The circus came to town a couple of weekends ago and since it was rather rainy and cold and my children were begging to ride a {stinky} elephant, I folded and brought them to the overpriced
Hokey Jose Cole Circus.
Okay, I suppose if you were 2 and 5 it wouldn't be all that bad...you know with all the loud music and flashy lights, but I think I could have put on a better puppet show in our living room.
Don't believe me?
Well, the ring master (is that even what they are called) announce that everyone must stay seated for the next demonstration.
You know, because they were going to bring out the lion.
You wanna see the
lion?
Ooooohhhh, roar!!!
There was a trapese act...but just one person. She swung from this rope first and then a bar later but the part that struck me as weird was her outfit.
Sorry for the poor focus in the one below but take a closer look at her get-up. Was there a reason it was supposed to only cover her ta-ta's and whoo-ha in the front and look completely bare in the back? It was a bit risque and not so sure that is appropriate attire for small children to be witnessing but thankfully we were sitting far enough away that I don't think they noticed.
The highlight was supposed to be the {stinky} elephant ride. We stood in line and stood in line for the $8 per person {stinky} elephant ride and when it was time to board, the told me, 'The 2 year old can't go. She's too small." I said that I would pay another $8 so I could go with them but she said adults weren't aloud (funny because 3 rides before I saw a Mom get on with her 3 kids!) Audrey was crushed so I had to promise her a box of popcorn and a bag of cotton candy to get her to stop crying. And then to top it off...the people behind us had a little boy that was 2 1/2 (just like Audrey) and he got on, no questions asked and Grant was asked to be his big buddy. Hmmm, why couldn't he be Audrey's big buddy? Needless to say, Mama was a bit ticked that her Tooters couldn't fulfill her wish of riding the stinky elephant!
I did find humor in talking to Grant after we got home, though. I asked him how he liked riding the elephant and he said, "It was good, but I was kinda scared." I asked him why and he replied, "Because it was really high and bumpy and the whole time I could hear someone behind me going hmmmp, hmmmp (whimpering) and it was freakin' me out!" I about bust a gut laughing. Now when I go back and look at the pictures, I can guarantee it was the girl in the pink dress, second from the back doing all of the whimpering! Just check out her face in this series of pics!!!
For the remainder of the intermission, the kids and I shared some goodies in the grand stands and took some silly pictures.
Grant couldn't get enough of the cotton candy, which is surprising because Audrey is my sweet-tooth kiddo.
Even though the price was a bit hokey and overpriced, it was worth seeing the kids smiling and having fun taking in the whole circus atmosphere.
My favorite part of the the show was the elephant performance.
It amazes me that an elephant can learn to stand on a metal stand and dance to music.
I also think it is funny that she has her front 'toe nails' painted white. So fancy!
Her face looks so sweet too, considering she is a {stinky} elephant, of course.
I didn't get good pictures of all of the performers but there were some pretty talented kids performing.
The finale was this young strapping man who could balance like a super-star! I couldn't even climb up on a stack of glasses like that if they were flat on the floor, let alone balance it on a cylinder.
I can not imagine how many hours of practice this takes but it was pretty cool to watch.
Once we got home, the kids had to put their new {overpriced} '
prizes' to good use.
Grant's
weapon toy of choice was a 'light saver.'
And Audrey chose a musical light up orb wand thingy. Oh before the circus we made a 'quick' stop at Target to pick up a couple things and she just
had to have a pink batting helmet, just like her brother's red one. I figured I might as well go along with the request so she doesn't get bonked in the head when Grant is practicing his batting for t-ball this summer.
Plus it doubles as a sparing help quite nicely!
A couple more ninja poses and it was time for bed after a long and fun-filled day.
Speaking of bed time...I'm off to catch some much needed zzzzz's. Nighty-night!
And can you believe that it has taken me nearly 14 years to take the time to actually walk through these gorgeous gardens?
My ulterior motive was to get some frame-able pictures of this little rug-rat...
As well as this little pip squeak...
I'm not completely happy with the pictures that I ended up getting of the kids but I did get a TON of awesome flower pictures.
Another reason I wanted to scope out the gardens is because this is also where I did the photo shoot of these adorable little girls.
My kiddos did enjoy exploring the gardens even though it was nap time and they were a bit grumpy.
They were also surprisingly patient while I snapped picture after picture of all of this brightly colored bliss!
Clematis
During our exploration, Grant was all about the fountains. I would even go as far as to say he was a bit enamored with them.
Mostly because he was having fun throwing all of my change into them. He even found a lucky penny that he got to make a wish upon and toss into the water.
I did NOT get even ONE good picture of the kids together! Either they wouldn't stand or sit by each other or they were making cheesy faces or the sun was too bright and they were squinting (some pics even had all of these things going on!)
This one is not bad but Grandma and Grandpa need one that is up an down....argggggggggggg!
This here is little Mae Mae's newest 'pose'. Nice, huh?!
We did spot this pretty fella in the tree above us. I think it is a peregrine falcon but not completely sure.
Russian Sage
One of the sections of the gardens is the 'White Garden' I am usually one who LOVES color but there was something timeless and classy about this all white flower garden.
Hydrangea
I am also a huge Hollyhock fan...
And I L-O-V-E me some lilies!
Clematis
I spy...
...a Monarch butterfly!
Goodbye!
