Spring at the Zoo

Marina is on spring break this week. She didn’t sleep in this morning, which was a bit of a surprise. The weather was supposed to be nice today, so I suggested we go to the zoo. They have a new exhibit for tigers which I thought would be fun to check out.

We went early and I was surprised there were no crowds. Marina was mostly interested in checking out the big cats – she wore her cat ears, paw gloves and a leopard print shirt.

When we got to the zoo we saw that many animal babies were visible. Marina was excited to see them. The first one we spotted was the baby zebra. He was eating with his parents, Marina thought he was adorable. A large crowd was watching the giraffe exhibit where the baby was out with his mother. He was so cute among the tall adult giraffes.

The weather was perfect and the animals seemed to be enjoying it as much as we were. We saw a polar bear going for a swim. A bat-eared fox walked right over to the glass so Marina could take a photo.

When we made it to new exhibit, we saw that the tigers are able to sit in a walkway above the crowds. One was perched up there watching us as we walked in.

We went through the Asian animal exhibit and saw the elephants hanging out, the sea otters playing and the cranes preening for attention.

We stopped for an Asian-inspired lunch and then went through the rest of the zoo. We rode the carousel and Marina chose a black panther to ride on. She was disappointed that the cheetahs weren’t in their exhibit.

As we left we saw a huge number of people going into the zoo. We were glad we decided to go early!

Zootopia

Marina is on spring break this week. Unfortunately, I have not been able to spend as much time with her as I would like. So, this evening we went to the Movie Tavern to see Zootopia. It’s been out for a while but we haven’t had time to see it.

We arrived at the theater early, we were the first ones there. We ordered our usual food. Marina got a Shirley Temple and it was huge! Our food arrived just as the previews started and we got right into eating.

Marina really enjoyed the movie, especially all the cats in the story. When it was over, she was anxious to get back to our cats at home.

Fish and Fun

Marina and I had trouble deciding what we wanted to do today. At the same time, we both thought about the Aquarium. Marina decided she did not want to wear her Ariel costume. Instead she chose an Ariel shirt and took her Ariel plush doll with her.

On our way in, Marina tripped and fell, skinning her knee pretty badly. So after we got our tickets, we found the first aid station. A very caring employee cleaned and bandaged up her knee. Marina even got a sticker that said "I love the Mystic Mermaids." Once she was cleaned up, she hobbled into the Aquarium.

The sea otters put on a show for us and it seemed like the fish were more active than usual. We missed the mermaid show, but we caught up with them at the meet and greet.

We went into the restaurant for lunch. While we were waiting for our food, we got to see the mermaids swim. March got to see them pretty close up. Once their show was over, our food arrived and we sat down to eat.

Lunch took longer than we expected, so we hurried into the area for the next mermaid show. It was already packed and Marina had a hard time just finding a place where she could see.

We wandered through the aquarium but it was so crowded we couldn't look at everything as we would have liked to. So we watched the 4D movies which bumped us around quite a bit. Then we headed home.

Play Day

Marina is on spring break this week, so we took today to have some fun together. We started the day with Marina's annual physical. While that doesn't sound like fun, she loves her doctor and we see her so rarely, that it's a bit of a treat. Marina took her Rapunzel plush doll with her because "she makes me calm." Her doctor was running way behind, so by the time she finally had her exam, it went very quickly. But it's always fun to catch up.

After her appointment, we had planned to see the movie, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, so once we left the doctor's office, we hurried to the theater. We arrived with a bit of time to spare. Once again, we went to the restaurant theater (it seems to be our favorite lately!) We were able to order lunch before the movie started, although it arrived a bit into it.

We really enjoyed our lunch and Marina thought the movie was great. Since it was snowy, I asked her if she'd like to go to the trampoline park for some exercise.We hadn't been there for a while, so Marina was excited.

After half an hour of jumping, she was already worn out. But she made some new friends and kept running and jumping for two hours. The father of one of the girls she met started taking videos and Marina had a blast with that!

