A Visit With Santa

This year the annual pilgrimage to see jolly old St. Nick takes us to the Park Meadows Mall. Believe it or not, the mall even has a horse drawn carriage. It is not a completely unfamiliar environment for the kids, but Santa's Village was new territory. Who could think of a better way to spend a Friday night in December?

After lodging our reservation to see the big man, we headed to the food court to make sure blood sugar levels were properly balanced. Good old Chick-fil-A to try to put the kids in the right frame of mind.

Ella does a fine job of keeping her brothers entertained...

After dinner, it was back to Santa's Village. We had to wait in line for a few minutes (even with the time reservation), but once we entered through the gate it was all wonderland...well it was at the very least unfamiliar territory for Hank.

Ella was fully on engaged with the little houses for the elves and such.

As we edged closer to Santa's little lodge, Mom made every attempt to build the excitement and make sure everyone was revved and prepped with the right questions for Santa.

Well...you can see the results. It was a very good Santa and at least Ella got her request directly to the big man.

P.S. when putting this in the frame, the old Santa pictures are right there...flash back and you'll see Hank with the same face as Jack and Ella with the same blank stare as Hank!