Wish Lantern New Year's Eve

One of our friends is in town for her Christmas break and Marina and I both were looking forward to seeing her. So we invited her to join us for their New Year’s Eve Dinner with Rapunzel. Marina didn’t want to wear a costume, but I convinced her to wear a Rapunzel inspired dress of mine. Our friends borrowed Rapunzel t shirts from me, so we were all dressed up!

We arrived and found we had the same table as last night. Since our friends hadn’t been there before they took some time figuring out what to order.

After we ordered, Rapunzel came by our table. We recognized the actress. She posed for pictures with all of us and loved our Rapunzel inspired clothes.

Our food took quite a long time. Fortunately we all had salads to keep us from getting too hungry. We were able to see the entertainment from our table which was fun since neither of the girls wanted to join the kids for it.

After the entertainment our food finally made it to our table. As usual, it was all really good and we all enjoyed the meal. We all had a fun evening.

Marina and I didn’t have any other plans for New Year’s Eve. We watched the ball drop in Times Square as it happened, but neither of us felt like going to bed. So we were both awake at midnight. So we had a toast and ate some grapes as we watched the downtown fireworks on TV. After that, Marina was ready for bed.

Star Wars Dinner

Marina and one of her school friends wanted to get together today. So I dropped Marina over at her friends’s house for a few hours this afternoon. We had reservations for the Star Wars Dinner at Oblio’s this evening, so we invited her along with us. She was excited to join us and even borrowed a Rey costume for the event. Marina wore her Leia Bespin dress again.

We had hoped to arrive early but instead we were a bit late. We were seated on the enclosed patio “in the middle of the action.” We ordered a pizza to share and our drinks. Both girls wanted “Dark Side Chocolate Milk.”

While we waited for our food, Rey, Chewbacca and Darth Vader arrived. We recognized Rey right away and she seemed happy to see us. Since we were on the patio, we got the photos first. The girls didn’t eat much – I think they were too excited. Both of them happily took part in the Jedi Training with the younger kids. They especially like the light saber duels with Darth Vader and Rey.
After dinner both girls said they had a good time.

The Hills Are Alive

Over three years ago I took Marina to see The Sound of Music. She really loved it. So I decided to take her to see the production currently running. We’ve been there several times and every show has been very good. We left for the show after church.
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We had a pretty good snow storm yesterday but fortunately for us the roads were clear. We got to the theater much faster than expected. Since we were so early, we decided to look around. We’d never seen the gallery inside the Center. So we went to look around. We saw quite a few works we liked but we both agreed that the Chihuly exhibit was our favorite.

After looking at the gallery, we picked up drinks and went to our seats. We had plenty of time to settle in before the show. We both enjoyed the performance. The cast was very talented and the sets were great. After it was over, we found the actors playing the Trapp family posing for photos in the lobby. So we got a photo with Marina before we went to the car.

We had a quick trip home as well. It didn’t feel like a long trip that we made today.

The Rise of Skywalker

The newest Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, opened last week. However, we had a lot going on since then, so we weren’t able to see it before today. Marina and I slept late, so our late morning am time at the movie theater became our breakfast time.

We arrived a bit early and went to our seats. There were already quite a few people in the theater. We decided what we wanted to eat, but it took our server a long time before she took our order. We were both really hungry and it seemed to take forever for our food to arrive. By then the movie had started.

It had lots of action and a few surprises. We both really enjoyed the movie.

Star Wars Skating

Since the new Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, opens tomorrow, there have been a lot of Star Wars themed events. Tonight was Star Wars Night at the Colorado Avalanche game. Marina decided she wanted to wear her Princess Leia Bespin dress. Fortunately, the hairstyle was easier to recreate than it looked.

We arrived early to pick up our tshirts and get photos with cosplayers. Unfortunately, there weren’t many cosplayers this year. We figured most of them were probably at sneak previews of the new movie. So it didn’t take long for us to get photos with them.

As we got our shirts, we saw Santa was set up nearby. I managed to convince Marina to get a quick photo with him. We picked up drinks and snacks and headed to our seats. We were excited to see that Bernie, the mascot, was wearing a Baby Yoda costume!

At the first intermission we looked around for cosplayers but only saw the same two groups as before the game. We did run into Bernie and took a quick photo with him before going to our seats.

At the second intermission we went to Bernie’s doghouse for pictures. We took a young man sitting next to us, along. He was very excited for a picture. We got there a bit later than we hoped, so we missed quite a bit of the third period. The Avalanche scored as we walked back to our seats, so we all cheered as we walked. Unfortunately, the Avalanche let their lead slip away and they lost 4-2.

Dinner with Santa

This year, Marina and I have enjoyed going to character meals. Tonight they had Dinner with Santa and his Elf. We arranged for a large group of us to go. Marina wore her Elf dress.

We arrived just as the fun was starting. Just as our food was delivered, the elf told us it was our turn to visit with Santa. So I went with the girls for pictures. Our friend went over her list with Santa and let him know that “Sissy is on the Naughty List.”

The girls joined in for the songs and games. After those were over, Marina spent time chatting with the Elf and Santa, even calling me over for more pictures. We were there pretty late, but everyone was having such a great time we didn’t realize it.

Star Wars and Basketball

Tonight was the Denver Nuggets Star Wars Night. Marina was wearing her Chewbacca onesie. I had on my Vice Admiral Holdo dress. We arrived early for the game, so we went in search of cosplayers. We found a group right in the lobby. We also saw groups of Nuggets dancers. So we got photos with all of them.

