Dreaming of Summer Luau

For a quite a while, our favorite pizzaria has featured the characters from Frozen at their character dinners. Tonight we were happy to see someone different. It was a Dreaming of Summer Luau featuring Ariel and Moana. It’s been a tough few weeks and we were looking forward to going with our friends. Marina decided to wear my pink Ariel dress. She really liked it, we just had to pin it in a few places. She looked pretty in it.

We arrived a bit late and were seated on the patio in what seems to be our usual spot. Ariel and Moana came by our table shortly after we sat down. tonight’s special was a Luau Pizza. Marina loves pineapple on her pizza so we ordered that along with the wedge salads we all love.

We were right by all the activities. Marina got up for them at first but then returned to the table. She did get a seashell and heart of Tifiti from them though. After we ate we headed home. It was the fun night we all needed. 

Unicorn Festival

Today was the annual Unicorn Festival. This year, we invited Ainsley to join us. After considering many options, Ainsley wore her Belle costume. Marina was excited to wear her new Anastasia costume.  I offered the girls capes to wear over their dresses instead of jackets since it was chilly today.

We arrived at the Unicorn Festival early. We found a really good parking spot and checked in quickly. We had to wait for about 15 minutes until the festival opened. While we waited a little girl asked if she could have her picture taken with Ainsley and Marina.

When the festival opened we went first to the Princess Palace. A friend of ours was dressed as Mary Poppins. We visited with her for a few moments. We also knew the actress playing Moana, so we took photos with her as well.

Next we went to the Mermaid Lagoon. Last year it had a long line all day. We arrived before it opened and had a short wait for our turn. We took photos with two mermaids before meeting Ariel. We got some nice photos there as well.

When we exited the Mermaid Lagoon, we were at the Mad Hatter Tea Party. We planned to wait for the show but it was taking a bit longer than usual, so we browsed some of the booths. We went back for the show and after we got photos with Alice and the Mad Hatter, we stopped for lunch. I also bought fancy cupcakes for dessert.

After lunch, we decide to wander around the festival. The girls loved shopping the various vendors. Marina insisted that we stop by the Harry Potter Sorting Hat. She was pleased that both she and Ainsley were sorted into Hufflepuff. We ran into Peter Pan and Tinkerbell along the way.

We headed back to the Princess Palace where we took photos with Tiana and Jasmine. Cinderella arrived as we were there but her line was pretty long, so we decided to come back to see her.

We did a little more shopping. At one booth both Marina and Ainsley found necklaces they loved, so I bought them. By this time, Cinderella’s line had shortened, so we took photos with her.

We checked out more booths and the petting zoo, which both girls loved. They also went through the castle maze. By this point it was starting to sprinkle. Because of that, the line to sit on a “unicorn” was as short as we had seen it, so we waited for Marina and Ainsley to have their photos taken on the larger “unicorn.”

By this time, it was starting to rain. At the Princess Palace, Anna and Elsa were there. Since there wasn’t much else to do, we waited in the line. It was pretty cold by then so we teased Elsa that she must have brought in the bad weather.

We were all ready to go home but since Rapunzel was due in 15 minutes, we decided to take a photo with her and then go home. Unfortunately the waited ended up being nearly and hour. Marina got a bit grumpy. Eventually she went over to the Storytime Cottage and talked with the drag queen there. Apparently she was asking for makeup tips.

Eventually, Rapunzel arrived and we quickly took a photo with her. After the long, cold wait, we were all pretty miserable. We headed to the gate, stopping along the way to pet more “unicorns.” So we left the festival and stopped for dinner.

Family Enchantment

Marina and I have been going to Disney on Ice shows for years. This year, her aunt and cousin wanted to join us. So we arranged to go together this afternoon.

Marina is not allowed to dress up for the shows anymore, so she wore her Alice in Wonderland dress. We left early to avoid the crowds. We got a good parking spot and easily got into the building. We picked up drinks and went to our seats.

