Do you ever have those weekends where everything is perfect? (Except for that time you cuss at the vacuum cleaner for falling over a lot.) You know the ones. Where you dread going to bed on Sunday evening because your cup is full and your people have been extra special adorable. (Except that one time where a certain daughter pretty much told you that you were a terrible person and so was she.). Yeah, that weekend. We had one of those.
We went to the circus on Saturday morning. I know that people have various reasons for not attending and I’ll probably catch all kids of flack for ignoring the animal rights activists on the sidewalk (like the one who handed me a gruesome flyer and said “Enjoy the show!”), but my girls love it and so we take them. Every year. By my calculations, this was our eighth annual family date to see the show and it never disappoints.
We normally see the morning show and follow it up with lunch, but I pouted a little bit and everyone agreed to breakfast instead. Have you been to Big, Bad, Breakfast (Yes, that website is for the Mississippi restaurant, but we have one, too!)? If not, you are seriously missing out. The place is adorable before you even bite into the spicy bacon or take one sip of your fresh squeezed orange juice, but once you’ve taken a bite… you are hooked. I had brandy-soaked french toast with fresh cream. I die. Did I mention they serve Octane Coffee?!
Next up was the gloriously long drive to Birmingham, enhanced only by a wreck and subsequent gridlock on the freeway. Why am I surprised? This is the exact route I take to work every day and it never changes. It was made mildly tolerable by a quick download of the Cranberries first album. 1993, anyone? We missed the pre-show, but got right to our seats before the show started. As usual, this is Ella’s face when I asked for a “nice picture before the show starts”.
Want to know how not to go into debt every year at the circus? Recycle your light-up toys. I put them up in a cabinet as soon as we get home and we freshen up the batteries the night before the next year. My kids hold them for approximately 7 seconds, so there is no need to spend $22 a pop per child every single year. Nana gave them each a $20 bill this year, so they could have negotiated for a new one, but Ella spent her money on chicken fingers and pocketed the rest, while Taz bought light up glasses and had her face painted.
The show was just as good as it always is. I’m fascinated by the trapeze artists and I can barely stomach the antics of the tightrope walkers. Not because they are walking on a rope suspended over empty air, but because of their fake enthusiasm and over-exaggerated arm gestures. I can’t deal.
We were sad the the motorcycles / ball of steel wasn’t present this year. For whatever reason, that is everyone’s favorite. When we asked Sophie what her favorite part was this year, she said “The motorcycles, but they weren’t here this year.” She did love the poodles who danced to Shake it Off, though. Obvs. And there were CAMELS. That performed. I may never fully recover.
Soph had to show off her super cute face painting when the lights finally came back on. Unfortunately, the line for this painting forced her to miss the mermaid trapeze artists, but she was too excited about her “two tongues” to care! She lasted about 97 seconds in the car before passing out. She slept through lunch, a few errands and Josh’s haircut, waking up just moments before pulling into our driveway. How is that for perfect timing? Not.
I had big plans to clean house and catch up on design projects and be super productive when we got home, but you know what happened? We took a nap, played on Pinterest, watched too many episodes of SOA (Please tell me SOA gets better. We’re only half way into season one and we’re struggling. The dialogue is pretty terrible, but I want to like it!) and had fast food for dinner. It was beautiful. Then we slept late on Sunday (Even though we should definitely have been at church, but it was so nice to sleep late and have breakfast in bed and play games in pajamas with all my people). My mom called later in the morning to see how we felt about an afternoon at the park. My dad has been crazy busy since the holidays, working late every night and since we are visiting churches, we don’t always see him on the weekend.
These people. My parents are the best kind of people. I know that not everyone has the privilege of having a wonderful relationship with their parents and I’m so fortunate that I do. My girls adore them and we had such a great time chasing the kids together and getting to catch up. It had been three weeks since I had seen my dad (Probably the longest stretch I’ve ever been, unless traveling) and even though I see my mom in the afternoons when I pick up the girls, they never let us get a word in edgewise. We might have only lasted outside for about 28 minutes before we were shivering and ready for some warmer digs, but it was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend.
Here are past circus posts if you want to compare. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why I never posted the pictures from last year’s adventure?! I’m hoping that my long-lost hard-drive (where every photo of my girls’ lives and every free lance graphic design project are being held hostage) is being resuscitated as we speak and maybe I’ll share them an entire year too late!
2009’s Zing, Zang, Zoom
And see how tiny Ella was in 2008 for our first EVER circus trip!
And see how tiny Ella was in 2008 for our first EVER circus trip!
Kristin is married to her high-school sweetheart and the mother to two daughters. Professional by day and creative by night, she is a family lifestyle blogger who writes about faith, family, and fitting it all into a busy schedule. At Taz + Belly, you’ll find healthy recipes, children’s party ideas, tutorials, DIY projects, and more. Click Here to Read More About Kristin
