Go, Go, Go Joseph

Marina is a huge fan of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, so she was very excited when one of our favorite dinner theaters announced it as their summer show. We had tickets to see it this evening. She was also looking forward to seeing one of our friends, who was in the cast.

We had to brave a rainstorm on our drive, but we arrived right on time. We were sharing our table with two women who were already there. They worked with another of the actors in the show. They were our servers for the night, which just added to the fun.

Once the show started, Marina was completely engrossed. It was an inventive and modern interpretation of the show. Clearly Marina enjoyed it. At intermission, she had a chocolate torte which she loved. After the show was over, she wanted to have her photo taken with Joseph on stage. She was anxious to get a picture with our friend. She gave him a big hug as we left.

 

I was surprised that she didn’t fall asleep in the car on the way home. But it was nice to have someone to talk to for the long drive.

Castle Party

While Marina is growing out of her princess phase, she still wanted to attend the Princess Party at a nearby "castle" today. I took the day off so we could go. Instead of wearing a costume, she wore her Belle inspired dress.

When we arrived, Belle and her Prince were already there. We were happy to see Belle was being played by one of the actresses we have seen quite often lately. She greeted both of us warmly with a hug.

At our table was a eleven year-old girl. She and Marina instantly bonded and spent much of the party together. The party started with story time, then both Belle and the Prince sang. The girls sang and danced with Belle. The Prince ultimately took time to dance with many of the girls. Marina reluctantly took a turn and he taught her to waltz.

At the end of the party we took pictures with the castle in the background. Then we visited with Belle and the Prince for a before heading home. Despite growing up, she does still enjoy at least parts of these events.

A Special Annie

After dinner, we got ready to go out. We had tickets to see Annie. The group presenting the show is made up of of disabled actors. We’ve never seen any of their shows before, but we were looking forward to seeing it.

We took the light rail downtown and arrived in time to get drinks and settle into our seats. We had a really good view of the stage. Marina read over the program before the show started. She was especially interested in the disability each actor was living with.

The show was very good. We especially liked the actress playing Miss Hannigan, who was hilarious. We were also happy to see two actors we have met many times in the past. They were both amazing. Of course, Marina loved the dogs in the show as well.

After the show was over, we stuck around to talk with the cast. We got a chance to talk with the young lady who played Annie as well as our friend who played Daddy Warbucks. He greeted each of us with a warm hug. As we were leaving, so was the dog who played Sandy and her owner. She graciously waited and let Marina pet her for a little while.

Revisiting the Renaissance

One of our favorite activities every summer is our annual trip to the Renaissance Festival. The was “Pirate Invasion” weekend, so Marina decided to wear her Elizabeth Swann costume. She added a fancy crown to be “her own princess.”

We arrived at the festival just as it opened. After wandering around for a little while, we sat down and listened to the music of Celtic Legacy – a band made up of drummers, a guitar and bagpipes. Marina enjoyed the pieces she recognized, especially the themes from Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean.

During the concert, the royal court settled in at the Pavilion, right next to the stage where the concert was. So we stopped by to see Princess Elizabeth. We gave her photos from last year to add to the album we gave her last year. We also had photo albums for King Henry and Queen Anne. They were both very pleased with them. For the rest of the day, both called Marina by name. It made her feel so special.

We did a little shopping on our way to the first joust of the day. We were disappointed to learn that Sir William was not jousting. He was acting as master of ceremonies. We were in Sir Bromm’s section, so we cheered loudly for him. After the joust, the knights allowed the audience to we got a chance to talk to Sir William. We gave him pictures as well.

We were hungry for lunch after the joust. So we went to the food court for our annual turkey leg. Marina and I finished it off fairly quickly. We spent a while shopping after that. Marina especially liked the jewelry sellers. We also stopped by the booth of our favorite face painter. Marina decided to get a yellow and orange design to go with her gold dress.
 
Before we went to the next joust we stopped by the booth of Twig the Fairy. We found she was not at the festival this year. We were sad to hear that. And as we spoke to the women at the booth it became clear that Twig would not be back at all. Marina was very sad. However, her sister Juniper would be there later in the afternoon.

We went to watch the second joust where Marina got a favor for Sir Bromm. She was the first to give it to him before the competition. After it was over, Marina had her photo taken with him. Marina went through the dragon maze and then we went to meet Juniper. She was a bubble fairy and Marina was happy to meet her. She showed her a photo album we made for Twig. As she did, Marina got a bit emotional and Juniper hugged her and spent some special time with her. Before we left, she gave Marina a special “bubble rock.”

Our next stop was the chapel for the knighting ceremony. She was knighted by the queen and then we got photos with both of the king and queen after the ceremony was over. Marina wanted to see Juniper again, but the line was long, so we shopped for a while until it was time for Princess
Elizabeth’s tea party.

