School Dance

After another year of dance, it all led to tonight – the recital. Marina has had a good time in her classes with Miss Jamie.

The theme of this year’s recital was “You Got Schooled,” so all the dances had a school theme. Marina’s jazz class danced to “Weird Science” and the poms routine was called "Summer Vacation." The two routines were only two songs apart, so Marina had to do a quick change between them. Miss Erin, her teacher from last year, helped to make sure Marina got the assistance she needed to get it done.

I met Grandma outside the school and we sat with some of our friends. I must admit, I was nervous for Marina’s quick change.

“Weird Science” came about halfway through the first act of the show. It went very well, Marina seemed to be having a good time with it. Two dances later, I was happy to see Marina was with her class and her costume was perfect! She did a great job in that dance as well.

 

After the show was over, I couldn’t find Marina at first. Her costume for “Weird Science” was missing and she was upset about it. We were also sad to learn that Miss Jamie is moving to Chicago soon.

Fortunately, our friends invited us out for dessert, which cheered her up considerably. She had a huge piece of chocolate pie. She and her friend enjoyed being together as well.

By the time we made it home it was nearly midnight. But it had been an evening worth losing sleep over.

Baseball Dolls

School ended for Marina and her classmates yesterday. We celebrated the beginning of summer by going to a baseball game. The Rockies were playing the Dodgers in an afternoon game and we thought it would be a fun day. We invited Ainsley along with us.

The girls both wore purple and black and brought along American Girl dolls dressed in Rockies shirts. We arrived shortly after the game started.

Today was the hottest day of the year so far. Even our seats were scorching. The girls were not happy about that. So we went to get drinks and then the girls had their picture taken with Dinger, the mascot. Once we had those important errands complete, we ventured back to our seats.

Neither girl was particularly interested in the game, so they busied themselves with eating peanuts and stomping the shells into powder. As the day got even hotter, they enjoyed playing with our misting fan. They took turns spraying each other and the fans around us (who really appreciated it!)

The girls entertained themselves nicely and only got restless near the end of the game. So when they cheered the Rockies scored the final out they were more excited that the game was over and we could head home!

Goodbye Elementary School

Today was Marina’s last day of elementary school. It’s hard to believe that after 6 years, she is ready to move on.

When I picked her up today there was a feeling of celebration in the air. As she walked with her friends they all discussed their dresses for the Continuation Ceremony this evening.

After dinner, Marina dressed up in a new pink dress. She even let me curl her hair. We arrived a bit early, so she and her friends ran around on the grass outside the school – just like they have always done.

The Continuation Ceremony was somewhat formal with speeches from teachers and the principal. But there was also fun moments, like when all their teachers sang a song.

As each fifth grader got their certificate, their teacher introduced them with the career their hope to achieve. Marina was “future veterinarian.” She flashed a huge smile at the audience as she accepted the certificate.

To close the ceremony, the students sang a song called, “When You Have A Dream.”

Once the ceremony was over, everyone gathered in the lobby for a reception. We took some pictures with one of her friends, but it didn’t feel like we were saying goodbye to her. We have plenty of plans in place to spend time with her this summer.

Mermaid Day

Marina and I have been anxious to see the Mythic Creatures exhibit at the natural history museum for a few months now, but we’ve been so busy we haven’t had time. So we made plans to go today.

The museum was packed and we were excited to find a good parking space quickly. We went right to the Mythic Creatures Exhibit. The first part of it was all about mermaids. Of course Marina loved that!

She also enjoyed the next section about unicorns. When we reached the area where kids were invited to create their own mythic creature, Marina was set on drawing a mermaid.

Next we saw Griffins, Pegasus and a whole room full of dragons. And, of course, Marina wanted to check out the gift shop.

Since the Museum was so crowded, we decided to pick up sandwiches and eat them at home. While we were here, we got ready for our next activity. The wildlife museum was showing The Little Mermaid and Marina wanted to dress up. She wore her Ariel costume and I curled her hair and put sparkly makeup on her. She took her Marina mermaid doll with her.

