Meeting Santa- 2011!

Many people have told me that last year's Santa picture was the "best one EVER!!!". This is not because it was actually the greatest picture ever taken with Santa, but instead it was because my children were absolutely terrified of Santa, and the picture captured the true essence of the moment :).

This year, we had higher expectations. Trey is a little bit older, Carrington is extremely friendly, and Santa brings presents (which Trey is acutely aware of). We got dressed in our "Santa best" and headed over to Bass Pro Shops to meet Santa. When we got there, Santa was going on a break, so we decided to grab some dinner and try again in about 30 minutes. This was our first mistake. By the time we got back from eating dinner in the food court, the Santa line was 2 hours long, and you needed a ticket to "get in". What?!?! 30 minutes prior to this chaos, the store had been empty! At this point, it was 7:30pm, the kids were getting tired, so we decided to quickly head back into the mall and visit the friendly Concord Mills Santa. No big deal, except that about 2 blocks down (Concord Mills is huge, and separated into neighborhoods), I look down at Carrington, and she has taken her shoes off (which I was able to locate), but her hairbow is M-I-A! Doug turns around to retrace our steps in search of the missing red headband. After Doug had been gone for about 5 minutes, and I was pretty sure it was a lost cause, I quickly raced into Gymboree and purchased a replacement. Whew- crises averted! :) I mean, no respectable girl can meet Santa without a hairbow, right?

We are back on track and heading right to Santa! The line is relatively short, we speed on through, and Trey hops right into Santa's lap! I couldn't believe it! Santa asks the dutiful "Have you been a good boy, and what would you like for Christmas?" and Trey happily replies "Rylee (his cousin), 3 drivers (which are screwdrivers), and a wrench!" I can't even begin to explain where these answers came from, but I am happy :). At this moment, Carrington decides that all is not right in her world, let's out a wail, and the magic is gone. That's ok, this actually went much smoother than last year!