Funundrum

Step right up!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages!

(and elephants!)

Tonight we had a big family night, joining Ye-Ye and Nana, Hannah, David, Jonathan, Aunt Shain and Uncle David at "The Greatest Show on Earth." We rode down with Ye-Ye and Nana, waved at the nice PETA people and found a parking spot early, ready to enjoy a great evening together!

This year's performance, called "Funundrum," was very, very good. This was just what we remembered the circus being like growing up. When I say "we," I mean Mommy and Daddy. We both remember when we were younger, going to Madison Square Garden to watch Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Three Ring Circus (try saying that three times fast). There really isn't a story to the night - it's really just about one performance after another. And frequently, there were three or four performances going on simultaneously. They're all good. It is an entirely different atmosphere than what you'd think of with Cirque du Soleil, but at the same time it is exactly what you think of when you hear the word "circus." It's very difficult to compare the two, so I won't!

We arrived early enough, and to our delight they were allowing everyone on the circus floor beforehand. Guests were entertained with animal acts (such as the elephants painting portraits on paper), and as you can see to the left here, kids could dress up in circus costuming. Madison had a great time getting dressed up with Hannah, and then going over to the sticker table to get their wrists stamped with a "Greatest Show on Earth" logo. They met a few of the performers, and even posed for a picture or two - but soon it was time to return to our seats: the show was about to begin!

About four years ago, we saw a Ringling Brothers performance and it was kind of boring. They were trying something different by adding a story and making the evening into some sort of song and dance musical. It just didn't work. This time, however, it did work. It was an incredible show, and I can't recommend it enough - even if you don't have kids. Madison was awake the entire time, focused on the show and laughing loudly at the clowns, trapeze artists, pirates, and elephants. She loved the show!

You can see here that there was even a pretty big Chinese element. Acrobats from China performed, along with a few Chinese dragons. There were at least five of them, to our delight. Mommy and Daddy picked up all sorts of candy that we smuggled in, so everyone had all sorts of snacks to munch on - on top of the popcorn too. Yes, we bought circus peanuts. Whoa, those are really sweet! Still, it was a treat for everyone.

Anyway, it was a fun night - and a pretty long show. Madison really had a great time, enjoying all the acts from the high wire to the seven motorcycles zooming around in that big steel sphere. It was late when it was over, but Madison was "wired," and stayed wide awake through the whole thing. She sat in Daddy's lap during the last few acts, but never drifted off to sleep because there was always something neat capturing her attention. Yes, there were quite a few acts that made up the show, and Daddy enjoyed the "research." You see, at children's church we may be doing a circus theme sometime soon. Daddy came away with a few ideas, but more importantly, our family came away having a great time together.