Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

There is no other way than to just come out and say it… I LOVE the circus. I have always tried to make it sound like we were going because it was important to Kyra or for my Dad. But in all honesty- I realized it was for me more than anything. It became apparent to me just this weekend when I hauled a three year old out in a snow storm just so I could see some flying trapeze girls and giant elephants doing tricks. At any rate- I know she had a good time because that’s all she talked about the whole day. The plan was to do a few errands, meet Tim’s parents for lunch and then take a quick nap before the show. Well as it turns out we did stick to the plan for the most part and only veered off in the morning to go to a Rummage Sale. Its like God was smiling down on me with a 30^th Birthday gift- which lasted the whole weekend (but we will get there). So Timmy and I took the girls to this rummage sale roughly 15 minutes out of town (which doesn’t seem like that much but it only takes 20 minutes to get across the entire city so 15 minutes in the other direction is a big deal to us in Green Bay). He was amazing. I didn’t think I would find all that much but after I started to fill up my arms for the second time after dropping off a load at the checkouts he quickly realized that I was going to be there for a while. He wrangled the girls (which was good because I was totally ignoring them… well not totally) and kept them busy till we left. I found so many treasures I thought my heart was going to burst from sheer happiness. I guess that’s the rush of an addiction. Either way, it was great! I found so many jimmies for the girls (their cost really adds up FYI) and some cute shoes and fun outfits for Kyra (who is in a size medium juniors - for real - I know). But getting back to “my score” I walked out of that place with three huge bags of stuff for under 15 bucks… And I am taking garbage bags! It was great. Then we went and filled our bellies at a local pizza place called Happy Joes which is honestly one of our favorite places to go. Its great because not only do they have the best pizza in town (BLT) but they have a salad bar too so I can pretend to eat something healthy. The girls can eat until their little hearts are content and then there are a dozen or so games in the entryway that they can go play and even win some prizes. AND if that weren’t enough already Happy Joes has ice cream too- delicious! I honestly surprised that we can even get Katie to leave the building sometimes. We all took a nap, we at least rested (I watched Hoarders on A&E) and then Bella and I got geared up for the circus.

We had to pack our glow sticks and our stuffed elephant so that when it came time to buy toys and such we were already set (financially thrifty is what I am calling it). I totally spaced on their being cotton candy so that was a struggle but I held steadfast- like the girl really needs more sugar. Sharon had given Kaitlynn some spending money so she decided to ride the horsies during intermission. She was sooooo excited and felt really special being up on that saddle. I think she felt like she was a performer in the show because she was waving to absolute strangers and mouthing “Hello.” It was adorable. We would have ridden the elephants but number one they were huge, number two she is still pretty small (especially next to an elephant), and number three- it cost 15 bucks per person… maybe next year I told her. We stopped a few times to take some snapshots with her favorite clowns and she was smiling from ear to ear the entire time- except when that darn cotton candy guy came through- you would think he would have gotten the point the first 25 times I said no- oh well. After the show, the weather had really fallen apart outside. It was that rainy slushy snow which is gross to begin with but then it was accumulation on the streets and such which made people drive (and act) like idiots. I was doing alright until my wiper blade came off (driver side mind you) and then I was in trouble- uh oh. You would be so proud of me though because I went into totally survival mode/ protective mother mode, stuck my head out the window (even though I was getting pelted in the face by ice) and got us to the gas station down the street a few blocks. I even changed my own wiper blade when I got there- woohoo!!! Yup- I was feeling pretty special- and still am. I have decided that this is going to be the best year yet- just you watch what we can do  :)