Disney on Ice!!

Finally, the long wait was over....it was time for Disney on Ice!! A few days before the show, we had some upsetting news that Jason was having a quiz in his stats class, which just happened to be the same day as the show!! Oh no! We were all heartbroken, but after a few phone calls and arrangements, Isabel, Jocie, and I were still going and Erin (my best buddy from the cities) was going to take Jason's place.

The morning of the show we had to get up extra early since we had to drive an hour north to pick Jocie up from school and then drive an hour back into the cities for the show. I was alittle worried that we might be late, but surprisingly enough, we weren't! We actually arrived at the Target Center an hour early. Which allowed time to dress Isabel in the car (we left so early in the morning, she was still sleeping), get food, light up toys, and find our seats with only 10 minutes till the show started.

The Disney on Ice was awesome!!! It started out with a broken down Zambonie....which lead to Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and the Chipmunks entrance. Then out came Aladdin and the Genie. During their dance/song out came about 30 more genies...very cool. Their act finished with Aladdin and Gene doing a front flip side by side! We were all impressed. Then it was on to the Beauty and the Beast skit. Belle was soo beautiful. The beast was very realistic and we even saw Chip and Mrs.Potts. When their skit ended out came each Disney princess along with their prince. They each skated to a minute clip of their theme song. I was in heaven. We have become obsessed with the Disney Princesses. So to see them (yes, I realize they are only actors) in person, in costume, was soo wonderful. I could of sat and watch them all day. I'd love to say that Jocie and Isabel were enjoying this part as much as me, but to be honest, I wasn't paying any attention to them! I was completely in my own little world, like a child with big wide eyes, jaw to the ground! :-) After the princesses, we saw the Lion King, Pinocchio (which has become Isabels new interest), The Incredibles, Its a small world, Nemo, and Mulan. When the Mulan skit started, Ialmost jumped out of my seat. Mulan has become our newest obsession. We've been watching the Mulan movie over and over again for the last 2 weeks. Isabel and I are in LOVE with Mulan. And of course there was no way for the Disney on Ice show producers to know how much we are obsessed with Mulan (obviously), but I'm convinced that it "was meant to be" that they would pick to perform a Mulan skit, which happened to be the longest skit they performed! As Mulan skated around, she was so beautiful and graceful. I was fighting tears the whole time!! And yes I realize how dorky that is, but I just couldn't help it. After the show Jocie was so confused why I would want to cry if I liked it, (I think her exact words were "oh, thats weird")! Haha....she is absolutley right! Oh well, I couln't help it. Mulan has become such a special princess/story to us!

The Disney on Ice show was so much fun! From beginning to end we were all on the edge of our seats. The skaters were amazing! We all commented on how good they were. I don't think any of us imagined that they would be that good. The skaters were able to do all kinds of lifts, jumps, spins....they were very talented. It was a perfect start to our adventure day!!

After the ice show we headed to the Mall of America for some more fun. Right away we got started on the rides. First up was the bumper cars. Isabel and I rode together while Jocie and Bryan rode in their own car. We all had a blast bumping into each other. Then it was time for Erin and Bryan take Isabel on the "baby" rides....or at least they tried to! Apparently they didn't get too far, as Isabel was obsessed with the Wonder Pets ride and rode it over and over again! While Jocie and I took off to the "scary" rides! First we went on the rollercoaster. But it wasn't just any normal rollercoaster, it was a rollercoaster that had 4 seats in each car. And while you went up and down and sideways you were also spinning in a circle at the same time! This might sound fun and exciting to some people, but to me....not soo much. Jocie had a blast on the ride. She would lift her arms up high as we went down and laughed and yelled the whole time. I on the otherhand was not doing too hot! I was so scared that my legs were literally shaking. My palms were sweating and I was holding back tears! I was completely terrified. Next we were off to another ride that left me sick to my stomach and shaking like a baby. This ride has you sitting down while it lifts you up so your feet dangle in the air and then it quickly drops you and then stops right before you feel like you're going to crash through the floor. This ride makes your stomach go up and then drops it so deep inside you~which happens to be Jocie's favorite part of the ride~and my worse favorite! Poor Jocie had to put up with me screaming on all the rides, squeezing her hands, and practically begging for each ride to end! Thankfully she was a good sport about it:-)

After the rides we had a quick bite to eat the we were off to Build-a-Bear. The girls had so much fun picking their animal, stuffing it, washing it, and picking out clothes. We've never been to build-a-bear, but thank goodness that Jocie has. She was able to lead the way and show Isabel what to do. It was so cute watching Isabel concentrate on what Jocie did and then mimic it. The best part was when the did the "heart ceremony". Soo cute. When we were all done Jocie had made a cute dog and picked out a blue shirt with a tie for her dog and Isabel made a bear and dressed her in a princess shirt and cute denim skirt. Build-a-bear was such a blast. If you've never been there I'd highly recommend trying it.....its such a fun hands on time for the kids!

By the end of our Mall of America adventure, we were all exhausted. We were all relieved when we finally found the car (it took us awhile, Erin and I got alittle confused which floor we parked on, while Jocie kept telling us its the 3rd floor....we should of listened to Jocie~she was right). As pulled out of the parking ramp Isabel asked for some cereal to eat and by the time we got on the freeway (about 2 min.) she was out! It was hilarious. We all were laughing because one minute she was eating her cereal, singing her Rockstar song and the next she was asleep with a piece of cereal hanging out of her mouth! What a perfect ending to a perfect day:-)

Surprise......American Girl Doll!!!