On our way home, we picked up the new Tinkerbell movie, The Pirate Fairy. Marina watched it immediately and declared it "Awesome!"

A Day at the Museum

Marina and I had planned to go to the Zoo today. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was so busy we couldn't even find a parking place, so we quickly changed our plans and went to the Museum instead.

We started our day in the space exhibit, one we hadn't visited in a long time. It was crowded with school field trips, but Marina managed to get a chance to try her favorite exhibits. She even got a chance to try a new game where she controlled a Mars landing.

We went into the Kids play area which was considerably quieter. Marina pretended to unearth a dinosaur skeleton and saw a tornado demonstration. She was having so much fun she didn't want to stop for lunch.


After we ate, we went to the health exhibit, Marina's favorite. It was also pretty crowded, but Marina didn't seem to mind waiting for any of it. However, since we go there nearly every time we go to the Museum, I talked her into looking at other exhibits.

So, we went to the dinosaur exhibit. Marina had very clear ideas of what was worth her time and what was not. Following that, she wanted to see the Native American exhibit. A few changed had been made there, all of which we noticed.

We'd had a good day at the Museum, but we were tired. And to treat ourselves, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Treasure Trove

We went to see Disney On Ice's newest show this evening, Treasure Trove. Marina was excited to see this one. At first, she planned to dress as Alice in Wonderland. However, she wanted to take McKenna with her and she wanted them to match. So they both dressed as Cinderella.

We had good seats this time, very close to one of the side platforms used during the show. We arrived a bit early, so we chatted with a mother and daughter seated near us. We took pictures of each other and they were kind enough to share their popcorn.

The show didn't disappoint us. It was filled with many of our favorite Disney stories - Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Lion King, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Tangled. Marina was a bit disappointed that Cinderella only appeared in the finale. But other wise, she loved the show, after all, she still got to see her two favorites, Ariel and Jasmine.

Spring Shopping

Marina is on spring break this week. Today, she and I went to the mall for some shopping. Our first stop was the American Girl store. Marina brought McKenna with her and they wore matching dresses. As we walked in, we saw a little girl in the same outfit. Of course, we had to admire her dress too!

Inside the store, Marina stopped to look at everything. Today we bought a lunchbox with food and a purse which went nicely with the outfit McKenna was wearing.

Once we were done there, we were both hungry, so we had lunch at a "doll friendly" restaurant we hadn't eaten at before. Since it was such a beautiful day, we ate on the patio. Marina set McKenna up with her lunch set, so she ate with us. After we had finished lunch, we were brought a free dessert because we brought in a American Girl doll. Marina was thrilled with that!

After lunch, we went into the Disney Store for a while. As usual, Marina showed some of the other girls how to activate the magic mirror. Always a lot of fun! Then she sat down and watched some cartoons in the little theater there. She was particularly interested in an old Goofy cartoon.

Once we were done with our shopping, we went to a movie theater to see The Croods. It opened on Marina's birthday, but we hadn't gotten a chance to see it yet. Of course, we saw the 3D version. Marina really enjoyed the movie. After the movie was over, we headed home for a while.

Spring at the Zoo

Today was a beautiful day - over 80 degrees. So we decided to take a trip to the Zoo. We invited Brian and Emily to join us. And, as she has been all of spring break, Julie came along.

We learned pretty early that the warm weather made the animals sleepy. So we saw lions, cheetahs and mountain goats sleeping. The most lively animals were the brown bears.

After lunch, we went to Feline House where the tigers were playing in the water. You don't see that often. Then we went on to Tropical Discovery to see the snakes and fish. It was really warm, so we stopped for ice cream. That perked her up. We went to Bird World. From there we took a ride on the Carousel before heading out. We were all really tired and sunburned by then.

