Natalie Ran Off and Joined the Circus!

Well, not quite. We did get to go to our first circus, however! As it turned out, we only had to pay for one of the three tickets, too! Thanks to the generosity of the Clairs and the Wentz's, who each donated a ticket to us, we got quite the bargain! We went to see the Ansar-Shrine circus here in Springfield. It was quite a spectacle, and Natalie loved it! We were a bit nervous, however, when Natalie seemed somewhat terrified of the clowns camped outside of the convention center. She quickly got over her coulrophobia, and enjoyed the rest of the experience.

We saw elephants, trapeze artists, unicyclists, high wire acts, monkeys, and magicians, among others. It was quite a long affair, with a drawn-out intermission (easier to hawk your wares to a captive audience, presumably), but Natalie did great, even during the down-time. When asked what her favorite part was afterwards, she diplomatically stated "the circus!". My favorite part was the elephants, and Nickie said the same, which is no surprise. Overall, it was as terrific family experience!