A Day Downtown

My sister and I have discussed taking Marina and Cameron to the Denver Mint many times. I was fortunate to get us a reservation for today. We all headed downtown and found a parking spot close to the Denver City and county Building - just  a block away from the Mint. After going through security, we looked at displays of money from around the world as we waited for the tour to start. Marina seemed very interested in that.

Once the tour got started, she didn't seem quite as engrossed. She looked a bit at all the machines, but didn't spend a whole lot of time with it. Apparently the Mint sounded more exciting than it was! She really liked the gift shop, however. It took a while to convince her to leave.

My sister had an errand to run while we were downtown, so I took Marina and Cameron to Civic Center Park. They were mildly interested in the amphitheater there. However, when we came upon a shallow fountain with kids playing in it, they were really excited. Marina immediately started wading in the water and checking out the statues in the fountain. Cameron wasn't too interested at first. He sat with his feet in the water and watched her for a while. But eventually he joined Marina in the water. They were quite disappointed when my sister was done with her errand and it was time for lunch!

Ballerina Bride

Marina's ballet class had their year end recital this evening. She always looks forward to these performances. Their performance was set to music from The Corpse Bride. It was quite jazzy for ballet. The dress rehearsal was a bit rough for her group. They were one of the last in the program and thy were tired by the time it was their turn to dance. They had several spots where all the dancers lost their place and had trouble getting back on track.

Miss Abby worked with them all for a while this evening while the other dances were going on. So, when it was their turn, they seemed more relaxed and confident. Their performance contained one "hiccup," as her teacher put it. But they all seemed much happier at the end of the dance.

When all the dancers came out for their bows, Marina stole the show.It looked like all the dancers in her class had worked on their curtsey together. As they exited the stage, Marina stated blowing kisses to the audience. What a ham she is!

Broncos Bunch

I signed Marina for a club called the Broncos Bunch. She was so excited. "It's my first club ever!" she exclaimed when the welcome letter arrived. This afternoon, we attended the Club's Summer Kickoff. It was at the Bronco's stadium. Marina had never been inside before, but we have driven by many times.

The gate they had open for the event had a walkway directly on to the field. But we took a look around inside first. There we saw the two Lombardi Trophies the Broncos have won and Marina got a Bronco logo painted on her cheek. By then, she was dying to go out on the field, so we took a look.

Outside they had many activities set up. As we approached them, we ran into Miles, the Broncos mascot. He was the personality Marina was looking forward to seeing most. (She had little interest in the Bronco players.) Then we started with the inflatable. She tried the bounce house and a couple of fun obstacle courses with football themes.Then we tried some of the football drills. First, she jumped several obstacles and caught a pass from Demaryius Thomas before landing on a large mat. Then she tried running around several obstacles and then catching a toss from Julius Thomas. He was really impressed with her touchdown dance. Both were nice enough to stop for a quick picture as well.

After trying out most of the activities, we headed inside to see the Broncos Media Room and locker room. It was fun to see those places that you usually don't. It was a fun experience.

Disney in Denver

A new Disney Store opened in our area today. So Marina and I wanted to check out the new look. Marina had a gift card she received for her birthday and she was excited to use it. When we arrived, there was already a huge line of people there for the opening. So, we got in the line. We were among the first 500 people to arrive, so we each got a free set of Mickey Mouse ears. We met a woman with her two children in line and Marina instantly bonded with them. So we had some entertainment while we waited. Once we got into the store, Marina had a ball. There was a small castle with a magic mirror which Marina loved playing with. She even showed other kids how to play with the mirror.

Marina had another purpose, she wanted to use her gift card to get a Princess Merida costume. Merida is from the upcoming movie Brave. Marina has been anxious to see it and she's had her eye on the costume for some time. I had her try the costume on over her clothes and she wouldn't take it off. At least it made her easy to find in the store.

