Ahoy!

I took the day off to spend with Marina today. It was cool and windy – not a day to spend outside. So I asked Marina what she would like to do. She responded she wanted to go to the Museum to see the pirate exhibit instead. So we decided to do that. She wanted to see the pirate exhibit first, but the tickets we got were for half an hour after we arrived. So, she busied herself at Health exhibit for that time. We did a breakfast cereal experiment. I went through the directions and told Marina what steps to take, but she did most of the process herself.

After the experiment, we went up to the Real Pirates exhibit. We took a really good look at the bell of the ship and the cannons. She was excited to see one of the pirates before we entered the ship replica. She told him she lost a tooth. He asked, “Did you lose it in a fight?” She insisted she didn't. Then he showed interest in the “treasure” she got for it. She seemed a little scared inside the ship, but she got over it quickly. I was surprised she wasn't more interested in looking at the treasure. She seemed a bit bored for the rest of the exhibit. So we decided to go to lunch.

After lunch, we went to Space exhibit. Then we went back to the Health exhibit. Marina went to her usual favorite areas and we caught the Super Food Hero show. Once again, she was chosen to be Spinachiever – that's always her goal when we see that show. She really hammed it up this time. the hero loved that! Our last stop was the play area. Marina played with wind tunnel, a computer drawing table and she made a bat out of paper and a toilet paper roll. We'd had a full, fun day.

The Tooth Fairy Visits Again

Marina called me with exciting news – she lost one of her front two teeth. She told me she pulled it out and didn't cry. But actually she'd bitten on something hard and really loosened the tooth. Later when she ate ice cream, it came out quickly. She's been wiggling that tooth quite a bit lately. Now she's looking forward to a visit from the tooth fairy!

Dancing Princess

Marina was very excited for her dance recital, especially the “Walking on Sunshine” dance. She was especially happy to have me put make up on her before the show. She packed a bag with a few toys to play with while she wasn’t dancing.

Marina performed well in both dances. During “Walking on Sunshine” she was singing along with the song, it was so cute! During “Angel of Music” she located me in the audience and waved. Some things never change.

Here are videos I took of both dances at dress rehearsal earlier this week.

How Amusing!

For Memorial Day, we went to our local amusement park. Marina was quite excited about Memorial Day, so she wore her USA headband for a while. We started out in the kids area. She was especially excited about the bumper cars. The lines were pretty short for most of the rides, so she got to try many of them.

After lunch I convinced her to try some of the bigger kid rides. She loved them! I think she has quite an appetite for rides that go high and spin. I had to go with her on some of them, but she was pretty happy about that. She also got her face painted - one of her favorite things ever!

We got a bit of rain but not too much. So we headed back to the kids area. Marina decided she wanted to try the kids roller coaster. She begged me to try it with her, but adults are not allowed on it. She finally got the courage to try it. She looked a little nervous before it left, but after one ride, she was hooked. She rode it several more times before it was time to go.

Zoo Day

To start the Memorial Day weekend, we decide to go the zoo today. Marina was insistent that we start at Bird World, which is funny, we haven't been to Bird World in many years. She enjoyed seeing all the birds. Like the reptiles, sometimes you can't see them in their habitats, for Marina, the fun part was finding them.

We went to see some other animals. On the way, we saw a peacock showing his feathers. Marina was quite excited by this. Apparently she'd never seen this happen before.

We went on and looked at our other favorite exhibits. We spent quite a while in Tropical Discovery where she got her fill of snakes and fish. The tigers were out and we got to see one up close. On the way out, we saw a presentation being given featuring some of the zoo animals. Marina got to see and pet a corn snake and an opossum. She was quite excited to do that.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Marina is a big Rockies fan. So she was very excited when her school offered tickets for a game. The weather wasn't as nice as we'd hoped, but it wasn't too bad. We invited Aunt Ann and Cameron. Marina even checked with her teacher to find out if cousins were allowed to come.We had a pretty good view of the field but Marina was distracted by Cameron and some of her classmates. We waited in line to meet Dinger, the Rockies mascot.

She and Cameron tried out the batting cage and we all had some snacks.

The day would have been even better if the Rockies had won, but they were blown out 8-2. Marina even tried a rally cap, but to no avail.

An Afternoon at the Opera

Our local opera company performed Cinderella this month. I have always loved opera, but I've never seen a live performance before. I thought this might be a good show to introduce Marina to opera.

Marina chose to dress in her Cinderella costume for the show. It was a big hit! People told her she looked beautiful all afternoon.

The first act was nearly two hours long. Marina got a bit impatient. She kept asking when Cinderella would wear her ball gown. At least we got to see it before intermission. She had a snack and a drink of water before Act Two. It was shorter and Marina enjoyed it more. Overall she said she liked it and wants to go again soon.