Do you want to build a snowman?

Chad and I don't normally do big surprises with the kids. We have never surprised them with a big trip, mostly because I don't want the pressure of having to keep the surprise.

But we did pull off a fun "medium surprise" on December 3 when we took the kids to see "Frozen on Ice." We met at home, ate a quick dinner, and then told the kids to change their clothes because we were going on a family adventure.

They were full of questions and guesses...

Me: "I will give you a hint. It's gonna be chilly."

Jake: "Are we going to the North Pole?"

Brooklyn: "Are we going ice skating?"

Me: "Nope. It's inside and in town."

We made it to the coliseum when Brooklyn guessed what it was (since she had seen commercials on TV). Jake had no idea what to expect and was full of questions from the moment we pulled in the parking lot until the lights went down (which is another reason why we didn't tell him until 5 minutes before the show).

He was a little nervous at first but nothing a $12 snow cone in an Olaf head won't cure.


And of course, light spinners at intermission. I explained to the kids that cheap seats = souvenirs. They appreciated the trade off.

And speaking of trade off's, as we were leaving the coliseum, Jake spotted a stuffed Olaf that he HAD to have. I explained that no, he already got a light spinner. He started crying, so I spit out, "Well, you will have to trade your spinner in for the Olaf." He called my bluff and said, "OK. I'll do it."

Crap.

Well, thank goodness Disney is the best because the sweet man at the souvenir stand just traded in their spinners for Olafs without another word. I guess you can say we "rented" the spinners for the show.

But either way, we had very happy children riding home!

The holidays for us are all about making memories (and apparantly spending $64 on two snow cones and two Olafs) and I am so thankful for this time our family had together.