Our very own Santa!

There is a good friend of Ben's that goes to our church. To us and all other adults his name is Robert. To all the children in our ward, including my two children, his name is 'Santa'.

Robert is a kind man with a regular job and family. During the holidays he dyes his beard white and takes extra work as Santa Clause. But even in mid-July when my children see him in the halls on Sunday they say "hi Santa!" and give him a big hug and an even bigger smile.

We are blessed to have the "Real Santa" (that is what Emma calls him) available to us whenever we want him. Not everyone can say that. Someone told me that they overheard Emma tell him "Santa, I got all the presents you left for me on Christmas. Thank you!"

I was so glad I didn't have to wait in line at the mall for a picture of Santa while hoping shy Matthew would cooperate. Our Santa came to our church and Matthew and Emma were not shy at all about sitting on his lap for a photo opportunity. But why would they, they see him every week at church!

Thanksgiving Feast at Pre K

Emma's Pre-school planned a big feast and invited family members to participate. I made some yummy stuffing and brought my mom along to have lunch with Emma before their Thanksgiving break began. We were serenaded by the kids with a cute Thanksgiving song as they wore their turkey hats. It was a pretty nice afternoon. I really enjoy being able to do things with Emma at her Pre-school. I plan to be an active parent at her schools for as long as possible!

Fall Break

Emma had a break from school in September and she was a little disappointed that we didn't do anything special during her vacation. I think some of her friends at school were going out of town and she assumed we were going somewhere to.

So during her Fall Break, I decided to try and make it special and go somewhere she had been asking about for a while: Chuck E Cheese. I had somehow accumulated a some tokens and thought this was the perfect time to use them. We went the day before Thanksgiving and the place was pretty empty - just perfect! We had fun going on all the rides and playing the games. Matthew, as expected, cried every time we left one thing but would be excited to see something new.

One of Ben's drum students, Matt, recently took a job at Chuck E Cheese and even gets to play the famous Mouse. He was working the day we went and came to talk to us for a bit. Then he left to go wake Chuck E. from his nap and although Matt mysteriously disappeared, the kids got to take a good picture with our favorite local mouse.

We earned a bunch of tickets and used them to buy Emma's favorite treat that we rarely get to have - Cotton Candy. I'm sure Emma was not disappointed with her vacation this time!