The Circus

Make a Wish gave us tickets to the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey circus.  We all had a fabulous time!  Before the show we went down to the floor and watched the performers up close:

 The girls got tattoos:

They loved being so close to the action:

 Meeting the clowns:

 The hula hoop girl:

 The trained dogs:

An elephant dunking a basketball:

 The elephant painting:

 His final product was quite abstract:

 The girls enjoyed the dance party with the clowns:

I am so glad that the circus has changed its format and now just has one big ring in the center.  I always hated trying to watch several different acts simultaneously.

Pyramids of people on horseback:

 A motorcycle on a tightrope, with acrobats hanging below:

The big cats:

 The cats growled and lunged at the trainer the whole time, barely cooperating:

These women hung from their hair.  This is one of the many things we had to tell the girls "you cannot do this at home!"

More acrobats:

Martial arts performers:

 A trained cat, crawling across a tightrope:

The cat riding a ball across two bars:

 This cat actually jumped into that pillow!

The teeter totter flippers are one of my favorite acts. 

 Some of them wimped out and wore safety wires:

 Some landed on chairs instead of their partner's shoulders:

 The elephants in a row:

We had a great time at the circus!

Big Apple Circus

On Valentine's Day we went to Camp Sunshine Day at the Big Apple Circus - sitting in the fourth row! I love the looks of awe on the kids faces:


Oh No! The poker (Mommy's finger) is going to get Catherine!! You better watch out! It's gonna get you in your tummy!!

This woman spun around and twisted herself up in long ribbons.

An acrobat and Bello played in this giant gerbil wheel.

The Chinese acrobats who were able to squeeze into garbage cans (a useful skill).

Bello the clown attempting the same feat: