You guys, Cirkopolis at Foxwoods was SO GOOD. We’ve seen Cirque Eloize several times now and this one was definitely the coolest. They did all my favorite stunts (the teeter board and the hoop) plus this super amazing hand-to-hand ballet where a girl did an entire dance without ever touching the floor. It was so beautiful. But I think my new favorite was the diablo, which the internet tells me might also be called a Chinese yo-yo. It was like watching a magic trick except nothing was hidden, the guy was just a gravity defying wizard.

We got into the theater to see the cast warm up with the lights on and the chance to get right up close and take some photos (and video, which is over on my Instagram!)

That thing above is a lousy picture of the diablo, but maybe now you know what I was talking about.

The show was packed and the audience was so into it, which made it more fun for everyone. Finnegan was a good baby and actually slept through the first 45 minutes. Lincoln was WORN OUT from a super busy weekend so he also took a little nap. But the big kids were both the very loudest laughers and applauders, and E and I kept looking at each other going “How is that even possible!?”

Cirque Eloize: Cirkopolis runs through April 15th at Foxwoods so get your tickets now and go see it!

After the show we promised the kids we could go to The Sugar Factory. The line for the actual restaurant looked pretty long and we had managed a zero breakdown family fun day up until that point, so we opted for some gelato from the candy store side. It was delicious.

There’s a bunch of other fun stuff going on the rest of this week and the beginning of next for Kids Week at Foxwoods, so we’ll be back for more fun (and more Sugar Factory).

Foxwoods provided me and my family tickets both to the pre-show event and the performance at no cost, but all photos and opinions are my own. And we paid for our own gelato. 

I was lucky enough to be invited to a blogger workshop with the Cirque Eloize iD cast as well as an evening at Foxwoods to see the show. All opinions are my own and they didn’t make me promise to write nice stuff (or anything at all, actually). 

We live really, really close to Foxwoods which happens to be the biggest casino in the whole country. It’s less than 20 minutes from our door to their’s and less than 10 minutes from that lake where we have the summer membership, although it feels like it’s on a different planet. It means we get a lot of cool shows and concerts only a few minutes from our house rather than having to drive an hour to a “real” city. They also have a California Pizza Kitchen, an arcade and they do fun stuff like set up an ice skating rink in the winter, so even with kids we go to Foxwoods pretty regularly.

Last Friday, E and I left the kids with some very helpful friends and went to the Fox Theater for what I was told was a “blogger workshop” with the cast of Cirque Eloize. It turns out by “blogger workshop” they meant “get right up there on the stage” and “take as many pictures as you want!” and “do you want me to balance on that chair again so you can get a better video?” and even “sure, come jump on our high-powered trampoline!”

I kept wondering if I had forgotten to sign a liability waiver at some point, because surely they don’t just let people do stuff like this?

This was one of my fellow bloggers who made the mistake of saying she wanted to volunteer:

And THIS is the CEO of Foxwoods, who came down to welcome us and said he had personally asked Cirque to come after seeing their show in Canada.

The show is called Cirque Eloize iD and it’s a combination of contemporary circus meets b-boy hip-hop (so very So You Think You Can Dance) meets West Side Story. That doesn’t sound like it makes much sense, but it absolutely does.

I cannot believe I just posted pictures of myself jumping on a trampoline on the internet, but how often in real life do you get to jump on a super high-powered trampoline? It was so much fun. I’ve definitely added “trampoline” to my list of things in my dream home.

Their trampoline tricks were just SLIGHTLY more impressive than ours:

In theory I know how to juggle, because I read Juggling For Dummies as a teenager. But juggling bean bags in my basement 16 years ago didn’t do much to prepare me for the stage. I think I did better than most people though (and by most people I mean my husband). Embarrassing video evidence:

The cast couldn’t have been nicer or more friendly to all of us. Considering they do 8 incredibly hard, physically demanding shows a week I was so impressed they were willing to take time out of their schedule to hang out with us and tolerate our questions. Did you know there’s a huge kid circus program in Minnesota? The only American in the cast was from St. Paul and said he got started just by going to a circus camp when he was seven. Most of the rest of the cast member we met were either French or French Canadian. Did you know you can go to circus college and get an actual four-year degree in circus? I’m pretty sure if I knew that was an option I would have signed up immediately – although the guy who did the bike tricks told us he actually has a degree in marketing.