Marina was a bit concerned that she would be the oldest girl at the party, but once it started, she didn’t seem to mind at all. Princess Elizabeth introduced her to the other girls as her special friend. After the party, she gave each of us a purple rose. Then she suggested that Marina audition for the cast in three years. That idea thrilled her!

We got snacks and settled in for the final joust of the day. It was pretty intense combat and Sir Bromm ended up as the sole survivor. After we watched the joust, we waited for Sir William and took pictures.

On the way out, Marina rode on the pirate boat and we met up with Captain Jack Sparrow. Marina said goodbye to Juniper and Sir William. Outside the gates we watched the cast sing and dance. Before we left, we waved to the King, Queen and Princess Elizabeth on the parapet. Then we went to the car. We were both very tired, but we’d had an amazing day!

Baseball and Star Wars

We usually attend at least one Rockies game every summer. This season, Marina was most interested in going on Star Wars night. Despite the warm weather, Marina wanted to dress as Jyn Urso, even though her Rey costume would be cooler.

We arrived early and Marina was concerned when we saw most people dressed in Rockies gear and not in Star Wars costumes. But when we got on the shuttle we saw a man in a Jedi robe and she relaxed. As we got closer to the stadium, we saw many more cosplayers.

Marina wanted to take part in the parade of people in costume before the game. We arrived just in time to line up for it. (I wasn’t in costume, but I was allowed to go with her.) We were at the back of the group and took a long walk through the stadium until we arrived on the field. As we walked, Marina waved at people and even high -fived people who had their hands out. It was a fun experience! She was pleased to note she was the only one dressed as Jyn.

After the parade, we settled into our seats. We had brought peanuts, so Marina was happy to dig into those. The family in front of us had two girls a little younger than Marina, so we talked with them for a bit. We all decided to go together to have pictures taken with Dinger during the third inning.

When we arrived for Dinger, the line was already long. We missed most of the inning, but it was worth it. Dinger wore a Jedi robe and he was accompanied by cosplayers dressed as Rey and Captain Phasma.

We picked up a snack on our way back to our seats and settled in for the game. It was a fun one to watch. The Rockies ended up winning 7-3.

German Festival

Earlier in the summer, Marina and I went to the Greek Festival. At that time, I learned about the German Festival. Marina was interested in attending since we actually have German heritage. So we checked it out today.

We arrived around lunchtime, so we checked out the food first. We each got a bratwurst, which were very good. Marina followed that up with a watermelon slush and we shared an apple strudel.

After we ate, we looked over the booths. Marina really loved the jewelry. One booth in particular had gorgeous pieces and we talked with the creator for a while. There was a German band playing, so we sat down and listened. They played the German Duck Dance, but I couldn’t convince her to take part in that.

After a few hours, we were ready to go home.

Happy Birthday, Molly Brown!

We’ve been to the Molly Brown House Museum for tea in the past. Today we decided to try something else. For Margaret Brown’s 150th birthday, the museum held a block party. True to the name, the entire block the house stands on was closed off of the event. Marina decided to wear an outfit inspired by the era – a lace summer dress and a fancy straw hat with flowers. All day she received many compliments on her outfit.

We had a short wait to check in and then we started to check out the vendor booths. We found many places we go to had booths. Marina learned about military supplies at one booth and painted a firefighter’s badge at another.

We listened to two opera singers perform songs from Carmen and then Marina insisted we check out the animal shelter area where they had dogs and kittens up for adoption. She fell in love with them all – especially a black kitten that she held for a while.

Once she was willing to leave the pets behind, we went through the house and even found a new room that was recently opened to the public. As we left the house, we met the actress who plays Margaret Brown. She remembered us from the tea party in March and talked with us for a little while.

We each had a piece of birthday cake while we watched Mexican Fiesta Dancers. Marina said goodbye to the pets before we left the party. It was a really fun event!

Tangled Fun

This evening we had tickets to see Tangled at the wildlife museum. Marina dressed in her Rapunzel costume and brought her plush Pascal toy with her.

When we arrived, Marina had changed her mind about dressing up for the show. Unfortunately, by then it was too late to change. After we checked in we got a photo with Rapunzel and her prince. Then Marina wanted to go through the habitat exhibits. She completed her favorite scavenger hunt along the way.

We decided to get our dinner next. It was fettucine alfredo, which Marina had never tried before. She really liked it and finished her whole bowl. But her favorite part was the jello boat.

After we ate, we checked out the crafts. Marina made a friendship bracelet and a lantern. By then it was almost time for the movie to start, so we got our popcorn and settled in to watch. Marina was feeling snuggly during the show. She especially like that I shared my Hershey bar with her!