When we arrived at the theater they had mermaid themed activities set up. Marina made a beeline to have her photo taken with Ariel. She even chatted with her for a few minutes.

Marina completed several activities including several coloring pages and making a rainbow jellyfish.


Once she checked out all the activities, we got some popcorn and headed to our seats.  Of course, we’ve seen the movie many times. But this was Marina’s first time on the big screen. I did hear her quietly sing along to some of the songs.

After the movie was over, we were happy to head home.

American Girls and Annie

Earlier this year, Marina and I saw the new movie version of Annie. We were excited when the American Girl store offered an excursion to see the touring production based on the original prodcution.

Marina and I planned to wear spring dresses to the show, but after a snow storm overnight we wore warmer clothes. Marina brought Kaya in her shawl dress and wore a red dress that with coordinated with her.

We arrived early at the American Girl store and shortly afterwards we boarded a bus to the theater. We ate lunch on the bus. Marina also played on her phone for much of the ride.

When we arrived at the theater, we got to take a "behind the scenes" tour of the theater complex. The guide took us in the theater where we saw The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Marina and the other girls got a chance to go onstage and pose for photos.

Next we saw where costumes are made. We saw several examples on display and the stages each costume goes through in the construction process. Each girl received an Annie patch after the tour was over.

We returned to the theater to see the show. We had wonderful seats and found some friends of ours (who weren't with the group) were seated in the same row.

The show was wonderful. Marina loved the little girls in the show ans laughed at Miss Hannigan's antics. She even sang along with some of the songs she knew. At the end she quickly jumped to her feet to give the cast a standing ovation.

Marina's only disappointment was not being able to meet the cast at the end of the show. Otherwise, she had a great time at the show today.

Mother's Day with Molly Brown

Marina and I have developed a fondness for tea parties over the past year. And we've wanted to visit the Molly Brown House since seeing The Unsinkable Molly Brown last fall. We thought the Mother's Day Tea would be a perfect way to finally see the house.

Marina and I dressed up for a spring tea, even though it was a rainy day. Marina brought Grace along and they wore matching dresses.

Marina was excited to see the actual house where Margaret Brown lived. We started the tea with a tour of the first and second floors of the house. We learned about the Brown family and which pieces in the house were original.

After our tour, two maids in period clothing led us to the third floor. The tea room was beautifully set up. We were seated with five very nice people, including another young girl. The food was delicious. Marina was thrilled there was a cucumber sandwich, her favorite tea party food. She tried everything but she focused on the sweets. The tea was Earl Gray with Jasmine. Marina liked that as well. (I did give her quite a bit of sugar though!)

After the tea, we looked around an exhibit of the fashions of Margaret Brown's era. We also looked around the gift shop.

On the way back to our car, we took a short walk downtown. Marina had seen a cathedral nearby and was very impressed by it. And it turned out Margaret Brown donated money to help build it. We walked over for a closer look. But the weather was chilly, so we only looked around for a short time.

An Evening at the Opera

When Marina was seven, I took her to the opera Cinderella. It was a bit difficult for her to follow, but overall she enjoyed it. She plays a musical game she plays which includes the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute. She loves that piece, so when we had the opportunity to see The Magic Flute performed, I was excited to take her.

We decided to really dress up for the opera. We both wore full length dresses and Marina wore heels. She also carried a beaded bag to hold her phone in. I curled her hair and put a little make up on her. She looked beautiful and so grown up!

Before the show, we met up with Camille, who was playing Papagena in the opera. We had met her when we saw her in Into The Woods. She graciously met with us for a few minutes before she had to check in backstage.

We were early for the show so we bought drinks and relaxed a bit. I read he the synopsis from the program. Marina loved our seats, they were in the front row of the third balcony. The chandelier that she loves to watch lower and retract was easy to see. We could see the entire stage and some of the orchestra. She also enjoyed looking down on the lower level seats.

Once the opera began, Marina really focused on it. The songs were in German, but the dialogue had been translated into English. She seemed to follow the story throughout. She enjoyed the comical antics of Papageno. And she agreed with me that the Queen of the Night's aria was spectacular.

After the show, she said she enjoyed it. But clearly she was very tired.