Fun in the City

Charlotte is such an amazing city to live in. It's a big, yet small city that offers so much to do. We love trying to find neat things to do with our kids, whether that is taking advantage of free entry to museums, walking the greenway or going to shows or sporting events. There is so much the city offers, if you know where to look, that aren't very expensive and perfect for the family. Over the last couple of weeks, I was able to do a few things with my hubs and kiddos, that were sorta friendly on the wallet.

We love the theater and going to shows. Over the years we've enjoyed being able to slowly introduce our love for the arts to our kids. So far Ellie isn't ready for too many shows, but Abbie Beth is made for the arts at five years old. Abbie is our artistic child. She loves to draw and color and do her projects. She also loves music and dancing. So she enjoys it when she gets to go to the theater. One of the ways Ken and I have been able to expose her to shows is through a student rush opportunity. Our theater in town will offer this from time to time to help fill the theater when they have extra tickets. These tickets are usually a fraction of the cost, which is awesome, but what I like about it is if you have to leave because your kid can't handle it, you aren't out a lot of money. Thanks to this, Abbie has been able to see some pretty awesome shows, like Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera. Her most recent trip to the theater was to see Matthew Bourne's Cinderella.

A couple of disclaimers about this Cinderella. We were told it wasn't like the traditional story, but that someone had reimagined it. This Cinderella was set in London during World War II. It has some what of the same story line as the original, this Cinderella is mistreated by her family, there is that special "prince" and the slipper. However there are a lot of storylines going on in the background that makes this a very different experience. This is also a ballet so there are no speaking parts. We thought we would try it with Abbie and she did great. I am glad she was able to sit still and all she could focus on was Cinderella. It was a lot of fun for her to get have what we call a mommy and daughter date. Check it out if you see it near you!

Our next adventure was with the whole family. Abbie's school was have a PTA fundraising night with our local hockey team the Charlotte Checkers. Ken and I have gone occasionally over the years and have always enjoyed watching the games. It is fairly inexpensive to go and the atmosphere is always fun. This was the first time Ellie had been to a hockey game, so I was nervous about how she would do. She is at that lovely stage at nearly two years old, of being very opinionated and not wanting to sit still, however she was totally enthralled with what was going on. We had great seats, but in fairness, the venue is small so most seats are great seats. We were right behind one of the goals so we had a direct view of what was happening on the ice, except by the goal we were behind.

The kids loved their outing. It was so much fun. They had some giveaways for the students, like a free Checker's hat and a cow bell for the first couple of hundred friends {We were late for the cowbells, so fortunately we didn't get one to have to bring home with us.} Abbie also loved having the elephant ears as a snack {dinner}. However I would have the one child who would not like the fights that can occur in a hockey game.

So during the second period, there was a spectacular fight {maybe 30 seconds}. It started with punches and ended with someone being body slammed to the ice. While everyone else is taking it in and giving the usually ooh's and aah's that go with a hockey fight, my precious daughter is crying and getting more and more upset. Abbie is crying saying that's not nice and why are the fighting? I had to calm her down so I could explain, first fights are a part of hockey and that is why some people go to the games and second, they are wearing pads so they are probably not feeling it. {I'm sure they felt it}. She seemed to accept this, so when there was another fight, she handled it better {still didn't like it but at least wasn't crying}. We had a blast and if you are looking for something to do or wanting to try some new things with your kiddos or sans kids and not necessarily break the bank, keep the theater and hockey in mind.