Shrine Circus 2011

I originally started this post on July 4th, but Blogger has given me the hardest time with these pictures. So I've finally given up trying to entertain you all with our circus memories and just get this post done!!


The weather this year was FANTASTIC! A little warm at 3:30, but it felt great in the shade. I guess other people thought it was great weather, too. The stands were packed...the most we've ever seen at the circus. We've suffered through wind and/or rain most of the past years.

Here are the kids, waiting for the show to begin. It seems like there is always someone with a long-sleeved shirt on in this family!!


Here is what some of them looked like a little later...must have been good...or simply astonishing.


There were tigers this year. I've never seen tigers (we've been going for the past 4 or 5 years). The tigers jumped through hoops and over each other. It was pretty impressive (though not jaw-dropping).

There were aerial acrobats. Here is a stunt that they didn't end up needing the net for. ;)

There were also acts of juggling and several people hanging from ropes and spinning, etc.

There was a bear there. He could push a huge stroller and walk on this barrel.

This family was good at flips. They launched several members of their team up into the air. This guy is about to land in a padded chair about 10 feet up off the ground.

This guy is there every year. He stacks chairs and climbs. When the wind is really bad around here, he takes the safe road and doesn't stack the last one or two chairs. Really...where's the entertainment in that? (I'm kidding. I don't want my kids to need therapy because they saw a performer maimed or killed right in front of them.)

At intermission we got snow cones. The choices (all $4) were snow cones (which I can make at home for free), popcorn (which I can also make for free and will make everyone thirsty) or cotton candy (I'm not going to buy pure sugar on a stick...plus, they'll all be thirsty). I figured that at least with the snow cones, the kids wouldn't be thirsty! So for $16, we got 4 snow cones (I know...we were practically robbed)!

Sarah enjoyed hers. ;)

MMmmmm....Refreshing!

We know the circus is over when the elephants come out. In years past, they've had 3 elephants. I guess they traded an elephant for the tigers. It's impressive to me to see how these huge animals perform these tricks. They just do them a lot slower than other animals!

Good Bye! See you in 2012!

Of course, the show wasn't over just because we left the circus grounds. We had our own circus to perform. Who even knows why he is pouting...we rarely find out.

Thankfully, it was a two-ring circus (so we didn't get bored with just one act). I can't remember what her problem was, either.

Of course, we were the 4 o'clock performance, trying to leave at 6:30 - the same time the 7 o'clock performance was arriving. There was a traffic jam big enough to impress even a Thai taxi driver. (That's a REALLY big traffic jam, if you couldn't guess.)

The next day, we had a horrible (but I loved it) wind and thunderstorm. I was glad we missed that!!

Birthdays, Circus, Weather, blah, blah, blah

I have only just begun this post and already feel overwhelmed. I have a lot to cover and I don't know how long I get to sit here undetected!

I'm typing without my glasses on. I've worn glasses (or contacts) since the end of my 1st year of college. That's 15 years! I only take them off to sleep or shower and sometimes to swim. So I went in for a check up today and mentioned that I get headaches. My 4-year-old glasses are still a strong prescription for me. Since my dominate eye is near-sighted (the other is 20/20), the doctor recommended taking my glasses off for computer use and reading. Well, that is something I never even thought of! So I'm giving it a try. We'll see if I get fewer headaches. Now I have to wear them on my head like a granny so I don't lose them or have them stolen by some little gremlin!

I know you've all been dieing to hear about Daniel's birthday. How is it that he's 8 years old already? He was supposed to have his party on his birthday, but we all became infected with the plague, so it got postponed until the next week. So we celebrated the official day with an ice cream cake from the grocery store. It's heavy on sugar but light on love. Sorry, Daniel! I just was feeling too rotten to be a fun Mom. And as you know, ice cream cakes are kept in the freezer, so if you try to cut them after only a couple of minutes to thaw you get this. It's an exercise cake! Isometric exercises for every 8 year old. Join me in my campaign.

This Monday we were able to hold the birthday party and did so in grand style. The boys each got to pick some antennae, we played games and had cake. Daniel got several very nice gifts and has been busy with them for the past two days.

This was the UFO cake I made and here was how we decorated the living room.


Here they are playing a balloon game. I made them get on their knees so no one would suffer a nasty (lack of) space injury. We played other games outside in the wind, but the balloon game had to be indoors.







