A Super Saturday

FYI: I have been posting on this blog for almost six years, and this is blog post number 800. 

Daphne was busy at school with her band students for most of Saturday. Char was sad that Mom was missing all the fun, and she asked me to update Daph with texts and pictures throughout the day. I'd thought I'd share them here, too.

Char's having a blast taking a drama class at the Des Moines Community Playhouse. I suspect that athletics will not be her forte. Here's our poser posing on the Playhouse's stairs.

One of Char's favorite places to eat is at the buffet at Prairie Meadows Casino. It's been a few months since we have been there, and Char was disappointed that all of the autographed rock posters and signed guitars had been removed from the hallway. She did like the new photos hung by the buffet's entrance. Char wanted me to take a picture of her pointing out the cardinal for Daphne. Cardinals are special because they symbolize the memory of Grandma Deb.

Some people place slices of cucumbers on their eyes to reduce swelling and puffiness. Char prefers the potato round treatment.

I needed to stay on the east side of town because I was going to surprise Charlotte by taking her to the Shriner Circus at the fairgrounds. Bass Pro Shops is close to both Prairie Meadows and the fairgrounds, and there quite a few things to do and see there. 

When we pulled into the parking lot, Char read the building and asked, "Who would go inside to see Outdoor World?"

That was a good question, and all I could say was, "Well, we're going to."

The space inside is decorated with all kinds of taxidermy.

Char thought the displays were neat after I lied explained that all the animals had died a natural death. When I was a kid in the 70's my parents would take me to the West Sioux hardware store in Sioux Falls, SD. The store had several mounted animals on display behind glass. I always thought that store was cool and weird at the same time. Bass Pro gave me that same feeling. West Sioux closed its doors in 1981, and you can now see the stuffed animals at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls.

I couldn't get Charlotte to pose by the grizzly bear standing on his hind legs. Even in death he was too scary. She would pose by the huge fish tank, though.

She liked the statue that greets customers near the Fish Bowl bowling alley.

She's trying to look tough while test driving sunglasses. 

We pretended to fish off the back of one the display boats.



Here's what Char caught and released.

Then it was time for my big surprise. I wouldn't tell Char where we were going at first. I wanted her to guess.

"A movie?"

"Nope," I replied.

"A show?"

"No," I countered,  "but it is like a show."

"The circus!" 

"Yes! But how did you guess?"

"You said it was like a show, and the circus is like a show."

"A lot of things are like a show."

Char turned her head to look out the window, "Not the way a circus is."

We made agreement. I would buy her anything she wanted to eat, but I wasn't going to buy a plastic sword, a blow-up animal, or a huge balloon. During the intermission I bought her a (What! Are-you-kidding-me! Ten dollars for a cup of melted sugar?!) large bag of cotton candy.

There is no way to eat cotton candy without making a mess. By the time the bag was empty, she had grown a cotton candy beard and was wearing cotton candy gloves. I would have taken a picture, but I was too busy trying to clean her up with napkins I had soaked in the drinking fountain. Circus-made wet wipes really don't work very well, by the way.

We attended this circus 2014, but I forgot how loooong it is. We arrived a little after 2:00, the show started at 2:30, and we left at 5:35. Three and a half hours is a lot circus for your money, but there's quite a bit of downtime.

The Shriner clowns throw free t-shirts in the crowd after the intermission, and Charlotte was given a shirt four years ago.

She got lucky again this year. The circus was packed when it began, but by the time intermission was over about half of the crowd had packed it in. We had just moved to an empty row when a shirt landed a few seats from us. No one else was there to snag it.

I tried to buy a McDonald's Happy Meal on the way home, but the Johnston McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets. How does that happen? Someone really dropped the ball. Luckily, Char was happy to go to Burger King where they have their head in the game. Take that, Ronald.

Charlotte finally got some screen time when we got home.

Daphne opened the door at 7:00, and Charlotte excitedly told her all about the "best daddy-daughter-day ever!" As the two talked, I walked downstairs in triumph.

And there you have it. That's little story #800.

Our Weekend Was Quite a Circus

Last Saturday morning we took Charlotte to the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine Circus. We got there around 9:20 as they were taking down the equipment for the animal rides.

I haven't been to a three-ring circus since 4th grade, but I remembered how much junk they sell, and I also remember how I wanted to buy it all. On the drive to the fairgrounds I made Charlotte an offer. I promised her that I would buy any food she wanted at the circus as long as she didn't ask for any of the junky toys that they sell: no inflatable aliens, no light sticks, and no guns that spray sparks. Char was quick to agree. It was the word "gun" that tipped the scales, "I don't like guns, Dad! I'm not a gun girl!"

Well, okay, then. (Actually, they don't sell those sparking guns anymore, but the lighted "princess wands" aren't much better.)

As promised, as soon as we got in our seats, I got us some popcorn.

Then we settled in to watch the show. Man, I don't remember what we paid for the tickets (Char was free with those passes that Casey's gives away), but you get a lot of circus for your buck. We were there for almost three hours.

After ninety minutes the acts took a break during the intermission. The elephants and miniature horses were brought back out for the kids to ride.

Char was content to pose near the elephant. She's wearing the mask that came with a large bag of cotton candy. At first she thought she was a zebra, but later she decided she was a tiger.

That bag of cotton candy was the size of a pillowcase on your bed, and Char shoved about half of it in her mouth. You give that much sugar to a little girl, and you just know there's going to be some repercussions. I swear, if you put your hand on Char's shoulder you could feel her vibrate.

Later a few Shriner clowns got close to where we were sitting, but I won't make any of my usual clown comments. I had a sometimes surly roommate whose little sister was born with a disability. He had nothing but praise for the Shriners and all the good work they do for children.

Right before the intermission ended, the Shriner clowns threw about 100 t-shirts into the crowd, but Char was too busy eating a hotdog to care. Charlotte still got a shirt, through. A kind, teenage girl sitting near us caught a shirt, but since she couldn't wear a child-sized small, she gave it to us. When Char unrolled the green fabric into a shirt she lit up like the fiery hoops the tigers leap through.

Get back! That tiger's about to spring! 

"Rawwwr!"