Fireworks, Family and Fun!

Last year, Marina and I went to the Red, White and You fireworks show the day before Independence Day. The show was great but the wait for the show was a bit dull. We found out later that Marina's aunt, uncle and cousins were also there. But there were so many people there we didn’t see them. When we decided to go this year, I arranged to meet them there. Marina was excited to go.

We didn’t leave as early as last year, so we ended up parking a bit further away than last year. And since the walk to the park was mostly uphill, it was tiring. We found a spot not far from the lake where we spread out our blanket and saved space for everyone. About an hour later, our family showed up. Marina immediately wanted to hang out with her cousins.

Marina had fun with the kids while we waited and we shared the snacks we brought. When it was time for the show, we realized we had a great spot. The fireworks looked to be right above us.The kids were especially excited by the show.

After it was over, we gathered our belongings and said goodbye to everyone. The walk back to the car was much easier. When we got to the car, we could see that there was a traffic jam trying to get out of the parking lot. So we decided to wait for it to clear up. It ended up being a longer wait than expected. After 20 minutes we got out of the car and started talking with the other people who were waiting. In total, we had to wait about 45 minutes. Once traffic started moving we were on our way home quickly.

Fireworks Fun

Marina and I decided to kick off the July 4 holiday a bit early by attending the “Red, White and You” event tonight. We took a picnic with us and left this afternoon.

It turns out that this is a very popular event. Parking was difficult to come by but we did manage to get a spot near a high school. We had a bit of a walk to get to the stage area where people were gathering. We found a spot and settled in. While we waited, we met a woman and her five year old son who were sitting nearby. He and Marina had fun playing together as we waited for the entertainment to start.

At seven o’clock a band took the stage. They sang a collection of fun songs. We danced and sang along with them. As it got dark, we were definitely ready for the fireworks by the time they started.
As it turned out, we had a fantastic view of the fireworks and we were able to hear the music they were synchronized with. It was an amazing display!

Once they were over, we said goodbye to our new friends and walked back to the car. It was a bit more challenging in the dark but we managed to get there. Fortunately by then traffic wasn’t too heavy and we were able to get home quickly.

Star Wars Symphony

Marina has been much more interested in Star Wars lately. Most nights before bed she wants to watch part of a movie. So we have been seeing them mini-series style, an hour at a time. Because of her interest, I decided to get tickets for The Music of Star Wars at the symphony. She had a tough time deciding what to wear to the concert. Recently I bought her Rey from The Force Awakens and Jyn from Rogue One. Ultimately she decided on Rey. The hairstyle was difficult for me to replicate, but we finally got it done with a lot of bobby pins and hairspray.

We arrived at the concert hall early, so we picked up our tickets right away. After we did, we met the Symphony photographer, who asked if he could take her picture. She was happy to comply. Before the show started, there were cosplayers in the lobby. Marina was happy to have her picture taken with them. As I was taking her picture I saw other people also taking pictures. I think they believed she was one of the cosplayers!

Next we checked out the kids crafts. There was only one craft – making lightsabers out of pool noodles. They had a guide on the wall of what characters carried which color lightsaber. As soon as Marina saw that Rey’s light saber was blue, she knew she wanted that color. As she was making her lightsaber, we met up with a couple of other girls dressed as Rey.  Marina said if she had known there would be so many Reys she would have dressed as Jyn.

Once the craft was done, we found our seats. This concert was very popular, so they opened up the Parquet, which they usually don’t sell the seats for. I decided to give them a try. We loved the seats! We could see the conductor, very well throughout the concert. We were also right behind the percussion section. After the show was over, we were able to talk with a few of the musicians.

We both enjoyed the music. It was fun to be able to see the conductor’s face throughout and it was very interesting to see the percussion section in action. After the concert, the cymbal player borrowed Marina’s light saber to have a duel with a little boy near us. Marina told him he looked like Anakin Skywalker. He seemed pleased by the compliment.

On our way out we heard fireworks. It turned out that we could see the display coming from an amusement park. So we stayed and watched them. By then the parking lot had cleared out and we had an easy trip home.

Fireworks and Fun

The Independence Celebration at the local historic park is a must do every year for July 4. This year Marina wanted to dress in period clothing. She decided to wear her Red Riding Hood costume (without the hood) and a pioneer style bonnet.

As we entered Marina picked up a scavenger hunt bingo game. We immediately started looking  through the park for the items on it. It took us a while, but we managed to complete it. As a reward, Marina got an old fashioned candy stick.

Once the hunt was over, we spent time checking out all the activities. marina seemed to enjoy watching the dancing,m but had no desire to try it herself. She panned for gold, tried to walk on stilts and joined in a group of kids on tug-o-war.

We spent some time looking at the animals on the property. Marina was especially interested in the goats. Although the wild rabbits running around always captured her attention! She also took a ride in an old fashioned horse drawn wagon.

