January 22, 2010

Accidental Santa Picture (a post that I wrote before Christmas that is just now getting posted!)

A few nights ago, we were out running errands. I couldn't find what I needed at the usual places so we had to resort to...GOING TO THE MALL. I was dreading it, but it turns out that most people were doing something much more fun on a Friday night during the holiday season. Who knew? So, it was busy, but not crowded.

Dave dropped me off and stayed in the car with Charlie. I ran in, got what I needed, and then headed back to the car in time to see them getting out of the car and heading inside. Charlie was getting antsy in the car, and we needed to eat anyway, so we decided to get a bite to eat at the mall and walk around some.

On the way to the food court, I checked to see how many people were in line to see Santa. I was surprised to see...one family. So, we took advantage of that and made a bee-line to the North Pole. It was a special bonus that Charlie was wearing a decent-looking sweater and his hair was halfway laid down.

As we waited for the family in front of us to finish up, Dave and I tried to act happy and excited to see Santa since we didn't know how Charlie would react. Upon seeing the jolly old man, Charlie turned to stone. He literally wouldn't move. He was very intrigued, and never cried, but he also wouldn't move a muscle. So, I plopped him on Santa's lap and posed him as if he was a doll.

Charlie finally warmed up a little for the photographer who was pulling out all of the stops in order to get a grin. He finally rewarded her with one, and she snapped the picture with her lightning-fast reflexes. Surprisingly, it turned out pretty cute!

It was a great evening that really helped us get into the Christmas spirit. On the way home, we drove around looking at lights. We even saw several deer foraging around in the developing neighborhood to the north of us. Charlie kept calling them “reindeer.” I wasn't about to correct him.

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