Frozen

Marina and I have made it a tradition to see the new Disney movie on the day before Thanksgiving (when  there is one!) We've been seeing lots of ads for this year's feature Frozen. Marina has been dying to see it. McKenna came with us today, apparently Saige needed a break from her busy schedule!

We started the day by getting Marina's hair cut. She loves playing video games while her hair is being done. After the cut, we had it styled in a french braid - just like Elsa in Frozen. Marina even requested light blue and dark blue ribbons.

We went to the mall for a bit and found the American Girl store has a special Merry and Bright outfit which looks much like the snow queen costume in Frozen. We just couldn't resist it. We headed for the Disney Store next where Marina got her own Elsa costume and crown. She was so excited.

 

As we ate lunch, Marina changed McKenna into her new outfit. She tried on her crown as well. We had a nice lunch and Marina got a special dessert for bringing in her doll.

After lunch, Marina changed into the Elsa costume. She loved it, especially the train  in the back. We were ready to see the movie.As we walked in, many of the other children pointed out Marina's costume. She seemed to revel in being their attention, although she pointed out there was no way anyone would think she was the real Snow Queen.

Frozen had lots of music and a few humorous characters. I noticed at one of the scarier moments Marina was watching intently, but she was covering McKenna's eyes. Apparently it was too intense for her!

Marina loved the movie. Afterward, she told me she wished the crown we bought had real power. That makes me wonder what she'd do with it!

Oliver!

Earlier this year, Marina and I were fortunate to meet and become friends with an actress named Carolyn. She has been playing Nancy in a local production of Oliver! I thought Marina might enjoy it and when I told her Carolyn was in it, she was very excited to go.

Unfortunately, Marina woke up feeling sick this morning. After church she looked completely miserable. I asked her if she felt well enough to see the show and she insisted she really wanted to go. She was going to bring Saige along. When I mentioned she's been bringing Saige a lot and maybe another doll would like to go, she looked and me and says "Great, now McKenna wants to go!" Ultimately it was McKenna who came with us since Saige had gone to see Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

On the drive to the theater, I explained the storyline of Oliver! (It is based on Charles Dickens after all!) She seemed interested. We hadn't been to this theater before and it turned out to be very small. "The most intimate theater in Denver," I was told.

Once the show started, Marina was engrossed. She asked me the name of every song and seemed to follow along easily. When Nancy finally made her first entrance, Marina's face lit up.

At intermission we had a snack and a drink of water. We talked with another little girl and her mother. Both girls were enjoying the show.

Act two was darker and more intense, the actor playing Bill Sykes was downright scary in the part. Marina didn't seem to enjoy it quite as much. And in Nancy's death scene, Marina looked a bit confused. But I think she understood that Carolyn was okay.

After the show was over, the cast had a meet and greet. We had to wait in a bit of a line, but as soon as Marina spotted Carolyn, she ran right to her. We had a nice chat with her. The only other actor Marina was interested in meeting was the young man playing Oliver. He was gracious enough to pose for a picture with her.

As we headed home, Marina seemed to be feeling better. I'm glad we were able to see the show.

Trampoline Time

Marina has been wanting to go to the trampoline park near our house for quite a while. Since we didn't have prearranged plans for today, I decided it would be a good day to go. Marina was excited and decided to bring Saige.

It was pretty busy when we arrived but that didn't deter Marina. She headed for the largest trampoline and immediately started running and jumping. She tried jumping with Saige, but ultimately decided that was too difficult and had her sit with me.

As she so often does, Marina made several new "friends" as she played on the trampoline. As those girls left, she found a new group to hang around. It was fun to see the different ways the girls bounced around, ran and slid when they played together.

After a little over a hour, she was wiped out. So we headed out for lunch.

More Mythbusting

Marina had yet another day off, so we decided to go to the Nature and Science Museum and see the Mythbuster exhibit again. We both slept in, so we decided to have brunch first. We were both pretty giggly at the restaurant as we ate. But we had a good meal before heading to the museum.

It was a pretty busy day at the Museum, apparently other families from the school district decided to go as well. We got tickets for Mythbusters, but had to wait more than an hour before we went in. So, we decided to check out other parts of the Museum.

We hadn't been in the rocks and minerals exhibit in a long time, so we started there. Marina wasn't too interested until we reached the gemstones. Then she pulled out her camera and took pictures of her favorites.

