the circus came to town...

'The Greatest Show on Earth' - the Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey brought their 'Dragons' circus show to Grand Rapids - on a train a mile long each! We saw it as we drove out of town and it is huge!

And it was a proper circus with all sorts animals and acrobats. The kids are really into Madagascar 3 - the one with the circus, so it was great timing. Though Charlotte didn't believe the animals were real at first!
We got there early, and before the show, we were allowed onto the floor to meet some of the performers and see one of the elephants painting! I don't think I've been this close to an elephant before!

There were elephants that could climb onto each other, tigers that could jump over each other, goats that could walk the tight rope and dogs doing hurdles! There were people standing on horses' backs, girls hanging onto each other by their hair, trapeze, acrobats, clowns and awesome stunts on bikes.
It was like watching a live episode of America's Got Talent! Back to back entertainment for 2 hours!

The lions and tigers sitting on stools waiting their turn to perform

Jumping over each other! 

8 family members rode their small motorbikes round that cage! 

Amazing! 

But I do not know how I feel about all of the animals. There was lots of information about the Ringling Bros center for elephant conservation but who knows how long they spend there and how much time they spend on the trains. They had all sorts of animals including lions, tigers, horses, goats, llama and dogs. It was pretty incredible to see elephants climbing on each others' backs and onto tiny stools - I was surprised at how they are so agile and graceful given how big they are! Seeing lions and tigers sitting on their bottoms and doing tricks like little dogs. It was far from natural for them but a breath taking sight.
Do I agree with it? Not really. But I supported them by buying tickets to see their show.
I guess I feel that such a big circus company will look after their animals as well or better than a smaller one but who knows. I haven't seen a circus since I was a kid and I hope with so much press, that conditions for the animals has improved over the years.

I know we really enjoyed all of the acrobats, the breath-taking stunts, the silly clowns and the fire breathing dragon. There were so many performers and always something to watch across the arena. Would it have been the same without the animals? No, but we would have still enjoyed it.

it was a MOPS kind of day...

The first and third Tuesday of each month during the school year is the Lake Centre MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers).

It is such a gift to Mums of young children who are looking for friendship, solidarity and a few child free hours!

This is my 3rd year of going and I love it so much I decided it was time to give something back. So I volunteered to be a small group leader.

Each time we meet, we sit in groups of about 7 or 8. The kids go to day care rooms based on their age. They take all kids from 9 month old babies to 4 and 5 year olds not yet in school. There are about 60 ladies - the numbers restricted by the number of kids they can safely look after in the day care. Little babies get to stay with their Mums - which is great for me because I get to snuggle them once in a while!

When we first arrive, we have some time to chat over a coffee and then, after the announcements, we get to go and eat a breakfast that each group has taken it in turns to bring. Delicious egg based casseroles (see this post for a recipe), bread, muffins, cookies, fruit and yogurt... So much good food!

There is always a speaker or an activity - topics that make you cry, ones that are so useful that you are scribbling down notes and spa days where you come out sparkling!

There is also a craft each week so you even get to bring something home.
This week we decorated clothes pegs with washi tape and added magnetic strips to use on my memo board and made a bracelet for our kids with our phone number on:

Each meeting is different and sometimes there is barely time to catch up with your friends outside of your care group.

And it's the care groups that I'm involved with this year. The small groups go off to separate rooms for the last 20 or 30 minutes and discuss the topic of the day or just share what is going on in their lives. I've had two great leaders so far and I am hoping I can do as good a job as them.

I feel so lucky that my English ex-pat friend introduced me to such a wonderful group of ladies. Life here would have been very different for me if I hadn't been blessed with MOPS.