gone huntin' for elves.

The countdown is on...two days until the girls & I head to PA, nine days until Michael joins us & just twelve days until Christmas day. With those kind of stats you'd think I would have spent the weekend doing laundry, packing, wrapping gifts & being generally productive. You'd think, right? Instead we took a field trip to Gardner Village this weekend, a cute group of shops & restaurants located in the restored cabins, homes & buildings next to the site of historic Gardner Mill.

A friend, who owns the amazing candy shop Sweet Aftons, told us that some elves had escaped from Santa's Village & were hiding all around Gardner Village. We had to check it out. After stopping off for a peppermint stick, we searched high & low for those escape elves. Cassidy had a ball pointing out ones hanging from trees, hiding in bushes & peeking around corners. Kalea took in the sights from the stroller; I'm pretty sure the duck pond was the highlight of her afternoon.

Following a successful elf hunt, we bravely headed to the mall in search of lunch & a couple gifts. Amazingly, the first thing we saw when we walked into the mall was...the big man himself. So, after re-fueling at the food court & waiting in a shorter than anticipated line, the girls got their chance to talk to Santa. Honestly I was surprised that Kalea didn't freak out! Happy Holidays! Hope your preparations are as fun as ours!