Ringling Brothers!!

August 25

Circus Circus Circus!!!  I am so excited excited about going to the circut today!  I have been looking forward to taking the boys to the circus forever and now we are finally doing it!  We nearly did last year when we were still in Evanston, but decided the $ was just too much for something they may or may not enjoy.  Now however, thanks to the YMCA, we got discount tickets for $15/ea.  We used some $ we had gotten from Tante Mary and put it toward circus tickets.  And now today is the day.  We debated whether we should take Yannick or leave him with a sitter.  Would he enjoy it, or would we be miserable trying to keep him happy?

First, we drove down there, expecting big bucks to park, but we found a lot that was pretty close for less than $10, which seems insane after Chicago parking prices ($29 for 2 hours) and San Francisco ($60).  

A short walk and we were there.  We went early early to meet the animals.

Here the boys are all touching a replica elephant foot

Many of the circus animals were in their pens outside (in the shade), and you could walk by and see the elephants, horses, and tigers up close.

Lazy tigers. So so pretty!

Me and my boys at the Greatest Show on Earth!

After seeing the animals, we went inside.  They were doing a pre-circus show on the circus floor that we got to go to, that started about an hour before the circus was to start.  This part was GREAT!!  At first the boys, especially Yannick, were quite overwhelmed by all the noise and the people and all the things to see, but once they got right in the front to watch a clown act, just feet away from us, they settled down and enjoyed it.

This was when we first got there, and Yannick was overwhelmed.  He spent a lot of time with his hands over his ears - a throwback from his 4th of July trauma.  Now when things are loud or he's feeling uncomfortable his hands go to his ears.  ZW loved seeing the clowns up close.  

Clown college graduate class of 2028!

Parents are a couple of clowns too!

Art sporting his circus tattoo, and Yannick enjoying the clown show.  Zachary of course thought the clowns were the BEST!  Next came the finale of the pre-show on the floor

We were so so close!  So great to have gotten here early!  This elephant would paint a picture and they would draw a name and give it away.

Wyatt loved being this close to the elephant!  Then it was time to find our seats. 

I was not sure if they would allow food in the arena, so I brought a few snacks for us, planning on getting a heavier snack while there.  I had packed the boys dinner to eat in the car on the way home.  It should be over around 7:30.  Our seats were pretty high up, but we could still see pretty well everything that was happening.  ZW both loved every minute of it.  They would start to lose patience with acts like the ladies twirling by their necks, but then get back into it with the animals (dogs, horses, TIGERS, elephants), and any gymnasts.  They liked the trapeze, but the arial stuff was hard to see because it was happening in an awkward place for anyone over the platforms to see.  Yannick mostly enjoyed it.  Sometimes it would get too loud (and i agree, it was a bit too loud) and he would cover his ears and hide. Near the end of the show, he was tired and wanted his paci and to snuggle in our laps.  he did great, better than I could have hoped for really.  The big guys liked it so much.  It was so great to be there with them, and to love it, and to be sad when it is over!  

A family favorite!

Zachary knew, at the end, when everyone started parading out, that it was the end, and he says loudly "oh, no, not yet!" :)  He loved the clowns!  None of them liked the human cannonball though.  I thought it was cool, but it was loud!

I had entertained the idea that we would buy some souvenir, but man alive is that stuff expensive, and most of it is junk!  I had thought about one of those large mugs with a snow cone in it, but they were about $20/ea.  What?!  So we passed this year.

We were all very glad that we came, and Art and I both agree that it was a good use of our special money.