Skating, packing and getting yelled at by an old lady

You know that saying that goes, "when a 94-year-old grandfather says 'jump,' you ask, 'how high?'?" What do you mean, it doesn't go exactly like that? Well, that's how the saying goes in the Lafferty family.

Cory's grandfather is 94 and is quite content being the patriarch of the family. He decided he was having a party for his birthday/launch of his book on December 22nd. (Yes, you read that part about the book correctly.) Thus, the whole family trekked to Wichita the weekend before Christmas for a two-hour party in a retirement home. It's what he wanted, so we were happy to oblige.

But, seeing as we were down there for the whole day on Saturday AND we had two young children in tow, we needed to find something to do for the rest of the day. Enter Google. In a few short clicks, I found a "Skating with Santa" event on Saturday morning. Perfect.

Remember, I had been wanting to take the girls ice skating? Well, this was a perfect solution. Plus, Aunt Amber was going to be in Wichita, so she could help with the skating. That meant, I could get some good pictures and not put my camera's life at too big a risk. Double plus, I found out my friend Terah was going to be in Wichita the same weekend with her family, and they wanted to come, too. It was a great plan all around.

Until the actual trip came around. See, as anyone who knows me can attest: I need my sleep. Like bad. I mean, I am essentially useless unless I get a full night's sleep. So, when it came to packing up for Wichita after several nights and days of Christmas get-togethers ... well, let's just say my brain didn't work so well.

I forgot pretty much everything. Including hats, coats and gloves for every single one of us. Not such a great thing to forget when you're going ice skating. I felt like an idiot. Christmas came a tad early as the girls got new coats and hats and gloves. Heck, even I got new gloves! Thank goodness Target was a mere four minutes away from our hotel.

So, freshly dressed with new outerwear, we headed over to the ice rink to skate with Santa. Luckily, despite the shaky start, we ended up having a great time.

Cory and Amber grew up with a pond in their backyard, so they spent many a childhood winter skating. I grew up in North Carolina, so my skating experience was much less extensive. I think I recall a childhood skating party or two, then a couple times as a grown up. With experts like Cory and Amber in my midst, I was able to trust them with the girls while I took pictures.  My mission was to stay upright to save the camera.

Seeing Santa before getting on the ice. Molly later said, "I think that Santa is a girl!" Whoops. We had to explain about Santa's helpers ...

The whole fam ready to take on the ice. Check out the girls' new coats and gloves. Pretty snazzy for a last-minute Target run.

I love this picture!

A tale of two girls ... and Santa

Every year since Molly's been born, we've gone to have breakfast with Santa through my dad's Rotary. The visits haven't always been successful. There was one year Molly refused to sit on Santa's lap. But, we did get a picture of her next to Santa, and she discovered Fruit Loops, which she had never seen before. She now and forever calls them "Christmas Cheerios." So, it wasn't an utter failure.

This year, the breakfast was in a new location. The old restaurant where they used to meet no longer exists, so they had it in the town hall building in Shawnee. Unfortunately, that is even farther away from us in Olathe. And, it started at 7:00 AM.

Now, it's not that I'm not used to being up that early. Trust me, I am. I live with the built in 5:30-alarm clock that is Charlotte Lafferty. However, being up is one thing. Being up, out the door, dressed in Christmas clothes the morning after a snow was a different thing altogether. It was a rather chaotic morning, but we managed to only be about 15 minutes late. And, we still beat my dad, mom, brother and sister.

We all ate breakfast (Catered by Moe's. The burrito place. I had no idea they catered breakfast, but that's an entirely other topic.) Then the organizers brought out a magician. The girls really enjoyed this part, and Charlotte's eyes were bugging out of her head when she saw him pull balls out of his mouth. I am afraid that she will attempt that trick at home.

Then, the main event: SANTA!

For some reason, every single year, we end up being the last people in line. This year was no different. Here was the problem: the night before, Santa had called the girls. Yeah, I know. A personal phone call from Santa? Yes, it's true.

Amber's hospital does a fundraiser every year by offering calls from Santa. So, she filled out the forms, gave some personal info and then Santa called and asked Molly about her dance and running, and asked Charlotte about gymnastics and her friend Ella.

So, after that the night before, Molly didn't see the need to go talk to Santa. "I told him what I wanted last night," she explained. But, then I explained that I really wanted a picture of her with Santa, so she relented.

We waited and waited and waited and waited ... finally it was our turn.

Posing with Santa!

Great Santa Run

Last year, Cory and I ran in the Great Santa Run, a 5K around Johnson County Community College, not too far from our house. We ran it with my little brother and Anne while the girls spent the night at my parents' house. The race is a fun theme. C'mon, it's called the Great Santa Run.

Everyone gets Santa hats to run in, and it is fun to check out everyone's costumes. People ran in full Santa suits, Christmas tree outfits, and all sorts of other Christmas-themed regalia. Plus, they have an amazing breakfast after, with the culinary school of JCCC preparing and serving a huge breakfast of eggs, biscuits and gravy, pastries, lemon bars ... yum.

We had such a good time last year that I definitely wanted to do it again. So, this year, I was all gung-ho for everyone to do it. But, my little brother wasn't in town. My dad wouldn't commit. Anne got sick. Kelli was hurt. Basically, my big plans of having a big ol' Christmas-themed running party were crushed.

