Saturday afternoon, we met up with the Neufeld's and the Pyle's and took our crew of 9 kiddos to The Carson and Barnes Family Circus. We had such a great time.
Our excitement upon approaching the Big Top was squashed just a little, when we were greeted in the parking lot by 2 picketers. We had the pleasure of standing beside them for a few minutes, while we waited for the traffic-police to allow us to cross. I got to start the afternoon by answering Addison's questions...."Why are the animals crying in that ladies picture?", "Why is she telling us to make a better choice next year?", "What does cruel mean?". Now, I certainly have no idea what goes on all the time behind the scenes of the circus. However, the girls and I had taken advantage of an invitation to come and watch the circus set up on Friday. We were there bright and early and they already had all the animals unloaded and set up in comfortable, shady stalls. They seemed well-loved and well cared-for, and the definitely enjoyed soaking up all the attention and snacks from all the children. We also got to watch as the elephants helped the workers pull the poles up for the tent. They seemed to be treated very kindly and gently. Thankfully we were soon allowed to cross the street and Addison quickly forgot the images that had been put in her mind.
Our first stop was to ride the elephants. The girls had learned Friday morning, that they could do that when we came back and there was no stopping them. Actually Reagan had initially said that she was sticking to the pony ride, but she got sucked in by all the elephant hype from her sister. They were on a mission. $22 bucks is what that mission cost me, but that is okay, I suspect that shall be our only elephant riding experience for quite some time, making it a reasonably low expense. Right? We happened to run into some neighbor's while waiting in line for the elephant. There son (yep, a boy in our neighborhood) had been pondering a ride himself. At one point, he was on his way up with his "imaginary friend", until said "imaginary friend" backed out, forcing AJ to give up his ride for the sake of his "friend". Thankfully Tom saved the day and he was happy to go up with him and our crew of girls!
Then is was off to the petting zoo. My little animal lovers were thrilled to feed goats, lamas, and an ox.
Until, Reagan said one bit her. They were very gentle, so it was probably the result of Reagan sticking her fingers in a goat's mouth. She was over it quickly and back to feeding them.
Dawn, Brian, Taylor, Kylee and baby Colten (blocked by his sister), ready for the show.
My crew, eating Ring-Pops and waiting for the show. Not sure what is going on with Addison here, but we had to go for best 4 out of 5!!!
Baby girl loved the show. She was so cute pointing at the performers, and nodding her head yes. She was in awe. Amazing that she made it the whole 2 hours!!! The only problem was a brief period in the middle of the show when she and Reagan spent an good 30 minutes fighting over my lap.
The whole crew!
We left the circus at 6:30 and decided to try our luck with a table for 15 at a local pizza place, so close to bedtime. It was great. The big girls had their own table, next to us and the babies. This is how Reagan ate her spaghetti. Parmesan in one hand, fork in the other.
The kids table. They are happy, we are happy. Win/Win.
Dance party in an empty corner of the restaurant. It is now 8:30 and we are trying hard to pay and get out of there! Sammy and Julie aren't dancing. Not sure if it is because their parents were the good parents, who made their children stay seated, or if it was because their girls had found the cookie desserts we had at the grown up table, and were thus otherwise occupied???
What a fun night!!! My girls were asleep on the 3 minute drive home and tucked in bed fully clothed. 2 of them slept until 7:30 this morning (Hallelujah). And one is still asleep! I am sure the girls will be trying out all the new tricks they learned throughout the day!
Addison brought along "Cubby Bear". He was home from kindergarten with her and we were recording his adventures with us.
During the 5th inning their mascott, Dinger, comes up to the suites and poses for pics with the kids.
Reagan loves him, Gracyn isn't sure!
The stadium has a small playground for the kids, so we spent some time there.
It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Denver!
The highlight of the day for the girls was this elevator operator, who we went back to see a few times. His name-tag says Santa Claus, as does his driver's license (at least the one he showed us). He has a great time playing the part for the kids. They were amazed to find Santa at the baseball game!
