Avalanche Warning

We had tickets to the Colorado Avalanche season finale this evening. Marina and I had attended a game a year and a half ago and she loved it. So we were looking forward to going again. This time we went with Uncle Mike and his friend Jessica. As is usual for her lately, she took one of her American Girl dolls along.

There was an air of festivity despite the fact that the Avalanche did not have a good season this year. Marina got the chance to try making a goal at a spot ouside the Pepsi Center. It was a pretty difficult game, but Marina enjoyed it.

We got to our seats shortly after the game began. We had a great view of the ice. We were sitting near quite a few fans rooting for the visiting team, the Minnesota Wild. That confused Marina a bit and it took her a while figure out which team we were cheering for. I was impressed at how well she followed the game. 

At the second intermission, we went to meet Bernie, the Avalanche mascot. It was a pretty long line, but Marina had cotton candy to keep her occupied.

The game was fun, but the Avalanche lost. It took us a while to get out of the parking lot, but we were treated to fireworks being set off nearby.

School Sock Hop

The annual sock hop at Marina's school was tonight. Marina has been looking forward to it for quite a while. The kids learn dances in their gym class (a bit more modern than the ones from the 1950's) to get them ready for the sock hop.

We had plans to have dinner before going to the Sock Hop, but we had car trouble. Marina was devastated. She asked if we could call one of her friends for a ride. That's what we did. I think for Marina, that actually made it more fun. The girls had fun just in the back seat of the car driving to school.

When we arrived, the girls were ready to have fun. They all took their turns getting their nails painted and having temporary tattoos put on. Marina and her friend made sure their tattoos matched.

They were very excited once the dancing started. They started off with the Limbo and did many dances including YMCA. By far, the kids' favorite dance was to Thriller.Only students third grade and up get to dance to that song, so Marina was participating for the first time.

 Despite our trouble getting there, it turned out to be a great night!

Family Birthday Fun

We invited our family over for Marina's birthday dinner. Marina was excited about it all week. Last night I made her a Merida birthday cake. She couldn't wait to have the figurines to play with. She even tried helping with the cake. She piped some of the grass on and helped me with the sprinkles.

Before everyone came over, Marina helped clean up the house. She vacuumed the whole house and picked up her toys. I was so proud of her!

Brian and Emily arrived first and they thrilled Marina by asking her to be the flower girl in their wedding. She's been asking them if they need a flower girl for a long time, so she was happy to accept.

As each member of our family showed up, Marina hugged them and told them how happy she was to see them.While everyone was finishing up dinner, Marina and Cameron went outside to play with bubbles. The came inside when it was time for cake.

After singing "Happy Birthday" and passing out the cake, Marina was anxious to open her presents.She received quite a few nice gifts.

Marina and Cameron went into the basement and played for a while. I was impressed that when they came up the basement wasn’t a mess! Marina hugged everyone as they left and thanked them for coming. She had a fun evening.

Spring at the Zoo

We wanted to go to the zoo a few weeks ago, but it was very busy that day, we we changed our plans. Today we anticipated big crowds again, but this time, we left home earlier. It was busy, but at least we were able to find a parking place. Since Marina had been bringing her American Girl doll. McKenna, along so much, she felt it was Julie's turn to join us. Naturally they wore matching dresses.

Marina spent some time looking at the map in the front of the zoo. We picked up a paper copy and Marina pointed out everything she wanted to see. She wanted to see the Tropical Exhibit, so we headed there. Along the way we saw the lions, zebras, hyenas, giraffes and tigers.

The tropical animals were fun to look at. Some of the snakes were pretty active, something you don't see often. Marina also enjoyed looking at the fish and crocodile. We looked in on the sea lions as we headed to lunch. All three of the sea lions were sunning themselves.

After lunch, we started checking out the rest of the zoo. Marina took a seat on a rock and a friendly Canadian goose approached her. I think it was expecting to be fed.

Marina was disappointed that the carousel was being refurbished, but she settled for a ride on the train instead. After our ride, Marina looked on the map and pointed out the lorikeet enclosure. We bought a cup of nectar and Marina went to feed them. She loved it when they drank from her cup.

Next we went into the bird house. In one room we found a bird sitting on the bench and it didn't mind when Marina sat next to it.

After that, we were both really tired and the zoo was even more crowded, so we headed home. But not before getting ice cream!

A Day at the Museum

Marina and I had planned to go to the Zoo today. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was so busy we couldn't even find a parking place, so we quickly changed our plans and went to the Museum instead.

We started our day in the space exhibit, one we hadn't visited in a long time. It was crowded with school field trips, but Marina managed to get a chance to try her favorite exhibits. She even got a chance to try a new game where she controlled a Mars landing.

We went into the Kids play area which was considerably quieter. Marina pretended to unearth a dinosaur skeleton and saw a tornado demonstration. She was having so much fun she didn't want to stop for lunch.


After we ate, we went to the health exhibit, Marina's favorite. It was also pretty crowded, but Marina didn't seem to mind waiting for any of it. However, since we go there nearly every time we go to the Museum, I talked her into looking at other exhibits.

So, we went to the dinosaur exhibit. Marina had very clear ideas of what was worth her time and what was not. Following that, she wanted to see the Native American exhibit. A few changed had been made there, all of which we noticed.

We'd had a good day at the Museum, but we were tired. And to treat ourselves, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Treasure Trove

We went to see Disney On Ice's newest show this evening, Treasure Trove. Marina was excited to see this one. At first, she planned to dress as Alice in Wonderland. However, she wanted to take McKenna with her and she wanted them to match. So they both dressed as Cinderella.

We had good seats this time, very close to one of the side platforms used during the show. We arrived a bit early, so we chatted with a mother and daughter seated near us. We took pictures of each other and they were kind enough to share their popcorn.

The show didn't disappoint us. It was filled with many of our favorite Disney stories - Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Lion King, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Tangled. Marina was a bit disappointed that Cinderella only appeared in the finale. But other wise, she loved the show, after all, she still got to see her two favorites, Ariel and Jasmine.

Spring Shopping

Marina is on spring break this week. Today, she and I went to the mall for some shopping. Our first stop was the American Girl store. Marina brought McKenna with her and they wore matching dresses. As we walked in, we saw a little girl in the same outfit. Of course, we had to admire her dress too!

Inside the store, Marina stopped to look at everything. Today we bought a lunchbox with food and a purse which went nicely with the outfit McKenna was wearing.

Once we were done there, we were both hungry, so we had lunch at a "doll friendly" restaurant we hadn't eaten at before. Since it was such a beautiful day, we ate on the patio. Marina set McKenna up with her lunch set, so she ate with us. After we had finished lunch, we were brought a free dessert because we brought in a American Girl doll. Marina was thrilled with that!

After lunch, we went into the Disney Store for a while. As usual, Marina showed some of the other girls how to activate the magic mirror. Always a lot of fun! Then she sat down and watched some cartoons in the little theater there. She was particularly interested in an old Goofy cartoon.

Once we were done with our shopping, we went to a movie theater to see The Croods. It opened on Marina's birthday, but we hadn't gotten a chance to see it yet. Of course, we saw the 3D version. Marina really enjoyed the movie. After the movie was over, we headed home for a while.