Godspell

This evening we visited a dinen theater we haven't been to before. We  arranged with Adriana and Sabrina to see Godspell this evening. We were all looking forward to seeing the show.

The theater is about an hour drive from home. Marina mostly played on her phone for most of the drive. When we arrived, Adriana and Marina played Pokeman Go outside until we were seated.

Once we sat down, we placed our orders for dinner. Once the show started, Marina was completely engaged. Godspell is not a traditional musical – it a collection of skits, stories and songs based on the parables of Jesus. I wasn’t sure how Marina would like it. As it turned out, she loved the show! The humor and high energy of the show kept her attention the entire time.

At intermission, she and Adriana played Pokemon Go for a while. I finally had to ask them to put it away so Marina would eat her dessert.

After the show was over, we asked a group of actors for a photo. They responded by gathering the entire cast for a picture with Marina and Sabrina. They were thrilled.

On the way home, Marina played Pokemon Go some more. By the time we got home it was late and we were pretty tired.

Night with the Nuggets

This evening was the school district's night at the Denver Nuggets game. Marina has only been to one Nuggets game before and she was excited to go. One of my coworkers and her girlfriend decided to join us.

At the last game we went to, Marina was part of the “High-Five Squad,” where she got the chance to high five the players as they entered the court before the game. She told me she’d like to do that again. As luck would have it, I got an email with the chance for her to do that again and she was picked!

We have to arrive early so Marina could join the group. When we arrived, she got a yellow t-shirt and hung around with the other kids as we waited. One little boy seemed a bit scared and, of course, Marina was there to encourage him.

When it was time, Marina happily joined the group to line up for the high-fives. I got close for pictures and despite trying to get her attention, she never looked at me. The players went through quickly. Marina was thrilled that she got a high-five from Kenneth Faried – her favorite player.

We met our friends at the door and went to our seats. I was amazed at how into the game she was. In fact, the watched the whole thing. She and the girl seated next to her because fast friends. During breaks they danced to the music and cheered loudly throughout. Marina almost won Bruno Mars tickets for screaming loudly.

The game went into overtime, but unfortunately the Nuggets lost to the Raptors 113-111. Marina said her throat hurt from all the yelling, but she had a fun time!

Day of the Dead

We were recently at the botanic gardens for their Halloween event and I saw their Day of the Dead celebration scheduled for today. We thought it sounded like fun, so we decided to check it out. Marina chose an outfit which was similar to traditional Mexican clothes. She also carried a fancy fan.

On the way there, we talked about the Mexican traditions around the day. Marina found it interesting.

The first thing Marina wanted to do was have her face painted. We were happy to find the line was not long. Marina was given an activity sheet while we waited. When it was her turn, she requested a design to go with her outfit. She was very happy with the results.

After her look was complete, we checked out the crafts set up throughout the gardens. First Marina decorated a sugar skull and made a festive banner decoration. She created a special picture frame for "someone who is my moon and stars" and colored in a mask.

Along the way, we ran into Popsicle, the mascot for the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, which supplies funding to many of our favorite places. Marina has wanted to meet Popsicle for a while now so we were both excited to see him there. Fortunately we were able to get a picture with him.

Once we went through all the special activities we went home. But in keeping with the theme of the day, we had Mexican food for lunch!

Halloween Spooktacular

We have attended Halloween Spooktacular concert for the past four years and Marina wanted to attend again today. We arrived early and we went to try out he activities set up before the show. Marina made a spider web and a shield for her character Yandere Chen. 

As the time for the concert drew near, I had to convince Marina to go to our seats. She wasn’t happy that they weren’t right up front! Despite that, she seemed to enjoy the concert. She especially liked the music of John Williams – the symphony performed his music from Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Harry Potter movies. She recognized the Wagner piece Rise of the Valkyries and enjoyed the theatricality of The Noon Witch and Conversations of Beauty and the Beast.

After the show was over, we took our time leaving the concert hall. On the way out, marina was given a goodie bag by an usher. She was quite pleased with that. The Spooktacular has become a tradition for us that Marina looks forward to every year!

Trek or Treat

While we attend a lot of events at the wildlife museum, Marina and I have never attended their Trek or Treat event. Since we had time today, we decided to try it out. We arrived shortly after the event opened and found ourselves in line with a family who we met at the Brave movie earlier this month. It was fun to see them again.

Once we got into the museum, we went to some of the trick or treat booths. Marina got to touch a constrictor snake and she collected some candy. We went into the ballroom where she learned about leaf decomposition, made ghost clay and played with slimy goop. She also had her face painted and collected more candy. We stopped for lunch before continuing on.

We went to make more crafts and met up with the family we met earlier again. Marina wanted to spend the rest of our time there with them. They made their crafts together and then went through the exhibits. Hopefully we will see them again soon!

Extreme Mammals and Mummies

Marina is on fall break this week. Today, we went to the nature and science museum to see their new temporary exhibits – Extreme Mammals and Mummies. Marina wore her Egypt t-shirt and cat ears to be ready for both exhibits. When we arrived, Marina decided she wanted to see Extreme Mammals first.

The Extreme Mammals exhibit had many examples of how mammals do amazing things. We saw examples of large animals, amazing motion, unusual abilities and adaptability. At the end, she had the opportunity to dress up which of course she loved. Naturally, she preferred to dress up like wild cats.

We stopped for lunch. Once we finished eating, we went directly to the Mummies exhibit.

The exhibition focused on mummies found in Egypt and Peru. Marina and I have seen exhibits about Egypt before, but the comparison with Peru was very interesting. Marina was moved by the mummies of children in particular. She had brought her hieroglyphics chart with her, so she tried to translate some of the message she saw. Once we finished the Mummies exhibit, Marina was ready to go home.

Fall Fun

It’s been a busy few weeks and Marina and I needed a break today. So the plan was to take it easy today. This morning, Marina had an appointment this morning. After that, we went home for some fall activities.

Lately, Marina has been crazy about cinnamon rolls. So she and I made a pan of them today. I made the dough, but Marina rolled it out and cut them. I also needed to make a dessert for a dinner party, so Marina helped me with that as well. She peeled and sliced apples for the apple cinnamon cheesecake.

The big project of the day was carving our Halloween Jack O’Lanterns. Marina chose stencils for Jasmine and Merida. These were tougher patterns than what we have done before, but we both did our best to get them done.