Elephants, Tigers and Horses, Oh My!

Eric and I are always looking for fun new things to do with the boys so this year when I heard the circus was coming to town, I jumped right on it. I haven't been to the circus since I was about 9, and it was a sad time because my dad got a flat tire on the way and it was hot and took forever to change and we were so late we missed half the show, and everyone was grumpy and it just wasn't the fun event we had hoped for, so I was super excited to go again and create a happier memory of the circus. Eric had never been to a circus, and the boys are so in love with animals I thought for sure it would be a hit. I set an alarm on my calender to remind me the morning tickets went on sale so I could be the first to call in. I really debated about which tickets to buy. Each section had about a $20 difference, and you just never know how they are going to have the arena set up and what a good seat vs. a better seat is at these kind of events. I decided that I would go for the cheapest tickets on the lower level and see what we got from there.

We told Ty about the circus after we got the tickets and we've had a little count down going ever since, to help build the anticipation. That worked a little too well, and Eric and I were so glad when it was finally circus week so Ty would be able to better understand how long until we went to the circus. Then Thursday came, and I was very nervous. Tanner did not feel good at all. He had some major problem with his tummy and he was in a lot of pain around noon time and I didn't know how the afternoon was going to play out. Ty was doing, whatever this 4 year-old thing is he's doing, and I didn't really know if I wanted to reward him with a circus that night because he was being soooo yucky. I was sick and couldn't keep down my lunch, and I had tons and tons of work piled up that I really needed to get to. Was this going to be another good intention gone bad, I didn't know.
Well, Eric got home and we ventured down to Arco Arena to see what the night had in store. I think Eric was the most excited:) We got there and all seemed to be well. After seeing the animals outside getting ready to go in for the show we also went in to find our seats. The tickets I had said row A and I assumed that there were double letters first then single letters, so we'd be about half way up. Ummmm, I was wrong. IT STARTED WITH ROW A. I was so excited. There were 4 rows of fold out chairs in front of us, and then there was the stage. I couldn't believe we had such great seats. Plus, we had the isle next to us, so Tanner and Ty both took their turns dancing in the isle to the fun music. The boys had a great time, and at one point I looked over and Tanner was waving at the horses, and every time a new act came out, Ty leaned over with huge eyes and said, 'Mom look, the elephants," or whatever was coming out next. They had some fun acrobatics too. Ty really wanted a snow cone and a light thing that cost $20, no thank you, but every time one of the vendors walked by Ty would stand up and try to wave him down, saying "hey, hey, over here.' How he figured that out, I don't know, but it was cute. And no, we didn't give in because I knew I could find the same toy for $5 at Target. I'm so smart. My favorite part was the motorcycles. I forget what they called themselves, but they all got in the dome cage and at the same time rode around and around. I really thought it might through me into labor I was so nervous I was going to witness a crash, and death not 50 feet from me. Oh my, it was intense, but so amazing!

We only had one meltdown and now we have some amazing memories to look back on forever. It was a very fun night and a much needed family time for the Lawrences. Now I just need to figure out how to explain to a 2 year old why we can't ride the tigers and have an elephant.