Santa and Snow!

Our Saturday was pretty crazy! We took Evie to see Santa and on the way out the door she spilled chocolate milk on her outfit so we quickly switched to Plan B. That was our foreshadowing that it really did not matter what Evie wore to see Ho Ho Ho!

    We got to the mall a little before 10 and Carl carried her in since we left our stroller at my parent's house. The line was already really long! Evie was so excited talking about Ho Ho, blowing kisses to him, making choo choo noises at the train and entertaining herself with the people around us in line. We were amazed that she did so well in line. Our luck ran out as soon as it was our turn to see Santa. Evie was not too pleased to make Santa's accquaintence. She was like a cat clawing and clinging to us. Carl said she reminded him of the Karate Kid. Santa was not especially helpful. He just sipped on his Mountain Dew and looked around. Carl said that Santa told him that he needed to retire since 5 kids in a row screamed when they saw him. Santa and the photographer did not seem to be getting along too well. Evie and I sat there while we thought that pictures were being snapped. Santa was not looking at the camera so the photographer did not get any pictures. I politely told the photographer that we waited in line for 90 minutes and that we needed a picture for our efforts. It's not the best but it will be a great memory for the future. My friend Christina was at the mall with her boys and her mom and she saw us with Santa and stopped so her mom could see Evie's reaction since Christina knows all about Evie's relationship with old people. Evie did not care that Santa had buckles on his suit, rosy cheeks or even a basket of candy canes. She was just not interested in sitting on his lap at all! Maybe next year will be the magic year.

    Carl and I were exhausted after this adventure and decided to stop to get some lunch at Heavenly Ham. Evie LOVED the ham and ate most of my sandwich. It was beginning to rain so we headed home. Carl worked a miracle and got Evie to take a nap. We just recuperated on the couch while she slept.

     One of our Christmas traditions is to go to the Japanese Steakhouse for dinner at Christmas time. We have done this for 9 years. Evie liked it last year but this year she was really impressed. We might start going there more often! Evie was so entertained and had so much fun watching the show. She devoured her food and was absolutely perfect in the restaurant. We are so glad she enjoyed being a part of our tradition. We rode around to look at some lights after dinner. Dolly Parton has a beautiful tree in her yard so we had to check that out.

     Thank goodness, we did so much yesterday because we have been stuck at home today. It has been snowing all day! Evie and Carl played outside for a little bit before she told him "side" to get back in the house. We had some hot apple cider and hot chocolate when they came inside. It's been a cozy day at home. Evie played with her nativity set, read books, took a really long nap, and ate some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. School has already been canceled for tomorrow so we will probably have another day at home.