ringling bros and barnum and bailey presents: dragons! delivers thrills and skills

last night, found dragons "tatianna," "may belle" and "bianca" wrapped lovingly in children's arms.

this morning, swords were flying to defend our honor, our home and our happiness.

can you tell that we were at the circus?

the theme of this years ringling bros. and barnum and bailey circus presents: dragons has inspired a lot of creativity and imagination around here.  thankfully, so far nobody wants to set a circle of swords on fire and leap through it.

during the martial arts display of the shaolin troupe, i leaned over to tate and said, "please don't try that at home."

"i can do that," he assured me confidently.

hopefully he just meant jump around and wave a stick, not the wrapping steel rebar around his neck part, or the laying on top of a very pointy spear part.

we have been to the circus many times now, but every year, i find myself gasping in awe or holding my breath with fear as i watch the performers in the magnificent acts.

some favorites for us this year definitely included tatianna and the cossacks riding their horses around a 46 foot diameter ring at speeds more than 25 miles per hour, performing all kinds of amazing acrobatic skills and feats, including climbing under the horse's belly while he continues to gallop.  thankfully, everyone made it out of the ring safely!

for tate, the show just wouldn't be complete without the tigers.  while we missed taba, our favorite tiger tamer this year, alexander lacey amazed us all with his courage in the face of so many snarling tigers and lions.  i still say it is hard to think of anything more majestic than the king of the beasts, the mighty lion with his shaggy mane.

i was a little nervous about attending the show on a school night.  it does seem a bit long.  we ended up leaving during the intermission, in spite of the kids' cries and complaints.

i thought the best part of the show was during the "all access pre-show."  we were there early, we had a front row position at one of the rings.  we saw the performing poodles, including one hilarious (but very naughty) jackson.  i could completely identify with the trainer, trying to keep a happy face for the public while wanting to let that naughty and rebellious child, er. dog, know exactly who was boss.  we watched a goat practice riding on a pony, and, best of all, say kelly ann, the elephant, and newcomer, may belle, up close and personal.

the kids and i had a great time talking to some of the performers.  i learned that when viktoryia medeiros of the medeiros troupe hangs from the ceiling from her hair, it actually does hurt, "some days worse than others, just like with life."  knowing that made me appreciate her performance even more.  on the other hand, tessa asked a clown if it hurts when they slap each other and learned that they don't actually make contact at all.  i'm sure that helped her relax a little more during the clowns' performance (my personal favorite).

overall, once again, the circus was a highlight for the kids.  when asked what they were thankful for on the way home (as we get ready for halloween), the kids said two things:  1) i'm thankful my mom is a blogger, and 2) i'm thankful for the circus.

you can't go wrong with that!

my family and i received free tickets to the performance.  regardless, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.