The Circus Comes to Town!

Okay, so it didn't really come to our town, but to the town about an hour and a half away from here. But close enough, right? Anyway, I get these Travelzoo emails and they said I could get circus tickets for $10 a piece! What a steal! So of course, unable to let a good deal pass, and knowing our family had been separated for the past few weeks due to Bryan's job, I jumped at the chance to plan a fun family night. What's more fun than the circus? (Well, okay, shopping with someone else's money comes to mind, but the circus is a close second!!)

The circus had a preshow where you could go down to the arena and visit with the circus performers, who also did a little showcase of what they would be doing during the actual show. The tall guys on stilts came out and walked among the crowd, much to Rix's and Bryce's delight and Cole's horror. They brought out one of the elephants, who painted a piece of art for a raffle, and let the kids try on circus costumes. They each got a hand tattoo and a clown nose. It was seriously so fun. I think I would have paid for just that experience. It was very family friendly and hands on, which I thought was really cool. Bryan and I decided the circus was a cheaper, more family friendly version of Cirque du Soleil (which we love, but would never take our kids).

During the circus we ate dinner, got cotton candy (at a whopping $12 a bag!!) and popcorn, and watched the show. Rix was the most into it out of all the kids. He kept gasping and freaking out when the performers would do something crazy. He was in heaven. Bryce loved it too, but the tricks didn't seem to phase him too much. Maybe he doesn't realize that it's not normal to bend backwards in half or to jump twenty feet in the air and land on a thin beam. He loved the elephants and tigers the most. Cole loved the chaos of it all, fell over his seat twice into the row in front of us (he was okay, just hyper) and enjoyed flipping his seat up and down more than anything. Oh, and he found a new love. No, it's not me. It's cotton candy. I've been replaced.

When the circus was done we stayed overnight in the hotel Bryan stayed at during the temple remodel. They have a great breakfast and a swim pool. We got up that morning and ate and then let the kids swim for a while. It was better than driving all the way home so late, and the boys love to swim! It was an enjoyable time, and I recommend the circus to anyone who has a chance to go!

The PRESHOW:

Trying on costumes.

Clowning around :) Hahaha...that was a good one.

A more serious pose.

The elephant and the art he made. So talented. He paints better than I do!

The SHOW:                                                                                                               

The beginning of the show.

These guys landed on that stick!

Tigers.

These three girls were so...bendy. They could fold themselves in half, the wrong way. They are balancing on small sticks. It was incredible!

Rix is nervous for the performers!

Only at a circus can you get away with this kind of get-up.

These little horses (ponies? Shetlands??) were like puppies. They followed each other around and acted like, well, a dog would. They were so cute.

Elephants!!!

The elephants were sitting. It was the coolest thing ever.

Okay, this guy was catapulted into the air, and you can see he's attached to a single stick. And he LANDED on that stick!! And didn't fall!! I could've watched them do that stuff all night.

Cole and his cotton candy. I don't even want to know how much sugar he ate that night.

We're working on Bryce's smile. He thinks this is smiling. I can see school pictures going very badly.

The end of the show!