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We had such a fun day! It was super busy, from one thing to the next, which Bobby hates, but it was a lot of fun too!! We were out in the snow at about 8 a.m., at least Maggie and I were, while Bobby showered. We had a snowball fight, which Maggie loved. She wanted to build a snowman, but she wasn’t patient enough to do the work to get the giant balls … every time I got a ball that was about as big as a basketball, the allure was too tempting and she just wanted to throw it or smash it. This wasn’t technically her first snow; I remember we got a decent one when she was about two, but she doesn’t remember that one. She was SO excited and hyper this morning; it was fun to watch her experience it in a way that she’ll remember.
Then we headed to church [for the annual Breakfast with Santa]. We were late to the breakfast, but that was OK. She told Santa she wants the Bitty Baby Stroller. I so don’t want to get her ANOTHER stroller; she has two or three already. And this one doesn’t even DO anything (like one of her others plays music). I’m going to try to talk her out of it if possible. Maybe Santa will write a note through Jinglers or something. The entire breakfast is a fundraiser for the youth group, and part of that is a silent auction. I won a gift certificate to Casa-Rolls (paid $17 for a $25 gift card), so I think I’ll get a casserole to have for breakfast on Christmas morning.
Then home to change clothes, then headed to the Nature Center. It was so much fun! They had sleigh rides, which I was really excited about because for some reason I thought it would be in a real sleigh. Umm, no. It was more like a hay ride, with a wooden sleigh-shaped cutout attached to the trailer. The kids liked it though. (We were there with another family from playgroup/church … the Simmons.) They also had a candy cane hunt, similar to an Easter egg hunt. Maggie loved that. They had Santa set up in the tree house, but for some reason, Maggie didn’t like this Santa and wouldn’t sit with him. They were also leading canoe excursions—that would have been so cold!! There was a big bonfire with marshmallows for roasting (and s’mores – yum!), hot chocolate and cider, storytelling, a tour of the animal areas (which we didn’t do since we’ve seen them already), and nature crafts for the kids – Maggie made reindeer food with oatmeal, and a peanut butter/birdseed pinecone bird feeder. We stayed there a long time, because even after we’d done all the activities, Maggie wanted to just run and play in the woods and on the rocks. She loves that place!! We were very bundled up and actually stayed pretty warm … the worst part was on the “sleigh” ride, when the wind would blow in our faces.
Since we had stayed downtown so long, we decided to stick around a little longer for the night-time parade. We’d never been before, and Maggie said this was the favorite part of her day! It started at 6, and we got there around 4:45. We ended up getting a parallel parking spot right on the street where the parade route started, so we parked there and just left the car. We walked a block or so to a building that’s known for its elaborately decorated Christmas windows [EPB], and they were really neat! We grabbed sandwiches in a nearby tavern, took them back to the car, and “tailgated” while we ate. Well, Maggie and I tailgated; Bobby sat in the front of the car where the heat was! We were parked right at the beginning of the parade route, so we could see them getting ready, which Maggie liked. When it started, she was a little apprehensive, but she quickly warmed up to it. By the end, she was dancing in the street, and I kept having to pull her back toward the car. Lots of people on floats (or walking beside the floats) tossed or handed out candy, and Maggie must have been extra cute or something (well, of course …), because people would make a point of walking over to her specifically to hand her candy. Bobby thinks she got more candy tonight than she did at Halloween. Great. Having the car right there was so great, because whenever she got cold, we could sit inside for a few minutes to warm up. When we drove away, Bobby—who hadn’t really wanted to stay for the parade—asked, “Well, Maggie, did you enjoy the parade?” and she shrieked, “I LOOOOOVED the parade!!” He said that made it worth it.
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