We walked around looking for cosplayers. We also picked up our Star Wars tumblers. They had ones with either the symbol of the Rebellion or the Empire. We decided to get one of each.

We picked up drinks and went to our seats. The Nuggets played really well in the first half and were up by a large margin at halftime.

During halftime, we took photos with more cosplayers. We found the woman dressed as Ray, who Marina had seen on screen before the game started. We asked around and found that Rocky the mascot usually does a meet and greet, so we waited to see him. Unfortunately, he never showed up.

We missed most of the third period waiting for Rocky, so we went back to our seats for the rest of the game. It had become a closer game and the Nuggets eventually lost their lead. Fortunately they were able to come back and win the game 111 to 105.

After the game we were ready to go home. It had been a very long day!

Another Nutcracker

This afternoon we had tickets to an annual tradition - The Nutcracker. a few family members were scheduled to join us, but unfortunately my niece was sick today. So they had to stay home.

Traffic near the performing arts complex was terrible and it took us quite a while to get into the garage. Once inside there were plenty of places to park. So we made it inside easily. I bought Marina a hot chocolate and we went to our seats.

As usual, we enjoyed The Nutcracker. After this run, the Colorado Ballet is retiring their sets and costumes, so it was good to see them one last time.

Christmas at the Aquarium

This morning we had reservations for Breakfast With Santa at the aquarium. So we had to get an early start. Marina decided to wear her mermaid scales dress. Ainsley wore the same dress as last night. Fortunately we didn’t run into much traffic and we arrived right on time.

We met more friends for breakfast. We had a bit of a wait for our table and when we were finally seated we were very disappointed with our table. It was a booth that was too crowded for all of us and we couldn’t see the tank at all. We asked for another table but were told they didn’t have one. So breakfast wasn’t as fun as we hoped. Santa came by our table when we asked, so we got a couple for photos.

After breakfast, some of us decided to go through the aquarium. We’ve been many times, but we all still enjoy it. One of the tigers was pacing around and the stingrays were friendly in the touch pool. After we went through once, we decided to go back and see the mermaid show.

We hung around for the mermaid meet and greet, then we headed for home.

A Festive Colorado Christmas

The symphony concert A Colorado Christmas has become a holiday tradition for Marina and I. This year, we invited Ainsley to join us.The girls decided to wear festive outfits. Marina wore her elf dress. Ainsley had on a red dress which we helped accessorize with a black Santa belt and a cardigan with snowflakes on it.

We decide to check out the Mile High Tree. The tree is a new feature this year that has an interactive light show inside. Marina and Ainsley laid down on the ground to watch the show. They both loved it!

We went into the concert hall for the concert. We checked out the pre show activities. Santa was there, so we got a photo with him. The girls weren’t interested in the activities, so we picked up some warm drinks and sat down.

The concert was fun, as usual. We all enjoyed the music and especially the Sing Along. At intermission we took a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus. After the concert we were able to exit the parking garage quickly, but we ran into traffic, so it took us quite a while to get home. Both girls fell asleep on the drive. So once we arrived at the house, they went right to bed.

Light Blossoms

Every year, Marina and I like to go to Blossoms of Light. This year our weekend schedule is very full, so I got our tickets for tonight even though it was a school night. It was a chilly night but not too cold. We bundled up and drover over. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we didn’t have as much trouble finding a place to park as we often do.

When we went inside we bought hot chocolate. Then we headed out into the light displays. The lights were arranged much by their color schemes and we liked them. We also saw giant balls of light and glowing sticks that Marina called light sabers. This year they also had a structure made of light. It was fun to walk inside and be surrounded by it.

After we made it through the entire gardens we were ready to go home. It was a fun evening.

Mickey's Search Party

Last December, we went with our friend and her niece to the Disney on Ice show. Afterwards she asked about “the ice skating” frequently. We all decided to go again to see Mickey’s Search Party which is in town this week. Marina is not allowed to dress up for these shows anymore, so she wore a Mulan inspired dress.

I got us tickets on the club level, which gave us a great view of the show. Marina was excited to see our friends who arrived shortly after the show started. At intermission the girls spent that time playing with a little boy who had a bubble blower toy. They all had fun playing with the bubbles.
The performance was really good. It involved lots of acrobatics, audience participation and special effects. We all enjoyed it.

Camp Christmas

This year there is a new holiday display called Camp Christmas. We decided to check it out today.  We were early for our allotted time, but they let us in anyway. We started by buying hot chocolate to drink. Then we headed inside.

We weren’t sure what to expect. It turned out to be a journey with Christmas Past. The area contained interactive displays of how winter holidays have been celebrated throughout the centuries. There were activities to try out, a fairy story and great spots for photos. Marina especially liked trying to guess the answers to the “pun trees” throughout.

It took about an hour to see everything. It was fun and educational. We both loved it!

More Frozen Fun

Last week, we brought friends for dinner with Anna and Elsa. This week it was the same dinner but we invited other friends to join us.

We met these actresses last week. They loved our costume from Frozen 2, so we told them we’d wear the other costumes this time. We wore the dresses that are from the movie’s opening scene.

We were running a bit late, but we arrived at the same time as our friends. Our seats which she said were “right in the middle of the action.” We were in the covered patio where a large space had been cleared for the performers.

After we ordered our dinner, Anna, Elsa and Olaf arrived, The actress playing Anna was the same as last week and she remembered us. Since our seats were in the performance space we could stay at our table and see everything. Marina took every opportunity to talk with the actors. It was a lot of fun.