Yes, our household is a circus...or maybe it's more like Soul Train. Tough call. :)
"Circus" became the official weekend theme, albeit, purely unintentional. On Friday, we had an inaugural family movie night, which began with pizza (our usual Friday night meal) and ended with popcorn, M&Ms and a movie. I thought it might be fun to have a movie night, but I had no idea which movie we should watch. Jacob rode with me to pick up the pizza and on the way home, we discussed our options.
Jacob: Mommy, what movie are we going to watch tonight?
Me: I don't know. I haven't decided yet.
Jacob: Let's choose one now.
Me: Ok. (long pause) I don't know.
Jacob: Oh! I know! Let's watch...Taken.
Me: (laughing) Hmmm. I'm not sure if that's such a good choice.
If you aren't familiar with Taken, Liam Neeson stars in the film. His daughter is kidnapped in Europe and he has to rescue her -- not exactly the movie I would choose for family movie night. Someone let us borrow it and it's been sitting on the shelf above the TV for a while. Jacob obviously noticed it at some point. That's also another testament to his newfound reading skills.
We opted for the waaaaaaay more family friendly Disney classic, Dumbo (here's where the circus theme begins). It was one of Heath's favorites when he was a kid. Jacob and Annabelle couldn't wait to hop up on the couch with their "snuggies."
Jacob watched most of the movie. Annabelle had better things to do. After the popcorn and M&Ms were gone, she jumped down off the couch (literally) and bounced around the room, showing us a few of her dance moves whenever she heard the circus calliope music. All in all, I think movie night was a hit. We'll definitely do it again. Any movie suggestions? Besides Taken, of course.
We knew the circus was in town, but didn't really talk much about it until Saturday morning. We bought tickets on a whim and put the kids down for an early nap so they would be well-rested for an afternoon adventure. Only one of them cooperated. Annabelle fell asleep and didn't wake up until we walked into her room to get her ready to go. Jacob would NOT take a nap. He doesn't always take a nap these days, but that doesn't mean he doesn't NEED one. True to form, he was just about to fall asleep as we pulled into the parking garage. Uh-oh. We were headed to crankytown and there was nothing we could do about it. We gritted our teeth and prayed for the best.
As I unbuckled Annabelle from her carseat, I realized I had left one very important item at home -- Annabelle's backpack. No backpack meant no diapers. Uh-oh again.
When we walked inside, I scoped out the families in search of a child who looked to be around Annabelle's age. I spotted one and very nicely, in my most desperate voice, begged to borrow a diaper. The mom graciously handed me a diaper and offered wipes as well. Whew. Crisis averted.
While I was taking care of the diaper situation with Annabelle, Mr. Crankypants himself was gearing up for the show. Annabelle and I walked out of the restroom to find Heath buying one of those $10 sno-cone drinks -- the really obnoxious kind with the strobe light in the cup. Uh-oh....a third time. Apparently, Jacob had thrown such an embarrassingly awful fit over the drink, Heath gave in and stepped in line. This was definitely a circus, alright. And the show hadn't even begun!
Once we sat down in our seats, things calmed down a little. Jacob was focused on his blinking drink and Annabelle seemed excited about seeing the animals. Although, this photo doesn't accurately depict her enthusiasm, it does give you an idea of Jacob's mood. 
My favorite part of the circus was seeing the elephants perform. Annabelle really enjoyed them too. They were so cute! However, I felt sorry for the guys who had to clean up after these very large animals during the performance. Yuck.
My favorite part of the circus was seeing the elephants perform. Annabelle really enjoyed them too. They were so cute! However, I felt sorry for the guys who had to clean up after these very large animals during the performance. Yuck.
Soon after intermission, Jacob started whining. "I'm ready to LEAVE!!! Let's GO!!" He held to those sentiments throughout the second half of the show. Annabelle was a little antsy, but surprisingly, the circus seemed to hold her attention.
This picture very accurately depicts our day at the circus. Annabelle -- all giggles and grins. Jacob -- not so much.
The funny thing is, as cranky as Jacob was, he actually did have a good time. I heard him talking about the circus to his friends at church yesterday, telling them how cool it was. He told them all about things I didn't even think he had seen. I'm so glad he had fun. Meanwhile, Annabelle keeps talking about the "ack-o-bats" (acrobats). Of course, she liked the acrobats. She could probably get a job with the circus as an acrobat right now...........what? You want me to bounce up into the air, touch the ceiling and flip over that guy's shoulders onto the trapeze bar, dangling three stories above the ground? Sure! Sign me up!! Not yet, Annabelle. Let's try toddler gymnastics first, ok? :)
Yeah, JoBeth, you were absolutely right. Our life is indeed...a circus.
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