When the show started, both girls were drawn in by the show. We saw a long Toy Story segment followed by The Little Mermaid. The second part started with a short scene from Cars and ended with Frozen. When the show was over, we took a few photos near the ice before walking out to the parking lot.

Princess Pizza Party

Marina still likes to dress up and attend princess events, however now she prefers to do it when a younger child is with us. So I when I saw the Moana and Ariel party at a pizzeria I invited a friend and her niece to join us. Marina wore her Ariel costume and added jewelry and a tiara with pearls.

When we arrived it was a bit chaotic. We were happy to sit down. Our server took great care of us. Marina and I ordered a large pizza so we would have leftovers later in the week. While we were waiting, a huge plate of breadsticks were brought to our table, Marina loved those.

Right before our pizza arrived Moana and Ariel came by our table. Both girls got a necklace from Ariel and a heart of Tifiti from Moana.

After we ate, Moana and Ariel each sang a song. After that we waited to pay our bill. But before we left we signed up for the party next month. We’d had a fun evening.

More Mermaids!

Last month, Marina and I went to a paint and sip class for a mother daughter mermaid painting. This weekend they had a class for another one. This painting was inspired by the Disney movie The Little Mermaid.

We were running a bit late, so we arrived just as the class was getting started. Each of us took a stencil to draw on the shape of the mermaid. Then we started creating the gradient background. That was fun but it took a while. Then we filled in the mermaid. Marina had a few issues with hers, but this time she calmly dried the paint and fixed what she didn’t like. In the end she was happy with how it came out.

Disenchanted

Marina has always has a love of princesses. Now that she's older that hasn't really changed. We decided to see Disenchanted, a princess spoof, at a dinner theater with some friends.

Since it was a princess show, Marina decided to wear her Ariel dress. We took a few photos outside the theater before going to our seats. One of our servers was playing Snow White in the show.

After we ate, we settled in for the show. It was a comedy with some mature themes. Marina laughed throughout. She was clearly enjoying herself. At intermission Marina enjoyed a black forest cake for dessert.

After the show was over, we met up with some of the actors we know. We got photos with Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in their costumes. We also caught up with the frog princess. She was the one who encouraged us to see the show. Just before we left we managed to get pictures with the actresses playing Mulan and Ariel.

The drive home seemed to go quickly but it was still pretty late when we got home.

A Mermaid and Her Mom

A few months ago Marina and I went to a paint and sip class and made mermaid paintings. We decided we wanted to do another one. This time it was a class for mothers and daughters to create two paintings that go together. We both wore Ariel shirts. 

When we arrived we saw that most of the daughters were pretty young. That didn't bother Marina at all. We bought drinks and found our spots near the front of the room.

The pictures were already drawn in for us and we had fun painting them. Marina added some great detail to the mermaid tail. We decided to make the hair of our mermaids like our own. Marina's turned out great! Especially considering that she had to mix the colors to make brown.

Near the end of the class, Marina got a bit frustrated with the final touches. So I helped her fix the issues. Once the class was over we stopped for lunch. We both felt better after we ate.

A Festival of Friends

It’s been a crazy summer and we hadn’t been to the Renaissance Festival yet this year. One of Marina's friends has wanted to go with us for years. So yesterday at her party we decided that she and her father would join us this year.
She dressed as Belle today. Marina had planned to dress as a fairy but it was foggy and cool this morning, so she changed into her Ariel costume instead.

Traffic wasn’t too bad and we arrived shortly after the festival opened. We saw Juniper the Fairy in front. Marina was happy to introduce her. We also saw our friend Princess Elizabeth on top of the gate. Except this year she is Queen Anne!

We started toward the jousting grounds so we could be there for the first round. On the way we saw the unicorn and the Owlmancer. Along the way the girls were happy to shop the jewelry and clothing stores.

For the first joust of the day we were in Sir Duncan’s section. Sir William was acting as Master of Ceremonies again this year. But we were able to talk to him briefly after the match was over.
We headed to the food court and the girls shopped more along the way. Marina and I shared our traditional turkey leg. While we ate we watched part of the Exotic Cat show. We stopped to see our favorite face painter where both girls picked a design to go with their costumes. Then we wandered the shops a while longer until it was time for the second joust.
 
