Back to School Ball

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to a Back to School Ball. Since she is already back in school, she had to get ready after I picked her us. She had a tough time choosing which princess to dress as. She first considered Jasmine, but since she wasn’t on the list of princesses attending the ball, she decided on Cinderella instead.

The venue for the ball was pretty far away from our house. So we got an early start but we had to deal with rush hour traffic. It took us nearly an hour to drive there and we arrived just as the ball was scheduled to start.

Tinkerbell checked us in, which thrilled Marina. After we entered we were greeted by the Fairy Godmother, Aladdin and Peter Pan. Marina had her picture taken with all of them. Peter Pan and Aladdin seemed to have a lot of fun playing with her.

We got in line for treats and by the time we sat down the princesses had entered the ballroom and were visiting the tables in the ballroom. It turned out that Jasmine was one of the princesses there. Marina was a bit disappointed she hadn't dressed in that costume. We got Marina’s picture taken with Jasmine, Anna in her coronation dress, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora and Rapunzel. The only one we weren’t able to meet up with was Elsa.

After mingling with all their guests, the princesses took turns singing their signature songs. Marina knew all the words to most of the songs. By the time Elsa sang “Let It Go,” most of the girls were gathered around the dance floor.

Once the singing was over, the girls got a chance to dance along with the princesses. During that time, Peter Pan had a group of them running around and yelling. Marina thought he was a troublemaker.

The event ended with pictures. The characters divided into two groups and posed with each guest. While we were waiting in line, she befriended a three year-old girl.

We managed to get a photo with Elsa as well as Tinkerbell with Peter Pan. Just before the ball ended, we managed to get a quick picture with Aladdin and Jasmine, which Marina really wanted to do.

Marina wanted to pose for some pictures around the venue. It was a beautiful place. Once those were done, we were ready to go home. We had a long drive home and Marina has school tomorrow.

Footloose

We had tickets to see Footloose this afternoon with our friends. Marina was so excited and she wanted to put together a 1980’s ensemble. Earlier this month we got her a pair of legwarmers and fingerless gloves. Last night she slept with lots of braids in her hair to create a permed look. She was happy with the look.

We drove to the theater after church. Marina applied her makeup and then entertained herself with her phone on the way there. I told her that heavy eye makeup was popular in the 1980’s and she took that literally!

We sat at our table and found that one of our servers was the lead actor. The other, was one of our friends in the show. It was great to see him! Our food arrived quickly. We were all set once the show began.

Since it was a show filled with energetic dance sequences, Marina was very interested in it. She seemed a bit shocked at some of the bad language, but she was clearly having fun. She especially liked the female characters.

At intermission, we had dessert. Marina shared her flourless chocolate cake. After the show, Marina had her picture taken with both our servers and some of the female characters. She was a bit disappointed that the actress playing Ariel wasn’t around, but she was thrilled to meet the young lady playing Rusty. We had a long drive home, but no one seemed to mind.

Art in the Afternoon

We didn’t have anything scheduled for today, so I asked Marina what she would like to do. She suggested we go to the art museum It had been a while since we had been there, so we went after we had lunch.

As always, our first stop was the interactive area. They had a theme of animation. Marina made a puppet and then tried making a stop motion animation film. It took a while for her to get the hang of it and even longer to get her film created, but she seemed to have fun with it.

We went looking for an exhibit and found ourselves in a gallery of abstract art by women. Surprisingly, Marina liked looking at it. She liked the bold colors and varied textures of the pieces we saw. Next we found an area called “Tableau,” which featured artistic backdrops where you could pose for pictures. Marina enjoyed those. I took photos of her inside a whale, sitting on the moon and seated in a chair with wings!

I asked her if we could look at the European art and she agreed. We started off by seeing many Christian themed paintings. I explained that was a common theme in European art. She seemed to like those. We also found a spot where she could “pose” for a Renaissance portrait. She could hardly keep a straight face.

She was a bit bored with the art, so we planned to leave. On the way out, we came across an area called “Dance Lab.” We decided to check it out. Inside, Marina stood in front of a camera and danced slowly. After she was done, her dance (alongside several other people who also recorded their dances) appeared on a large wall with music and visual effects. She loved it. She recorded several dances and often she had two different dances right next to each other.

After she finished up with the Dance Lab, we went into a gallery of art that all had a theme of dance. In one area she got to play with silver balloons. She liked looking at the costumes on display, but wasn’t as excited about the art and sculptures. We went home after seeing the dance exhibit. It was a fun afternoon!

The Secret Life of Pets

Marina has wanted to see the movie “The Secret Life of Pets” for a while now. So today after school we decided to see it at our favorite movie theater.. Marina wore her cat ears headband for the occasion. Since the movie was mostly about cats and dogs, of course, Marina loved it. Once it was over though, she was anxious to get home to our cats.

