Date with Mom

We were gifted with tickets to Disney On Ice this week. Since Ryan, Stephanie, and Baby Thor are visiting, Eric decided to take the day off on Friday. This allowed Eva and I a chance for a little mother-daughter bonding, and a very memorable adventure.

I would have laughed at you earlier this week if you had suggested I would take my daughter to such a frivolous event as this. In fact, I wasn't even sure if Eva would like it. I was worrying, would we be too far away from the ice to tell what was going on? Would she get bored? Would I want to gag because it was so cheesy? Would she be confused about the stories? We don't really watch kid's movies around here, so the only Disney show Eva has watched was "Cinderella" at Grandma Patenaude's house. Sadly, Cinderella was not a part of this show.

I learned something new about Eva during this excursion: she does not like surprises. I told her before she went to bed on Thursday that we were going to have a very special date the next day, and that it was a surprise. She came to breakfast crying (really, there were tears!), "Mommy, will you please tell me what we're going to do!" I explained the idea as well as I could, but she still was a little fuzzy on the plan. As we hurriedly walked down the huge concourse to the auditorium, she just sat down. "My tummy hurts. I just want to go home." Wow! I thought her curiosity was stronger than her desire to know what is going on, but apparently she really likes predictable situations... or at least having Daddy present when things are out of the ordinary! I carried her most of the way to our seats, but the show was starting just as we walked down the stairs into the venue and I could feel her anxiety lift as she saw Mickey and Minnie skate onto the ice. Relief.

Can you tell she's not too sure about this? Really, she's just irritated because I refuse to buy Disney JUNK to decorate the floor of her room!

There's a mermaid princess! And wouldn't you know it? The man of her dreams is Prince Eric.

I couldn't walk in those costumes, much less propel myself across ice!

I will leave the details to your imagination (just this once though:), but it is suffice to say that both of us LOVED the show. When I asked Eva what her favorite part was, she responded, "When the lions fell in love and when Peter Pan and Tinkerbell saved the day." In my opinion, the best part was watching the incredible skating. I was shocked that the skaters could do axels, spins, and jumps while wearing ridiculous, animated-character costumes. The skating was really fun to watch! However, the very, very best part of the day was sitting with Eva on my lap, and feeling her shiver with excitement, completely mesmerized by the sights and sounds of a big show.

What a treat!