It was Chad's birthday on Friday. We surprised him with some balloons and candy at work. Doesn't he look surprised? (Wow. Everyone looks so happy...it's painful!)







Daniel has started a month of baseball. They only play on Tuesday and Thursday nights. It started June 3rd. There have been 3 nights of games so far, but two of those were cancelled for bad weather. Not a great record!



Rebekah recently spilled her milk. She's never heard the common expression regarding crying over it. Rebekah was upset, Shadow and Trouble were delighted!

We went to the Shrine Circus again yesterday afternoon. It was our 3rd annual visit. You can revisit our first and second visits on these posts. We got there a little late because Leah had to continue her 2 hour tantrum on the living room floor and then Nathan said he had to go potty. Since Nathan's having his turn with diarrhea, we didn't tell him to hold it. Then we had to leave early to get to a cancelled baseball game. It was very cold and WINDY. Folks in the east are cancelling school because it's so hot, folks in the midwest are trading in their homes for boats and in Idaho, we're going to the circus in coats and blankets...on June 10th!

I snapped some secret shots of the performers in the wind. I even got a short video of them fighting the wind and cancelling a performance. It's a bad angle because it was "undercover." The kids still enjoyed themselves and complained that we were leaving before it was over. We gobbled up some high-end nachos in a vain attempt to warm up (the only time I'm willing to pay $3 for one tiny serving of nachos).



And what did I wake up to this morning? Before I tell you, I want you to know that I spent over $70 on vegetable plants for the garden which we planted on Monday night ("The prophet said to plant a garden..."). We worked out there for a good part of the evening then set the water to it. For treats we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores on the fire pit I got Chad for his birthday. We had an informal discussion on baptism (since Daniel's big day is this Saturday). And then I saw this at 8 AM.

What are the chances the 5 tomato, 3 peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and 18 corn plants survived? I haven't even been able to go out and look. Thanks a lot IDAHO!!! Nine days until SUMMER!

Chad is in Las Vegas today. To compensate, I took the kids (yes, all 5 of them...and I even brought the same 5 home) shopping. Our biggest trip was to Wal-Mart. That's where I got my eye exam. I held Joseph on my lap and the other 4 played out in the waiting area. From there we went to a restaurant for lunch. It was me and 5 kids and the worst thing that happened was I had to order an extra bowl of jello to keep Rebekah in the "fair" zone. We had 3 people express surprise at how well behaved the kids were. Truthfully, I wouldn't have even attempted it if I didn't think they would behave, but it was nice (and a relief) that they did.

I'm sure there are other things I wanted to share, but the post has gotten rather long and the time has gotten away from me. I think it's taken over 2 hours to finish this because of kids and phone calls. I was hoping to make it to the library tonight, but I doubt we'll get dinner done in time. Now we have something to do tomorrow!

I apologize for the crazy paragraphs. Blogger does that to me sometimes and I'm not up for the fight tonight!

Circus 2007

We went to the Shriner's Circus this afternoon. It's no Ringling Brothers, but the seats are closer (also come with some splinters for your discomfort).

The boys liked to see how many chairs the guy could stack. They saw this last year and have since tried it at home with our Little Tikes yellow chairs. Luckily, we only have 3, not 6 or 7.

There was a fun clown that rode a trick bike that kept falling apart. Actually, that was the ONLY clown. What kind of circus was this??

The boys really enjoyed it (despite Daniel's expression). Nathan was very excited to get a snow cone. Rebekah found enough things to entertain her. Leah had a little fever, so she opted to sleep through as much as she could. I probably should have stayed home with her.

I overheard a mother making comments to her daughter during an acrobatic performance. Actually, I think she wanted to be overheard. Anyway, her daughter mentioned how pretty the costumes of the ladies were and the mother replied that they were immodest. (They did give the illusion of being skimpy, but the only actual flesh you could see was hands, neck and up and part of the back. They were after all, costumes. Not a costume I'd ever wear, but fine for performing in.) Anyway, the mother had to continue to say that you couldn't go to the temple in that, etc., on and on. She made me cringe for how her pious comments must sound to the members of other faiths around her. And then I saw what her daughters were wearing. Sleeveless shirts/dresses and skirts with rips and/or safety pins in them. I nearly had to bite my tongue because I wanted to turn around and say, "Uh, you can't go the the temple in those, either!" So you can tell I was irritated.