So like I explained earlier, Jason was not able to join us for the Disney on Ice show or Mall of America adventure. We were all sad, but most of all Jason because he really wanted to spend some time with Jocie. Jason decided since he couldn't be with Jocie he really wanted to do something super special for her.....and whats more special than an American Girl doll!

So I told Jocie that morning that her daddy Jason had a special surprise for her, but she'd have to wait to later to find out what it was. Finally after a full day at the Mall of America it was time to reveal her surprise. I called Jason so he could tell Jocie over the phone about her surprise. Jocie's face was classic....her eyes got big and mouth dropped open and she said, "really?? I get one??"! It was so awesome seeing how excited she was.

As Jocie and I headed to the American Girl store, Erin and Bryan took Isabel so that Jocie and I could take our time and look around and truly enjoy the store (Isabel was extremely tired...I was trying to avoid a breakdown in the store).

As we were about to walk in, I found out that this was Jocie's first time in the store! Wow..this was really going to be great time! As we walked around the store Jocie told me alittle about each doll and showed me the ones she already had. These American Girl dolls are beautiful. They have the neatest clothes and accessories....this is definetely a store that any young girl could fall in love with. There was even a station where the dolls could get their hair done! And there was a 2nd floor where they have a Bistro for the dolls and the girls~very cool.

Watching Jocie look at all the new girls was so fun. She kept saying, "oh I just don't know which one I want". She would pick up one doll and spend a few minutes looking at it then put it down and pick up another. They are all so beautiful, its no wonder this was going to be a tough decision for her. Finally the decision was down to 2 dolls. After looking them over for a few minutes she picked Julie. Julie was perfect. Julie has long blonde hair and was dressed in jeans and a collared shirt and vest. She also comes with a purple knit hat, necklace, and purse. Very trendy!

From the time we walked into the store to the time we left Jocie kept saying over and over again "thank you so much". It was so wonderful seeing how thankful she was for her special doll. And it felt so great doing something so special for Jocie because she is truly the greatest girl I've ever known. I can honestly say I have never meet someone like her. She is truly a special girl....with a big heart. And Jocie is also so kind, loving, nice, beautiful, and sooo Smart! I feel so blessed to have her in my life. Whenever we spend time with her she completely feels my heart with joy.

As we left the store, it was alittle bitter sweet because I wish Jason could have been there to see Jocie's excitment. He would have loved every moment of it. Also this was the first time that it just Jocie, Isabel, and me. Not having Jason with us was very different. I could definetely feel that he was missed. When us 4 spend time together it just feels complete....so without him there we were a man short! But us girls pulled through and survived, and managed to still have some fun:-)

Thank you, thank you, Thank You!

As I mentioned earlier we had a Disney on Ice/Mall of America adventure day. We had a wonderful time thanks to some very special important people. When we first decided that we were going to buy tickets to the Disney on Ice show I immediately called my friend Erin who lives in the cities, because this of course meant we'd get to see each other. Somewhere along our planning Erin mentioned that her mom had a coupon we could use to buy our tickets. Thank you Erin for always thinking of us. Thank you to your mom and her family for all going out of their way to get me the coupon information. We truly appreciate all your efforts!

We are also friends with the Knutson family (Lance, Tami, Bella, and Ava). Lance and Tami are so kind, giving, and full of love. And their girls are also just as special! When Tami found out we were going to be at the Mall of America she absolutely insisted on giving us 4 unlimited ride bracelets for the rides at Nickelodean town. I was alittle hesistant, but Tami wouln't take no for an answer. So thank you so much Tami for your kindness and generosity! Our ride bracelets were perfect and helped make our Mall of America trip alittle less stressful.

And thank you Erin for being our driver for the day. By the end of our day we drove almost 5hrs!! You are such a wonderful friend. Also thank you Erin and Bryan for all your help throughout the day. I don't think I could have managed without you two. You two are always so willing to help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I can't even begin to explain how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends in our lives. Thank you again for all your kindness, love, generosity, and support!

And then there was three....

I'm always so interested in watching the way Isabel interacts with adults because she is so shy. Most adults she runs from, but there are a few, for some reason that she is just drawn to. My friend Erin Rautmann and her boyfriend (of like 15yrs~get married already!haha! J/K) Bryan are two people Isabel has always felt comfortable around. This is very interesting because she doesn't see them very often, like maybe twice a year! It first became clear how much she liked them in the summer of '07 when we stayed at their place for a week. Right away Isabel played with them, let Erin give her baths, and was even affectionate with them (that usually takes Isabel a bit of time). The next time Isabel saw them was a year later when we shared a hotel room with them in Duluth for Emily and Adam's wedding. Again right away she talked to them, played with them, and really just enjoyed them. She even talked about Erin and Bryan for a few days afterwards and still remembers that Erin bought her a princess necklace.

So on our most recent visit to the cities (Disney on Ice/MOA) we again stayed at Erin and Bryan's place. And again Isabel was completely comfortable with Erin and Bryan. She loved showing off her attitude/rockstar poses and dance moves for them. When they took her on rides at the MOA I was alittle worried that she might be scared without me around...nope she didn't care at all that I wasn't there. Her and Bryan talked and played together the whole time. Erin said Isabel was much more talkative with Bryan then with her...hmmm!

The last night at Erin and Bryan's place Isabel had them read books to her in their bed while I tried to fall asleep. Tried is the key word there.....I couldn't sleep at all because Erin, Bryan, and Isabel were soo loud;-) Those 3 were laughing and being silly past 11pm! It was very cute listening to how much fun they were having with each other. Erin and Bryan are great people and I love that Isabel realizes that and loves them as much as I do. Thank you Erin and Bryan for loving Isabel so much and for taking such good care of her:-)