My phone is a piece of crap. Unfortunately that's all I had to take pictures at the circus tonight. It gave out half way through. We'll just have to go back next year so we can take more photos.
Tonight I took Ada to The Shrine Circus that came through town. I was pretty sure she'd like it, but you never know. She liked it. SHE LOVED IT!
At first she wasn't so sure. The three-ring setup was populated by overpriced pony and elephant rides and she didn't seem super thrilled.
She decided to ride the ponies and she was a little more excited. I would have taken a picture, but the pony she chose was an asshole and kept pinning his ears at me, so I didn't dare whip out the phone to snap a pic. It looked like a kid on a pony ride: You can use your imagination. I asked her afterward if she thought riding Cashy was better. She said yes. "He goes faster." She was also concerned that the ponies didn't have reins.
Once we flagged down a barker with some popcorn, she got more excited about the circus. We read a book titled
The Secret Circus and one of the highlights of the book for her is that they eat peanuts, popcorn, and peppermints. She was expecting this. I told her they didn't have peanuts. I stashed a bag of peppermints in my purse. She munched the popcorn and cotton candy with gusto all evening.
She still seemed a little skeptical until they brought the tigers out. That was the moment she was IN! Flashing lights, music, entertainment -- this was a happy kid. She danced to the music, clapped when the performers egged the audience on, made "whoa!" sounds when watching the aerialists, kept yelling "dogs!" at the dog act, and really really liked the elephants.
When we first got there I asked her if she wanted to ride the elephants. She said no. By intermission, she was ready. We got our ticket, got in line, and got there too late since we chose to stop at the face paining booth first. She was mighty disappointed. They opened the "rides" back up after the show, so no big loss, but try explaining that to a 2-year-old. There was a little crying. Then she had a peppermint and got over it and enjoyed the rest of the show.
 |
| View of the left ring of the circus from our seats. We had awesome seats and they were worth every ridiculous penny. |
At the end, around 9:45 p.m., she was still raring to go on the elephant. We went over, stood in line, and when it was our turn, she was first on Libby the Elephant. Right. Up. By. The. Ears. We even petted the ladyphant and admired her show glitter. I wish I had a photo of that. Again, Ada agreed riding Cashy was better. I can't believe she rode the elephant! She's such a game little kid.
By the time we drove out of the parking lot, she was out. What a great night. It will be even more fun next year when she can process more of what is going on. She really didn't understand the clowns... She was upset that they kept pushing each other and she kept asking me, "What're they doing?!" Explaining pretend farts is difficult as a parent.
Super kid. Super time. Super tired.