The Ballad of Baby Doe

Last year we had a wonderful time at the Take a Child to the Opera event. So Marina and I were looking forward to going again this year. This year’s show was The Ballad of Baby Doe – the story of a famous Colorado woman. The opera was set in a mining town, similar to the one we were in. In fact, this was the 60th anniversary of the show, which premiered in the opera house.

We drove into the mountains this morning. It was a beautiful day. Our activities started off with a scavenger hunt in the two blocks around the opera house. For every location we found, we got a brief history of each place. We even got to see some of Baby Doe’s furniture on display. After we completed the hunt, we checked out a small museum which focused on law and order in 1860’s.

 
We had a break for lunch, so we found a shady spot on one of the opera house patios and enjoyed the food we brought with us. After lunch, we went for a talk with the opera music director and one of the singers. They talked extensively about The Ballad of Baby Doe. By then we were excited to see the show.

We lined up on street to watch the famous Usher Song. Then we went into the opera house for the show. Our seats were in the second row, so we had an excellent view of the stage. Marina loved the opera. She especially liked the voice of the actress singing the part of Baby Doe. After the show was over, it started to rain outside. So they moved the cast meet and greet inside the opera house. Marina was thrilled to meet the actors playing Horace, Baby Doe and Augusta.

We got out some leftovers from lunch to eat on the way home. We were all hungry and tired. But we’d had a great day.

Pirate Invasion

Marina and I always look forward to our annual visit to the Renaissance Festival. This weekend was themed “Pirate Invasion,” so Marina decided to wear her pirate princess costume. After so much fun last year, we invited Justine to go with us today. Michelle was also going with some of her friends, so we looked for her while we were there.

When we arrived it wasn’t very crowded, so we got a fairly close parking space and walked to the gate. Marina wanted to have her photo taken with two large king and queen puppets. Justine backed away, but the king puppet followed her and brought her back for the photos. We were all laughing!

When we entered the festival, Justine wanted to shop, so we started browsing some of the stores. She ended up with a leather belt for her sword and a corset. After shopping for a while, walked toward the arena for the first joust. On the way, we found Princess Elizabeth. Marina gave her a photo album of pictures we have taken over the years. She loved it!This year, Sir William was the master of ceremonies, not one of the jousters. We were a bit disappointed. We ended up sitting in Sir Tristan’s section today. We happily cheered him on.

We stopped for a turkey leg for lunch and then went to see the classic Puke and Snot show. Marina was bored in parts, but did enjoy some of the jokes through the show. After the show, we did more shopping until it was time for the next joust.

When we arrived at the arena, we had the opportunity to buy a favor for the knight of our choice. Marina was happy to get one for Sir Tristan. We enjoyed the joust and then waited until after the show to get the favor back. After chatting with Sir Tristan for a few minutes, we waited for a chance to say hello to Sir William. He greeted Marina with a big hug. We gave him pictures we took last year to add to the photo album we gave him last year. He was very pleased.
 
We made our way to the chapel for the daily knightings. Both Marina and I were knighted this year. We got a picture with the king and queen who had heard about the photo album we gave Princess Elizabeth. So we promised them one next year.

We picked up a snack and then went to see the hypnotist show which Justine was hoping to take part in. She was chosen as a participant and fell under deep hypnosis throughout the show. Marina and I laughed so hard throughout the whole thing. Later we showed Justine the recording and she was amazed.

We were only able to catch the very end of Princess Elizabeth’s tea party, but she had a special gift for Marina – her favorite flowers. Marina was thrilled. We bought ice cream and settled on the grass for the final joust of the day. Marina again gave Sir Tristan her favor and he won the joust to the death. He talked with us again after the match and we had another chance to visit with Sir William.

On our way out, we did a little more shopping and Marina rode the pirate ride. We were all very tired, but we’d had a great day!

Grease is the Word

When I was in fifth and sixth grade, my friend Heather and I constantly listened to the soundtrack for the musical Grease. So I was excited to take Marina to see it this summer. We invited Michelle to join us this evening.

Marina decided to wear her poodle skirt to the show. When we arrived at the theater she got plenty of compliments on her outfit. She was pleased with each one.

We went to our seats and Marina read over her program, looking for actors she had seen before.

Marina loved Grease from the beginning. She laughed at the silly antics of the T-Birds and enjoyed the high energy dance sequences.

After the show, most of the actors came out still in their costumes. Marina and Michelle had their pictures taken with Sandy, Danny, most of the Pink Ladies and the Teen Angel. Marina particularly enjoyed talking with the actors about the show and her outfit.

Once we had a chance to talk with the cast member, we went home. We'd had a great night in the 1950's.