Exploring Wonderland

About six months ago, a new hotel opened not too far from our house. This summer, they were having a Summerfest featuring Alice in Wonderland. Marina and I were interested in checking it out. Marina decided to wear her Alice costume.

We had to get up early this morning for Breakfast in Wonderland. We arrived at the hotel and found the restaurant easily. It featured a buffet breakfast with Alice, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit. We filled our plates and sat down. Shortly after we did, the White Rabbit came by our table. Marina had a nice interaction with him and at one point he ran off with her purse causing her to chase him. Alice and the Mad Hatter also stopped by to visit.

After breakfast, we found the pool area to take part in the Cheshire Cat’s Scavenger Hunt. We found a few of the clues along the way. The hotel is huge and some of the clues we got help from the employees to find. Once we got them all, Marina received a prize – a fun light up necklace.

We were signed up for the Mad Hatter’s Escape Room at 2:00 pm, so we found a quiet place to sit for a while. We ate at the sports bar for lunch and then waited for our time I the escape room. We were the first to arrive but soon we were joined by two families.

The escape room was set up like a tea party with hats everywhere and clocks all over the wall. The Mad Hatter joined us and set us looking for puzzle pieces to solve a riddle. Marina and two girls found three keys and used them to open a complex lock. That produced a blacklight, which she used to look for the riddle. It took about half an hour to solve the riddle.

After we escaped the room, we were ready to go home.

Dinner with the Easter Bunny

Marina and I have been enjoying the character dinners at Oblio's Pizzeria. And even though our friends couldn’t join us today, she wanted to attend the Easter Bunny Dinner. She especially wanted to see Fawn, the animal fairy who was there as well. She didn’t really have any ideas for a costume, so she didn’t wear one. I suggested she wear bunny ears, but she didn’t like that idea.

We arrived a little bit after the event started. The Easter Bunny and Fawn were already there, so Marina gave each a hug and we took some photos. Then we were shown to our seats. They were on the patio near where the Easter Bunny and Fawn were set up, so we had plenty of interactions with them while we were there.

Our server was the same one we've had every time we eat at Oblio’s. We debated about getting chicken wings but ultimately decided on pizza instead.

After she ate, she spent time playing with a two year-old who was there with his parents. She even took him to get a glitter stamp on his hand.  Marina didn’t participate in the singing and dancing, but we could see it all from where we were sitting.

Easter with Alice

Easter is coming up in a week and a half and we went to a party with the Easter Bunny and Alice in Wonderland. So, after school Marina changed into her Alice costume and we went after dinner.

There weren’t many people there for this party and, of course, Marina was the oldest one there. But that didn’t bother her at all this time. Alice told a story while the Easter Bunny played a long. After the party was over, the girls looked for Easter Eggs hidden in the space.

Since we knew both Alice and the Easter Bunny, we spent extra time talking with them after the party.

Springtime Spree

We were happy we had tickets for the Princess Spring Fling. Marina had a tough time choosing which character to dress up as. She finally decided on Alice in Wonderland.

The drive took a long time, but we arrived just before the princesses. Marina was a bit disappointed that Alice was not there as scheduled. But she got many compliments on her outfit.

The event was set up so everyone visited with each princess and received on part of a craft. After meeting with them all they had a flower photo holder assembled. Marina met with Merida first, Then Belle, Tiana, Elsa and Anna. The last one we saw was Moana – she had the longest line!

After the crafts were done, the Easter Bunny came to take photos with the kids. Tiana and Moana sang and Belle told a story. Then the girls and princesses all danced together.

At the end of the event, the princesses all gathered together for a group photo with all the kids. Marina waited until the end. When it was her turn, she shared our princess scrapbook with them. They all seemed to enjoy looking through all our photos.

Marina fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was a long day!

Beautiful Easter Day

Marina has been looking forward to Easter for some time now. We started our morning at the church Easter Egg Hunt. Marina brought Grace along with her since they had matching dresses. We were running a bit late, but there were still plenty of eggs to gather when we arrived. Marina got started right away.

After the egg hunt, Marina and her friends hung around outside – it was such a beautiful day. They came inside in time for the church service.

I was so impressed with Marina during the service. She didn’t have Sunday School today, so she sat with her friends. She followed along in the bulletin and even sang the songs.

After church, we went home where Marina got to look for more eggs. The Easter Bunny challenged Marina a bit this year, but she responded by saying, “He’s dealing with a pro here.” She found both of her baskets but there was one egg that eluded us.

A little while later, we had friends over for dinner. The girls immediately disappeared into the basement to play on the Wii. They also enjoyed playing with Marina’s American Girl dolls.

We all had a lovely ham dinner together and took a little break before dessert. But we all had a wonderful day together.

Easter Bunny Breakfast

Marina and I got up early to go to the Aquarium for Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. Marina was pretty excited about it. As usual, she chose to wear her Ariel costume, although this time she added her bunny ears with a tiara for the occasion. We were being taken to our table when we met up with the Easter Bunny himself. Marina got a hug and we took a picture, then we sat down for our breakfast.

Shortly after we started eating, we saw the Easter Bunny had moved from the dining room to the tank. He was taking a swim with the fish! A little while later, he was joined by the mermaids. Marina took a break from her food to say hello to them all.

After we ate breakfast, we checked out several of the other activities set up for the day. Marina colored an egg wreath and made a bunny s'more figure. We also got a chance to see some of the animals close up. We met Molly, the macaw, and a two-toed sloth. Outside we saw a porcupine wandering around in a pen.

Marina lined up with the other kids for an Easter egg hunt. There were eggs scattered over a pretty trail. Marina was happy to gather the ones she found. Afterward she was pleased to find a piece of candy in each egg.

After the hunt.she chased bubbles from a machine for a while. Then she was ready to go. We have plenty of preparations for Easter to make!

On the Wild Side

Marina and I went to the Wildlife Experience with Madi and Noah today. They were having an “Egg-stravaganza” for Easter. They had a climbing wall set up outside. Noah wanted to try it, so Marina tried it as well. I was pretty impressed with how hard she tried at it. She seemed to think it was fun. Inside we went to may booths. Marina decorated a foam egg, planted sunflower seeds and picked up some candy. She even met the Easter Bunny!

Once we were done with the booths, we went around to the exhibits around the museum. We went through many environmental displays. Marina’s favorite was a projector with fish. She sat down in the middle of the projection and watched as fish surrounded her. Once other kids saw this, they “scared” all the fish away by chasing them. They ran around there for a while and played in a pretend submarine as well. We went over to a play area that had a stage. The kids put on animal “costumes” and put on a show about cheetahs. Ultimately, they ended up running around the area for a while.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain

Marina has been excited about her "show" for weeks. We have gone over her line at home until she knew it perfectly. And she wanted to be sure I was going to bring her flowers.

The class performed the show twice. First for the whole school and then in the evening for families. I went both performances. The show was called The Bear Went Over the Mountain and Marina played a bunny. She did such a good job. She spoke her line clearly into the microphone and seemed very comfortable.