Visiting The Jolly Old Elf

Yes, I know this post is late, very late.  But hey, at least I am getting there.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the day that Santa Claus comes to Nephi.  About 11:30 a.m. standing atop the new fire truck, Santa takes a couple passes through main waving at all the faithful.  After he finishes waving he would go to the Old Gym, or one of the other community buildings where you got to stand in line and eventually give Santa your Christmas list.  This has always been one of my favorite Christmas Traditions.  Although it has been more than 30 years since I last visited with Santa in the manner, I still look forward to his trip to Nephi.  This year, I was pretty excited, Baby A was going to visit with Santa.  I was anxious to see how she would react.  I know Mike and Ali told her about Santa and they had her ready to go.

 Although, it is difficult to tell, Baby A is pulling Ali and Mom along just as fast as she can go!

When we got in line I looked around and it was a HUGE line.  What a wait!  Although, the Juab Fine Arts Council has done a great job, they had crafts for the impatiently waiting children to complete while they were in line.  Ali being the great mom she is, was very patient and took Baby A to the different craft stations.  The top left picture in the collage below is of them crafting.  While standing in line, I also took the opportunity to snap a picture of Baby A and her daddy.    (Top right picture of below collage.)

Despite the line being long, the time seemed to go by quickly.  Might have been because I took the opportunity to visit with friends and chat with people I hadn't seen in a while.

When Baby A made it to the front of the line, she saw Mr. Claus and decided she wasn't having any of that.  But, she was more than happy to talk with him, as long as she could sit on mommy's lap.  I am here to tell you folks, this Santa was the real deal!  He took so much time and patience with each child, it made it all worth it.  He knew that Baby A was a Painter and even visited with her family a bit.  This was a fun experience, definitely something I enjoyed.  Maybe this day being such a huge hit is one of the reasons that this year I am super excited for Christmas.