A Date With A Mouse

After logging almost 900 miles in the car on Thursday and Friday, you may have thought that another hour drive on Saturday would be the last thing on our agenda. That may have been the case for most Saturdays, but on Feb. 2, we had a date with a mouse. Two of them in fact. And a duck. And some sort of dog-type creature. And lots and lots of princesses.

Minnie Mouse kisses

The day after we got home from New Jersey, Mary, Grace, Charlotte and I hit the road again, this time for St. Louis, where Disney on Ice was invading the Enterprise Center. This plan has been in the works for several months as my sister Mikaela came up with the idea of making it a big family outing as a Christmas present for my mom. All told, there are 14 of us in our immediate family and 12 were able to make the trip. My brother Shane missed due to work, as did my sister-in-law Monica.

The Herschelman crew at Disney on Ice

Grandma Kim and all her grandkids

While they were definitely missed, it was fun to see my brother Daniel try to run a zone defense against his two boys, Keelen (age three) and Kolston (age 1, going on 21). With Mikaela and her husband Scott's three-year-old Quincy and our own Charley Danger in the mix, that meant four kiddos under four in our group. That's enough to make any superstar parent start pricing one-way trips to the Bahamas.

Charlotte was SO excited to see Mickey and Minnie

But for my mom, it was almost perfect. With Daniel's crew in Fulton, MO, Mikaela's in Arnold, Mo and us in Hillsboro, it's a rare occasion to have all five grandkids in the same place at the same time. Sure there are some tense moments, like when Charley tries to hug a reluctant Quincy or when one grandkid is getting too much attention from Grandma Kim, but for the most part, it's my mom's idea of heaven. My dad is pretty happy with too I think, or as happy as he ever gets. Those who know my dad know that I'm kidding (kind of).

Family photo at Disney on Ice

The show itself was pretty neat too. Mikaela got us tickets in the wheel chair accessible section so we could keep Grace in her stroller, while the others were just a few rows behind us. All of the kids seemed to really enjoy the music, the skating and the story, but nobody enjoyed seeing Mickey and Minnie more than Charlotte. When they first came out, the Dangerous One screamed in delight, hopped off her mommy's lap and danced and banged on the plastic partition that separated us from the lower deck. Usually that plastic protects fans from hockey pucks at the Blues games, but in this case it probably kept Charley from charging down the stares and bear hugging the main attractions.

The kids loved hanging out at Grace Meat+Three

Just chilling at Grace Meat+Three

After the show, we decided to have dinner at one of our favorite places in the world, Grace Meat+3. We weren't the only ones with that thought apparently as the restaurant was hopping. Even with the big crowd, our buddy and Grace Meat+3's owner Rick Lewis got us a spot at one of our favorite tables. The food was fantastic as always, with the kiddos going with grilled cheese and mac and cheese, while the adults tackled everything from fried chicken to prime rib to catfish to Mary's personal favorite, "The Grace Burger". Daniel went with the hot chicken po' boy, which proceeded to melt his face off. But in a good way of course.

Once dinner was done, we packed up and headed our separate ways. It was a really cool night and one I know my mom won't forget anytime soon. We are so glad that we were able to experience it with Grace and Charlotte.

krh