since you're all on the edge of your seat...

it was a big hit!

rachel was crazy about the circus. after braving the picket lines (with such witty signs and sayings such as "the circus is no fun for animals") and the gazillions of other cars in the parking lot, we were only about 20 minutes late. at first, i didn't know what she thought b/c she was just sitting and staring; not clapping, not laughing, just staring with huge blue eyes. i was afraid she was being overwhelmed by it all, but when the lights came up for intermission she couldn't wait for it to start again. all during the second half, she was standing and clapping and laughing and yelling and clearly having a great time.

our seats were at the top. and when i say the top, i mean the top of the top, as in the topmost of the most topful top possible. i was pretty freaked out getting my 3 year old up there in the dark without plunging to the bottom and getting trampled by the elephants (who weren't having any fun, according to the friendly picketers). i don't have a fear of heights, but i'm definitely very uncomfortable being on the precipice of about 853 very steep steps with a 3 year old that likes to crawl around pretending to be an elephant. the picture below is what was directly in front of our faces.

yes, the top.

look at that smile. this one one satisfied customer.

after it was all over, we had to try our best to not get trampled by the mass of frazzled parents, well-sugared children, and unhappy animals. i was afraid rachel was going to get scared of having to walk through the shoulder-to-shoulder people (since she's only waist high, and all, and she's scared of everything), but she was so hyper, she just jumped up and down yelling "yay! yay! yay!" pretty much all the way to the car. she's STILL talking about the elephants and the tigers (by far, her favorite parts. and mine, too).

" *whew* that sure was fun!" ~rachel pamela