A Day with Saphire

By Carol Woolum Roberts

I would say last Tuesday was the first of many outings Paul and I will experience with our granddaughter Saphire.

Saphire turns 8 years old today.  We have known her since 2018, when she was about two years old.  In February, our daughter Cosette married Saphire’s father Taylor, and we became grandparents! Over the past six years, Saphire has found a special place in our hearts.

For Christmas, Paul and I gave Saphire tickets to see “Frozen” a musical to be performed at the First Interstate Center for the Arts in Spokane. (I can never remember this name…I will always think of it as the Opera House…built 50 years ago for Expo 74.)

Cosette, Taylor, Saphire and their three dogs Sweetie, Henry and Willow arrived a little after lunch time on Tuesday.  Saphire got in our car, and we headed west. 

“Why don’t we play Would You Rather?” she asked.

So on our way to Spokane we each took turns asking questions like, Would you rather go ice skating or roller skating?  Would you rather have television or books taken away for a month?  For a while, Saphire’s questions centered on the Zombie Apocalypse. One of my favorites was “Would you rather be in a Zombie Apocalypse or a Vampire Apocalypse?”  I told her I would like to take my chances in a Vampire Apocalypse, because Vampires had a lot of weaknesses…they can only come out at night, you can repel them in a variety of ways, including garlic, silver bullets, crosses, wooden stakes….so I thought my chances were pretty good in a Vampire Apocalypse.

I found this game was a great way to find out things about Saphire, and why she chose the certain answer she did. 

Our first stop once we arrived in Spokane was a place called “The Blue Zoo”, located in the Northtown Mall. Here is how it is described:

Looking for fun things to do in Spokane? Blue Zoo! Our mission is to educate and inspire in a fun, hands-on environment! We’re More Than an Aquarium, More Than a Zoo! Attractions include: Manta ray Touch Pool, Starfish Touch Tank, Touch and Feed Bird Room, Touch and Feed Lizard Center, Predator Tank, Reef Tank, The beautiful Fish Only Tank, Clownfish Tank, Giant River Tank, Fresh Water Center including: Discus, Axolotl and Archerfish.

Saphire’s favorite was being able to pet the manta rays.  She was also able to feed them some frozen shrimp.  They are very cute. She ended up picking out a stuffed manta ray to take home at The Blue Zoo gift shop.  It is a female named Raven.

To experience the joy and wonder on her face as she touched the different creatures and saw animals she had not seen before was priceless, and something I will not soon forget.

After our time at The Blue Zoo, we wandered into a couple of shops in the mall that sold stuffed animals, another of Saphire’s favorites. 

All three of us were getting a bit hungry so we headed to a place called “Hangry’s”.  Paul and I enjoyed our sandwiches, and Saphire enjoyed one of her favorites, Mac and Cheese and Fries with a Shirley Temple. She also loves eating lemons, and got to enjoy the one that came in my iced tea.

It was getting closer to show time, so we headed to downtown Spokane.  There was some time to kill, so we stopped at Riverfront Park, and Saphire played on the huge Radio Flyer wagon.  Paul and I enjoyed watching her interact with the other kids on the wagon, all of who were also going to the “Frozen” production.  Then we meandered down to trail to the Arts Center and went in.  Raven the Manta Ray also got to attend the show.

We walked around and Saphire liked all the metal sculptures on the ceiling and had to climb the stairs all the way to the top.  We got some Reese’s Pieces and a bottle of water, and went in to find our seats.  We were in the fourth row and had great seats.  Paul took Saphire over to look in the orchestra pit as the musicians warming up.

The show was incredible, from the casting of the different characters, the singing, the sets, the special effects and the story. It was quite a thing to watch the stage be transformed into an icy landscape!

Saphire powered through and stayed awake the whole time.  She did comment that it was a pretty long show (about two hours and fifteen minutes.)  But we all enjoyed the show and were very impressed! At the end all three of us were on our feet, giving the cast a standing ovation and cheering as each of the cast members came out. We love passing on our love of live theater to Saphire!

What a day!  I had made a comment on Facebook about how Paul and I were beginning to really like the grandparent gig. But gigs can often be temporary or short-lived.  We are looking forward to many more future outings as grandparents with our granddaughter Saphire.

**************************************************************************************************************

Have you had a time recently when you got to see joy and wonder in the face of a child?

To leave a comment on our blog, you can use Disqus.  It is easy to sign up.  You can use Google, Facebook or your email.  There is no cost.  Just put in your name and email address and create a password.  Then confirm your accountrt-with the email they send you.  Then you can use Disqus to comment on the blog.  We would love to hear your thoughts.