How Amusing!

For Memorial Day, we went to our local amusement park. Marina was quite excited about Memorial Day, so she wore her USA headband for a while. We started out in the kids area. She was especially excited about the bumper cars. The lines were pretty short for most of the rides, so she got to try many of them.

After lunch I convinced her to try some of the bigger kid rides. She loved them! I think she has quite an appetite for rides that go high and spin. I had to go with her on some of them, but she was pretty happy about that. She also got her face painted - one of her favorite things ever!

We got a bit of rain but not too much. So we headed back to the kids area. Marina decided she wanted to try the kids roller coaster. She begged me to try it with her, but adults are not allowed on it. She finally got the courage to try it. She looked a little nervous before it left, but after one ride, she was hooked. She rode it several more times before it was time to go.

Zoo Day

To start the Memorial Day weekend, we decide to go the zoo today. Marina was insistent that we start at Bird World, which is funny, we haven't been to Bird World in many years. She enjoyed seeing all the birds. Like the reptiles, sometimes you can't see them in their habitats, for Marina, the fun part was finding them.

We went to see some other animals. On the way, we saw a peacock showing his feathers. Marina was quite excited by this. Apparently she'd never seen this happen before.

We went on and looked at our other favorite exhibits. We spent quite a while in Tropical Discovery where she got her fill of snakes and fish. The tigers were out and we got to see one up close. On the way out, we saw a presentation being given featuring some of the zoo animals. Marina got to see and pet a corn snake and an opossum. She was quite excited to do that.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Marina is a big Rockies fan. So she was very excited when her school offered tickets for a game. The weather wasn't as nice as we'd hoped, but it wasn't too bad. We invited Aunt Ann and Cameron. Marina even checked with her teacher to find out if cousins were allowed to come.We had a pretty good view of the field but Marina was distracted by Cameron and some of her classmates. We waited in line to meet Dinger, the Rockies mascot.

She and Cameron tried out the batting cage and we all had some snacks.

The day would have been even better if the Rockies had won, but they were blown out 8-2. Marina even tried a rally cap, but to no avail.

An Afternoon at the Opera

Our local opera company performed Cinderella this month. I have always loved opera, but I've never seen a live performance before. I thought this might be a good show to introduce Marina to opera.

Marina chose to dress in her Cinderella costume for the show. It was a big hit! People told her she looked beautiful all afternoon.

The first act was nearly two hours long. Marina got a bit impatient. She kept asking when Cinderella would wear her ball gown. At least we got to see it before intermission. She had a snack and a drink of water before Act Two. It was shorter and Marina enjoyed it more. Overall she said she liked it and wants to go again soon.

Easter

Marina slept a bit late this morning, so I had to wake her up. After a few moments, she said, “Easter!” It didn’t take long for her to want to go downstairs and look for eggs. They were a little tougher to find this year, but she got most of them easily. Once she had her baskets, she emptied them out to check everything in them.

Marina put on her Easter dress again for church. We got there just in time for the Easter Egg Hunt. Since it was pretty chilly today, they had the hunt inside. The room was covered with plastic eggs. Once they were all picked up, the kids traded the eggs for a bag of goodies. During the morning service, Marina was quite happy with all her new stuff. After the Mass, she got a plate of food for brunch, but she didn’t eat much. Too much excitement, I guess.

On the Wild Side

Marina and I went to the Wildlife Experience with Madi and Noah today. They were having an “Egg-stravaganza” for Easter. They had a climbing wall set up outside. Noah wanted to try it, so Marina tried it as well. I was pretty impressed with how hard she tried at it. She seemed to think it was fun. Inside we went to may booths. Marina decorated a foam egg, planted sunflower seeds and picked up some candy. She even met the Easter Bunny!

Once we were done with the booths, we went around to the exhibits around the museum. We went through many environmental displays. Marina’s favorite was a projector with fish. She sat down in the middle of the projection and watched as fish surrounded her. Once other kids saw this, they “scared” all the fish away by chasing them. They ran around there for a while and played in a pretend submarine as well. We went over to a play area that had a stage. The kids put on animal “costumes” and put on a show about cheetahs. Ultimately, they ended up running around the area for a while.

Birthday Dinner

We invited members of the family over for a dinner in honor of Marina’s birthday. Marina wanted yet another Rapunzel cake. So I made her one with Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and Maximus on it. She loved it, probably because she knew she’d get the toys afterward. Marina was most excited to see Cameron. The two of them played in the basement and in the back yard. They were having so much fun I had to call her in for cake and presents.