Visiting the Ice Princess

While we saw Santa at the free town tree lighting earlier this month, it's not the "official" Santa you can see at the mall.  So when my co-worker told me her daughter got a job as the Ice Princess at the mall, we made the trip to see her - and well Santa of course.  See my co-worker's daughter has babysat for Drew on several occasions and he refers to her as "Big Audrey" all 5 feet and 90 pounds of her.

So off to the Ice Palace we go!


So despite waiting an excruciating amount of time on a Sunday night no less, we finally get to enter the second phase of the Ice Palace - that's code for yet another line.


Thankfully this part of the line had some fun hands on things for the kids.  You know to help alleviate the whining and the "how much longer is this line" kind of questions.  Drew got to put his hand into real ice where they had polar bear footprints.

And then he could get measured next to a polar bear....



Not even Daddy comes close to the bear's size when he's standing up.


And then we get inside the ice palace where it's "snowing".  The kids loved the powdery stuff, but you could tell the parents hated it. 



The darned snow stuck to every article of clothing on you and your kid just before s/he sees Santa and pays a ridiculous amount of money for one photo (although they force you to buy a package - you can't get just one copy of a photo).


My camera didn't focus well on the photo... I promise the real one isn't blurry.


And then after you finally visit Santa (over an hour after we arrived) we finally get to see who we we really came for  - the Ice Princess.


Drew and Big Audrey.  We loved that photo!

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Santa: Caught on Tape

Is he real?  What does Santa do when he comes to your house?  Will Doodle (our Elf on the Shelf) fly with Santa? These are the things that a 5 year old thinks about at Christmas time.  So we decided to set up a "hidden camera" to see if we can capture Santa's arrival and Doodle's departure.

Here's what we captured: (Doodle the Elf is hidden in the tree, about mid-range.  It's hard to see with the lighting, so look carefully.)

A Day Care Christmas

Drew may have "graduated" from his home day care nearly 3 years ago, but you're never too old to celebrate Christmas with Ms. Stephanie and her present and past day care kids.

Drew is in the back left - some of the kids weren't watched by Ms. Stephanie, but they did have siblings who are/were watched by her or are part of the Preschool where Drew went.

Ms. Stephanie singing with all the kid in preparation for Santa's visit.  Love how they're all screaming rather than singing the various songs.


And finally Santa appeared.  Drew got some presents.

I have to say this was the first year that Dave wasn't Santa, and I don't think anyone figured out who it was - which was the Preschool Director's son...

We always look forward to the very nice dinner and hanging out with everyone, thankfully it's everyone we know.  It'll be strange when the day comes that we won't know any of the parents because we (and Drew) are that old.

Notifying Santa

This past weekend Drew wrote his first letter to Santa. We had to remind him not to deliver presents here!





For those having trouble reading it...
Dear Santa
I want Rocky figures. Please bring them to LA. Love Drew

We gave the letter to Doodle our elf to carry back to Santa that night. If I didn't introduce Doodle last year -here he is from today's perch.




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Kicking Off the Holidays

On December 1st, we kicked off the holiday season with the annual tree lighting in town.  We've gone the past couple of years for an easy way for Drew to get a picture with Santa.  This year there was even snow!

Drew gets silly standing in line for Santa....

One of the elves had to make sure Drew was on the Nice list before visiting with Santa... he passed.  Whew!

Must take a picture with the pretty Elf....

The big guy himself...

After telling Santa he wanted a VReader and a Wii we went over toward the colored water fountains....

Mommy & Drew

The weird Christmas bear who was all alone by the fountain. 

And then the reason we came... the tree!

Despite how it appears from this cell phone shot, the tree is HUGE!  This is looking at it from the fountains.

Old Friends and Santa

On Friday we were invited back as alumni to Ms. Stephanie's annual Daycare Family Christmas dinner.  Of course we are invited back year after year because Dave plays an awesome Santa.... Here is last year's dinner and I think this is the first one  from two years ago.  There wasn't a point in doing it Drew's first year - he was the only kid she watched for a long time.

Well Friday night the house was filled with I think 9 kids and 11 adults.  It was a fun night of friends, laughs and prime rib (kids had pizza).  Forgive the cellphone pictures, I forgot my camera at home.  And then I played photographer for Ms. Stephanie with her camera - which is far more important than my own pictures.

The kids getting dinner ready (Drew is to the right side below Amber - who is in the black shirt).

Drew talking to Santa (Daddy).

