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. 

A Musical Space Odyssey

Marina and I are regular attendees of the symphony. However, we’ve been interested in seeing a concert by another group closer to home. Their family friendly Space Odyssey concert sounded like it was right up our alley. Marina decided to wear her Rey costume today.

When we arrived it was a crazy scene. The concert was very popular. We spotted some Star Wars cosplayers and took some photos with them before finding seats in the second row.

The concert was a fun one. Marina recognized much of the music and she loved it. She even expressed interest in attending their Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony when they perform it next month

Puffs

Over the past year, Marina has become a huge Harry Potter fan. She’s especially enthusiastic about the house she was sorted into on Pottermore – Hufflepuff. When I learned about a Harry Potter play called Puffs, I told Marina about it. She asked “Puffs, as in Hufflepuffs?” When I said yes, she insisted we see it.

Since today was Valentine’s Day, I gave her a present of two Hufflepuff dresses. As I expected, she wore one of the dresses with a Hufflepuff sweater and scarf to the show tonight. She was very excited to see it.

We arrived early and a friend of ours was at the box office. She was excited to see us. When the theater opened, we picked seats in the front row. There was a bit of a delay in starting the show, so Marina used that time to talk Hufflepuff with everyone around us.

When the performance finally started, Marina was completely involved. Although the story covered Harry Potter storyline that she hasn’t read about yet, she still got a lot out of it. Because we were in the front row, we were given M&Ms at one point in the show and Kleenex when Cedric died.

The show was funny and we both enjoyed it. After it was over, the cast were in the lobby. Marina wanted to talk to all the lead actors. They loved her outfit. We took some pictures with them before heading home.

Frozen Friends

We’ve been to quite a few events featuring the characters from Frozen. But we were excited about the one scheduled for tonight. It featured Anna and Elsa in their outfits from Frozen 2. They were also bringing Sven along. Fortunately, our friends were able to join us.

Marina and I wore our travel outfits from Frozen 2. We arrived early and we had a great table inside. Our friends joined us a little while later. Marina was thrilled to see them.

After we ordered our food, it was our turn for photos. I took lots of different poses with the characters. Of course, Marina wanted to hug them all! We ate dinner. Marina even joined the group for the singing and dancing part of the evening. But the best part was hanging out with our friends tonight.

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.

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!

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.

New Frozen Friends

Last month we took our friends for Dinner with Villains. They enjoyed it so much we invited them from Dinner with Anna and Elsa. They were both looking forward to it. Marina and I decided to wear our costumes from Frozen 2.

We arrived a bit late but our table was waiting for us when we got there. We were all hungry so we all ordered salads. Marina really likes the wedge salad. She and I also got chicken wings for our entrées.
While we were waiting for our food, Anna and Elsa came to our table. This time, they used a new company to supply the actors, so we didn’t know either of them. They loved our costumes and made a big fuss over Marina. They even asked Marina how old she is – I think they were trying to recruit her!

When our food arrived we were all ready to eat. Marina only ate a few of her wings. Then she went to join in on the activities with the princesses. When it was time to leave, we all agreed we’d had a great time.

Fairytale Tea

A tea house we have attended a few times this year scheduled a Fairytale tea for today. Marina and I were looking forward to it. We decided to wear our costumes from the new Frozen movie.

When we arrived we were greeted by Olaf. The tea parts was an intimate gathering of mothers and daughters. Most of the girls were small, but Marina didn’t mind. At first we were served a plate of decorative sweets. But eventually they brought out sandwiches. Marina was of course thrilled when they brought out the cucumber sandwiches. After we ate, we took turns taking photos in front of their Christmas tree. It was a short party, but we’d had fun.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Marina has been a fan of the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas for many years. I’ve never seen it however. Over the past few years, the symphony has presented it in concert right around Halloween. We’ve wanted to go but hadn’t been able to make it happen in the past. So I decided to buy tickets this year.

Marina wore her Sally dress and drew stitch marks on her face. She decided not to have her hair colored red like Sally’s however.

We left the house early to deal with rush hour traffic. Once we were inside the concert hall, we decided to check out the activities they had set up. Marina decided to try one of them out.
Once her craft was done, we bought drinks and went tour seats. The symphony has a new screen set up that made it much easier for us to see.

Marina loved seeing the movie again. After it was over she said it “took me back to my childhood.”

Dinner with Villains

We’ve been going to a local pizza place for character meals for quite a while, but we were particularly excited for the Villain’s Dinner Halloween Spooktacular this evening. Since we know Judy loves the villains, we invited her and Chuck to join us. Marina had a new Ursula tutu to wear. I wore my Maleficent dress. We both had fun putting on villain make up. Marina especially loved the new Ursula lipstick I recently bought.

Chuck and Judy picked us up. We were running a bit late, but when we arrived there was still a line to get in. It didn’t take long to get to our table, which fortunately was inside the restaurant near the kitchen. Since it was a cold night, we were happy about that.

The Villains at the Halloween Spooktacular were Maleficent, Ursula and Captain Hook. As it turned out, we knew all three of the actors. Marina and I ordered our usual pizza and Chuck and Judy decided to share a calzone.

After we ordered, the entertainment started. Usually the entertainment takes place outside, but since it was so cold, they moved it inside. It was a fun change. Maleficent set up to sing right by our table. And when Ursula sang “Poor Unfortunate Souls” she made the conditions of the deal with Marina. She loved that! Later on, Captain Hook came by and told pirate jokes to us.

As usual, the food was good. Chuck and Judy really enjoyed themselves as well. We made plans to attend another event together next month.

