Totem

Yep, these were pretty much our seats for "Totem" today, second row and right up there, close enough to see all the elaborate costumes in fine detail.  Madison was looking upwards quite a bit, as there was plenty to see high above us - the trapeze artists entertained her the most, although the girls on the unicycles were astonishing.  There was so much to like about this production - we put it in our top five of all that we've ever seen from Cirque du Soleil (and that's a list of about nine different shows so far).

We got there a little early, which was great because it gave us time to look around the merchandise they have inside the tent.  This is somewhat of a tradition, as Madison likes to put on the masks and the fun hats, as you see above.  We got a program and a CD, as usual, and a BIG helping of popcorn.  It was enough to last Madison the entire performance.  Daddy also got his water bottle back!  Last year, I drove the car out of the drive way and forgot the bottle was on top of the car - it fell off and kind of got messed up.  ANYWAY, we have a new one this time, which is great!

The day itself was largely all about this.  Yes, it was Black Friday, which meant shoppers were rushing about with their treasures.  We didn't really get involved in that, and we don't typically.  We did look online for a few "lightning" deals, and took advantage of some good shopping for Madison's cousins Hannah, David and Jonathan.  We also pretty much finished up Madison's shopping for Christmas - yes, you read that right!  At least... we finished shopping for the big day.  We've still got plans for the advent calendar season, and of course we've got little stocking stuffers to get...

We slept in big time this morning, all of us.  Mommy made a big breakfast for everyone, and then we basically each did our own thing for a bit until it was time to go.  For Madison, that meant playing the Disney Princess Video Board Game that we got a few years ago.  We've been playing it on and off over the past few years, but this morning, Daddy, Madison and Nana played it until the big finish, where Madison found herself at the royal ballroom first.

Soon though, it was time to get ready to go.  As mentioned earlier, we got there with plenty of time to spare, a nice and relaxing drive down.  And the drive home was just as easy, although there were a few of us completely zonked in the back of the car.  Madison slept hard all the way home - she was quite worn out!  It was still early, but she went to sleep and did some catching up on her rest.  It was quite a day!