The meadow was filling up, so we picked up a snack and found a spot to watch the fireworks. Marina was a bit bored, but she entertained herself by dancing with other children in front of the band playing there.

As darkness set in we settled on our blanket and Marina checked the time frequently. She was very excited when the fireworks finally began. It was a great display. We both enjoyed watching them.

Once it was over we were able to get to our car quickly. It wasn't that late, but Marina fell asleep on the drive home anyway.

Early Independence Celebration

The Fourth of July activities at the local historic park has become a tradition for Marina and I. This year, they moved their celebration up a few days to coordinate with the city’s fireworks. We went after dinner tonight.

The festivities were different from years past. The meadow area was filled with food trucks and an open space was left so people could settle in to watch the fireworks. Before we did that, we wanted to take a look around.

We found an activity table where Marina made a firecracker necklace. As she did that, we saw one of Marina’s former dance teachers. She showed Marina how to use stilts and play the old fashioned games they had on display. The Civil War display was smaller than previous years, but we still enjoyed looking it. We looked in on the blacksmith demonstration as well.

We picked out a spot in the meadow and bought a snack for while we waited. However, before the fireworks were scheduled it started raining. We took shelter inside the main building. The rain lasted over an hour. Marina socialized with other people inside the building while we waited.

We ventured outside a few minutes before the fireworks were scheduled to start. The grass was wet, but our blanket protected us. The fireworks were worth the wait. It took a long time to get home. Marina fell asleep on the way.

Avalanche Warning

We had tickets to the Colorado Avalanche season finale this evening. Marina and I had attended a game a year and a half ago and she loved it. So we were looking forward to going again. This time we went with Uncle Mike and his friend Jessica. As is usual for her lately, she took one of her American Girl dolls along.

There was an air of festivity despite the fact that the Avalanche did not have a good season this year. Marina got the chance to try making a goal at a spot ouside the Pepsi Center. It was a pretty difficult game, but Marina enjoyed it.

We got to our seats shortly after the game began. We had a great view of the ice. We were sitting near quite a few fans rooting for the visiting team, the Minnesota Wild. That confused Marina a bit and it took her a while figure out which team we were cheering for. I was impressed at how well she followed the game. 

At the second intermission, we went to meet Bernie, the Avalanche mascot. It was a pretty long line, but Marina had cotton candy to keep her occupied.

The game was fun, but the Avalanche lost. It took us a while to get out of the parking lot, but we were treated to fireworks being set off nearby.

Part of Your World - Disney World, that is!

After a restful night in the hotel, we headed out to the Magic Kingdom for the day. Marina dressed as Ariel today. Christina wore her Rapunzel costume and Leisa was Sleeping Beauty. It was exciting to be back at Disney World!

We met Mary Poppins on the way in. Then we went over to Fantasyland where we took advantage of short lines. The girls all wanted to sit together. We rode nearly every ride in Fantasyland - including Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, It's a Small World and Dumbo. At that point, it was time to say goodbye to Linda, Christina and Leisa. They were off to meet their grandmother while Marina and I went off to have lunch.

We had reservations for lunch at Cinderella's Castle - exactly one year after our first visit there. We had a lovely meal and got to meet Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Belle.

After lunch, we headed over to Adventureland. We rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise. Marina met with Ariel and Prince Eric there as well. We watched the Celebrate A Dream Come True parade, where Ariel excited waved at Marina, and the Dream Along With Mickey castle show. We also met with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen.

After that, we walked over to Tomorrowland. We rode the Tomorrowland Motor Speedway, the Buzz Lightyear ride and saw the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor show. During the show, Marty Wizowski had a few princess jokes. He asked for a kid to help him. Suddenly, Marina was on the screen. He asked her name and called her "Princess Marina." She loved doing that!

We watched the Main Street Electrical Parade before going into the Main Street Theater to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse as well as three princesses - Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella. Marina never gets tired of talking with princesses. We don't get much of an opportunity at home, so we're doing that while we can.

Our day ended with the Wishes fireworks show. I'm amazed at how long we spent at the park today. But it was fun!

Patriotic Princess

Marina has been very patriotic lately. She has been dying to go to a sporting event and chant “Go USA!” (Unfortunately, we haven’t been to one where the United States was one of the teams playing.) She’s been looking forward to seeing fireworks as well. She was tired this evening but she was determined to see fireworks. We had dinner at Madi and Noah’s house. Marina didn’t eat much, I think she was too tired and excited. She played with Madi and Noah for a while before it was time to leave.

We went to a golf course to watch the fireworks this year. We spread out blankets to sit on. For a while, Marina just laid on the blankets. When it started to get dark, she perked up a bit. The kids played with some glow in the dark bracelets I brought. Once the fireworks started, they were impressive. We were much closer than we’re used to. So, they were big and loud and we had a fantastic view. Marina especially liked the one that was shaped like a heart. It took a while to get home, but that didn’t matter to Marina. She fell asleep in the car just minutes after buckling her seat belt.

