Circus, Circus!

 

A few months ago MJ randomly began mentioning how badly he wanted to go to a circus.  It kind of caught me by surprise as I'm not really sure where he learned much about circuses, but we did see some trapeze artist this summer at the Dubuque County Fair, and I think that had sparked his interest.  Living in small town doesn't lend itself to a lot of opportunities for a circus.  I knew there was one that had come the last couple years to the Five Flags Center (our largest venue here), and had a really good reputation, but I was afraid it was in the fall time and might not work so well with the timing of a new baby.  When I heard of a smaller circus coming to perform at the fairgrounds and found free children's tickets, I jumped.  I was so excited to tell MJ he'd be going to his first circus!  

 

 Cuddled up for circus time!

 

 

Let's just say it's a good thing our kids had never been to a true circus before though, or I'm sure they would have been quite disappointed.  This was small town living at it's finest (ha!) and was the most low budget circus I could imagine.  The only animals included camels, a few horses, and one tiger.  There was one clown...but he didn't really look like a clown, 2 motorcycle riders, some gymnasts, and a few stunt people.  It was enough to entertain small kids, but overall it was a bit disappointing.  

 Obviously Charlotte didn't seem to mind.  She was ALL smiles the entire time...clapping, dancing, and cheering.  I was afraid we might spend the whole time chasing her through the bleachers, but she was very content and impressed with the performances.  Mat joked that she was soaking it all in and thinking of her future career as a stunt woman. 

 

During intermission they invited kids to come down to have their picture taken with a variety of different people.  What they didn't tell you, until they placed your child on the animal, is that you owe them $10.  Seriously?!  I guess that makes up for the free kid's tickets we scored.  After the $8 funnel cake, we passed on the $10 balloon MJ desperately wanted and hit up the Dollar Store on the way home for a Spiderman balloon that he LOVED!   Score!  :) 

 

All in all, even though it wasn't a high quality circus, it was a great night full of family fun.  Our little ones were more than pleased and enjoyed the evening, and ultimately that's all we can ask for.