Christmas Jubilee
What A Fun Time!!
Really, it was a BLAST!!! When we were getting back in the car after our fun filled evening I felt like we could have been starring in a 'Made for TV Christmas Special' airing on the Hallmark Channel - No really, get this: after the parade which consisted of no less than 5 boyscout troops, hair salons, other local businesses including but not limited to day care and senior living buses all decked out in lights, high school bands, local homecoming kings & queens and Santa & his elves on the shiniest red fire engine you could imagine, signaling the end of the parade! Then everyone clears the parade route and heads to the town square/park area where there are 4th graders belting out Christmas Carols, and the mayor gives away a key to the city to the citizen of the year, and once Santa arrives he has the distinguished honor of 'flipping the switch' to turn on the Christmas tree & all the lights in the park - I'm telling ya it was SO much fun, maybe a little on the corny side, but we will definitely be doing it again next year!!
Earlier That Day
So in an effort to tire the boys out so they could take late naps to make it through the whole night, we decided a good thing to do (ha ha ha) would be to take the boys up to Target & let them make their "Santa Wish Lists". BOY, where do I even start with that one?!
- Kids have NO concept of a price range when it comes to their 'Christmas wants'
- People Christmas shopping are not usually in that great of a mood
- When all else fails, just add it to the list, push the blame/responsibility to Santa, & as a last resort let them pose for a picture with said beloved toy so they can look at your phone and be distracted long enough to usher them back out to the car~!
- Oh yeah, one last thing, (see #2 above) now those grumpy shoppers have vehicles!! So under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, while in the parking lot, should you operate under the assumption that pedestrians have the "Right of Way"!!
After making our lists and talking about how it's a good idea to have a few options on their 'wish list' but just because they had all those choices does not mean Santa will bring them everything on their list. . . yeah thats a fun conversation to have. . . We decided to grab some lunch and let the boys burn up any remaining energy at the Chik-Fil-A playground. Thank GOD for CFA's & their indoor playgrounds! Dave and I were lucky enough to snag a seat right in front of the play area & for a few brief moments, we got to eat a few bites in peace ~ I'd like to say quiet, but (obviously) there were other kids in the restaurant, which to all you non-parents, might still find it annoying, but once you have kids this crazy trance falls over you and it becomes "As long as it's not MY kid, I DON'T CARE!" But after the big kids left the play area Kaiden & Pierce decided that it would be fun for Daddy to come in and play with them ~ sometimes it makes me sad when Daddy is chosen to do the fun stuff over me, but since eating in peace is something I've rarely experienced in the last 3 years, I chuckled & waved bye to Dave while I finished my salad in complete, obliviousness!! It's funny how different food tastes, when you are actually paying attention to what is going in your mouth, as opposed to shoveling in a bite to each boy's mouth & one in yours. . . . you know you're wishing you lived such a lavish life too!!
Parade & SANTA!!
The boy's took decent naps, Dave and I got to rest up a little too, and before we knew it, it was time to go & we were throwing one of everything we could find in the back of the car, just in case! It was still misting a little, but it was in the 50s so it wasn't really cold, but there was just enough of everything going on to require a lot of gear: fleece jackets, rain jackets, boggins, mittens, umbrellas, strollers, blankets & a camera! But in the end (as usual) it was SO worth it!!!
The jubilee (seriously is there a more fun word out there?! I don't think so!) was in downtown Woodstock, which is adorable, and amoung other reasons to love it, there are train tracks running all over down there, which to adults, admittedly is not such a wonderful thing, especially when you have to wait for those trains & you really need to be elsewhere, but to a 3 year old little boy! Fughetaboutit! He was in heaven! After some wandering we met up with The Robinsons, waved at all the floats & once we obnoxiously yelled 'SANTA' in our best Buddy The Elf impression voices, we turned and high tailed it to the gazebo so we could go meet the Big Man himself!
I wasn't sure how that was going to go down, in years past while trying to get both Kaiden & Ashlyn to sit with Santa we have ended in tears & terror. And more specifically last year Pierce grabbed a fistfull of Santa's beard and yanked until the poor man had tears in his eyes. . . But my fears were all proved to be a waste of time, because Kaiden couldn't wait to sit with Santa, and Pierce was, well let's say he was civil. He wasn't screaming for dear life, and I even caught him smile a time or two, so that is a HUGE success at this age!
SEE, I told you, not so bad! Kaiden was going into detail about the 'Monorail' he wants, I'm sure Santa had no idea, but he was listening hard, and Piercey, was still checking him out to make sure he was legit, but either way it made for an adorable picture!
Oh So Yummy!
Once our visits were over, which we were SO lucky to be standing at what we thought was the back of the line, only to find out we were 3 people back from the start of the line, WOO HOO!! We decided to forgo the festival food offerings, although if I'd had some cash with me, I SO would have bought that bag of fresh cooked kettle corn - it was divine! Anyway back to it, we decided to round up some grub, and the best part is right where we were there are several food options which are ALL so good ~ one of our favorites is Right Wing Tavern - American Food Politically Incorrect, yeah that's right, you've GOT to go there!) but tonight we had burgers on the brain, so we took the tracks to Canyon Burger. I say 'took the tracks' because Kaiden convinced us it would be more fun to walk on the train tracks and to his credit it was pretty hysterical to see us trotting down the tracks with Pierce in his jog stroller, Aunt Mel in her walking boot (she caught a case of Disney Foot aka fractured bones) and Todd & Dave chugging along behind Kaiden and Ash! The guys on the porch at the tavern cheered for us. . .
We made it to Canyon Burger it's like Fudruckers, but better because they still care about the quality of their food. The food was GREAT!! And to top it off, we got a chocolate milkshake, which was also delightful, and once we were all done eating & entertaining the people near us - our boys, especially Pierce, really like to perform for people - we packed back up and took the tracks back to the town square to head home.
It really was the perfect way to spend a otherwise icky Saturday night!
