The circus comes to town

Sydney has a new career goal. She wants to be the lady who gets picked up by the elephant and carried around the ring wrapped in its trunk. Good thing the elephant portion of the show came during the second act, or else I have a feeling I know where Sydney would have wanted to be during intermission.

As it was, at the point when we could go down to the floor and wait in really long lines and spend even more money to buy tickets to pretend we were circus performers, Sydney picked the pony rides.

It was her first time on a horse. What did she think of it? It felt fuzzy.

There's nothing like a circus to plant all sorts of new career dreams in young, impressionable minds. The Shrine Circus comes to town every year right about this time, but this is the first time we've ever taken the kids to it.

AJ and Sydney were in awe. Cotton candy, mini-donuts and cheap light up toys... and it isn't even State Fair time.

Sydney's favorite circus act was the woman who could change costumes in the couple seconds it took her partner to surround her with billowing fabric. AJ, too, liked "the girl who changed her clothes so fast." His other favorites were the cannon lady and "the guy who had the crush on the girl." That last one featured a cowboy with a horse that did tricks. The horse was impressive. The dialogue was painfully cheesy. But obviously it appealed to the younger members of the audience.

The same was true of my favorite act - a family of acrobats who did some amazing flips. And what was AJ's favorite part? When the young boy in the family interrupted the rest of the act with some dorky music and dancing. Clearly whoever put the act together understands what appeals to little kids.

When the first act ended, while Sydney was riding a pony, AJ picked the inflatable slide.

Since most kids were waiting to ride animals or pose for pictures with the various performers, AJ got to go down the slide a lot.

I think the last time I went to a circus, I was probably about AJ's age. I think it was part of a class field trip. For Jeff, it was his first visit. Based on how enthralled the kids' remained throughout the show, this just may become an annual tradition. At least for the next few years until the kids stop laughing at the clowns and blatantly staged moments of "humor."