Santa's Wonderland

We hit Bass Pro Wednesday night- before this round of bad weather hit. Cade had an ear infection and Camryn had a cough. Both kids had been to the doctor that day but we went anyway. We are troopers!  Actually they really weren't to sick and we knew the earlier the better to get our free picture with Santa. They are learning to be tough I guess!

I had never been to Bass Pro at Christmas. If you live by one you should take advantage of this. We were pretty fortunate and only had to wait about 30 minutes. There were lots of things to do while we (or I mean Jay waited) in line. 

They had a small carousel, train set, remote cars, shooting range and crafts and activities to keep the kids occupied. And did I mention it was free?  That nice word anytime of year, but even better in December. But beyond the no-cost of this event I think it is great that Bass Pro gives back.  We all know they make plenty of money throughout the year so it is nice to see them do this for their customers and probably some who aren't (like us).  Ok- Jay does get his knife sharpened every time we are there...$3 a pop!!  We are big spenders. 

So while we waited we...

Rode the carousel 769 times and gave

forced smiles in every picture. 

Shot a gun with Bubba's help. 

Talked to a reindeer with a forced smile and pose. 

Snacked on popcorn to keep up our stamina. 

And took advantage of their wonderful scenes for a Christmas card shot...which was an epic fail. 

This last one ended with her on her

hands and knees sobbing. Have I mentioned she is dramatic? That was the second time that evening that happened. The first time was when I had 2 cones of popcorn, a coke, my purse, her coat and her hand and Cade had ran off. She decided she wanted to ride the carousel. I told her we could AFTER we walked this stuff to dad in line. She threw herself down in the floor. I was contemplating how to handle this when a worker (who looked like he was 12 but probably was 16 ) asked me if there was a problem. I told him there wasn't she was just throwing a temper tantrum. The boy works in Santa's Wonderland- wouldn't you think he had seen this no less than 10 times a day?  He eyed me suspiciously until I could get her up without spilling the popcorn. I wasn't sure If he had never seen a tantrum or what. I actually got the feeling he was making sure Camryn belonged with me, which I appreciate. Surely he will learn though parents will set their kids up for failure frequently (like waiting in line at dinner time) this holiday all in the name of a free santa picture. If not he had better get used to it!  It is a temper tantrum haven. But all worth it for a free one of these...