That Time We Met Santa....

With Christmas right around the corner, I knew that if Andrew and I didn't take Elliana to go see Santa this weekend, then surely we would be doomed. And as a result, Santa would not come to our house. And doomed we did not want to be.  Plus, what in the world would the blog world think if I didn't have a picture of E with the big man himself. That Mrs Mama girl...Bad mom. Right? Right.

So we woke up from our nap around noon, had lunch, and began the process of getting ready {always a process}. Me, in my plaid little get-up with skinny jeans and killer boots. Andrew, in his typical north face pull-over, sexy jeans, and sperry shoes {emphasis on typical}, and Elliana in her little "Holiday" dress and pants. Velor. We looked like a pretty good looking little family.

We took the typical before-we-leave-the-house-pictures {please take notes of my child with her white socks}. That's always a blast when you have a very irritated husband who wants to get out the door. "Oh honey just one more."  And "honey but the lighting is totally off." And... "Andrew, did you have to crop the side of my head off." Joys.

Once we did arrive to the mall, I was reminded, yet again, how happy I was that I was done with my Christmas shopping. That, and how happy I was that I do not shop at the malls. If I haven't preached enough about it already... let me say it again... online shopping is the key to success.

And then we arrive to the line. The infamous santa line. The kids upon kids. All sorts of ages, from little itty tiny {I just popped out 4 hours ago} babies {don't even get me started on that}, to toddlers upon toddlers hootin and hollerin.

Okay, fine. There's a line. We knew there would be a line. But what we did not prepare for is the couple {if that's what you would call it} that were behind us. Let's talk about this couple why don't we.

First, they both had a kid in tow. And based off of their conversation... doesn't sound like the kids are related. If you catch my drift. 

About those conversations. "Eff this." "Eff that.", Oh and "One time I was basically gang-banged... they jumped on top of me while on the trampoline."  Lovely.

All while her 2 month old is coughing up his lung. Like woah. Abnormal cough. Like he-should-be-in-the-hospital-cough. Great one mom.

Which reminds me... remember those itty-bitty-I-just-popped-out- babies? Ya. About those. That cough probably isn't good for them. Just saying.

So while we wait for 45 minutes to see Santa we have to listen to their life story. Their arguments over who is cooler {I'm being serious here...they were trying to one-up each other}. Their talk of the cool party they recently went to. Their disagreement over what they would rather be doing. Yup. Awesome. 

And then finally, it was our turn. At this point, I was just ready to get away from this couple. Ready to get that kodak picture... and ready to get the heck out of there.

Oh but then my heart just got so warm and fuzzy as soon as we placed Elliana on the big man's lap.
Warm. And fuzzy.

And I have to admit... he was a pretty good looking santa. If you know what I mean. He really fit the part well. Real beard, real belly, and real old. LOVE.

So, no worries, all in all the Santa was totally worth it. All 22 dollars of it. While Elliana sat on his lap with the most serious look on her face, mama snapped away with her camera. Might I mention the white socks? All because we lost a shoe. That was pretty awesome.

All that, for 2 minutes with Santa.

Was it worth the 5 hours spent total from getting ready to getting home? The trashy kids behind us? The crazy crowds and beautiful scenery? The time and the money we forked out? All for those precious 2 minutes.

Why yes, it was. And we will do it all over again next year. {Minus an itty-bitty-baby-in-tow}....
.......
Andrew did however offer up the idea of buying an outfit and dressing up as Santa himself every year. I may just pay to see that.

Have YOU all seen Santa yet this year? How was your experience?