It took a while to convince Marina to leave the store. Finally, the offer of food was enough to draw her out of the store. We ate lunch with her still in costume. After we ate, we stopped by the store again. Mickey and Minnie had shown up, but the line to see them was so huge we didn't have time to meet them. Still it was fun to see them here!

Family at the Falls

My grandmother passed away earlier this week. So Marina and I went to Buffalo, New York for the funeral. After three days of attending the funeral and spending time with family, we decided to go to Niagara Falls with Mike, Brian and Emily. Marina has been to Niagara Falls before, but she was only two, so she didn't remember at all. She was looking forward to seeing it again.

We bought tickets for the Maid of the Mist boat ride. Neither of us had ever been on it and we were looking forward to it. The view from the deck was spectacular and we were covered by plenty of mist. It was a trip well worth taking.

After the ride, we went to the observation deck and looked a little more. By then we were all tired and hungry. So we went out for some famous Buffalo wings.

Fashionable Fun

The art museum is having a special exhibition of the fashion of Yves Saint Laurent. I thought she might enjoy seeing the pretty clothes and jewelry. She liked the idea, so we invited our friends Christina and Christiane to come with us. Marina picked out a fancy dress to wear in hopes she could be part of the fashion show. We all went to a French restaurant for brunch before we headed to the Museum.

We had a little time before we could enter the exhibit, so we checked out an interactive area near the front. Inside were dolls the kids could dress and mannequins to drape cloth onto to create fashions. Marina jumped right into the activities until it was time to go into the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit.

We had audio devices to listen to commentary through the exhibit. Marina was very good at using hers. Overall, she seemed to enjoy the fashions. We both agreed we liked the ball gowns best.

After we went through the exhibit, we returned to the interactive area. Marina tried more designs on the dolls and full size mannequins. There we checked out the runway. They had a selection of scarves and other dress up items for the kids to put on, then they could walk the runway. Marina loved this! We put together many different outfits and she strutted and posed for me. Someone told her models don't smile, so she didn't in any of the pictures

 

After her time on the runway, Marina tried her hand at sketching. She spent quite a while on her drawing before she completed it. By then everyone was tired, so we headed out.

Fishy Friday

 Marina had the day off from school, so I took the day off too. We decide to go to the aquarium. Just like the last time, she wanted to wear her Ariel costume.

Once we arrived, we started looking through the exhibit. The otters were in a fun mood - they were putting on quite a show! Some of the fish were being fed, so we watched that for a while as well. We arrived at the tank for the mermaid show about 10 minutes before it was set to begin. Some kids were already staking out their spots, so Marina joined them. We had some rays and a turtle to entertain us while we waited.

As always, Marina loved the mermaid show. We went through the rest of the exhibits until we reached the end. Then we found the new Mermaid Cove for the mermaid meet and greet. When we arrived there, the mermaids were alone with no line. So Marina was happy to have pictures taken and chat with them for a while. It's always her favorite part of the Aquarium to meet the mermaids.

Marina wanted to get her face painted. She settled for a purple and blue mermaid airbrushed on her arm. We went to lunch in the restaurant. We were seated fairly close to the fish tanks. Shortly after we ordered, the mermaid restaurant show began. Marina was so excited she was jumping in place as she watched.

After lunch we went back in to the exhibit. We were partway through when we heard the mermaid show music. So we quickly made our way to the tank to watch again. Once it was over, she hurried through the rest of the exhibit. She was anxious to get to the mermaid meet and greet in Mermaid Cove. There was a line this time, but a group of older kids allowed all the younger ones to go through before taking their turn. So, Marina didn't have to wait too long.

We went to see the Yogi Bear 4D movie which Marina loved. Then we headed back into the aquarium. This time Marina spent a long time at the shark tank. Before we left, Marina added a yellow and orange airbrushed fairy tattoo to her other arm. She was quite happy with that. We stopped for ice cream on the way home. A sweet ending to a fun filled day!