Alice in Wonderland Haunted Tea

This summer, Marina and I tried a new tea room for their Cinderella Tea. Marina really wanted to go back for their Alice in Wonderland Haunted Tea scheduled for this weekend. Our friend Christiane, who hasn’t seen Marina in a while, loves Alice in Wonderland and decided to join us.

We all decided to dress up for the tea. Marina wore her new Alice costume, Christiane dressed in the Cheshire Cat tutu with ears and I was the Queen of Hearts. It was a snowy day, but fortunately the roads were clear. I was able to find a parking place close by and we arrived a bit early for tea.

The “haunted library” created for the tea was outside. So, unfortunately we didn’t get to have tea there. Instead we were taken to a table inside the tea room on the second floor. We were served by staff dressed as Alice characters. Many of the other guests were also dressed up. We had a great time taking photos with each other.

The tea was a special blend with a berry flavor. We had to wait a while for our food, but it was worth it when it arrived. We each had four mini sandwiches – roast beef, turkey, egg salad and cucumber – and a whole bunch of sweets including brownies, lemon bars, cream puffs, macarons and caramels. We were full pretty quickly.

Before we left, we went outside to look at the “haunted library” set up. It was really cool and we would have loved to sit there, but we’d had a fun time inside as well.

Glow at the Gardens

The Glow at the Gardens event has become another Halloween tradition for Marina and I. This year the event was scheduled for one week only. I got our tickets early since it always sells out.

It started snowing just as Marina got out of school. Traffic wasn’t too bad despite rush hour and the weather. However, when we arrived it was clear parking was an issue. After a bit of circling around we came upon some people who were leaving and we were able to grab their spot. It was very close and we were happy about that.

We quickly checked in and started off by buying hot chocolate before venturing back out to explore the gardens. We stopped to look at the pumpkins and Marina picked up candy at each trick or treat station. We just followed the path since it was still snowing heavily.

As we walked around, we kept an eye out for the ghosts we heard about on the Ghosts in the Gardens tour last week. We shared some of the stories with people around us as well. Marina was pretty creeped out when we walked through the trees in the back of the gardens.

Every year, the botanic gardens has the most interesting pumpkin displays that we see. This year was no exception. I took pictures of many of them, but they were all surrounded by snow.

We went back inside to try out the virtual reality experience they set up this year. We had three experiences to choose from. We both picked the Halloween Epic Roller Coaster. It took a bit to get mine started, but I could hear Marina as she went through it. The volunteers thought she was very entertaining.

After our VR experience we were ready to go home. We had a quick walk to the car and headed home. We had an easy trip where we put on dry clothes and watched TV for a little while before bed.

Halloween at the Zoo

It’s a Halloween tradition for Marina and I got go to Boo at the Zoo. Marina decided to wear her new Mulan costume today. We wanted to get an early start, but it didn’t work out as well as we hoped. We ended up having to walk quite a way.

When we finally got into the zoo, we found out where the characters would be so we didn’t miss them. Then we were on our way. We looked at some of the animals along the way around. Marina was much better at spotting the small trick or treat stations than I was.  She collected quite a bit of candy.

Near the entrance we saw Kylo Ren and a Bounty Hunter. By the carousel we found Snow White, who was played by a friend of ours.Then we went to the primate exhibit where we found Captain Jack Sparrow. He recognized us immediately. Near Tropical Discover was Maleficent who recognized us as well. She hugged us both and we talked with her for a few minutes.

By this time, we were hungry, so we stopped for lunch. Marina had a quesadilla. It was nice to sit and rest for a while. At noon, the characters changed. So we headed back to some of the spots. At the carousel we ran into Moana. She was played by an actress we haven’t seen in a while. Then we went to the tropical exhibit where the Evil Queen was lurking. We had a nice exchange with her as well.

Once our visits were done. We headed to the car, which was quite a walk. We were both very tired but we’d had a fun time.

An Enchanted Dinner

This evening, our favorite pizzeria had an Enchanted Dinner with Belle and Cinderella. We made plans to attend with our friends. Marina decided to dress up as Cinderella. She was especially excited to wear a pair of new sparkly light blue heels. I wore my Belle dress and we added fancy capes to help us stay warm.

When we arrived, Angie and the girls were already there. The restaurant was still being set up, so Cinderella and Belle came outside and visited with us while we were waiting. Once everything was ready, we went to our table. We also had our usual server.

Shortly after we sat down, Cinderella came by to see us. She’s an actress we know so it was fun to see her again. A little while later, Belle also came by. Our friends loved having time with them and Marina enjoyed hanging out with them.

Marina wanted a wedge salad and I also ordered a pizza. The salad came with dressing, which Marina usually doesn’t like. But she didn’t seem to mind and she ate the whole thing minus the tomatoes. She also had a slice of the pizza.

After we ate, Marina took the girls outside for songs and stories with the princesses. While they played along, Marina stood with the parents and watched. When storytime was over we got ready to leave. We’d had fun with our friends.

Dinner With Harry Potter

Marina has been obsessed with Harry Potter lately. So she was very excited when our favorite pizza place scheduled a Dinner with Harry Potter and Hermione. Of course, she wanted to wear her Hufflepuff outfit and she brought her stuffed owl as well.

We arrived just after the seating started and the owner told us where our table was. Right when we sat down Harry and Herimone came by. We recognized both performers from previous dinners. They spent quite a lot of time with us throughout the evening which suited Marina just fine. She was so excited to talk about her for all things Harry Potter.


Even with all the fun she was having, Marina managed to eat a Caesar salad and a slice of pizza. When it was time for Wizard Training it was dark outside. Marina was fully engaged in the activities. After Wizard Training, she chatted with the characters for quite a while before letting me know she was ready to go. Clearly this was one other favorite character dinners.