100 Years of Magic

Disney on Ice came to Boise so Alex and I made a date out of it. First we stopped at Pizza Hut to use her "Book It" coupon she got last month for reading books at home. Then we headed downtown to see which Disney characters would show up on the ice. She was certain her favorite princess, Sleep Beauty, would be there and couldn't wait to see her. We parked a mile away and ran through the biting cold past all of the kids dressed as Princesses, Buz Light Years and Mr. Incredibles (Alex is wondering why she isn't wearing a costume) to the stadium where we purchased our overpriced popcorn and soda and ran past the other overpriced booths of Disney paraphernalia, up two flights of stairs to our balcony seats. I tried to keep Alex's attention away from her popcorn and the cheap (in quality, not in price) crowns all the other girls were wearing and on the characters skating on the ice. She was a little put out that her Dad's favorite princess, Bell, got to skate and sing for two whole songs (they are always in competition over which Disney princess is the best) and just about every other princess made an appearance except for Sleeping Beauty. Near the end as she's resting her head on my lap, trying not to fall asleep because it is way past her bed time, I'm thinking this is a bust and then she looks at me with a big smile on her face and says "Thank you for taking me to Disney on Ice, it's so awesome. You're the best Mom!" Then we skip to the car, make a quick get away before the parking lot gets packed and she passes out in the back seat before we hit the freeway. I realized that she is going to remember the time we spent together and the fun we did have and not remember any of the things that I thought made the night a downer. Thank heavens for the eyes of a child and good memories of us spending time together!