But, I had had so much fun last year, and I really thought the girls would get a kick out of it. I mean, there was a Little Elves Run! So, we convinced Cory's parents to come out to watch the girls while Cory and I ran the race. Luckily, the whole waiting area is inside a gym, so no one needed to wait out in the cold. And, even more luckily, the weather was absolutely amazing. It was over 50 degrees and sunny at race time.

How to entertain a cranky 2-year-old? Dora on the iPhone.

Now they're both entertained

Family picture before the race.

We hung out inside with the girls and Cory's parents for as long as possible, then made our way to the starting line. That is where our mistake began. We thought the starting line was where the big archway for the finish line was. Turns out, that was an incorrect assumption. The starting line was actually a good 60 feet ahead of that. So, while we started not very far back from what we thought was the start, we were actually probably 75 feet from the start. Seventy-five feet of people.

Problem was, we didn't realize our mistake until after the race started. We couldn't run fast at all, and we had to weave in and around and through. We were running on the grass, on the sidewalks, on the curbs. It was crazy. At one point, I had to pass a lady walking with two canes. Two canes! That is how far back we were.

(Not that there is anything wrong with walking in a race with two canes. I actually think that is quite awesome and to be commended. But, if I want to go fast, I just probably shouldn't be starting behind this person.)

So, my big plan of redemption and winning another medal was ruined. It took way too much time to weave around the people. And, remember how I said that the weather was gorgeous? Well, it was, but I was way overdressed. I was wearing capris, long socks and a long sleeved shirt, and I was dying. Now, I'm not making excuses. I also haven't been doing speedwork, and there were a lot more people in the race this year, so I probably wouldn't have repeated as last year's 3rd place age division winner no matter where we started.

But, the point of it all, was that we had a great time. I got 7th instead of 3rd. No medal for me. But, we did have a great time. Molly ran the kids race super fast. So fast, in fact, that I didn't even get a picture of it. We all got delicious breakfasts, and got some really fun pictures to boot.

Crossing the finish line. You can tell how far back we started when our official time is 1:30 faster than our clock time.

I didn't catch Molly on camera, but I did get Charlotte running with Cory.

Hanging out with the giant Santa.

Playing around after the race. Racing down the hill.

Yes, that is Buddy the Elf. Yes, I did ask to take a picture with him. No, Charlotte would not go anywhere close to him.

My new favorite family picture! I only wish I would've waited to make our Christmas card until after we took this one!

Happy Santa Run to all and to all a goodnight!

Santa Overload

The other day, while driving in the car (where all the best conversations happen), I got a stumper of a question from Molly.

"Mommy, how many Santas are there?"

I panicked for a second, then calmed down enough to ask her why she was asking. She explained, "well, we saw Santa today, but the one that Penelope is sitting on in her Christmas card has glasses like Papa, and the other Santa had glasses, but Santa today had a different kind of glasses."

Well, first off, I was impressed that Molly had those keen powers of observation. I'm not sure as a 4-year-old, I would've noticed that some Santas wear certain glasses while others wear a different kind. And, second, I really hope we're not overexposing Molly to Santa. I don't want to give her too many opportunities to second-guess the very existence of the jolly old elf. I'm sure it's easier to not catch the inconsistencies in Santa when you don't actually see the man all the time.

As it is, Molly's already seen Santa from far away once, sat on his lap twice, and talked to him once on the phone. She's told him what she wants three times, and explained that she's been a good girl three times. She probably thinks that Santa is having lots of "senior" moments, forgetting that he's already been told the same thing over and over and over.

The first time we saw Santa was back right before Thanksgiving when we went up to the Legends Christmas Tree Lighting. Santa flew in on a helicopter. We already had to do some quick thinking to explain the helicopter vs. sleigh phenomenon. But, luckily, he was far enough away that you couldn't see if he had glasses, or what type of those glasses they were.

The next time we saw Santa this season was at Molly's Christmas dance show. She actually danced really well and loved being on stage. Then, the surprise guest at the end of the show ... Santa!

Molly explaining that she wants a desk and a Barbie car.

Yup, Charlotte was terrified. Molly took over and told Santa that Charlotte wanted a baby doll.

Then, we had Molly's preschool Christmas performance. All the precious little preschoolers sat on the chancel and sang adorable Christmas songs, complete with hand movements and bells. Made me cry just thinking that she was going to be too big for it next year. Or, it could've been the fact that 50 preschoolers were ringing bells, trying to stay on rhythm. Anyway, she did a great job singing, and the surprise guest at the end of the show ... Santa!

After explaining (again) that she wanted a desk and a Barbie car.

This Santa got bonus points because he gave her a gift right there.  A new book!!!

So, for now, Molly accepted my explanation that Santa just has different glasses and outfits, just like Mommy wears glasses sometimes and not other times. She seemed to take that at face value. We have one more time to see Santa at Papa's Rotary breakfast on Friday. Who knows what kind of glasses that Santa will be wearing?!?

 Let's hope the sweet, innocence of believing in Santa lasts for a while longer. And, hey, at least she doesn't have an older brother to ruin it for her like I did. That's gotta give her one or two more years, don't you think?


PS. I have a video of her talking to Santa on the phone that is pretty darn funny, but I cannot figure out how to get the video from the camera onto the computer. We're keeping our fingers crossed Santa drops a new flip cam down the chimney along with the desk and baby doll.