Documentation of the Whirl

Last night (Thursday), we ended up going to "Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up." Actually, the title was not descriptive, it should have been called "Big Bird Flounders on Career Path" or something. It was more about how BB couldn't decide what to do, but ended up helping everyone put on the big pageant.

It went very well. John seemed to have a good time. As usual for anything new, he spent most of the time very seriously taking it all in. He asked questions about the mirror ball and studied the moving lights very closely. Whenever Grover, his favorite, came on, he would look over at me with a big grin on his face to make sure I saw too.

After intermission, the show was too loud for him, but I covered his ears and that helped. I managed to get out of there only spending $3.50 on a soda, which he took one sip of... (he wanted milk, but of course that's not a usual at a basketball arena concession stand.)

The pre-show announcements noted that there was no sound or video recording, and I thought it was weird that they didn't mention photographs until I realized that the whole show was peppered with flashes from people taking pics of their kids enjoying the show. Some of the people on the floor actually got to pose with the monsters during the show... It was a whole new world of theater for me.

I only got a couple of shots.









Today (Friday), the plan was to go to "Boo at the Zoo," trick or treating at the Greenville Zoo. I had a meltdown while I was trying to get John to pick up his toys before we left, primarily because I forgot the cardinal rules of calm parenting. You can't hurry a toddler and getting John to pick up his toys is an act that requires creativity, calm, patience, and fortitude... all of which I was running low on...
Anyway, we walked Keats, got loaded into the car and got there about 6pm. Only to be greeted by a great big sign that said "MEMBERS ONLY NIGHT CANCELLED." No explanation, no apology. I was p---'ed off, as were the other 100 or so families that showed up.

But after the initial soupçon of disappointment, John had a great time climbing at the playground nearby. He watched "Chicken Run" in the car and we stopped at Sonic on the way home. Main mission accomplished (distraction).







Tomorrow's plan is the State Fair in Columbia. I was hoping to get on the road early to make it for the 2 for 1 ride time from 9am to 1pm. We'll see. My legs are killing me and the laundry is really, I mean REALLY, piling up...