Dinosaur Day

Marina and I invited my brother and his girlfriend to go with us to the Museum today. It's been a while since we had been there, but we stayed with our usual routine – we started at the health exhibit. Marina breezed through many of the exhibits. When Marina found out the Super Food Heroes show was coming, she couldn't wait to do anything else. Once again, she was chosen to be Spinachiever. That made her happy.

We had lunch at the T-Rex Cafe before heading to the temporary You vs. Sue exhibit. We also saw the Sherlock Bones show. From there we went to Prehistoric Journey to see more dinosaurs. We went to the IMAX movie DinoMax to complete our dinosaur day. On the way out, we stopped by the space exhibit. By then, Marina was very tired and the cough she's had the last few days seemed to be getting worse.

By evening, Marina was wiped out. So we had a low key New Year's Eve. We watched The Great Muppet Caper in our pjs then we watched the ball drop in Times Square on TV. Marina fell asleep quickly after that.

Christmas at the Zoo

After we opened presents at home, we went over to Mr. Chuck and Miss Judy's house for dinner. Marina wore her Belle dress from the Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas movie. It was festive and meant to keep her legs warm when we were outside.

After we ate and exchanged presents, we all got bundled up and headed over to the Zoo for Zoo Lights. Marina has been wanting to go since our last trip to the Zoo about a week ago. She brought her new camera and took pictures of the lights and animals. After we were there for a while, she complained about being cold. I got her a cup of hot chocolate and that made her happy.

At one point we were walking through the Zoo singing along with “Holly Jolly Christmas.” We stopped for a rest and got a funnel cake as well. Marina's favorite part was a trip through Tropical Discovery to see the fish and snakes. The Zoo was closed by the time we reached the exit. Marina was tired, but happy.

An Avalanche of Fun

The school district sponsored a night at the Colorado Avalanche game this evening. We had the opportunity to get tickets for the game at a reduced price - our seats were located on the lower level, which I was very excited about.

As part of the special school package, we got the chance to arrive early and spend some time on the ice of the arena. I thought it would be fun, so we arrived at Pepsi Center early. I was surprised at how few people showed up for this. It was amazing to be out on the ice in the empty arena. We got to see the Avalanche bench, the visitor's penalty box and center ice. They had balls and sticks out for the kids to play broom ball. Marina met a new friend and they happily played together.

Once our time on the ice was done, we ate dinner before going back for the game. We arrived very early, so we were in our seats before anyone else. When the teams came out to warm up, we went down by the glass to watch. Marina was amazed by the speed the puck hit the boards and glass. While we watched, some of the St. Louis players tossed pucks over the glass to the kids who were watching. One bounced in the area next to us and fell into a camera well. One of the TV crew members fished it out and gave it to Marina. She was thrilled. After that she showed the puck to everyone she talked to.

I had been concerned that she'd be bored during the game itself, but she seemed to have a great time. She actually followed the action for most of the game. I'm sure it helped that we had some snacks and met the mascot, Bernie, while we were there. She only lost interest in the last five minutes of the third period. but she still managed to cheer loudly with the crowd. And our wonderful evening was topped off with an Avalanche win 3-2.

We came out of the arena to 2-3 inches of snow, so it took us a while to get home. Marina fell asleep in the car. Not surprising at all considering all we'd done today!

Skating Angel

After the Christmas pageant and church service, we went to our friend Noah's birthday party. It was at Skate City. Marina had done really well learning to skate the last time we went. She want ed me to skate with her, but she did much more on her own this time. Mostly she skated on her own away from the rink, but on the rink, she held my hand tightly. She fell a few times, but it didn't seem to upset her. She even went around with Madi and her mom - without me! Once the party was over, Marina flopped onto one of the seats. "I'm worn out," she said.

In Excelsis Deo

Our church put on it's annual Christmas Pageant today. This year, Marina actually had lines. She was one of the angels who appeared to the shepherds. She was pretty excited. The kids practiced several times this morning. Marina learned her part quickly and was excited for the performance. She did very well and happily accepted compliments afterwards.

Take Me to a Zoo ...

Today was unseasonably warm, so Marina and I decided to go to the zoo. Apparently few others had that idea, because it was nearly deserted. But the animals were much more interesting than they are on hot summer days.

We started out looking at the lions. The two males were right by the glass viewing windows. It was so interesting to see the up so close. We were also able to see the African wild dogs and tigers as they lounged near the windows.

We went on to the polar bears. One was very active and even stood up near the window in front of Marina and some other kids. We went inside to view the snakes and fish. Then we watched the sea lions underwater for a while.

We walked through the zoo to get to Bird World. It was almost empty, so the birds were everywhere. One even stood right in front of us, calling to the others.

As the afternoon progressed it got cooler. So we headed home. It had been a really fun day with the animals.

Mexican Market

Marina has been studying Mexico at school for a while. She's been coming home with Spanish words she's learned. The entire second grade put together a Mexican Market today. Two days ago, we made Mexican Wedding Cake cookies. My mother used to make them. I'm not sure if they are really Mexican, but we made them anyway. Marina helped me put the sugar on.

So, today I went to the school to see the market. Marina had already set up her stand with the cookies and signs she made. She was wearing a poncho she made out of a paper bag.

She couldn't wait to go shopping, but she had to sell first. It was cute to see the kids use their pesos to buy each others items. When it was her turn to shop, she bought paper flowers, flags and cookies. I suspect she was buying from her friends. Still, it was a fun exercise for the kids.