This past weekend, I took Mazzy and Harlow to a Frozen singalong led by Elsa herself, otherwise known as Idina Menzel. Of course, this makes sense to six-year-old Mazzy but to three-year-old Harlow, I’m sure she was expecting something closer to a hologram of the cartoon.

Frozen sing-a-longs— both bringing the magic and exposing harsh realities a few years too soon.

Costumes were strongly encouraged on the invite, so Mazzy dressed as Elsa and Harlow dressed as Anna; a decision that was made with no drama whatsoever. I pinched myself because certainly I was dreaming or these weren’t actually my children.

The dresses were both purchased for Mazzy when she was four, so two years later, the Elsa dress is two sizes too small on Mazzy and the Anna dress is two sizes too big on Harlow, which somehow suited them both perfectly.

Before the event, all the kids had the opportunity to take a picture with Idina, which Mazzy and Harlow both politely declined. “I’ve already met Elsa,” Mazzy said nonchalantly, referring to a pre-Frozen release episode of the Mommy Show. NO BIG DEAL.

There was a small line waiting and my girls were much happier happy hovering over the candy table, shoving as much cotton candy into their mouths as possible until I was like, GUYS ENOUGH.

We also ran into Lynn and her daughter Libby, the winners of the Frozen singalong giveaway I did on Instagram. Lynn asked if Libby could take a picture with Mazzy and Harlow which they were perfectly happy to do, I think since it didn’t require them abandoning the candy station.

Once the show started, all the kids, gathered at the front of the stage on the floor. It looked like a sea of Frozen characters, Elsas outnumbering Annas at least ten to one.

Idina and a few of her Broadway friends sang all the major Frozen songs as well as Defying Gravity from Wicked and Tomorrow from Annie.

Mazzy was sitting a few rows back with her friend so I couldn’t really see if she was singing, but Harlow crawled up to the front at one point and sat in my lap, so I could see her priceless expression the whole time. PURE SHOCK. She did not know what to make of it.

The best part was at the end, when Idina sang Let It Go. She came down from the stage and sat on the floor with all the kids gathering around her and sitting on her lap.

All the kids, except Harlow (who was clinging to me for dear life by that point) and Mazzy, who was standing behind the whole mess of kids, her back to Idina, so she could continue staring at the big screen with the Frozen montage playing in the background. TYPICAL.

I kept looking back to see if she had started paying attention to the main event since this was THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME, but nope. She moved on from her fascination with the large screen TV to a lollipop.

The event was to benefit A Broader Way, which aims to empower inner city girls through arts education. It is a very worthy cause and I know at least two people (including, coincidentally, Mazzy’s kindergarten teacher) who volunteer at their summer camp.

At the end of the event, we were halfway out the door when they started giving out some raffles and door prizes. Mazzy got excited and falsely assumed everyone was getting a prize to take home. I tried to explain that raffles don’t work like that and only very few people would be getting a prize and she would most likely not be one of them. Just as I thought I had gotten through to her, “MAZZY WILES!!!” was called out over the speakers.

“THEY SAID MY NAME!!!!!!!”

“Yes! You won!!! Go to the front and get your prize!”

We were way in the back with Harlow in the stroller, so Mazzy scurried off into the maze of people herself to claim her prize. I waited for her to emerge on stage but it didn’t happen. A minute later, a hysterical Mazzy reappeared in tears.

“I didn’t get there in time and they gave it to someone else!!”

Oh crap.

“It’s okay. I’ll go up there and figure it out.”

Just then, friends of ours ran up and handed over the prize. “We thought you guys left so we took it for you!”

Mazzy’s face immediately switched from horror to glee (phew) and just as quickly, Harlow’s waterworks started. “I WANT A PRIZE!!!!” Harlow squealed as she realized what had just gone down.

Oh brother.

“Mazzy, will share it with you. Won’t you, Mazzy?”

Mazzy agreed reluctantly. Harlow’s tears dried up and all was right in the world again.

It was a wrapped gift and we waited until we were outside to open it up.

“Is this a hamper shaped like a ladybug?” Mazzy asked confused.

“Yes, that’s what it looks like.”

“Do we get backstage passes too?”

“No, that’s what the other winner got.”

Mazzy was silent for a moment.

“Instead of a hamper, can we use it to climb inside and play hide and seek?”

“Absolutely.”

“YAY!!!!!!” Mazzy and Harlow shouted in unison.

Phew. That was one roller coaster of an ending, but an excellent experience in total. Thanks for the invite Camp BroaderWay!

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If you are an Idina fan or just a Broadway fan in general, you should check out my Snapchat from last night. Idina hosted a Broadway karaoke night and a ton of current Broadway stars sang songs. There was even a guest appearance from Mark Cohn, who sang “Walking on Memphis” which kinda blew my mind. My snapchat is ilanawiles.