Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Our visit to Santa!



















\




We have a tradition of visiting Santa at Heritage Farms in Hudson, IA.
Although it's nearly a two hour drive for us, the kids have found a lot of magic in it every year! This year my Mom was able to go with us and we really had a great time! Valarie is always the most excited to see the horses, Santa is exciting too, but the horses are her thing! There is a barn with a little pin set up in the middle for the kids to climb in and pet various animals. This year there were piglets, bunnies, sheep, a pony, and kittens. They also had a few different dogs in the barn that were very friendly. Evan was intrigued by the cage with the chickens! He was very vocal about them! We also had the opportunity to ride horses, as I said Valarie's FAVORITE thing! She wanted to ride the Clydesdale, but I encouraged her to ride the much smaller one! It is always a challenge to persuade her to get down! Riding in the sleigh is always so fun for the kids! They have beautiful horses pulling the sleighs through the field and through the trees to the cabin to see Santa! On the way back this year Valarie was brave and rode on a sled pulled behind the sleigh! She was so very proud of herself! Evan was very observant the entire time, a little unsure of the entire thing, but he took it all in! The visit with Santa was scary for Evan! He is at the age that strangers are not so great and one with a red suit and beard is way off the stranger danger metor! So of course he cried and we took a tearful picture and then he was fine. Grandma Wendy took him by Santa later and he did actually touch his beard and check him out as long as Grandma was holding him. Then it was out to check out the snow! He was not a snow lover either! He tolerated it long enough for a quick picture yet again and then back into mommy's arms! The girls loved every minute of everything! The sleds on the snow hills were a blast and having Grandma with was a treat! The kids also loved playing on the swings in the hay loft! As we finished up the trip we were surprised to find presents in each car seat for the kids when we returned! Each one of the girls got a new movie and Evan got a new little tractor. How did Santa know what movies they wanted and that the tractor have to be red at our house they asked...well Santa just knows these things! So the tractor brought the first smile out of Evan for the trip and we headed home. There were a lot of opportunities for listening and learning! Animals sounds, sleigh bells, and of course Santa's "HO, HO, HO!" Christmas is so much fun!

No comments:

Post a Comment