Santa!

This year we had the coolest Santa experience ever!! Thanks to a tip from a local, we took the kids Saturday morning to a local nursery called Beaver Bark. I would NEVER have found this place on my own. Haha! But it was well worth it. For a grand total of $5, we got to meet Santa, take our OWN pictures (parents of small children will agree, this never happens) and see two of his reindeer!!

Look at the excitement on their faces?! They couldn't believe it!!

Isn't the snow a nice backdrop?

I had no idea what time Santa was out, so we ended up getting there about 30 minutes early. The store was completely lit up in Christmas, so we walked around and looked at the different displays. As we were watching some fish, Santa came around the corner with a horn! The kids were able to give him a hug and chat a bit before the start of the day. I'm sure if you came later, this wouldn't happen. Pretty cool!

Santa was AWESOME!!!!! He spent several minutes with them. I was shocked! I'm so used to the mall Santas, kind of in the reality of "A Christmas Story." He let me take several pictures, then asked them their names and ages and what they wanted. Maddie said she wanted a toy tiger. Ben wanted a white Christmas. I have no idea where he got it, but it was pretty darn cute!

I got to take a few more close ups, and the kids got candy canes on their way out.

I was so darn bummed about not getting pumpkin pictures this year. It was a real blow to my sense of tradition. And, as I'm sure we'll blog about at some point soon, our world has been falling apart lately. Everything seems to be breaking down on us! I've been so preoccupied with life that I'd kind of forgotten about Santa. Man, I am SO glad I put in the effort. It completely paid off! Thank you Santa and Beaver Bark! We will be back for years to come!!