Our neighbor organized an outing to Disney on Ice. But being our neighborhood, this wasn't just a plain ol' excursion to watch Mickey skate. Oh no. They rented a limo bus. They rented out the new local kiddie gym for two hours. We would feast on pizza, let our kids bounce and jump and run their heads off, and then, only then would we make it to Disney on Ice.
I'll be honest. Chris and I could not stop giggling when the whole shin dig was explained to us. Who lives like this? Who does this? But the thought of doing it was too tempting to say no.
And that is how we came to spend a Friday night on a fancy bus with two dozen children.
My boys were so excited at all of it that I thought they would burst from sheer excitement. We live across the street from the organizers, so when that giant bus pulled up in front of our house, Aidan and Brennan were squealing with glee. It didn't help their anxiety level that I was still in my pjs. (Don't judge. It's my Friday at home - an unofficial pj day in our house.) The boys kept screaming at me to get dressed already! We can't miss the bus! The bus may leave! We must get on the bus!
After we were on the bus, the bus traveled slowly around the neighborhood to pick up other families. It was very funny to see eight other families in their driveways waiting for their bus pick up.
We all loaded up, complete with drinks (both kiddie and adult), snacks and music, and headed to the kiddie gym. The gym is new to our neighborhood and we haven't had a chance to check it out yet. The boys loved it. It was pretty amazing. They climbed up rock walls and nets. They did uneven bars and rings. They jumped into a giant pit of foam cubes. Griffin did his first balance beam. A good time was definitely had by all. By the end of the playtime, they were all a sweaty, exhausted mess.
We refortified with pizza and headed downtown to HSBC arena. On the bus ride there, the organizers passed out favors to all the kids - large, swirly glass globes on sticks that played music and lit up in psychedelic colors. The kids went wild.
And then... Disney on Ice. While the other kids stared transfixed at the ice show, Aidan and Brennan kept up a running commentary the entire first half.
"Is this real Momma? Where's the puck? Where's the hockey guys? Is the ice real Momma? What are they doing? Who are these people? Why is that girl gliding around the ice? Who is she supposed to be? Did she jump? What happens if they fall? Do they get in trouble? Is she going to fall? Is she going to trip? How did they do that? Where's the music coming from? What happened to the lights? Who's back there? What's up with the castle?" Imagine all this and more (much more) for a good 45 minutes.
My personal favorite was two quotes from Brennan: Every time they ended a number or had a break in the music, Brennan would shake his head and yell, "Is it over? Now? Is it over?" Every. Single. Time. He also finished our entire bucket of popcorn. When he reached the bottom of the bucket, he sighed and said, "Wow, I hope no one wanted any more popcorn." And then he burped. Loudly.
Griffin, meanwhile was in awe. He oohed. He ahhed. He danced with his arms up in the air. I honestly didn't care much for the show myself, but to see it through Griffin's eyes and expressions was a delight. I could have watched his face all night.
When all was said and done, we didn't get home until 10 pm - a good three hours past our normal bedtime for the boys. I said a quiet prayer the boys would sleep in this morning.
I should have known better. I really should have known better.
Scenes from the gym portion of the evening:
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