Next we went to the kid's activity area. Most of the kids there were younger than she is, but she seemed to enjoy that. She spent time uncovering dinosaur bones, colored a digital picture, and used a magnifying glass to look at Saige's clothes. We also built an arch out of foam blocks, my favorite part was when Marina used her head to hold the place of the keystone.

I had a hard time pulling Marina away from that area, even when it was time for us to go into Mythbusters. She had fun building a house out of straw, sticks and brick since last time she tried one of each medium. It held up rather well in the wind. With help from some smart volunteers, Marina learned how to pull a tablecloth off a table without upsetting the dishes on it. She experimented with dropping buttered toast and changing clothes in a phone booth. She even tried driving blind.

Next we headed into health exhibit. It was pretty empty, so Marina was able to try every station she wanted. We completed an experiment about the amount of sugar in breakfast cereal and went to the pirate show before heading home.

Doll Day

We go an early start today at the American Girl Store. Marina was signed up for another hairstyling class - this one for fancy hairdos. Marina brought Saige and, of course, they dressed alike.

We arrived a bit early so we waited outside with other girls in the class. They were all so excited. It was fun to see which dolls each one brought and how they were dressed. Once the store opened, the girls dashed inside. There was a name tag prepared for each girl and they picked a styling chair to put their dolls in.

This class had a slower pace than the previous one Marina took. Still, she got a bit frustrated at times. Fortunately, she got a lot of help from Brittany and Nancy who were teaching the class. They tried several twists and buns on the dolls. The class ended with a formal bun. Marina was pleased with that and she left Saige's hair in that style for the rest of the day.

After the class, we shopped around the store for a little while. Then we went to lunch. Marina changed Saige into a gymnastics outfit. During lunch, Saige was demonstrating some of her best gymnast moves. Mom wasn't really happy about that!

After lunch, we went to the Annual Salvation Army Doll Tea. Miss Judy wasn't able to go this year, so we went on our own. It was in a new location this year, so we had to adjust a bit. They had a scavenger hunt game where you needed a stamp from every section. I put Marina in charge of that and she loved it!

As soon as Marina saw the face painting station, she insisted we do that right away. She got a butterfly mask on her face.We visited all the different areas of the event. In one room I found a doll that I had when I was a little girl. I decide to buy her for nostalgia. Marina fell in love with her. We also picked up a hat and a tiara for Saige. On the way out, we saw Santa. She had a little chat with him before posing for a picture. He also gave her a book of Christmas poetry. In the car, she ate a candy cane he had given her. I think Marina is ready for Christmas!

Monster Pumpkins

In honor of Monsters University, Marina and I decided to carve our pumpkins this year to look like James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski. This year, Marina said she wanted to help and she meant it. Not only did she help me scoop out the insides of the pumpkins, but she helped with the actual carving. We used paper templates to mark the pumpkins and then cut out the designs. Marina stared with Mike but soon handed that one over to me and worked on Sully. She succeeded in carving half of Sully's face before giving up. So I finished it for her.

 We were pretty pleased with the finished products.

Passport to Paris

Marina and I went to the art museum today to check out a new exhibit. "A Passport to Paris" is a collection of French art. We've had mixed results with art exhibitions, but it sounded interesting, so we gave it a try. As usual, Saige came along in a matching outfit.

When we arrived, Marina was immediately was interested in the activity center. Several art stations were set up in the room. After looking around, she went over to an easel and started drawing. Her American Girl doll. Saige, is an artist. So Marina was very excited to draw at an easel like Saige does.

After two drawings, it was time for us to go through the Passport to Paris exhibit. The artwork was set up chronologically from the Louis XIII through the beginning of the twentieth century. At first, Marina was interested in the artwork. She used the audio tour quite often to learn more about the piece. But as the exhibit went on, she got bored.

Once we got through, we went though a room of sketches, which Marina didn't care for at all. Then we went back to the activity room, where she tried out several other types of art. She used tops to spin a design, tried several different media to create a picture and even got to draw on a wall. But eventually she ended up back at an easel for two more drawings. She even "helped" Saige with her drawing. 

I had hoped to see some of the other art galleries in the museum, but we were both tired. We agreed to come back in the near future to see other exhibits. Hopefully more trips will extend her attention span when it comes to visual art.