I offered a bit of a disclaimer in my circus recap post from last year and I'm just going to go ahead and leave another one here today. I know that the circus has always been controversial, no more so than in the last year. I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of circus animals, even as I found myself enjoying the show. Sometimes as a parent we find ourselves in precarious and uncomfortable situations and this is definitely one of those for me. I have loved the memories we've made over the last eleven years as circus attendees, but we've also had plenty of conversations with the girls about the care of animals. They were both disappointed when the elephants were pulled, but I was simultaneously relieved. We found that the circus was just as much fun this year (it was actually my ...
circus
A Saturday Circus Date!
Every Christmas, Josh's parents gift us tickets to the circus. Every year, Josh complains way too much about the getting ready/getting to the arena part of the day, we spend way too much money on plastic light-up toys that will ultimately break or be thrown away and despite all of that -- we all have a really good time. I know that the circus is controversial and I don't mean to diminish the discussion surrounding it, so let's just make this post about our adorable kids and not the plight of the circus animals, okay? We try to get to the venue an hour or so before the show, because there are all sorts of activities the kids can participate in. They do mini animal shows, you can dress up in the circus costumes, get your face painted and play in a giant bounce house. Some years we ...
Weekend Perfection
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 ...
Circus Time!
As you know, we love the circus at our house and (as if I don't say it every year) our Nana & Cookie are so sweet to buy us primo tickets for Christmas every year. Just when I think the girls will opt out one year, they see the commercial on television and go nuts! We were hoping to take Sophie to the elephant parade this year, but logistically we just couldn't work it out. We are definitely doing it with both girls next year, even if it means they have to go to work with me. We were smart enough to go early for the pre-show his year and got a great spot to watch the elephants paint. It will be easy to tell from these pictures that the elephants are everyone's favorite! I didn't get nearly as many photos this year because somebody (ahem, Sophie) wouldn't sit still and then there was ...
the Family Circus
Last Saturday, just like the last weekend of every January, we loaded up and headed downtown for the circus. We are always lucky to get tickets from my in-laws for Christmas and it never disappoints. It's funny to me how we can go the entire year without mentioning it, but as Christmas nears every year Ella asks when it is and if we're going. Since Sophie is almost two (and still free!) we decided to take her along this year. I was certain that she would be entranced because of the animals and would sit completely still. Sometimes I have to remind myself that she is WILD. She did enjoy it a lot, especially when the elephants were in the ring, most of the small animal acts or when there was a parade with lots going on. She was less than impressed with the individual acts (trapeze, acrobats, ...
Fully Charged
Guess who went to the circus on Saturday? And as usual, our front row seats did not disappoint. Thank you bunches, Nana & Cookie! We decided to leave Sophie with the grandparents and enjoy an evening of Fully Charged fun with just our biggest little girl. She has been beside herself since Christmas waiting for this day. It is amazing to me that she remembers from year to year what it's like. She knows we park at "mama's work" and that we sit "really close to the clowns". It is so funny to look back and see how much she has changed since our first year at Ringling Brothers. Mom, Ella & SD right before we headed home {see the confetti all over the floor?} We were smart and brought last year's light up toy. Total savings? $20 - Score! Isn't this shirt absolutely adorable? We ...
it’s a jungle out there
If you've been reading since the beginning, then you know that Ella was a bit obsessed with The Jungle Book as a little bitty girl, especially this part. We might not be watching the movie twice a day like we used to, but she certainly still has a thing for elephants. Especially when they're "holding hands". On Tuesday, the elephants from the Barnum & Bailey circus were due to arrive in Birmingham. Ella tagged along with mommy to work and we set out at 9:45 for an early lunch. Luckily, they walked in on a street very near my office. Not so lucky, was the bitter cold and falling rain. We waited for awhile on the street, very excited. First the train cars started rolling by. We imagine they are loaded with barrels and costume, trapezes and clown cars. Then we needed a ...