Checkerboard Chick

Tonight we had tickets to see Hairspray. Michelle was coming with us and we were also meeting one of  Marina’s friends and her family there as well.

Marina wore a black and white checked dress with a black sweater. It was much like the dress Penny wore in the finale of the first production we saw. Many people complimented her on the outfit.

We arrived early with Michelle and ordered drinks and snacks. While we were enjoying those, her friend arrived. After they got their own drinks we all found our seats. Marina and her friend sat next to each other. They were happy to catch up.

The show was fun and we all enjoyed it. After it ended. Marina and Michelle wanted to meet the cast members. Of course, they wanted pictures with the principal characters. Many of the actors complimented Marina on her outfit. They were able to associate it with the "checkerboard chick" link at the end of the show.

After we got photos with Tracy, Link, Penny, Seewee, Amber, Mrs. Von Tussle and Edna, we headed home. It was late and we’d had a very full day.

Jurassic Zoo

Today was beautiful and not too hot, so we decided to go to the zoo. Marina wore her Jurassic Park t-shirt. Currently they have an exhibit called “Dinosaurs Alive” that we wanted to see.

We wanted to have lunch when we first arrived. So we chose to eat at the Asian inspired restaurant. We both ordered teriyaki noodle bowls. As we sat to eat, a mother pea hen and her chicks came over the tables. Marina loved watching them.

We had seen several of the dinosaurs on our way to the restaurant. I downloaded the zoo app on my phone which included a map of all the dinosaurs. Marina was very pleased to use it to find them.

 

As we went through the zoo, we saw all the “cats” which are usually Marina’s favorites. We also watched Dobby, the baby giraffe for a while. We also made it a priority to see all the dinosaurs. They were fun to watch! The one that impressed us the most was the T-Rex – it was huge! Marina froze in front of it, just as they instructed in the Jurassic Park movies.

We stopped for ice cream and then decided to ride the carousel. Marina started on a tiger but changed to a black panther because it reminded her of Jasmine. After our ride, we decided to go home. It was a hot day and we’d seen all the dinosaurs.

Meeting Wonder Woman

After seeing the movie Wonder Woman last month, Marina has been a big fan of the character. So I signed us up for Storytime with Wonder Woman. At the last minute, she decided not to wear her costume, but she did bring her tiara and cuffs to go along with her sparkly blue and red outfit.

We were a bit late for the event. As it has been lately, it was mostly little girls there. Marina declined to sit on the floor for story time. However, when they played a game of hot potato, she was happy to join in. She was pleased to win some Smarties candy. She also tried out the super hero moves that Wonder Woman taught the girls. At the end, Marina was happy to have photos taken with her.

After the event was over, we stayed a little longer talking with the actress, who we have met many times. I explained that Marina does seem to be out growing the events, so likely we won’t attend too many more. She still loves meeting the characters, so we’ll have to figure out how to still see them.

Despicable Me 3

Marina and I have been so busy this summer that we have fallen behind on our summer movies. This evening we decided to see Despicable Me 3. As usual, we went to our favorite movie theater restaurant. We had planned to eat ahead of time but we ran out of time. So we ordered our favorite platter as well as chips and queso. The food arrived just before the movie started. We both dug in.

The movie was fun. Marina loved the Minions and especially Agnes, the little girl obsessed with unicorns. Our waiter asked several times if we were done with the chips. Each time I said no, and Marina questioned why. Then she continued to nibble at them.

After the movie, Marina said she thought it was funny. She was happy we saw it.

Princesses on Parade

Since it is July 4, Marina dressed patriotically. She chose a sparkly blue tank top and a sparkly red skirt. She wore long white socks and topped it all off with a sequined tiara in red, white and blue

We went to a neighborhood parade. Our favorite princesses have their storefront there and we knew they would be a part of the parade. We arrived early and were able to find a good parking place. We also managed to sit under the shade of a tree until the parade began.

We moved closer to the street when the parade got started. We ended up sitting by two girls who we had met at the Mermaid Meet and Greet on Friday. The girls all got along nicely. Throughout the parade they shared the candy thrown their direction and Marina even let one of them use her parasol.
A little more than halfway through the parade, the Wands and Wishes princesses came by. Anna spotted Marina and greeted her with a warm hug. Of course, all the other girls wanted hugs after that!

Once the parade was over, I got Marina a watermelon popsicle and we walked through the small fair they had set up. In front of the princesses location were the characters from the parade. We met up with Moana, Jasmine, Ariel and Anna, who spent a while talking with Marina. She made a wish with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. Then we got photos with Captain America and Wonder Woman.