Christmas at the Aquarium

This morning we had reservations for Breakfast With Santa at the aquarium. So we had to get an early start. Marina decided to wear her mermaid scales dress. Ainsley wore the same dress as last night. Fortunately we didn’t run into much traffic and we arrived right on time.

We met more friends for breakfast. We had a bit of a wait for our table and when we were finally seated we were very disappointed with our table. It was a booth that was too crowded for all of us and we couldn’t see the tank at all. We asked for another table but were told they didn’t have one. So breakfast wasn’t as fun as we hoped. Santa came by our table when we asked, so we got a couple for photos.

After breakfast, some of us decided to go through the aquarium. We’ve been many times, but we all still enjoy it. One of the tigers was pacing around and the stingrays were friendly in the touch pool. After we went through once, we decided to go back and see the mermaid show.

We hung around for the mermaid meet and greet, then we headed for home.

A Pirate's Life For Me

After a late night last night, Marina and I slept in this morning. We had a big breakfast before getting ready to go out today. The Pirate Festival has become an annual tradition for Marina and I. We each created a pirate themed outfit and headed out.

We ran into terrible traffic on the way to the festival, which was frustrating but ultimately we got there and found a place to park. Then we headed into the park.

The layout was different this year, but it’s not a huge events, so it wasn’t too hard to find anything. We met up with a woman dressed up as Ursula, the sea witch and a siren. We took photos with them. Then we found Tinkerbell. It turned out she was Brittany, one of our friends. It was fun to see her. The mermaids this year were different. They were having story time when we walked by, so we decided to come back afterwards.

We were wanted to watch the cardboard boat races but they weren’t on the lake. Finally we saw a sign that said they had been moved to the recreation center across the street. We headed over there where the races were already underway. We managed to find a place to watch the rest of the races. Once they were over, we went over to say hello to Captain Jack Sparrow. We had a few minutes to talk with him before we went back to the festival.

Marina liked looking at the jewelry for sale and we ultimately got to take photos with the mermaids. We also found the Lego pirate. After a few hours we were both hungry. The food truck lines were long, so we decided to get food on the way home.

Unicorn Palooza

Marina and I had plans for today, but unfortunately the event was cancelled. So we had an open morning and afternoon. Today was Unicorn Palooza at a local outlet mall. So we decided to check that out since we also had some shopping to do.

We had a big breakfast and then headed out. It turned out that Unicorn Palooza was very popular so there were large crowds around all the activities. Marina and I walked around to see what they had. We walked by the Mermaid Lagoon and saw one of our friends was there. We waved to her but he line was really long.

We decided to let the lines die down while we went shopping. After we finished our shopping, we stopped at the food court and got smoothies before going to check out the Unicorn activities. We stood in line for the petting zoo first. It moved quickly and Marina really liked getting close with some animals. She liked the donkey and emu in the pen, but her favorite was the rabbit they had there.

Next we went back to the mermaid lagoon. The line was much shorter and it moved quickly. We spent a few minutes chatting with our friend when it was our turn. It was such a hot day we felt bad for her!

Marina was ready to go home, but we still hadn’t seen Tinkerbell. Her spot was at the end of the unicorn stalls. The line for that was huge, so we asked if we could just see her. The actress recognized us right away. We were able to sneak in for a few photos before we left.

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.

Barnum

This afternoon we had tickets to see the musical Barnum at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs. We ran into more traffic than we expected but we still arrived early for the show.

Since we were early, we spent some time looking at the display of “curiosities” from PT Barnum. Those were interesting, although some were kind of gross!

The theatre was decorated like a circus. There were colored lights strung over the audience and huge posters on the wall. The musicians we replaying circus music. It was a fun atmosphere. Fifteen minutes before the show started a group of actors came out and interacted with the audience.

The two little girls next to me had several actors show them card tricks. We enjoyed watching them.
Once the show started it was filled with acrobats, jugglers and other stunts. It was a great show and Marina loved it. Marina waved to an actress we know at the curtain call.

