December 6th

How many Christmasy activities can you cram into one day?? Well, we tried our best to do as many as possible!! Of course, our morning started by checking out our goodies from St. Nicholas. Movies, Nutcrackers, Beanie Boos, gold coins, and candy! So many goodies! We ventured off to check out our pockets and find Shed! In our pockets, our activity of the day was "Go See Santa at Crown Center!" That means--- leave school early!!! So after a short stay at school, I picked the boys up and we headed on down to Crown Center! First stop- Fritz's for lunch! Then it was down the hall to see Santa. There was no line (YAY!) so I kind of expected the boys to linger around Santa for a little while, but they hopped on his lap, told them their wishes, I snapped their picture, and then that was that. It was like 1 whole minute. I guess the job was done! Grant asked for a base for his army men and Wyatt asked for the Imaginext Batbot Xtreme. As he was walking off, Wyatt did ask Santa if he could come to our house on the 23rd because we will be leaving the 24th to head for the farm. Santa said, "Of course!" And with that, they were off to explore Gingerbread Village. We did a little bit more exploring around Crown Center and then headed off for a visit at the Family Tree Nursery! The poinsettias there was truly remarkable! Such a pretty sign! We were pretty tired after all our adventuring, so we headed home and snuggled up to watch Arthur Christmas! Such a cute movie!! We were waiting for Levi to get home from drill and then we loaded up for a visit to watch the Deanna Rose light show and take a spin around Christmas Place! Phew!! What a magical day filled with so many of our favorite Christmas traditions!! I LOVE having days with my fellas, experiencing Christmas magic through their little eyes!! My favorite!

Sitting on Santa's Lap

We did our annual "skip school and go to Crown Center" day! We hadn't missed a day of school yet, so I figure this was totally acceptable!! The boys had already been to Crown Center with my parents the day after Thanksgiving, so we didn't go and look at everything we typically would. We were on a mission to see Santa!! Well, and visit the candy store!!

We got there right when Santa got there, so we had zero wait time! We walked right up and got on his lap. He asked the boys if they had been good and of course they said yes. He reminded them to listen to their mom and dad and never leave dirty clothes on the floor! Then they asked what they wanted- Grant said a drone with a camera, and Wyatt said an iPad. Big dreams for these fellas! I may have had a little secret I had to tell Santa, so after they hopped off his lap, I got my turn to tell him something. 

After we saw Santa, we walked around and explored Crown Center for a bit, and while we came to the front, we saw it started snowing for the first time this season! We just had to go outside and get a feel (and taste!) for it!! When we saw it was really starting to come down, we decided to head home so we could enjoy some snowy play!! It was a perfect wintery Christmasy day!!

On Santa's Lap

We decided today was the perfect day to skip the afternoon of school and head out to see Santa!! Our weekends are full from now til Christmas, and who wants to fight the crowds on the weekend! So we decided that an afternoon of missed school was worth it! And it was just the perfect time! Santa was ready and waiting for us when we got there!!  

I used to see Santa at Crown Center every year until I was about 16. Not kidding. But my boys have never been to Crown Center at Christmastime, so it was definitely on my Christmas "to-do" list! I'm so glad we went out there too because they LOVED it! Santa lives at the Gingerbread Station this time of year! It was a super adorable little train and gingerbread village lining the walls and the playspace. Of course, they loved every little thing about it!

We hopped right on to Santa's lap and he asked them all about being good or bad. Who keeps their room clean? Who goes to bed when they're told to? Who works hard on their school work? They loved him! Then it came down to the big question- What do you want for Christmas? Grant said anything that has a remote control! Wyatt said a Lego Star Wars Bionicle. Then Santa gave them a fist bump and told them to be good for goodness sake!! 

I have all their Santa pictures from 2008 in different frames on our bookshelves! They make the perfect Christmas decoration every year! I love our growing collection!

Visit with Santa 2014

We only had one encounter with Santa this year and it happened in early December, so we could nail down exactly what they wanted Santa to bring them. You know, so Wyatt a certain someone would stop changing their mind. They knew exactly what they were going to say to Santa and couldn't wait to see him. 

We went to Oak Park Mall after school one day. We got there just as Santa was finishing feeding his reindeer, so there was no waiting! They climbed on his lap and took a few pictures, and by the time I approved which picture I wanted, they were already off Santa's lap. Apparently they didn't want to chit-chat with the jolly guy! Grant asked for Star Wars Commands and Wyatt asked for the Imaginext Alpha Explorer. And we got our annual picture (forced smiles included), so it was a successful trip I guess you'd say! The boys thought he was just Santa's helper and not the real Santa- we're pretty sure the real Santa is at North Pole City in OKC. But they were happy Santa would get their message anyway!

And after our visit to Santa, we took an #elfieselfie

Letters to Santa

This was the first year we wrote letters to Santa. Well, I did the writing, they did the dictating! I wanted them to write their letter and take it when we went to visit Santa, but since we had to change our Santa visit to a spur of the moment one, our letters came AFTER we saw him! But I told the boys we'd mail it anyway! 

As Grant was dictating his letter, I was worried I was going to need an extra sheet of paper! But I managed to "condense" a few of his thoughts, with his liking of course! I just love his attitude this Christmas. He has seen things at stores that he likes and makes it a point to see he really likes that, but he hasn't actually asked for specific things for Christmas. Even while seeing Santa, he asked for a "remote control airplane that's blue" but he told me after that, that he doesn't really care what Santa brings him. So here are Grant's thoughts for Santa:

Gotta love the Amen! part! And the three humps in his N. Oh dear! 

