I'd heard a little about the Frozen Palace that was set up in a Mall in West Hartford, but to be honest, I sort of dismissed it. Then my sister-in-law texted me one day, from the mall, and said it was pretty impressive. Since we didn't have anything going on, I convinced Brian to go on a little adventure up to the mall. He was a little reluctant, and I admit, I was completely naive. I figured we'd have to wait in line a little, but if we got there right when it opened, how bad could it be. Oh. Mmm Gee. The mall opened at 10am, and we were there at 10:20am. It was still November, so I figured the mall wouldn't be that crowded. I mean, do that many people really start their shopping that early? Coming from the queen procrastinator, its hard to image people are organized that early on! Anyway, we came around the corner to absolute chaos. Brian was silent, with an I-told-you-so-face the whole time. We waited in this line for 3 hours, yes 3 HOURS and 15 minutes, before we could enter the Frozen Palace. A little perk was that at the end of the Frozen set up, was Santa. A very sweet and genuine Santa. Of course you had to buy a few pictures, but in the 10 seconds the girls were on his lap, they managed to snap a decent photo. We left, and I could barely think straight. Its a miracle we avoided complete meltdowns, considering we were standing for so long, had limited water, and missed our normal lunch hour. Anyway, Madelyn LOVED it, and was giddy and smiling the entire time. So, for the stress of it all for Brian and , it was totally worth it. We got in the car and the girls both passed out immediately.
The next weekend, we got our Christmas tree on Saturday, decorated the house inside and out, and then went to NYC on Sunday for our annual Christmas trip to see the tree, shop and have dinner. Unfortunately, the whole tree sighting and getting to the restaurant situation was beyond hectic, so I didn't have my camera out to take any pictures. Oh well, we had a blast nonetheless :) Hanging and watching TV with just the tree lit up, is one of my favorite things ever. This year, we put our tree in a different spot, and picked our best tree yet so I'm completely obsessed with just sitting and enjoying the tree. Its pretty neat to admire how the tree is filling with ornaments from the last 5 years. Our very first Christmas tree had many generic ornaments on it. Over the years, I've thrown many of them out because we've run out of room, and we're now filling the tree with special one-of-a-kind ornaments signifying our little family. Depending on how our tree is keeping up, maybe we'll keep it up through January :)
This past weekend, we went up town to see Santa arrive to the park, by helicopter. A fun event for the little ones, and our first time experiencing it. After he lands in the ballpark, he goes around the fence to say hi to all the little ones and give out candy canes. Madelyn couldn't believe it, she was so confused as to where his sled was, and watched in awe as he got out and made his rounds. There really is nothing to compare to the magic of Christmas in a childs eyes. I feel like when she was little, I was always saying - this is the best age, no this is the best. We're getting to go through many of the amazing little milestones with Anna, and that fun age, but Madelyn is at such a great stage and this Christmas season has already been incredible! I am looking forward to getting through this week of work, and the girls being slightly under the weather right now. I'm hoping we can all stay healthy and have a wonderful week next week! Enjoy this magical time with your loves, and since I probably wont write again before next week - Merry Christmas!