As we were leaving the theatre, Marina mentioned we never got to see the mermaid mentioned in the show. But when we got to the lobby, there she was! Of course we got a photo with her. We waited in the lobby for our friend and talked with her for a while. As we were talking, the actors who played PT Barnum and Jenny Lind came by. So we took photos with them as well. Traffic wasn’t as bad going home and we made good time back to Denver, arriving around dinner time.

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.

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.

Festive Fun with Fish and Friends

Breakfast with Santa has become an annual tradition for us. Once again, we invited our friends to join us. Marina wore her elf dress again. We all met at the aquarium.

This year our seats were in the middle of the dining room. However, several of the tables near us were not occupied which allowed us to see the tanks better. We were all hungry, so we got into line for food right away. Marina came back with a fully loaded plate!

While we were eating, Santa came by the table and we took some photos. We enjoyed the mermaid show and then Santa and his elf swimming in the tank.

We decided to go to into the Aquarium after breakfast. One of them had never been there before so he was particularly fascinated by the exhibits. We made sure he saw the flash flood demonstration and we arrived early for the mermaid show for good seats.

When we reached the end of the exhibit, everyone got photos taken with a mermaid and they touched a ray in the feeding pool. Marina and I bought tickets for the 4D theater. The show was Sharks. The experience was intense but it was fun. Once we saw the show we were ready to go home.

A Festival for Pirates

We had a fun time at the Pirate Festival last year so we made plans to attend again this year. Marina put together a new outfit based on a red corset we found at a thrift store last month. She seemed pretty happy with it.

We started by seeing the mermaids. One of them recognized us from the Unicorn Festival in June. Next we went through the booths where we saw a small falcon and a snake. Marina did a little shopping as well. Of course, she greeted every dog we met along the way.

We wanted to see the cardboard boat races, so we looked for a place to sit down. On the way we saw Captain Jack Sparrow, so we stopped to say hello. He greeted us with hugs but we didn’t stay too long as he was getting ready to announce the race.

We found a spot to watch the race nearby. There weren’t many entries this year, but we enjoyed watching them. Then we checked out the pirate ship at the dock. By this point we were melting in the sun, so we stopped by to say goodbye to Captain Jack. We also stopped by to see the mermaids one last time.

After that, we went back to the car. It was a very hot day and we were ready to get out of the sun.

Mermaid Masterpiece

We took our first class at a paint and sip store about a year and a half ago. It was a tougher painting than we expected and Marina got a bit frustrated. I asked her if she wanted to try again with the mermaid painting they had scheduled tonight. She said yes. So I signed us up.

When we arrived at the studio, I was surprised to see only two canvases set up. It turned out Marina and I were the only ones signed up for the class. That seemed a bit strange, but it turned out to be great. Marina was much more comfortable than in the big class we were in before.

Marina chose to hand sketch her painting while I had the instructor do it. As we went along, Marin added her own touches to the painting. She changed the mermaid’s hair and fin colors. We all had a fun time and overall we were both happy with our pictures.

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.

Tea and Sweets with Ariel

When Marina and I saw The Little Mermaid on the schedule for this summer, we knew we’d want to see it. Before it opened, they also announced three dates for “Tea and Sweets” with Ariel. Our first visit to the theater was for a Cinderella tea party in 2012, so I thought it would be fun to do that again. Marina decided to wear her Ariel costume for the day.

Our trip took longer than we expected but we arrived a bit early for the tea party. We were seated with a very nice mother and daughter. We started off by choosing what kind of tea we wanted to have. Then plates of cookies and pastries were brought out for us.

 

 

While we ate, some of the performers from the show came by our table. First, we chatted with Flounder. The actor remembered meeting us at another show at BDT. Next by our table was Scuttle, being played by a friend of ours. The next character was Prince Eric. Last, Ariel came to our table. She and Marina seemed to bond over their costumes. As we exited the tea party, we stopped to have a photo taken with all the characters.