Today we took the kids for "Breakfast w/Santa" at the beautiful inn on campus. We went to the same place last year and enjoyed it so much we thought we make it a tradition. Good food, wonderful friends, no lines/crowds, beautiful ambiance, and Santa of course! Doesn't get much better! You can reminisce about last year's trip on the blog by clicking HERE.
Despite the picture above (our best shot, btw--lol), the kids had a blast. Elizabeth was VERY excited about meeting Santa. In fact, the whole Christmas thing has been VERY big in our house this year.We are trying to keep the focus on the "true" meaning of Christmas (and I'll have a wonderful post about that soon), while also incorporating all the fun, cultural traditions (like Santa) into the mix! Needless to say, she's loving every second of it!
Breakfast was wonderful (despite the fact that I only finished half my plate chasing Liam around!) But was extra nice getting to enjoy the experience w/ friends--the Perkins & Blatchfords! :) I'm not sure any of us actually had an adult conversation as we were so busy with our (now) SIX children! But, it was still such a nice time!
Delanie, Elizabeth, and Caroline (above) and Liam (below). Not pictured: Anna, new baby Dylan.
Can you imagine this same crowd next year? Oh my!
Neither of my kiddos were in good moods today. Liam was especially fussy. He didn't want to sit and eat breakfast, or wait in line, or sit on some strange man's lap... he wanted to run all around the beautiful inn. All those beautiful antiques and priceless heirlooms and long corridors and lots of bureaus of drawers to open and close... oh, they were just calling his name! We took turns chasing him around. Elizabeth was also not on her best behavior, which was a little odd, especially since "SANTA" was watching! I guess it was just an "off" day.
At any rate, when it was our turn to see Santa, Elizabeth was VERY excited! She had been talking all week about how she wanted to sit on his lap and talk to him. I had my doubts, so we decided to write him a letter, just in case we didn't feel like talking to him that day. It came in handy!
Santa "somehow" knew all about Elizabeth. As soon as he opened the letter, he turned to her and said, "Now, don't tell me. Hmmm...... are you, Elizabeth?" She couldn't speak at this point, so I affirmed he was correct. He continued, "I knew it was you! You look so different this year, though! You've sure grown big!" Then he proceeded to read the entire letter word for word and make little comments. Right before getting to the part about Collins (our Elf), he paused and said, "Now... has Collins been to your house yet?" To which a speechless Elizabeth just nodded. Magic!
Liam was NOT feeling Santa (if you can't tell from the pics). However, he DID love getting to pick out his beanie baby toy from Santa's basket!
After breakfast, we looked around a bit at the Holiday Decor. It was the same from last year--a "12 Days of Christmas" theme. Complete with real Turtle Doves! Precious!
Above: Elizabeth & Delanie (and the turtle doves)
The long corridor hallway--one of their favorite places to RUN!
Below: "7 Swans A-Swimming!"
All in all it was a lovely visit to see Santa.
I'm so happy we got to go again and to celebrate w/friends!
I'm so happy we got to go again and to celebrate w/friends!
I'm thinking same time, same place this time next year! What do you say?
