A Train, Snow, and Santa Claus

We went to spend a morning at the mall.  Who does that?  Do we sound desperate?  There are fun activities at the mall, and we met up with cousins, so it was rather diverting.  We first rode the escalators, up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down one more time.  Then we hoped a train.  Naturally, the children loved it!

Riding in the caboose.

Tysen, Lyla, and I shared a car.  

Look at that sweet little Lyla face.

Tysen's face is sweet too.

The engineer took us around and around and around.

In addition to riding the train, we went to see it snow.  The Provo Towne Centre Mall (pronounced at our house "Town-E Cent-Ree" so as to mock their faux hoity-toity-ness by using a British spelling) has been prominently promoting "magic snow."  They claim the mall will be turned into a winter wonderland.  On their website they say, "Celebrate this enchanted season beneath a magical snowfall as flakes of vanishing white snow float down from above--a holiday spectacle not to be missed."  Doesn't that sound exciting?  Fastastic? "Not to be missed?"  

The web site listed a schedule of when it snows--noon, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00pm.  We rode the train, played for a bit, and then got lunch based around the "not to be missed" schedule.  Just before noon we gathered near Santa's enchanted venue to see it snow.  We waited and waited.  No snow.  Nothing.  About 12:10 I asked someone if we had missed the magical snowfall.  It had snowed several times already that morning because there had been a long line of people waiting to see Santa, so the schedule was unimportant.  Thanks for that.  When I asked, they did make it snow, but I have to say there was very little of the "spectacle" in the bit of glitter that fell from the ceiling.  It was a letdown to say the least.

 Here are Brandt and Blythe watching it snow.

They don't have much to see.

After watching it "snow," Blythe sat on Santa's lap.  Brandt would not get anywhere close to him, but Blythe bravely went forward to ask for something for Christmas.  We have an I Spy book with a very girlie page, and Blythe wants pretty much everything on the page.  When asked what she wants for Christmas, she says, "A purple car, a pink purse, a clock, a fan, and two lipsticks."  This list is unchanging; she recites it daily, and almost every night when we say our prayers.  I hope Santa comes through for her.