Ringling Brothers – 2009

Going to the circus is becoming an annual tradition with Danielle. Ringling Brothers arrived at Madison Square Garden right at the end of her spring break, so we booked the tickets a while back.

The last time we went she noticed that a small group of people got to go onto the floor of the show and sort of participate. She wanted to do that. So this year we got those tickets.

For the most part, they just bring you onto the floor to sit in these mini-bleachers that are just really close. There was one clown standing behind us and he befriended Danielle. They were joking around the whole time. And at one point the ringmaster needed a volunteer from the group and he looked right at Danielle.

“What’s your name?”

“Danielle”

“How old are you?"

“Six and a quarter”

And with that he brought her out into the middle of the show and had her help with a magic trick. So the whole experience made her day.

The obligatory pictures:

Pre show:

Her clown friend:

Helping with the magic trick:

 

And her friend waving goodbye during the finale:

NCAA Pool

For the record, I had Memphis to win it all and Duke to the Final Four. So my pool was toast as of Thursday night.

Baseball season…

Orlando Cheap

We’re watching our money (who isn’t?) but with Danielle off for two weeks we wanted to do something. My wife’s brother lives in Orlando so that seemed like the thing to do.

We got cheap flights, planned to stay with my wife’s brother for a few days and at a hotel near Disney for a few days.

Spending a few days with the in-laws was pleasantly relaxing. We didn’t do a lot. They have a pool (not heated, a tad chilly), and a park nearby. They also have a pond in the back where you can fish. That’s about all we needed.

And of course the girls had a blast at Disney. Danielle has hit roller coaster height so she rode Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney Hollywood. She loved them. So I’m excited to have someone to ride cool rides with. Victoria was surprisingly timid on the kiddie rides, but she’s only 2 so I’ll cut her some slack.

Her are the obligatory pictures:

This one is out of focus, but I had to include it anyway. Tori with her sister’s iPod shuffle:

Danielle climbing in the park. All she does is climb…

Catching a fish with her uncle:

At the Magic Kingdom with Alice in Wonderland:

 

With their new tattoos (Danielle has Hannah Montana sunglasses and a Hannah Montana tattoo):

At Mickey’s Toontime playground (Tori is small but tough, she will win this confrontation):

Dan just climbs…

And finally here’s Danielle at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground:

We did ride rides, honest. But you can’t take good pictures on them…

Let the madness begin…

If anyone didn’t get info on my NCAA pool, here’s the link to sign up:

http://fish2006.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?referrer=MKTG_BM_INVITE

Our Group password is: fish

I’ll collect via PayPal later…

Back to the Park

Spring is finally arriving so it’s time to get back to the park with the girls. And it’s getting a bit trickier to keep track of both of them.

Danielle, at 6, is still the one who wants me around the most. She doesn’t need me (though she still likes to be pushed on the swings), she just likes me watching her.

Victoria, at 2, is perfectly happy to take off on her own. She’s the boldly independent one. And she likes to climb on the big girl stuff. By herself.

As I watch her climbing up the ten foot tall ladder, I’m reminded that this is the girl who was getting physical therapy a year ago because she was developmentally behind. Hard to believe that now.

So I spend most of my time running back and forth between them, trying to watch Danielle and trying to keep Victoria from killing herself. Still, it’s pretty fun.

Some obligatory pictures:

Danielle hanging from one of those things that Victoria is perfectly happy to climb all by herself…

Hanging seems to be a theme with Danielle, and yes that’s Victoria in the background. Up high all by herself. I’m such a good father…

Finally, Victoria does something safe…