Monday Funday

Ok, I have to admit, I am totally into Christmas this year! I've always been into Christmas, but this is the first Christmas that I've been a mother to a child who grasps some of the concepts of Christmas.  We've done a ton of things, especially this weekend, which I will get back to. However, the magic of Bass Pro Shop really ranks up there as one of our best experiences.

Monday night is usually either date night for Tim and I or a family night for the three of us since it's the only night during the week that we are all together. Tim insisted that I get my oil changed, so by the time I got home and we were ready to go, it was almost seven! Santa ends at eight. Guess who decided not to take the Expressway? Ugh!

We got there and thankfully they had extended their Santa hours due to high demand. They only had four passes left by then! We REALLY lucked out.

Everything there seemed so magical. New this year is a carousel. A FREE carousel! Although it made me dizzy, John was enthralled with it! First, he rode a moose. Then, a polar bear. He got pretty angry after not being allowed back on for a THIRD time, but calmed down quickly when the operator, a teenage girl, talked to him! Tim got a fantastic picture of the two of us!

 

 

Then, we visited the big man in red himself! St. Nick, Santa Claus, Ho Ho, whatever you call him, John enjoys seeing Ho Ho. He had quite an animated conversation with him. Mostly about Ho Ho and Choo Choo.The nice thing is that they give you a free picture and lets you take some of your own. Again, Tim rocked the shot.

 

 

 

Of course, our train obsessed child loved the Lionel train they had displayed. He kept pointing at it and telling us about it while we were in line and we knew we had to stop.

 

 





While the boys enjoyed their train time, I snagged some color pages for John and my new nephew. We did our second go round and then John stood and stared at this display for quite awhile.

 

 

We then headed out of the Winter Wonderland and explored the store. John loved seeing the tank of live fishes and the waterfall. He wasn't too fond of the stuffed brown bear. Scary! He also wanted to take a turkey cup holder home. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We ended up getting some candy (they have the BEST saltwater taffy in Illinois) and going.

It's odd how something so small could be so magical for a little one. Seeing Christmas through a child's eyes is really the best!