The Toys are Back in Town

This afternoon it started to rain. We ventured out to see Toy Story 4 at our favorite movie theater restaurant. We arrived a bit early and decided to order appetizer platters again. Our food arrived quickly. Since we were both hungry, we dug in right away.

As we waited for the movie to start, we talked to the woman sitting next to us. It turned out she works at the Renaissance Festival, so Marina was very interested in hearing what that is like.


We both enjoyed the movie. It was funny and sad at times. Marina admitted she almost cried at a few points.

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.

Rodeo Princess

We had tickets for the stock show rodeo this afternoon. Marina put on her Jessie costume shirt, jeans and pink cowgirl hat.

Fortunately, the roads were fairly clear when we went out. It didn’t take us too long to get there. But we had a chilly walk to pick up our tickets. We got through the will call line quickly.

We started on the third floor of the main building. Marina headed immediately for the AG Adventure. Before we went in she stopped at the Colorado State University booth and talked with the students there. She still wants to attend CSU and study to be a veterinarian. She picked up information about that. Then we went into the AG Adventure. We learned about where our food comes from, saw a small hive of bees and Marina even participated in a giant Jenga game.

We stopped for lunch, then went over to the Events Center to see the baby animals, we met a few rodeo queens and walked through the stables where many horses were resting. Then we decided to go over to the Coliseum for the rodeo.

We were a bit early, so we settled into our seats and had a snack. We had a great view of the rodeo floor. Marina was excited when the show started. First up were the Westerniers – a group of precision horse riders. Then the rodeo started with bareback bronc riding. Then we watched calf roping, followed by saddle bronc riding. We also watched steer wrestling, barrel racing and bull riding. Marina’s favorite was the mutton busting.

After the rodeo was over, we went to the car. By this time the sun was out and the sun was melting the snow. We had to drive through a huge puddle in the parking lot!

Stock Show and Super Dogs

Marina and I have made it an annual tradition to attend the Stock Show in January. This year we had tickets to see the Super Dog Show. Marina decided to wear her Jessie costume with her pink princess cowgirl hat. She brought her Jessie doll along as well, but she spent most of the day in my tote bag.

The dog show was scheduled for this afternoon, but we went in the late afternoon to walk around the grounds. We started off in the kids’ area. Marina loves the AG Adventure, so we went there first. She got a chance to play with the egg process and grind wheat. The area was very crowded, so after browsing the floor for a short while, we headed outside.

We saw a chainsaw carving demonstration and then went to the Super Dogs “Pat and Chat.” We got a chance to meet some of the dogs in the show and Marina pet them. One friendly dog even licked her face! She didn’t mind a bit.

We went back inside where the kids’ area was a bit less crowded. Then we wandered around the main show floor. Marina even got to press a couple of souvenir pennies. While we were here, we ran into some old friends of ours. We haven’t seen them in a while, so we spent a few minutes catching up.

It was getting close to Super Dogs show time, so we went into the Events Center. Before taking our seats, we looked in the paddock in the lower level. The corrals held many animal moms and babies. We saw baby alpacas, lambs, piglets and ponies.

As we went into the Events Center, we met many members of the Rodeo Royalty. We stopped for photos with every queen, princess and lady in waiting we met. Marina even got autographed pictures from some of them.

Marina loved the Super Dogs. She cheered loudly at every trick. She was particularly enthusiastic for the dogs she met earlier in the day. Once the show was over, she said she loved it. We were both tired by then and so we headed home.

Princess of the Stock Show

After going to the Stock Show last year, Marina made it very clear she wanted to return. She even wanted to see the Wild West Show again. Since this weekend is the only showing of the Wild West Show, it was clear when we needed to go. Marina had a couple of choices of what to wear. She decided on her Jessie costume and a pink cowgirl hat with a tiara.

The weather was beautiful today and I'm sure that was part of the reason why it was crowded today. It took over an hour for us to park and when we finally arrived at the complex, it was packed.

We started on the third level of the building, one we missed last year. Immediately Marina wanted to take a pony ride. The line was long, but it moved quickly. When it was her turn she seemed to enjoy herself. She spent some time on a playground and in an agricultural center. She really enjoyed grinding her own wheat! My alma mater had a large area and we were happy to have our picture taken with the mascot!

After lunch, we checked out the vendor floor. Marina remembered looking at horse trailers last year, so we spent a little time doing that. She also enjoyed getting into some of the tractors on display. We also watched a trained pig show.

We had heard about an area called Pony Trails which had an animal nursery. So we headed there. Marina loved the baby rabbits and even got to pet them. The piglets were the most active, so she spent the most time looking at them. She even got to see them eat!

Along the Pony Trails she got her picture taken with Buffalo Bill and some of the rodeo royalty.

When it was time for the Wild West Show, we headed to the Events Center. We found more royalty who were happy to pose for pictures with Marina. We had a snack while waiting for the show to start. Marina was particularly looking forward to the National Anthem so she could remove her hat.

The show was different than last year, but Marina loved it. Once it was over, we were ready to head home. We'd been at the Stock Show all day and we were exhausted!

Wild, Wild West

When I was in second grade, I went on a field trip to the Stock Show. I hadn't been back since. Recently, Marina and I had a conversation about the Stock Show and we decided to go this year. Naturally, Marina wanted to wear her Jessie costume from Toy Story. We left after lunch today. It was a beautiful day, so a lot of people made the same decision and we had to park pretty far away. Fortunately, we were able to take a shuttle and get to the grounds quickly.