Ms. Stephanie's 6 year old figured out this year it was Dave and then whispered to Drew the secret that Dave was Santa.  Drew came over to me and asked... I nonchalantly said that Daddy went to home to get his shoes - which he did forget for this costume.  You can't tell, but he's wearing socks instead of shoes.

And as you can see this party tuckered Drew out.  He fell asleep before we hit the main road home.  He cuddled with the Grinch all weekend (we ran the Bah Humbug 5K the next morning - and Drew was the designated Grinch holder).

Time with St. Nick

We decided to skip the Mall Santa this year and instead paid less to have Drew with sit with Sears Santa.  For $10 we got several creative poses with St. Nick and Drew got to announce what he wanted for Christmas.... a V Reader.

Please excuse the cell phone picture of the actual picture - the flash disturbance on Santa's beard.

We really liked the creative shot!  And for the price we couldn't beat it - even with a Groupon.  So before Thanksgiving we had the obligatory time with Santa pose finished without the line!

Here Comes Santa... Again

This is the third time this holiday Drew has met with the Jolly Old Man, otherwise known as Santa.  We found this one at our local mall and had an awesome deal on the photos courtesy a Groupon (for those that don't know what Groupon is all about, it's a site where you purchase get discounted items - restaurants, baseball games, visits with Santa.... find out more here).

For about two weeks I've tried to get us out the door on a week night so we can visit mall Santa - you know, to avoid the 2 hour wait we'd have on the weekend.  Finally Wednesday night the stars aligned and we were able to see St. Nick.  With one person in line ahead of us - a baby's first Christmas/visit with Santa - Drew had his shot.

We didn't get to select the photo and we're disappointed they chose the shot where Drew is in mid-blink!  I guess that's what you get for getting a sweet deal on the "Santa package" - they pick a crummy photo.  Oh well Drew happily told him what he wants for Christmas - you guessed it a  Mobigo - and then received his little treat, a bell.

Drew skipped and galloped through the mall afterward proudly displaying his "jingle bell".  Until he ate it when he tripped over his own feet.

Gang is Back Together Again

 The old gang was back together again - well Drew's old gang.  Last Friday, Ms. Stephanie - Drew's former daycare provider - held her annual Daycare Christmas Dinner for her kids, and their parents.  Since we were "graduates" technically we weren't supposed to be there.  Only Dave played Santa last year (read/see all about it here) a little too well, and he now has a permanent job.

After a delicious dinner, the kids anxiously awaited the arrival of Santa.  Well just before the Jolly Old Man showed up, the kids gathered to sing a carol or two, then he walked in the door.

L-R: Celeste, Baby Drew, Troy, Mason, Big Drew (missing is Caleb who was on the couch screaming, poor kid was terrified by Santa... could it have been the bushy eyebrows?)

What a difference a year makes - Drew wasn't terrified of his Dad... errrr... Santa this year.  Still clueless who the bearded man is, Drew happily told him he was a good boy this year and that he wanted... a Mobigo.  (You have to know by now that's all Drew's asking all the Santas for Christmas).

Good news, these kids must've been good this year because they all got presents.  A Star Wars tent.

And then we tried to get all the kids together for a pose... needless to say it didn't go well.

L-R: Caleb, Baby Drew, Santa (in back) Mason, Drew, (beneath Santa) Troy, and Celeste.

We had a fantastic time!  Oh and if you were wondering, this Santa had authentic padding - haha.

Holiday Spirit Week - Light Show

It's the happiest time of the year, so I plan to get in the holiday spirit by dedicating this week to holiday themed blogs.

Today's story - the annual tree lighting ceremony in our hometown. This is something Dave and I have wanted to do since we moved here about 4 years ago, but something has always gotten in the way - like illnesses, too busy or Drew was too tiny.

We finally made it this year and Drew had a blast! The big guy in red made an appearance, the fountains turned red and green, and the giant tree was lit up. It was a fantastic evening and made us get that "hometown" feeling that was really great.

Drew of course wasn't thrilled with meeting the big guy, so I had to join him for the traditional "sit on Santa's lap" shot.

And despite sitting on Mommy's lap, who was sitting on Santa - Drew still screamed through the whole thing. Of course it was ok to give Santa a high-five in farewell.

Drew's favorite part of the evening - watching the fountains. At one point I had to grab him from trying to dive in and swim...

It was a great night, and I think we'll do it again next year too. Afterward we hope to check out local Christmas lights on homes too. It was a great way to get into the Christmas Spirit.