Camp Christmas

This year there is a new holiday display called Camp Christmas. We decided to check it out today.  We were early for our allotted time, but they let us in anyway. We started by buying hot chocolate to drink. Then we headed inside.

We weren’t sure what to expect. It turned out to be a journey with Christmas Past. The area contained interactive displays of how winter holidays have been celebrated throughout the centuries. There were activities to try out, a fairy story and great spots for photos. Marina especially liked trying to guess the answers to the “pun trees” throughout.

It took about an hour to see everything. It was fun and educational. We both loved it!

More Frozen Fun

Last week, we brought friends for dinner with Anna and Elsa. This week it was the same dinner but we invited other friends to join us.

We met these actresses last week. They loved our costume from Frozen 2, so we told them we’d wear the other costumes this time. We wore the dresses that are from the movie’s opening scene.

We were running a bit late, but we arrived at the same time as our friends. Our seats which she said were “right in the middle of the action.” We were in the covered patio where a large space had been cleared for the performers.

After we ordered our dinner, Anna, Elsa and Olaf arrived, The actress playing Anna was the same as last week and she remembered us. Since our seats were in the performance space we could stay at our table and see everything. Marina took every opportunity to talk with the actors. It was a lot of fun.

A Night at Santa's Village

This evening, we to Santa’s Village at the botanic gardens. As soon as we were inside we bought hot chocolate. It was chilly, but not overly cold and there weren’t many people there. The schoolhouse building was open and we found Frosty the Snowman inside. The next building had Santa in it. There was no line so we got photos with him and his elf.

Just outside the building were two reindeer in a pen. They were both sleeping. They looked so cute! The lights were very pretty as we walked to the barn. The activity in the barn was decorating a coffee mug. Marina was happy to do that.

After her mug was done, we walked past the elf village. There was no line for the wagon rides, so we got on board for that. The ride was shorter than last year but it was fun. After the ride we were ready to go home. We took a different route back to the entrance which took us past one of the old houses. We were surprised to find it was open for tours. So we looked around there before going back to the car.

The Science of Pixar

Marina had the day off from school, so we went to the nature and science museum. We had tickets to see the Science of Pixar exhibit. We arrived a bit early, so we checked out the other temporary exhibit – Beyond Human Limits. This one contained examples of extreme sports. The activities included a paragliding simulation, copying a cat’s movements and a Ninja obstacle course. Marina enjoyed trying these activities.

We had a little time before our Pixar entry, so we wandered through the animal dioramas, we especially liked the African animals.

When it was our time to enter the Pixar exhibit, we got in line. It started with a short video explaining the process of making a Pixar film. Then we entered the exhibit. It contained many activities which demonstrated the many steps it takes to make the movies. Since the exhibit wasn’t too crowded, Marina got a chance to try most of them. She also enjoyed posing with the life size models of the Pixar characters.

Snowy Superstar

This evening we had tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar with friends. We were concerned about the road conditions after a big storm today, so we took the light rail downtown. Once we arrived in the theatre district we walked to our favorite downtown restaurant. Marina and Sabrina ordered hot chocolate to drink and we all decided to have hot sandwiches for dinner.

After we ate we walked to the theater. We settled in just a few minutes before the show started. It was presented without an intermission. Marina and I had seen Jesus Christ Superstar before. She and I agreed that we didn’t care for this production. But our friends
enjoyed it.

After the show we ended up with a long wait before the train home finally showed up. We were so glad when it finally showed up. It had been a cold wait! Fortunately it was a quick ride home and we were glad the trip had been a safe one despite all the snow.

New Frozen Friends

Last month we took our friends for Dinner with Villains. They enjoyed it so much we invited them from Dinner with Anna and Elsa. They were both looking forward to it. Marina and I decided to wear our costumes from Frozen 2.

We arrived a bit late but our table was waiting for us when we got there. We were all hungry so we all ordered salads. Marina really likes the wedge salad. She and I also got chicken wings for our entrées.
While we were waiting for our food, Anna and Elsa came to our table. This time, they used a new company to supply the actors, so we didn’t know either of them. They loved our costumes and made a big fuss over Marina. They even asked Marina how old she is – I think they were trying to recruit her!

When our food arrived we were all ready to eat. Marina only ate a few of her wings. Then she went to join in on the activities with the princesses. When it was time to leave, we all agreed we’d had a great time.

Early Zoo Lights

It’s become a tradition for Marina and I to start the holiday season with Zoo Lights. As a University of Colorado Alumni, I am invited to their private event each year. This year since Thanksgiving falls to late in the year, they had to schedule it before. But we decided to go anyway.

We arrived a bit later than our entry time, so there was no line to get in. Our first stop was to pick up hot chocolate and cider to drink. Then we headed out into the zoo. The lights change every year and they were really lovely this year. We stopped to hear the CU Buffoons sing and went through Tropical Discovery.

After we went through the entire display, we went back to the Santa line. It was much shorter than when we arrived, so we refreshed our drinks and got in the line. When we reached the front, the mascot Chip and his family were right by us. So we invited them into our photos. They turned out awesome!

After our pictures we were ready to go home. We’d had another fun evening at the CU Alumni Zoo Lights.