Let the Spoiling Begin.

Sometimes you just need to spoil your child more than they expect. Last night was the time for that. My mom's sweetheart got us tickets for Walking with Dinosaurs the arena spectacular. Unfortunately, my mom called in the afternoon to say that she was sick, did Neil have a friend he wanted to invite. So, Neil and I started thinking of who to invite, all of the parents that we know well enough to take their child out for the night. One of the friends had already been earlier in the week, another is afraid of dinosaurs, and the other wasn't home. So there was one wasted ticket. The family sitting next to us didn't seem to mind, apparently coats deserve their own seats. Anyway, we went out to my mom's to get the tickets, went to dinner at JB's downtown, and then headed over to Energy Solutions Arena. Neil was so excited we had to keep a very tight rein on him, he tried leaving the restaurant on his own, and we were nervous he wasn't going to have patience for the traffic lights to change before crossing the street, but we arrived safely. There were lots of "are we close to Walking with Dinosaurs" "I wish we could go nows" and "Is it time yets". The excitement was well rewarded. We got there before the crowds, and Neil and I decided to check out the souvenirs. He said he wanted a toy, but when I looked at all of the cool stuff, just begging to go home with my son, I couldn't stop there. He ended up with a T-shirt, a toy, a stuffed raptor, and a plastic Tyrannosaurus. Quite the load for a little man. Gary was a good enough sport to hold the majority of the booty in his lap throughout the program. During intermission it was time for cotton candy and soda. My poor hungry son who hardly ate any of his shrimp and fries devoured almost an entire bag of the spun sugary goodness.
The show was very cool. We were guided through each period by an actor playing a paleontologist. Starting out on Pangaea with Liliensternus and Plateosaurs during the Triassic. Then, Jurassic with Bracheosaurs, Stegosaurus, UtahRaptor, and Allosaurus. Ornithocherius. And then Torosuarus, Ankylosuarus, and T-Rex in the Cretaceous period. The ending conflict was between a Torosaur, Ankylosaur, and a mother T-Rex protecting her baby. The T-Rex roared loud enough to make roar loving little boys cover their ears. It was awesome. Neil asked if we could go back, and maybe we could have, if I wouldn't have spent so much on the extras. But, I truly had intended for it to be a once in a lifetime experience.
Thank you Mom and Chyrl.