This town never stops amazing me! Justin's school had a "Holiday Hulabaloo" where the kids could go into the gym with volunteers and shop for presents to give their families. The presents are all either donations from local business owners or from parents. Justin impressed me! We gave him $20 and he came back with $16 in change ... to be spent on the raffle (things for him) or the delicious spread of cupcakes/cookies/doughnuts waiting for him in the cafeteria. That's my little budget minder!
In the cafeteria, there were several crafts set up for the kids to do. Santa was waiting on the stage waiting to say Hello to all of the kids. Annalise (still) wants nothing to do with Santa and prefers to watch him from a very far distance. I went up at her request to let him know that she would really like the Swan Palace. Justin felt fine walking up and introducing himself.
After saying Hello to Santa, we made ornaments for the tree and the kids sat very patiently as they called raffle ticket numbers for the 50 thousand (I'm not kidding...it was endless!) prizes that had been donated. The kids were sad that they didn't win anything but they both seemed to understand why.
I must admit..I had just come back from a work trip to San Diego and was complaining because I wanted to take a nap instead of going to the hullabaloo...I'm so happy we went! Justin was tough to keep up with but Annalise was happy to hang out with me. I had a great time doing crafts with her, snuggling her, sitting patiently with her, eating cupcakes with her, talking with her, and generally being around her. I don't look forward to the attitude that I'm sure the teenage years will bring but if I can always remember the days like this one I'm sure I can get through it. She is such a sweet girl and I wonder if she will always be so happy doing artwork/craftwork. (Our other theory is that she will become a lawyer. She can argue both sides of any story you give her!).
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