We got there right at 6, but Santa was a bit late…

Sitting in Santa's Chair.

The kids were really excited while we waited in line.  But as soon as they got up close to him… that was a different matter.

So I showed them that Santa was nice.

Then Joshua told Wesley that, THIS was his chance to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas.  But he was pretty nervous and a bit terrified.  But he really managed to pull it together an conquer his initial fear and sat with Santa like a champ.

Drying his tears...

This is right before he said he wants a FISH TANK from Santa.

We really wanted to try a picture with Jillian too…

I was really surprised that she even sat with him.

This was after about 10 seconds, she had really calmed down. If only we had 10 more, she may have even smiled.

I promised the kids cookies, to try to get them to cooperate with Santa, so we went over to the rec center and had cookies and hot chocolate.

Enjoying their snack.

Yummy!

He just did not want to smile for me!

Time to go home.  But first, a few more pictures…

It was about 50 out tonight.  It felt pretty good.  But we (When I say we, I mean the kids and Joshua.  Of course I was in a jacket.  I even had a scarf on too.) were the only family without jackets on.  And most kids had on mittens and a hat!

It was a good night.  We are looking forward to walking along the trails tomorrow and looking at the luminaries and the Christmas lights.  The tractor train will be out tomorrow, so I can’t wait to get photos with Joshua and the kids!

When we got there the restaurant was a little under staffed and everyone seemed to be surprised that they were so busy so early. We greeted by the co-owner just as described in this Austin360 article. She was exceedingly friendly and talked a lot to everybody. She greeted at least 4 groups of people by name. Despite a ton of positive reviews like this one our food wasn’t that great. First my cola had a hair and then a shard of glass in it. They replaced it with much apologies. Next the bread was warm, but not exactly great. The fried raviolis were pretty good, but I wouldn’t say spectacular. The pizza margarita was tasty but so salty I couldn’t eat more than a couple of small slices. We actually went there because of the pizza. Not because it was supposed to be great, but because we had a free coupon. It was good, the ingredients were fresh and it was well prepared, it was just way, way, way too salty.

Jillian was the hit of the restaurant. She had three kids aged 3-4 come visit her at the table. She stayed in a good mood the whole time which was nice. Wesley did a pretty good job too, but didn’t eat very much. He did have a good time using the pepper mill that was on the table. It took him longer than you’d think to learn that pepper is hot when you put enough on bread that it appears gray. He sucked his milk dry and then begged for a few sips of cola which he got.

I’m guessing we’ll go back. It has so many positive reviews that it is probably worth a second try. And while the other three restaurants in the same strip mall have lots of empty tables it is always full. Plus it is really, really close to home. Maybe we’ll visit again when it warms up a little and the patio seating is open.

For Wesley and Jillian both this was their first trip to see Santa. Wesley and I have been talking about Santa on some recent runs. He has been getting really interested in stories and has been asking me to tell him has many as I can remember. During the runs I default to the easiest ones I can think of. This time of year they are a little Santa and Rudolph heavy. I wasn’t sure how he would do. He is a little timid around strangers and can really get upset at things you wouldn’t expect. Jillian of course would be a total crap shoot. She’d either be in a good mood or not and there wasn’t any predicting or changing it. After waiting a reasonable amount of time (I’m glad we got there early) we had our moment with the big man. I would say he was a very high quality santa. The small room with low ceilings and dominating fireplace was the perfect setting. If it weren’t 75 degrees outside and 90 inside the cabin it might have felt like the north pole. Wesley was timid, but smiled in the pictures and was patient enough. Jillian was just Jillian and so all went well. We took a bunch of photos with our camera, bought one Polaroid for $2 (surprisingly reasonable) and headed outside.

We walked down the trail again and headed to a block I run past all the time. Lately they have gone all out in terms of Christmas lights. Wesley was enthralled. He clearly believes that lights are meant to be observed up close and also that they look best when under a little tension as when tugged on by a small child. We had a few struggles but the promise of more lights up ahead always kept him moving.

The luminaries were really neat. A little slumped and crumpled from some overnight rain they still were rather magical. They were spaced every twenty to thirty feet down the trails and sidewalks throughout the park. It was much neater than I had imagined. I took the opportunity to take a few long exposure shots that I think really give a feel for the mood while we were there. We spent a little time at the playground near the pool. We took some more pictures and headed for home.

And then it happened. We saw the train. We had to ride that train. Okay it wasn’t a train in the real sense. It was pulled by a Kubota tractor, the cars all had rubber wheels and were made from used barrels. But to Wesley it was the greatest thing ever. We got up to the “station” about the time the train was loading. All the cars were full and the conductor actually said “all aboard” and blew a whistle. We waited as patiently as a two-year old can for a train and got our turn on the next go around. Wesley and I rode together both because I was afraid he might get scared and because I thought he might just jump out. We wound around the park and did some nifty S-curves. Then he did a couple of big loops where the engine (see now even I’m calling it an engine and not a tractor) almost touched the last car. The conductor waived and talked to the kids in the last car and then we headed back to the station. What fun. The train filled up and took off. Wesley wanted to go again and again and again and … well, you get the idea. He had a hard time leaving, but I think it was worth it. Today as we ran through the park he pointed out all the places the train had gone. Ah…the memories.

Saturday morning we went to the Red Barn nursery to get pumpkins. We had heard that it was a great photo op. But we weren’t too thrilled. We did take a few pictures, but none of their $10-12 pumpkins

Later that afternoon we walked down through the park to go to the Renaissance Festival that was being held at Katherine Fleischer park. On the way:

Wesley loves this digger. Unfortunately it is pretty beat up and he has some trouble getting it to work. Teamwork payed off though.

When we got there we were underwhelmed. Only a few tents and not much going on to speak of. Not even any music. And nary a dragon to be found.

So we went to play at the playground. We played on the swings, the slides, and the playhouse. And of course in the big tube:

As we left the park Wesley and I could resist a good roll down the hill to the soccer field. By the end I was a bit queasy and Wesley still wanted “more, more, more!”:

On the way home we stopped at the bench swings to take some photos:

Amber wasn’t happy with the photo setup at the Red Barn Nursery. Frankly, neither was I and I’m not nearly as picky. There were stickers on the pumpkins and junk in the background. We took a few photos, but Amber needed more. She had a vision and it needed to be realized. So, we now have a pumpkin photo studio in our backyard complete with bales of hay and a bunch of pumpkins. I love her little obsessions so much.

Pumpkins arriving home from the HEB (half as much as at Red Barn, but three times as many):

Wesley helped transport the pumpkins from the garage to the backyard. I guess we need a wagon.

He also helped me moved the hay bales and insisted on adjusting the pumpkins to make it look just so.