Circus Time!!!

At the end of August, a friend mentioned that she was taking her kids to the circus. We made a last-minute decision to take the girls to the show on that Saturday, the 31st. Emma had no idea where we were going! She wasn't paying attention to the signs posted around the iWireless Center, so she really was shocked when we walked into the arena! Her eyes were focused on the center ring the entire show and she was just in awe! Horses, dogs, elephants, tigers, and a huge lion were all part of the afternoon and I felt like we were constantly saying to each other, "Look! Look over there! Oooh! Oh wow!!" The only weird part of the show was the theme of the show itself! The ringmaster sang about having the spirit of the dragon living in each of us and asked everyone to have faith that the spirit would come and give us strength and power. It was quite hideous, actually. Kind of subliminal in a way. We talked to Emma about it afterward and she didn't seem like she really paid much attention to that part of the show. It was weird.

Adri enjoyed part of the show and then settled into my arms and fell asleep. We hadn't even eaten lunch, but I guess the show just wasn't all that great for her. I carried her to the van and she slept all the way home and another few hours in her crib!

Emma said her favorite part of the circus was when the horses came out with their riders. They went 'round and 'round the ring and over and under the horses and onto each other's backs and did just about everything dangerous you could ever imagine doing on a horse!! Incredible!

I haven't been to a circus since I was a kid. Some of the acts were familiar, but I don't remember being so anxious during the show! The whole time I was thinking, "Really? Isn't that dangerous??" Turns out, yes, it is dangerous! One of the performers who was rolling around in a ball suspended from the ceiling actually fell out of the ball during the show and was rushed to the ER. I never did hear how she recovered. That solidified my resolve to never join the circus. I mean, not that I was wavering.

Blurry, but a good memory!

Emma and I had a great conversation about buying overpriced junk at events like the circus. I let her play with some of the toys, but we didn't purchase a single thing. We saw a plastic unicorn for $20. I told her we could probably find a similar toy in WalMart for a dollar. Sure enough, later that week, we found the item for less than $3! It was a great lesson for her and I felt like she really understood why I wouldn't buy her anything. I'm trying to teach her to be wiser with her money than I was as a kid and young adult! Overall, we had a really great time at the circus. I'm sure we'll go again in the future!