marina, as usual, waited until the end. She had a good time, but we agreed we will probably stop attending these events, apparently she had outgrown them!

The Taming of the Shrew

We saw The Tempest at the Shakespeare Festival two years ago and Marina enjoyed it. This year The Taming of the Shrew was on the schedule. We decided to see it. We invited Michelle to come with us.

The drive was a long one, but we made really good time on the trip. It sprinkled a little bit, but it wasn’t too bad. We arrived with plenty of time to find our seats, buy drinks and settle in. Before the show began some of the actors were lingering onstage which gave us something to watch.

The show was fast paced and it took a little while to get used to the language, but we all enjoyed it. Marina said she understood most of what was going on. Her favorite parts were the humorous ones. And fortunately the weather was clear.

The Oddest Sea

One of our summer traditions is going on a theatre hike. We’ve gone for the past five years. This year’s play, The Oddest Sea: Greek Gods and Giggles, was based on Greek Mythology. Since Marina studied Ancient Greece this year, it seemed like the perfect time to see it.

On our way to the starting point we ran into two of the actors from the show. One recognized us right away. We spent a few minutes talking with them before we went to check in.

Our trail guide was also the playwright. We’d met her before, most recently at the Bitsy Stage performance of The Silent Princess. She remembered us and talked with us while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

The hike was the same as years before, Marina walked at the front of the group, talking with guide nearly the whole time. Two other young girls who knew her were up there as well, so they all enjoyed themselves together.

The play was fun. During the first scene one of the actresses pretended to eat Marina. Of course, she loved that! Even though The Odyssey is a serious and dark story, this play was funny. At the end, Marina was happy to pose for a picture with the cast.

Fortunately, the day was somewhat overcast so it didn’t get as hot as in years past. But we were pretty tired by the end. On the way home, Marina ate a lot of trail mix, so she wasn’t really hungry for lunch by the time we got home.

A Dream of Mexico

Two years ago, I took Marina to see Kurious by Cirque du Soliel. She loved it, so I got us tickets to see Luzia again this summer. Since the performance was an early one, we decided to take light rail to avoid traffic.

The trains took longer than we expected and we ended up being a bit late for the show. We arrived in time to see a group of acrobats dressed as birds. The first act was filled with humor and amazing stunts. This show even had a water feature that added a new element to the performances.

During intermission, we got some popcorn and walked around the tent a bit before going back to our seats. The second act was a fun as the first. We were amazed by a contortionist and two synchronized swings with acrobats jumping from one to the other.

After the show, I asked Marina what her favorite part was and she said “Everything.” We had a less stressful trip home on the light rail.

Greek Girl

Every summer, Marina and I look forward to the Greek Festival. I took the day off today so we could go – the first day is usually the least crowded. Marina chose an Egyptian costume. Without the collar it looked Greek.

Today was a hot day, so Marina took her black fan and blue parasol. She looked so pretty! One man we ran into said he thought she looked like Helen of Troy. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. When we explained that Helen was called the most beautiful woman in the world, she liked it!

We started off shopping the various vendors set up outside. Marina especially liked looking at the jewelry. We decided to have lunch next. Marina was disappointed that they didn’t have calamari this year – she had been looking forward to that! Instead, we both had gyros. She did enjoy it.

We watch a group of children perform some simple Greek dances for a while, then we went into the church to look at their beautiful icons. By then, Marina was ready to go home. So we bought ice cream to enjoy on the way out.

Meeting Moana

Today we had tickets for a Storytime with Moana event. We have gotten photos with Moana several times this year, but Marina hasn’t been in her Moana costume. So, of course, that is what she wanted to wear today.

When we arrived we saw that the set up was a bit different. Instead of tables, the room had an auditorium-like set up. Marina saw a single chair in the first row available next to a man with a little boy. She chose to sit there instead of on the floor with the other girls. Of course, they were all dressed like Moana.

When Moana arrived, she started by telling her story. Marina participated in the question and answer part of that. But when Moana sang “How Far I’ll Go,” Marina didn’t join in. I asked her why and she didn’t have a response, but she made it clear that she wasn’t too old to be there.

At the end of the event, Mona posed for pictures with all the girls. Marina played with the other girls while we waited our turn. As usual, we spent a while talking to her and taking pictures. Moana also gave Marina a green sparkly tattoo on her hand.

After the event, we went home and Marina decided to watch Moana. No surprise there!

Warrior Cat

This evening was Marina's dance recital. She was excited to apply her own makeup. As we drove, Marina told me how nervous she was. I told her that was a good thing, to help her stay focused on what she was doing. When it was their turn, the girls did a great job on their dance.

After the recital, Marina introduced me to a new friend she made backstage. Next we found Miss Risa and gave her orange roses. Marina picked out orange roses for Miss Risa because her poms were the orange ones!. She seemed to love them.

As we drove home, Marina showed me her poms. She and one of her classmates found a way to share their colors, so now Marina’s are half orange and half blue.  She seemed pleased when I pointed out that they are now Bronco colors.

Sleeping Beauty and the Good Fairy

I got us tickets to see a children’s production of Sleeping Beauty at a nearby. When we arrived, we found the children’s program director was a woman we met at Hairspray the night before. That was a fun surprise!

When we sat in the theater, we saw a row of chairs with costume pieces on each chair. We realized that likely the kids in the audience would be playing the characters. Marina and I tried to figure out each part while we waited.

It turned out, we were correct. There were three girls, including Marina, who wanted to be Princess Aurora. Marina “auditioned” but ultimately a younger girl got the role. Marina got her second choice – one of the good fairies.

The show was fun and all the kids seemed to have a good time.

You Can't Stop the Beat

We saw the musical Hairspray  about two years ago and Marina loved it. So we were looking forward to seeing it again this year at a different theater. Marina wore a 1960’s inspired outfit to the show.

When we arrived at the theater, we saw a woman in a cute black and white dress. When we complimented her on it we found out that she had been in the version of Hairspray we saw earlier. I found the photo I took of her and Marina two years ago and we recreated it tonight.

When the show started we both really enjoyed it. It was funny and the singing and dancing were fun. When it was over, Marina wanted to meet the cast members. We had to be patient and wait for them to meet with their friends and family first. But ultimately we met Tracy, See Wee, Edna and Motomouth Maybelle. The actress playing Maybelle was from the earlier production as well. She loved see the photo from that night two years ago.

 

It was pretty late by the time we left the theater, but Marina and I didn’t mind. We’d had a great time!

Vikings!

Since Marina is out of school, I took today off of work to spend with her. We haven’t seen the Viking exhibit at the museum, so we decided to check it out today. When we arrived at the museum we got our tickets to see the exhibit right away.

The Viking exhibit didn’t appeal to Marina as much as past ones have. She checked out the touch screens and a few of the more interactive parts, but in general she did not show much interest in the exhibit until we reached the gift shop.

By this time we were both hungry, so we went to the restaurant to eat. After lunch, we went through the Gems and Minerals exhibit. Marina liked the gems part best, especially the aquamarines – her birthstone.

Once we were finished looking at the gems, we were ready to leave. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard. So we decided to go back into the museum. This time we looked into the new Family Exploration Center. It was a large room with a screen mounted high on one wall. When Marina stood in front of the screen images appeared. At first a storm formed with lightning. Then dolphins popped out of the floor, followed by a rhinoceros, a cheetah and dinosaurs. Finally, an astronaut bounded across the screen. Marina played with this set up for about half an hour. By then the rain had stopped and we went home.