Festival of Trees

I took the boys to Festival of Trees Friday morning. I thought it would be a wonderful way to spend a Friday morning. I explained what and where we were going. In my head, I picture myself as one of the teachers on a Charlie Brown special and that's how my boys often hear me.

Once loaded up in the truck we headed out. We got there and Braedon began to get excited. He didn't know why, but he knew we were doing something fun. Once inside, we stopped to buy tickets. At this point, Braedon could look in the large double doors and see a glimpse of the hundreds of decorated Christmas trees. That's when he started shouting, "Christmas! Christmas!"

I love the reaction of my boys when we walk into the Festival of Trees. They both gasp and say, "oooohhhh". It's cute. I didn't put Reilly in a stroller, which is a big deal. The thing to understand about Reilly is if you let go of his hand he is gone. GONE! Usually, I will put him in a stroller to have better control over the situation, but since he is getting older he needs to learn to stay beside me. Also, my grip on his hand is much stronger now.

Off we went down countless aisles of beautifully decorated trees, with themes, lights, toys, and most importantly trains. Moving trains. Braedon sat and watched the Polar Express train go around and around. Reilly doesn't understand staying in one place for too long. Luckily, there were so many trees and Braedon was a bit over stimulated, that we could move on rather quickly. Our goal was to find another tree with a train. There were several, thank goodness.

We got to one aisle that had a five foot dancing Santa. Reilly thought it was rather interesting and looked at him. Braedon put his hands over his ears and refused to walk down the aisle. Fake things like that really freak him out. He doesn't like mascots or Halloween costumes. Anything that dresses up like something else really bothers him. So, we skipped that section.

Once we had finished looking at all the trees and finding all the trains, we headed over to buy a little stocking of candy for each boy and sit at some tables. I dumped out each of their stockings and they were very excited about all the "loot" inside. We sat for a few minutes and I let them eat a few pieces, then it was up and walking again.

This time we found a clown that was making balloon animals. Braedon was freaked out, of course. Reilly waited while he made a cute blue dog.

All in all, it was a very fun trip. The boys loved it all. Braedon was completely over stimulated and Reilly received just enough stimulation.

I was exhausted.

Now we are just getting ready for the holidays. We have family coming down in a few weeks and I think we'll attempt Zoo Lights. What the heck.

ps...I have a Santa that lights up and sits in my window. Everyday when I bring the boys home from school, Braedon excitedly says, "Santa! There you are."