The Circus!

So the Cole Bros. Circus came to Hagerstown this week! The moms decided to take the kids... just hoping that 1. they would be interested, 2. we would get seats where we could sit together and 3. we would get seats where the kids could see the show. As it turns out... the kids were enthralled, we all sat together and we got the best seats in the house!

Waiting in line... you can see how close we are to the front... thanks to Dannette, Katy, Laura and Mandy who were all there in line when Kari and I showed up! From left to right that is Chase and I, Dannette and Jenna, Anna and Katy, Sadie and Mandy.


All the kiddos lined up waiting for the show to begin. I just love that the moms are willing to try a line up picture wherever we are together! L to R: Adam, Sadie, Jenna, Chase, Anna and Lexi.


As we were waiting for the circus to begin they had pony rides right in front of our seats... how can you NOT take your kid on a pony ride when you are at the circus! It was a great distraction for the kids since we were there about 45 min early! I thought Chase might scream bloody murder on this thing... boy was I wrong. Smiles the whole time... he LOVED it. Maybe I can convince daddy to buy him a pony?!?


Attempting to get Chase to look at Kari but all he wanted to look at was the pony... I think they bonded ;~)


Once the show got started, this was Chase almost the entire time. He couldn't take his eyes off the show... especially if there were animals in the ring...


This is what he was looking at in the above picture. I mean seriously... how cute is that? Maybe we could train Riley to ride the pony we are going to get? Then we could go on the road!

I digress...

If you notice the picture of Chase above, he is holding onto the railing... Literally right on the other side is the entrance and exit of all the performers. Chase LOVED that seat... he stood on my right thigh with his hands firmly affixed to that rail almost the entire time. My thigh was not thrilled with this arrangement but Chase's happiness won out. He spent a lot of the time looking back to see what was next... oh and when the elephants came out? Eyes wide, mouth gaping open.


Chase actually watched this guy a lot... more so than the other 'people' performances. He ran around inside the loop and then outside... pretty cool stuff.


The amazing 7 person tightrope walk. The kid on top, standing on his head... 10 years old!


And what circus is complete without the elephants! They were sooo cute... big lumbering wrinkly creatures. Chase loved when they would come in and leave the tent since they passed right by us... almost so close you could touch them! We of course kept our hands to ourselves ;~)

It really was a fun time and I am so glad we went for it! Of course it wouldn't really be a G outing if I didn't have a story within a story to tell.

So intermission came about an hour into the performances... good time to stretch and let the kids run around a bit, right?

I go to lift Chase off my lap and quickly realize he has soaked through his jeans. My child who hasn't needed a second change of clothes for months... who rarely leaks through his diapers... has soaked through his thick heavy jeans! Not only that... he has soaked through onto my jeans. Awesome. I, of course, don't have another pair of pants for him... at best I have a long sleeve t-shirt in case it got chilly. Luckily Kari had an extra pair of leggings for Lexi. Yep... you heard correctly... leggings. From a girl. From a girl who is significantly smaller than Chase. Thankfully the leggings were black... pink with purple hearts would have been hard to stomach ;~)

So I lay him on the bleachers to change his diaper and quickly realize, I don't even have a diaper! Seriously... have I not had a child for the past 18 months!?! What mother travels without diapers!!! Thankfully Kari also had an extra diaper... man I have good friends! After a quick diaper and clothing change, Chase was ready to go again. Let's just say Chase rocked those skin tight leggings like only he could. Mandy got some pictures for me... as soon as I get them from her I will post them ;~)

Thankfully I got some wonderful pictures from the circus (again, great friends!) because I never want to forget this experience. Watching Chase see all these new things and being so interactive was so amazing. The sight of his eyes open wide... his mouth hanging open with wonder... watching the wheels turn in his head. Seriously, there is nothing like watching a child discover new things to really make your day.