This is the first year that we have been able to go to the winter festival in town. I was seriously impressed by the events and the number of people that showed up! First, we visited Santa. Marek was intent on NOT sitting on his lap but he still wanted to visit him because he knew he had suckers. I felt bad, but for the first time, I threw him on Mrs. Claus' lap and jumped out of the scene to get a photo. It was definitely the real Santa but "Mrs. Claus" was for sure a phony. She had lipstick all over her teeth. I think the real Mrs. would have been appalled :)
Notice the real reindeer in the background!
After Santa, Marek and I went on a dinner date. We had soup and tea at the cafe and then put on all of our gear and headed back outside. All of the kids in town played in the snow in the plaza before the parade began. It was a pretty warm night and they had hot cocoa on the street corners courtesy of Swiss Miss (which is made right down the street from us...I can smell it on my running route!). The parade was fantastic, perfect for Marek. We ate our fill of candy canes, saw all sorts of cool trucks, and my favorite were the animals: horses, sled dogs, a donkey and a camel! After the parade, we walked one block to the lake where they had a short but impressive fireworks display. It was Marek's first time seeing fireworks and he was talking about the "BOOMS" all night.
I sure am going to miss this "little" town.
This weekend, friends of ours invited us to Chippewa Falls so see Santa again and to walk the lights display at Irvine Park. We had a nice visit with Santa. Now Marek knows that Santa is a nice guy who gives candy canes. He likes to see him and talk to him but he still won't sit on his lap. He pleasantly chatted and then enjoyed his candy canes on the steps at a safe distance :)
We had ice cream in town and then headed to the park to see the lights.
It was another warm night and Marek enjoyed the stroller ride through the park. We took a couple of pit stops to play in the snow and see an old steam engine that was lit up for Christmas. It was another wonderful evening with friends, the perfect thing to do to prepare for Christmas.
I set aside this week to really get down to business and finish packing the house before we leave town for Christmas and closing. I've had to wait for a lot of things that we still need in our daily life. Yesterday was the first day that my list of to-dos was longer than I could get done during naps and nighttime so Marek was my "helper" all day. He is really good at helping and loves to do it but of course for a two-year-old, it really means getting in the way. He wanted to be sitting on my lap and touching everything I needed to pack the entire day. He was being a good boy but I felt very guilty for snapping at him a few times so today I took the day "off" from the house. We had a Marek and Mommy day starting with a trip to the Children's Museum in Eau Claire. It is the best Children's Museum I have ever been to. We bought a membership this fall when we were anticipating staying in WI for longer. I don't think we'll get our money's worth from it which is so disappointing; this place is the best! It is usually pretty quiet, very clean, and full of enough things to do to keep him busy for hours. This time, he was finally old enough to climb and crawl through all of the exhibits by himself and I didn't feel like I had to chase him down the whole time. He even crawled through the super dark and creepy large and small intestines by himself which slides down into the giant toilet :)
I keep catching him with his "tongue stuck out while intent" face. So typical. So adorable.
After lunch and a nap, we made a special trip to Goodwill to pick out a new truck. We found a dump truck for two bucks. Of all the tucks in his arsenal, he didn't have a dump truck, can you believe it? We had a nice time playing tonight and he's still playing in his crib with his new dump truck, loading up and dumping out his wooden beams.
Although there are many things to look forward to and many reasons for the move, we are sad to leave our home. Driving into town last night, I realized how much I am going to miss this area. We have our places that we like to walk, the shops where we know the employees, the grocery stores with the best deals, the river, the lake, the food coop, the library, the museum, the cafes, good friends, and the farm. The university (rather, the students) are what is driving us away but I am thankful for the diverse and vibrant community that it helps create. This was a truly wonderful place to start our lives together!
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