Disney World - Day Six

Our day started with a mad rush. Marina had an appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and the shuttle schedule wasn't at all compatible with the appointment. It didn't help that the shuttle was ten minute late either. We were dropped off at Epcot and we did well making the monorails to the Magic Kingdom. But once we arrived on Main Street, we had to negotiate the crowds who were watching the morning parade. We passed Snow White and the Fairy Godmother who had short lines waiting to see them. But, fortunately, the Boutique was able to fit Marina in half an hour late.

Marina chose to wear her Silvermist costume today. So she chose a fall with black hair. I found it humorous that the dark haired girls were choosing blonde falls and the blondes seemed to want darker hair. As she was getting started, the Fairy Godmother came in to visit. Fairy Godmother in Training Sabina worked on Marina's hair. Later on, Christina helped with make up. I noticed that their names rhyme: Sabina-Christina-Marina.

Once her hair and make up were done, we had her picture taken. I wasn't happy with the first batch, so I made them do another set. I hope the photographer doesn't hate me!

We went into Fantasyland where Marina's favorite rides are. Then we went off to meet the fairies. We had lunch there. A nice young woman at one of the food stands asked Marina for her autograph. It was so cute to see her sign her name in the book!

Since Marina was dressed as Silvermist (and we had managed to get her picture taken with every character she was dressed as, I didn't want to ruin our streak). Unfortunately when we went through, Silvermist wasn't there. We did meet Tinkerbell, Fawn and Terence though.

We finally caught a performance of Story Time with Belle that wasn't rained out. (It was the only show of the day that wasn't.) But it was important since that show will be ending next month, so we won't have another chance to see it again. I wanted to see the entire Castle show, but lightning was visible in the distance and the performance was canceled.

We went into Adventureland to say goodbye to Aladdin and Jasmine. Unfortunately, we missed their last meet and greet by five minutes. Marina was crushed. A cashier in the store next to them offered to take a note to them. Marina wrote, "I love you," on the paper and then signed her name. She added a flower she'd picked for Jasmine. I wish I could have seen them when they got that!

We went over to see Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen again but the rain started. We ducked into the Christmas store for a while. Marina loved looking at the ornaments and I bought one for our tree this year. But we got restless in the store, so we walked over to Toon Town to try to meet Silvermist again. The wait was longer than before but what else were we going to do? By the time we got to the front of the line, we learned that Silvermist wasn't there. The cast member let us wait about 15 minutes until she came. By the time Marina got into the room to meet the fairies, they all knew she was waiting for Silvermist. Tinkerbell even called Marina by name. So fun!
By the time were done with the fairies, the rain had stopped. So we caught the train to Frontierland. Then we went back to Adventureland where we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise. Then we went back for our chance to meet Princess Tiana. She wasn't there but the line was, so we got in it. Good thing because they closed it soon after. Marina had her picture taken with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. I asked if I could be in some of the pictures. Prince Naveen offered me his arm. So I was on the arm of a handsome prince while looking out at a castle. Sigh. Does it get any better than this?

We caught the end of the Electrical Parade, then went over to City Hall. We each had one day left on our passes and I wanted to know if we could keep them somehow. The wonderful man at the counter arranged for non expiring passes for our next visit. I left thinking our next visit should be next summer.

We watched the fireworks then made the made rush for the ferry. We were exhausted after nearly 12 hours at the park but I was sad to leave. I watched Cinderella's Castle fade into the distance. I hope we'll see it again soon!

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 Three

We had breakfast with Marina's grandparents this morning before heading off to Epcot. Marina wanted to wear her Ariel costume. Turns out, it fit in perfectly at our first stop - The Seas. There was no wait for The Finding Nemo ride or Turtle Talk with Crush. Marina loved them both. She also enjoyed looking at all the aquariums throughout the building.

We went into the World Showcase for lunch. We had reservations at Akershus Royal Hall for the Storybook Lunch. As we walked in, she had her picture taken with Belle. Marina ordered ravioli for lunch, it was shaped like Mickey Mouse! As we ate we were visited by Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty. But I think Marina's favorite part of the lunch was the chocolate mousse for dessert.

We wandered around the World Showcase. While we were there, we met Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco, Marie the Aristocat and the Beast in France, Mulan in China and Mary Poppins in the UK.


We tried a few rides in Future World. First we tried Spaceship Earth, then Mission: Space. For Mission Space, she was the engineer. Despite being a little nervous, she did her job and even liked the ride. After that, we went back to The Seas. It was Marina's favorite part of Epcot.

By then it was getting late. We split fish and chips in the UK and settled down to watch IllumiNations, the fireworks show. Marina really enjoyed it and she cheered loudly when it was done.

We were both exhausted on our way back to the hotel. It had been a long day.