The End of the Greatest Show on Earth

I know this blog is totally out of order chronologically...I haven't blogged since Christmas!

I will catch up, promise, but we had such a great time today at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, that I wanted to share.

Thanks Steve and Inna for a great outing, we had a blast.

We showed up early, so we could enjoy our time at the pre-show activities.

The clowns were hilarious, using Sissi's head as a table to sign the program.

He was pretty great at taking selfies.

Sissi got to try on some costumes.

They had some great pre-show things going on to enjoy.

Sissi and our friends' youngest daughter.

The boys with Farside.

The opening of the show, very patriotic.

The ringmaster.

Starting off with dancing and acrobatics.

The whole story of the show was that they were on an adventure to find the best circus in the world.

They started off with some camels. We hadn't realized that they had already retired their elephants last year. We were a bit bummed by that.

The camels were great though.

Clowns.

Climbing on ladders.

The high wire routine was impressive. Jumping over each other, sitting on chairs, jump roping while up high....impressive.

Acrobatics on skis.

Bungee jumping and acrobatics. They looked like they were out of a Tron movie.

More of the ringmaster.

The costuming and largeness of the show's cast was incredible.

Ring tossing.

This part of the show was visiting Mongolia. The girl, over the next couple of pictures, back flips and lands on the guys' arms.

Lots of guys balancing on top of each other, it was over 900 lbs. in a human pyramid.

The human cannon ball.

Here she is going into the cannon. Over the next few pictures, you can see her shooting through the air.

and here she lands on the air mattress.

I added quite a few pictures of these acrobats. I loved how they did their routine, in the air, in a ball.

Around the acrobats in the hollow ball were several ladies as mermaids.

This guy balanced and jumped on a rotating cage of death.

The tigers!

This one kept looking over at the audience. He was more interested in what was going on outside of the screen.

Sissi was excited that they had dog tricks. Lots of poodles running and jumping over each other.

The bicyclists were truly talented. Amazing acrobatics on a ramp.

So glad that we had the opportunity to see the circus, the amazing Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, before they retire the show in May after more than 145 years.

Christmas 2016!

What an incredible thing...to spend Christmas with family after being gone the past couple of years!

I don't think the kids could have been more excited to spend the holidays with their cousins in Indiana, and of course, as with any good thing, the time went by far too quickly.

What a fun memory, making and decorating Christmas cookies.

We were also able to get in a visit with some friends from Turkey that were visiting family in the US as well.

Ice Skating in Valparaiso...traditional Christmas activity. It was definitely on our Christmas Bucket List.

Opening some presents on Christmas Eve Eve...yes, we knew that the night of the 24th would be full, so we moved everything back a day and opened Christmas pajamas on the night of the 23rd.

The kids, opening their pajamas.

Sissi got some with a puppy dog on them. She loved them.

Gwangi got some classic comic book cover pajamas.

Krypto...what else but Captain America.

And, Daddy, too.

Sissi spent most of the day writing a story for her cousin Penny. It was such a sweet tale of a princess and her family. Her aunt read it for the girls' bedtime story.

Family attending Christmas Eve service at Valparaiso University.

It was incredibly moving, to have that many people together, singing hymns, taking communion, hearing the gospel message...my eyes watered a bit, to be sure.

Then, we let the kids open half of their gifts while extended family was gathered together. One of her cousins gave her earrings and made her an earring holder for her bedroom.

Gwangi, so happy to get "Race to Adventure," a board game, from Mommy and Daddy.

Krypto's top request for Christmas was this old Marvel game that I was able to find on Ebay.

Another Ebay find...an old, out of print Da Vinci book that Sissi really wanted.

More fun gifts, "Mario and Luigi - Partners in Time" and "Bowser's Inside Story."

A comic that Krypto wanted!

Slippers from Kyrgyzstan for the cousins.

Sissi wanted a bed for her doll, so we got her one.

More Star Wars Fighter Pods for Gwangi.

Slippers and Tinker Crate for one of the cousins.

A camping and food kit for Sissi's doll, so she doesn't go hungry.

A super cool shirt for Gwangi from the cousins.

Fun craft stuff from Grandma.

A hat she really wanted from the cousins.

Oh, Lego stuff from Grandma Stamp.

More games...Marvel Munchkin!

Sweet photo of Calvin laying his head on Ruth's knee.

Playing Wii games together.

Playing the Marvel board game together.

Cousins saying "Farewell, see you later on!" as they head off on their ski vacation.

"See you soon!"

"Hugs and love to you!"

"Have a great trip!"

Day after Christmas visit to Cabela's for some fun with animals and shopping for Mommy :)!

The center of the store.

Cabela's is located in Hammond, Indiana, the home of "The Christmas Story."

We have another couple of days of catching up on computer stuff, repacking, and getting our cars ready for road tripping before we head to Little Rock, Arkansas for New Years with my family.