When we arrived, Marina found a tractor to climb on. We also watched an artist demonstration - a man using a chainsaw to create carvings out of logs. We were just in time to see a show of trained pigs. It was funny. During the show, Marina spotted Ainsley, on of her classmates. They were excited to find each other and asked if we could all hang around together. So, we headed into the exhibit hall together.

Inside we saw the holding area for cows and sheep. The sheep were much more interest in us than the cows. Some even allowed themselves to be petted. We also looked around the vendor hall. The girls were drawn to all the glittery cowgirl stands. Ainsley and her family always like to look at fancy horse trailers, so we joined them in that.

We had tickets to the Wild West Show, so we left our friends and went to get a snack before the show. We got a funnel cake - one of our favorite snacks. Then we headed over to the show. The Wild West Show was a recreation of Buffalo Bill's traveling show of the 1880's. We saw shooting demonstrations, historical reenactments, bucking broncos, horse races and fancy lassoing. Marina loved it.

After the show was over, we had the opportunity to go backstage to meet the actors. Marina chatted with Annie Oakley and the Rodeo Queen. She also go to pet some of the horses from the show. On the way out, we met up with Ainsley and her family again. We also met the County Fair Queen.

We were tired, so we said goodbye to Ainsley and headed for our shuttle. Marina asked if we can come back next year. The stock show was a hit! 

Disney World - Day Four

After a late night last night, Marina and I slept in this morning and went into the Magic Kingdom just before lunch. Marina wore her Jasmine costume today. As we walked down Main Street, Marina spotted some storybook windows. She took a long look at each one.

The first thing she wanted to do was see Aladdin and Jasmine. So we went over to Adventureland to see them. Jasmine was thrilled to see Marina in her costume. I reminded them she had shown them her loose tooth on Sunday. Aladdin remembered he predicted it would fall out that night. I told him it did. He asked Marina what the "tooth genie" brought her. Jasmine pulled a blue jewel out of a vase and gave it to Marina to commemorate the occasion. Marina was thrilled.

Next we went over to Splash Mountain to meet Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. Marina has been quite a fan of Jessie lately. But I couldn't convince her to ride Splash Mountain. Maybe next time.

We went to Fantasyland and looked around Cinderella's castle. We tried to catch the Dream Along with Mickey show, but it was stopped part way through due to rain. But the rain didn't last for long, so we went over to the Fantasyland rides. We rode the Carousel, Dumbo and finally got onto Peter Pan's Flight. Marina said she was scared to try it, but once she was on it, she wanted to ride it again. We also watched the Philharmagic show. The combination of 3D and other effects was amazing. Like all the other shows we've seen, Marina didn't want to see it, but she loved it.

We went to dinner in Tomorrowland. The restaurant had a young woman with hula hoops. Marina said she wanted to play there. So I let her while I got our food. I was amazed at how well she did with the hula hoop. I didn't know she even knew how. She was so good, she had a group of cast members standing around and watching her.

We went back to Fantasyland to ride more rides. When it started getting dark, we got a dessert and sat down on Main Street to watch the Electric Light parade. A nice couple from Vermont made space for Marina on the curb. We had excellent seats. During the parade, Alice in Wonderland spotted her from on top of her giant mushroom. She asked "Are you a princess? Well, hello, Your Majesty!" Once the parade was over, we hung around until the fireworks started. It was a great show. It was a great ending to a fun day.

Disney World - Day One

After many months of planning and dreaming, we finally made it to Disney World. As we entered the Magic Kingdom today my eyes misted over. I was as excited to be there as Marina was. It was a rainy day, but it didn't dampen our spirits.

Just after we arrived, a short parade began. Frozone from The Incredibles saw Marina in her Cinderella costume and bowed to her. On the next float were Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. Marina is a big fan of Jessie lately, so she was very excited. It was a fun way to start the day.

We found where Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen appear in Liberty Square. They were on a break but due back soon, so we waited to see them first. Tiana was pleased to hear we were the first stop on our visit to Disney World. She asked Marina who her favorite princess was. Marina answered, "Jasmine!" Tiana was very gracious and even told us where to meet Jasmine and Aladdin in Adventureland.

After hearing this, Marina immediately wanted to go to Agrabah to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. They were not there when we arrived, but we did ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin while we were there.We happened to see Ariel and Prince Eric, so we decide to meet them. Ariel twirled around with Marina while Eric spoke very kindly to her. She was enchanted with them.

We left Adventureland and headed for a very important date at Cinderella's Castle. We had lunch with the princesses. We started out by meeting Cinderella and having a picture with her. Marina had worn her Cinderella dress for the occasion. We had a lovely table near a window overlooking Fantasyland. The food was wonderful and so was the service. Best of all, during the meal, we had visits from four more princesses: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Belle.

After lunch, Marina was anxious to meet Jasmine, so we went back to Agrabah. This time we managed to meet them. They spent a while talking to Marina and she even showed them her loose tooth. Aladdin said he thought it would fall out tonight. I didn't think that was likely since it has been loose for weeks.

We went back to Fantasyland and rode some of the rides. Many of Marina's favorites are there: the Carousel, Dumbo, the Teacups. She was happy to ride them all again.

Then we wandered into Toon Town. We toured Minnie's country house as well as Mickey's. We went to the Toon Town Hall of Fame where we went to meet the fairies. We got to see Tinkerbell, Silvermist and Rosetta. Marina told them she wanted to be a water fairy like Silvermist. She even got a lesson on how to put dewdrops on spider webs.
We briefly visited Tomorrowland before having dinner. We'd had a very full day, so we left after dinner. I was amazed at how much we covered today.