Wyatt has been such a joy this Christmas season. He truly understands that magic that the season brings and he is all about all things Christmas! He loves to recite the verse, "It's better to give than to receive!" He has been pretty consistent with his wish from Santa. Although the entire month of November, he'd been asking for a "toy guitar with real strings" and then the day we went to see Santa, he asked for a "remote control train that doesn't go on tracks" and he is dead set on that. I told him Santa might have a hard time finding that, and he said, "Well he can just make it in his workshop!" Can't argue with that! So here is Wyatt's letter:

Again, love the Amen! and the "blustery snow." Seriously, this kid is a crack up! 

I'm curious to see how they feel when they see what Santa decides to buy them! As well as their response to their other gifts. Last year, after they saw their Santa presents and I said it was time to open the rest of the gifts, they said, "You mean we get more presents?" I hope I can keep that spirit alive and they truly understand that Christmas isn't about presents! But more about the love we share when we give!

Visit to the North Pole

So maybe this North Pole was in Oklahoma City, but you sure wouldn't know it when you stepped into this place! North Pole City is truly a magical place and there is no where better to see Christmas come alive! I took the boys there last year to see Santa and I knew that it was worth the drive to go back there again this year! (And just for a refresher, here is a Santa's lap recap). 

 We had to wait quite some time for Santa, as he went on his lunch break just as we got there! There was ALOT to look at, so we didn't mind too much! But once the boys got to see Santa, they were all smiles. Wyatt asked Santa for a "remote control train that doesn't go on tracks" and Grant asked for a "remote control airplane that's blue." I'm not sure Santa will be able to fulfill those requests, but he sure sounded confident! Afterall, I think he is the real deal....

I joked that if I took a picture of the boys in front of each tree in that place, I'd end up with 1000 pictures! But I resisted and only took a few! 

Another magical visit to the North Pole in the books! I wonder where we will visit Santa next year?!?!

Santa, Through the Years

If you look back at my Santa pictures from my childhood, it would take up a whole book! I sat on Santa's lap until my early twenties...and no, I'm not joking!! My sister and I sat on Santa's lap so my mom could have a picture of us! She loved it!  But I admit- looking back at those pictures through the years make me smile- well, more laugh at my ugly hair, my choice of Mickey Mouse sweater, the size of my bangs! It really is comical!! But thinking about it made me want to look back at the past 4 years of Santa in our house!! 

I think Grant's crying face in 2008 is totally priceless! That was pretty much my face until I turned 4 years old!! Wyatt, in 2010, had no clue what was going on- a far difference than Grant in 2008!! But you can see in 2011, they both were nothing but smiles!!  

And this year of course- all smiles and giggles!! I wonder how long this tradition will carry on in our house! I'm guessing probably not through my boys' early twenties!! ;)

North Pole City

Today, the boys and our friends, Amy and Graham, went to North Pole City in OKC to visit Santa!! Amy said this place was absolutely beautiful, but I almost couldn't believe my eyes when we walked in the building!! SO.MANY.CHRISTMAS.DECORATIONS!!! It was stunning!! There were hundreds of trees decked to the every last inch! It was just awesome! I wanted to take two of everything home with me!! They had a cute little train that the boys rode around! They loved that!!!  Then we got a buzzer to hold our place in line to see Santa! How cool that we didn't actually have to stand in line?? We meandered around and checked out the largest little Christmas Village I have ever seen!!!

When our buzzer sounded, we went up to Santa's living room and got to chat with him. The boys were shy, but definitely not scared!! Grant told Santa he wanted a remote control car that was yellow (first I've heard of this...) and Wyatt told Santa he wanted a super-duper fast monster truck (again...huh?!?). Then Santa asked if they wanted an aardvark? He said they were good for getting ants out of your pants! :)  He must have been watching Gran the last 4.5 years!! They sat on his lap and got a pretty decent picture!  

I'm pretty sure that Santa was the REAL DEAL!! He was just as jolly and plump as I would expect Santa to be!!  We definitely know where we are going to see Santa next year!!!

Visit with Santa

We just got home from our visit with Santa! The boys were very excited, or so they said. I was skeptical! But seriously, they both walked right up to him with smiles and Grant immediately said, "I want a new Batcave." Wyatt just smiled at him! And this Santa has had one too many cookies, if you catch my drift, so he didn't really have a lap to sit on. So Wyatt squeezed on one knee and Grant got to stand. But their cute smiles came right out for the camera, and of course- Wyatt's "cute" face he always makes!! They got their candy canes and waved goodbye! It took all of 3 minutes, from start to finish- no lines, no waiting for pictures. Just finished!! I brought the less than stellar designed picture home and did a little tweaking! And I think the final product turned out great!! 

Ho! Ho! Ho!!

Seeing Santa

 In between stomach flu bouts, we took the boys to visit Santa. I expected fits from both, but surprisingly there were no tears. Grant walked right up to Santa and said, "I want emergency rescue vehicle set and Alien Army." Hopefully Santa knows what Alien Army is because I sure don't. Wyatt looked at Santa wondering what the heck was going on, and although he didn't smile, he didn't cry either! I'd say it was a successful trip!