After the workshop, E and I actually had time to pick up the kids and leave them with a second babysitter (because 3 kids is a lot of kids to leave with someone for 8 hours) and then come back for the BEST sushi we’ve ever had. Every single thing at Red Lantern was delicious, but if you go I forbid you to leave without trying the lobster rangoon and the ronin sushi roll.

Pirate Punch OBVIOUSLY comes in a pirate themed cup.

Mine was a sake sangria, because I can’t have sushi without sake but I am a 33 year old mother of 3 and doing straight sake shots is just a really poor choice.

Dessert was a caramel banana bread pudding. E told me we couldn’t have dessert or we would be late for the show, but how can you not order caramel banana bread pudding? He fully admits he was incorrect and it would have been a crime not to eat this.

There’s a no photography rule during the actual performance (and my photos would have been incredibly inadequate anyway) but here are some of the professional stills Foxwoods sent me so you can see how totally different that boring gray set looks during the actual show.

The show was amazing. Super amazing. I am kicking myself for not bringing Evan and Caroline, because even though it was 2 hours long the time completely flew by and I am positive they would have LOVED everything about it. Besides the bike thing and the trampolines and the juggling there was all the other stuff you think of when you think of Cirque, including a contortionist and a girl who hung by her toes from a spinning hoop. I’m a little sad they didn’t let us try any of that during the workshop (because in my head I’m incredibly graceful and flexible and would be a total natural at hanging from scarves or hoops). Which is probably exactly why they didn’t let us try it.

If you’re anywhere in the area – I mean area very loosely, since Foxwoods is a resort with plenty of hotel rooms and plus if you come to Connecticut you can come over for dinner – I highly recommend the show. Cirque Eloize iD is playing at the Fox Theater from now until August 30th, and you can follow that link to see showtimes and buy tickets. Thank you again to Foxwoods and Cirque Eloize for inviting us!

I don’t often have a favorite child. Sometimes I have a least favorite child (defined as the one who is currently misbehaving/throwing a tantrum/crying/keeping me awake at 2 am) but that only lasts for a few minutes. Mothers have an infinite amount of love, so loving one kid infinite plus a little bit more is almost impossible.

That being said, I’ve been finding myself scheduling extra time with Caroline whenever possible lately. Four and four months seems to be a nice age for her. I mean, she’s still FOUR. Life is hard when you are four and you have to wear sneakers instead of sparkly shoes or can’t have candy for breakfast or have to go to bed when it is still light out or when the half-zebra is too far away from the fence and you can’t pet her. Caroline is the middle child, my only girl, the one who I worry about the most as she moves from being a baby into real life. She has so much confidence and curiosity and willingness to try new things right now but I know the day is coming when being herself will feel harder than going with the crowd. I want her to hold on to herself and be fearless as long as possible, so if she’s up for an adventure, I am up for an adventure.

She wakes up every day and wants to Do Fun Stuff. As soon as she hears about a cool place or fun activity it goes on her mental list of Fun Stuff We Should Do so if we have a whole in the schedule she is ready to fill it. And on the way to Doing Fun Stuff she wants to grab a frappuccino. Because who doesn’t love a frappuccino?

Our Sunday included TWO frappuccinos. We went to Target with the Starbucks at 8 am for the Lilly Pulitzer collection release but failed – our store didn’t even get any kid sizes in stock and the first 10 crazy women in the doors bought EVERYTHING else. There was one beach towel and a couple of glasses left at 8:05. Luckily Caroline found a couple of Easter dresses on clearance that she was perfectly happy to accept instead of Lilly (because she’s 4, she doesn’t care). Then when we came home she begged to do more fun stuff. I heard from a friend there was a fundraiser at Ray of Light Farm, so Caroline and I jumped in the car and went, leaving the boys at home. On the way back we had “frappuccinos” i.e. Coolatas from Dunkin Donuts and talked about what we would do for our next adventure.

