Visiting Santa and off to WDW and skiing!!

Whew! What a busy week. We went last Wednesday to see Santa. The real Santa is at Northpark for a few days each year, so that's where we go. Now, this is going to sound crazy, but....I rarely get emotional over the kids birthdays each year, or the first day of school, but I cry every year when they sit on Santa's lap! I think because I can see them all together, growing up and I feel like it's another year of those precious few years that they are all small and believing in the magic of childhood that has slipped away. In that moment, where they sit all shy and in awe as Santa asks what they want for Christmas, I see myself years from now wishing they were still just as they are in that moment on Santa's lap. Sappy and sentimental, I know...totally unlike me, but there....I've admitted it. My holiday confession. We go every year and listen to Santa tell stories and then wait our turn with the 5 million other people, for our chance to see Santa. And yes, in case you're wondering, I DID take them out of school for it!!! They have many, many more years of school left, but not these precious magic moments with Santa.

Monday was "Free Enterprise" day in 2nd grade. They had to make a product or provide a service. Thomas made scarves. As he puts it, "Webkinz scarves and human scarves." I forgot my camera yesterday, but it was so cute! The entire 2nd grade set up shop. Their desk was their shop, they all had open/closed signs and signs advertising their products and prices. They had earned paper quarters for good behavior and they got to use them to "shop" and buy things from each others shops. At the end, they created a profit statement. Thomas made $91!! He sold out of all his scarves and made more than any other kid in second grade!! He's quite the Bill Gates! Here are the pictures we used to advertise his scarves. He and his friend Sean were the models, along with Grace and Mandy and a Webkin!

Last Saturday, Grace played her first basketball game! We have the same 2 wonderful coaches that we had for soccer. Grace is really enjoying sports and had a great time at her first basketball game.

Also, I thought this was cool, so I'm posting it. The state finally got around to putting up dad's signs around the office!

This is the sign actually pointing to the office! You can see the seal on the window in the background.

Tomorrow, Grace, Mandy, Mom and I are leaving for Orlando. We are taking the girls to Disney World until Sunday. Scott, Thomas, our friend Larry and his son Sean (Thomas' best friend) are headed to Red River on Thursday for a "guys only" ski trip. That's what prompted the Disney trip. We were not about to be left out!! So.....I'm going to try and blog each night from Disney. I'm sending the camera cable with Scott, so he can download his pictures and send them to me in hopes that I can put them on the blog as well. We'll see how he does! All this is providing that I have ok internet service in WDW.

Blessings,

Leslie