Kate Goes to the Circus

The circus is in town for a week or two and on a whim, literally this morning, we decided to take Kate.  We weren't entirely sure how she would do, but we figured it'd be worth a shot.  If nothing else, at least she would get to see some elephants.

(Circus Side Note: I am totally one of those people that feels bad for the animals in the circus.  I even feel bad for the animals in the zoo.  Living in captivity as a slave to entertainment is not how animals should live. They should be wild and free, in their natural habitats. This is going to sound creepy, but sometimes when I look into those animal's eyes I can see that they are sad.  And it breaks my heart.  If there was a way for me to support animal freedom without taking all live animal activities out of our lives I would do it. Unfortunately, if I removed zoo trips and circus visits and other related animal activities from our animal loving daughter's life, I think I would be shunned as a parent from both her and the world.  But I digress.)

The day started off a bit rainy, but it the rain held off long enough for us to enter the Schottenstein Center. The circus was nearly TWO hours long, which I didn't remember at all!  The last time I was at the circus was in March of 2008 when I went with my brothers, sister, and cousins in Washington, DC:

We took pictures like this...

...and this... Is it just me or does the clown look more normal
than I do??

Again, I didn't remember that circus lasting for two hours.  I thought it was more like one.  Either way, Kate did such a fantastic job sitting with us!  For the first half, she sat and watched and was entertained.  When we had an intermission and got to walk around for a little bit, it took a little convincing to get back in our seats.  The elephant performance was the ticket.  Just enough to capture that attention again!  And then she fell asleep in my lap!

This sleeping feat amazed me.  It was SO LOUD at the circus!  I didn't remember it being that loud either!

All in all, we were glad that we took her.  I don't know when we'll go again so it was nice to have something new and fun to experience together as a family.

The Circus!

I tried to take pictures of everything she loved!

She loved the ponies.

She loved the basketball.

She loved the tigers!

(I also do not remember THIS MANY big cats at the circus.
I think there were 15!  Wouldn't even just 5 do??)

She loved the dogs!

And she LOVED the elephants!

Like, love LOVED!  Did I mention she was animal-loving?

Asleep in my arms.