Mirror, Mirror

The new movie Mirror, Mirror opened today. Since Marina is still on spring break, I'd planned for us to see it. Yesterday, Marina came to me and asked if I'd heard of the movie. When I told her I was planning for us to see it today, she was happy.

Naturally, Julie came along with us. (She is having a fun spring break as well.) We went out to lunch before heading to the movie theater. I was surprised at how many people were there. Apparently a lot of other people had the same thought!

Marina was pretty restless during the movie. She didn't like the "scary" scenes, but she laughed at the jokes and admire the lavish costumes. After it was over, she said she loved it except the "bad parts."

Magic on Ice

After a day of getting prettied up, we had someplace to go tonight. We saw the Disney On Ice show 100 Years of Magic. Marina has been looking forward to the show for a long time. She decided to dress as Jasmine. And since Julie had been with us all day, she wanted to bring her to the show as well. She put the Belle dress on her (Julie's collection of costumes is not as wide as Marina's.)

We arrived a bit early an Marina was thrilled to see a little girl dressed as Cinderella in our row. The two of them chatted quite a bit before the show. Once the show started, Marina squealed with delight.

She really loved the first act. Her favorite parts were the princess montage and a tribute to It's A Small World. She sang loudly along to the songs she knew and cheered for every performance.

The second act featured the stories of Mulan and The Lion King, both which Marina loves. As the finale started she was disappointed. I think she could have watched a performance from every Disney movie! It took us a while to get home but she didn't seem to mind. She was happy to play with the Disney app on my phone.

Pampered Princess

Marina is on spring break this week, so we decided to have some fun today. She decided to wear the dress she got for her birthday which has a matching dress for her American Girl doll, Julie. So, Julie came along with us. We went to her favorite salon and she got a haircut. She's wanted bangs for a while so, even though I don't like them, she got them. She kept exclaiming that they make her look younger. I don't think she liked that, she insists she wants to be older. After the cut, they styled her hair in a ponytail and added some glitter.

Next, we went to the American Girl store. Marina hadn't been here before and she was so excited. She picked out a bathing suit for Julie. When she saw the hair styling station, she wanted to get Julie's hair done. We asked the stylist to make it just like Marina's hair. She did. Marina was thrilled.

After lunch, we went to have manicures together. Marina had gotten a gift certificate for them for her birthday. She was so excited. She had hers done first. She was patient and kept very still during the process. She was very pleased with the sparkling pink polish she picked out. While my nails were done, Marina chatted with the owner of the salon as well as some other customers. She was so cute!

Ice Princess

We've been seeing commercials for Disney Princess Classics on Ice for a while now. When Marina saw them, she told me, "I think I would like that." I was sure she would. So we went to a matinee during spring break.

Marina dressed in her Snow White costume for the show we both enjoyed looking at all the other little girls in their costumes. Marina got most excited when she saw another little Snow White.

Neither of us had ever been to an ice show like this before. It was fun. The first half had scenes from Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. After intermission, we saw a retelling of Cinderella. It was fun to watch. We may just have to do this again sometime!

Pirates!

Marina is on Spring Break, so we went to see the new Pirate Exhibit today with our friend Bethany. Apparently, many other people did too. The Museum was packed, but we had fun anyway. We spent time at the space exhibit where Marina asked an astronaut on Mars a question about his weather research. In the hall of gems and minerals, she was most excited by the gems - most of all the aquamarines, her birthstone.

After lunch, we checked out the health exhibit and the dinosaurs. Marina made her own pirate hat before we went in to see them. The pirate exhibit was very interesting. We learned quite a bit about real pirates, some of which was very dark. But Marina seemed to deal with that well. Her favorite part was the treasure map she was given to find activities through the exhibit. She also enjoyed looking at the treasure on display. She even weighed some gold. At the end she spoke with a pirate. She informed him the gem and mineral all was 33 paces from the main entrance. He was pleased. As we left, she got a parrot stamp for her hand. By then we were quite tired and ready to head home.