I made the mistake of telling her people sometimes have guinea pigs as pets, so obviously now she wants to know when she can get one. Maybe I should have told her some people eat guinea pigs instead.

More goats. We really like goats. Also, they sold us that food for the special fundraiser day – I’m not THAT much of an a-hole to just feed animals right next to the sign that says don’t feed the animals.

This horse was named Belle, which made her Caroline’s favorite.

Waiting patiently for the half-zebra to wander over. She eventually did so our day was a success.

Caroline’s outfit:
Hat – Gymboree outlet
Dress – Target
Leggings – BabyLegs
Boots – Zulily
Sweater (in the other pics) – J Crew Crew Cuts from the consignment shop
Glasses (in the other pics) – Zenni Optical

For the record, Caroline is only allowed non-coffee drinks. I’m not pumping my 4-year-old full of espresso – it’s mostly whipped cream and ice. And delicious.

Someone mentioned recently that they don’t have apple orchards where she lives (apparently it doesn’t get cold enough??) and I felt really really bad for her. What do you do when you want 40 pounds of apples? Where do you take your children to wear them out so they fall asleep on the floor and you can eat fresh baked apple pie and drink mulled cider while you watch Breaking Bad?

When we first moved here to Connecticut, I lived in an apple orchard (the one I still use for a lot of my photo shoots) and they’re still one of my happy places. Orchards are full of delicious food that literally grows on trees. You can turn them into alcoholic beverages. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

We’ve been going to Holmberg’s for a bunch of years now (looooook tiny ginger!) and I’d say it’s officially a tradition.

p.s. I once won the town fair prize for best apple pie. I never pass up a chance to mention that.

p.p.s. The orchard was PACKED that day. I’ve never seen it so busy (of course I usually take the kids alone on like a Tuesday, so it shouldn’t have shocked me a beautiful Sunday was a popular time for apple picking). I’m pretty proud of myself for photos where it looks like we’re the only people there.

Are you ready to move to Connecticut yet?

 Here are two things I like: jewelry and candles. Here are two things I like in one thing: Diamond Candles.

The idea is super simple: you buy a candle just because it’s smells great and you like candles. This time of year I usually buy 2 (OK, more like a dozen) candles because it’s fall-y and now that the windows are closed my house is a little doggy. And catty. And those-dishes-have-been-in-the-sink-a-loooong-time-y. We’re not the greatest smelling house, is what I’m saying.  Although it’s much better now that I’ve been burning my Diamond Candle.

But in addition to the nice candle, you get jewelry! In your candle!!

As my husband said, this idea is super brilliant. You hide something in a candle that makes your customer WANT to burn it as quickly as possible, and then boom, you sell them another one.

Fortunately, the people at Diamond Candles aren’t total jerks, so you only have to burn the candle like 1/3rd of the way down to get to your ring. Because that’s the prize! In the candle! A ring!

It’s all wrapped up in foil, and you can see from the outside where it is in the candle:

 I tried to make a fun video of myself opening my ring, but I failed at unwrapping it with one hand and ended up making like 4 different videos and when I went to edit them together my video program told me my computer sucks and it can’t do it. So you’ll have to settle for some pictures.

The rings inside the candles can be worth anywhere from $10 to $5,000, and of course a little tiny part of me was convinced I was going to get the $5,000 one. I did…not. But it is pretty sparkly.

 These would make awesome holiday or birthday gifts, since it’s like giving a lottery tickets that’s also inherently useful. Did I mention they’re all-natural, eco-friendly and made out of soy? That makes then even better.

Do you want a chance to win one of these really fun candles? Of course you do! Use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find Diamond Candles on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter, where lots of fans share their ring reveals. I was sent a free candle to aid in my review but it was NOT worth $5,000 and no other compensation was received.