Muppets Most Wanted

Marina's birthday and party are tomorrow and we had arranged for one of her friends to sleep over at our house tonight. We picked her up after school and headed home. Marina really wanted to see The Muppets: Most Wanted, which opened in theaters today. So we all decided to go to the movie theater and restaurant to see it. Marina brought Kaya, her newest American Girl doll with her.

Each girl ordered her own meal – although I did notice each tried to convince the other to order what she was having! But they both got the Most Wanted chocolate shake to go with dinner. They both thought the shakes were delicious. They topped it all off with cotton candy for dessert.

Our food arrived just before the movie started. We all enjoyed it. Afterwards, the girls discussed what they would do if they ever met the villain, Constantine.

Oh Maya!

Last month, the nature and science museum opened a new exhibit about the Mayan Empire. We've both been interested in seeing it, but couldn't make the time before today.

Unfortunately, we couldn't leave the house as early as we wanted to and when we arrived at the Museum, it was packed. So we made the Mayan Exhibit our first stop.

Marina didn't seem as interested in this exhibit as she was in the Pompeii exhibition. She did like the hands on activities. She pieced together a vase and created her Mayan name - Princess Flower. Her favorite part was easily the weaving. She also enjoyed creating a Mayan pattern with blocks.

After going through the exhibit, Marina wanted to see the Imax 3D movie Jerusalem. I was surprised that she wanted to see that one, but I went ahead and got the tickets. As it turned out, Marina wasn't even really sure where Jerusalem was. But as we watched the documentary, she exclaimed, "This is better than I expected" and "I feel like I'm really in Jerusalem." I think she learned a bit about Judaism and Muslims, but she also seemed to draw closer to our Christian faith as well. We were both impressed by the film.

Frozen Again!

Marina asked me what we were doing today. I let her know that we were going to church, but there were no additional plans after that. She asked if we could see Frozen again. I wasn't sure if it was even showing, but sure enough, it was still at a few theaters near our house.

Marina has been listening to the Frozen soundtrack quite a lot lately. She recently told me she wants to be more like Anna than Elsa. I had bought her an Anna costume for her birthday, but since we were going to see the movie again, I thought she'd like to wear it today. So I gave her the costume early (only by 20 days!). She was thrilled and insisted on wearing it.

We arrived a little early, so we got out popcorn and settled in for the show.We were surprised at how many people were also seeing it. Marina sang along with many of the songs, but not too loud.

After the movie, Marina had a short conversation with a nun who was also at the theater. The nun asked if she was seeing a princess movie. Marina told her about Frozen and The Lego Movie. She even blew the ending for The Lego Movie! I don't think the sister minded, she was very sweet.

Frozen comes out on DVD in a few weeks, so I expect the next time we see it, it will be at our house. Marina has already asked if we can buy it!

Lego Movie

Marina has been wanting to see The Lego Movie for some time. So, when I let her know we could go today, she was very excited. Last night she could barely sit still. She decided to bring Julie with her today.

We had a relaxing morning and ran a few errands before we went to the movie theater. Marina requested the movie theater with the restaurant. We were pleased that the 3D version fell right around lunch time.

We were the first ones to arrive at the theater. As we waited for our lunch, Marina ran up and down the aisles in anticipation. Our food arrived right before the movie started and Marina was happy.

We both really enjoyed the movie. It was fun and had a great message. Marina learned the song "Everything is Awesome" and sang along.

After the movie, Marina said she loved it. I'm glad it lived up to her expectations.

Our American Girl Cinderella Adventure

When we saw that Cinderella was on the schedule for the ballet this season, Marina and I knew we wanted to see it. Naturally, Marina was thrilled when the American Girl store decided a trip there would be their first ever excursion. We've both been looking forward to it for months.

There was no question what Marina was going to wear, her Cinderella costume. We have a Cinderella dress that fits her dolls as well, so that is what Kailey wore today. Marina loved showing off her dress and talking about Kailey.

We arrived early for some "private shopping time." Of course, all the girls talked about their dolls, which one they brought with them and which ones they have at home.

When it was time to leave, we loaded on to two buses and had lunch while we drove to the theater. The bus also featured TVs which played an American Girl movie during the trip.

We arrived at the theater early and were allowed to watch the dancers warm up on the stage. I pointed out to Marina that their workout wasn't much different from her ballet class.

After the warm up, we were able to relax in a beautiful private lounge before taking our seats. Our seats were in a box which were interesting to say the least. We were assigned to sit in high chairs which we had to move around the box in order to see the stage. It wasn't ideal but Marina and the other girls had fun playing on them during the intermissions.

The ballet was wonderful. The stepsisters were played by male dancers and they were hysterical. The story was easy to follow since we all know the story.

After the performance was over, we were led through a door and onto the stage, which was already completely bare by that time. The girls had a question and answer time with the Artistic Director, who was very interesting. He even explained how some of the "magic" happened. The girls also had the opportunity to meet the dancer who portrayed the Spring Fairy.

Once the meet and greet was over, we got back onto our buses for the ride home. It was a long day, but an very special adventure!

Cool Zoo

The weather forecast called for a beautiful day today, so we deiced to go to the zoo. Brian and Emily were able to come as well and we were looking forward to it. However, the weather didn't cooperate as planned and it was fairly cool today, but we went anyway. Marina brought Kailey along in her backpack. They even wore matching shirts.

The animals seemed to enjoy the cool weather. We saw some interesting behavior from them. In one exhibit, a group of peacocks and peahens were all showing off their plumage. I've never seen a peahen do that before!

At the feline house, we saw two hyenas wrestling with each other and having a great time. When the tigers were brought inside, they stalked around their areas to find treats the zookeepers had left for them.

Later on as we were walking by the pachyderms, we heard a loud banging noise. The rhinoceros was charging a plastic container hanging in his enclosure. It was fun to watch.

Because of the cooler weather, we made sure to visit all the indoor exhibits. The building with tropical animals was especially welcome! We checked out Bird World and the elephant exhibit. As we were preparing to leave, we saw an elephant demonstration about to begin. So we stayed for that. It was fun to see how smart the elephant is!

Shortly after the demonstration, we headed home. Despite the unexpected weather, it was an entertaining day!

Princesses and Pirates

As soon as Marina learned the Disney Junior show The Pirate and Princess Adventure was coming to town, she wanted to go. I was a bit surprised since those shows are directed toward a younger audience, but we decided to check it out anyway.

Marina would have loved to dress as Sophia the First but Disney doesn't make those costumes in her size. She was disappointed so we improvised. She wore a purple dress since Sophia does and we added a Sophia amulet and tiara. Marina was happy with that. She also brought along her Marina the mermaid doll from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

The show started with a short performance by Doc McStuffins. Then Mickey and Minnie Mouse came out to emcee the show. Marina was engrossed in the Sophia the First story. She even correctly predicted some of the songs before they sang them. And along with all the other princesses in the audience, Marina was thrilled when Cinderella made a cameo appearance.

During the intermission three pirates from the show came out to meet and greet with the audience. At first, Marina was hesitant to approach them, but she discovered they were nice pirates and had her picture taken with them all.

The second act was based on Jake and the Neverland Pirates. She was excited when Tinkerbell and Peter Pan made special appearances in the show.

After the performance was over, Marina was very enthusiastic about it. She told me that if it comes back here she wants to see it again.