For the second joust, both Marina and Ainsley bought favors for their favorite knight. Marina chose Sancho and her friend picked Duncan. Then after the joust was over, we took photos with both of them as well as Sir William.

We went to Juniper’s booth where Marina gave her a book with photos from last year. She was thrilled with it! Next we went for the Knighting ceremony where the Queen Mother and King of Ireland were presiding.

We stopped for snacks and went to the jousting ground for Princess Erin’s tea party. She had asked Marina t help out which she was more than happy to do. After everyone gathered, Queen Anne joined us for the party. After chatting about the festival, Princess Erin told a story with the Lord Chamberlain, the flag bearer, one of her ladies and Marina acting it out. Marina was a lady knight. She clearly enjoyed the role.

After the party we gave Queen Anne photos from last year when she was Princess Elizabeth. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the book we gave her years ago and immediately added the photos! We took a few more with her and Princess Erin.

After the tea party, the girls wanted to go to the petting zoo to see the baby goats. Of course they squealed over them. They look a look at the rest of the animals before we left to watch the final joust. We got popcorn and found seats to watch it. The good knights triumphed over the bad guys.

We look our time going out. The girls rode a pirate swing and shopped some more. On the way out we said goodbye to Juniper and the jousters. Queen Anne was outside with King Henry, so we said goodbye to them as well. We watched the rest of the cast sing and dance for a few minutes before going back to the car. The girls were already making plans to go together next year on the way back.

Patriotic Parade

Marina and I slept in this morning after a late night last night. Our plans were to go to a July 4 parade, just like last year. We left the house early and set up on the same corner. As we waited for the parade to start, a woman and her daughter arrived. We watched the parade with them last year and we were all happy to do it again.

While they waiting, the girls entertained each other. Once the parade started, they moved closer to the street. During the parade the both managed to get some candy, but Marina really got interested when the character performers came by. First she saw Belle and gave her a hug. We also saw Ariel, Tinkerbell and Marina high fived Captain America.

Once the parade was over, we went over to the shop in order to say hello to our friends. Unfortunately, they were not outside as they were last year. So we looked around at some of the other festivities before deciding to get out of the sun and go home.

Fairytales and Fondue

Last year we went to a Fondue Fairytale. We had a fun time, so we decided to go to one this year as well. Marina had a tough time picking out her outfit. She was planning to wear her Elsa coronation dress. But when I mentioned that we would be eating chocolate fondue, which Anna sings about in her coronation dress, she changed her mind. I put her hair in a bun and we added a green tiara. She looked very pretty.

We arrived at the restaurant right on time. We met two of our friends there. The two year old was dressed up as Tinkerbell. We were all really hungry, but it took a while for them to get our first course of cheese fondue took a while. Once it was ready we all dug in.

While we ate, we listened to a few songs sung by the characters. They had Ariel, Rapunzel, Aurora and Prince Charming. I took pictures of Marina with all of them. I even managed to get a group photo. One girl even asked Marina for her autograph. She signed it “Anna.”

 

We all enjoyed our food even if it was served slowly. We talked with them for a while before leaving the restaurant.

Theater Under the Sea

We arrived at the theater to see The Little Mermaid a few hours after the tea party. We were seated with a couple who are season ticket holders. We enjoyed talking with them during dinner. Marina and I both got the chicken cordon bleu for dinner and she ordered cheesecake for dessert.


Marina didn’t eat much of her dinner but she was very excited to see the show. When it finally started she was completely engrossed. During “Under the Sea” a jellyfish swooped right over her head. She was especially happy when she realized it was one of our friends who had done it.

During intermission, Marina enjoyed her cheesecake. We all loved the show and after it was over Marina wanted her picture taken with some of the mersisters as well as Scuttle, Ursula and Flounder. On the way out, we got photos with Ariel and Prince Eric.