Visiting with Santa and Mrs. Claus

Yesterday was our ward party. After a nice dinner and a little musical program we had some special visitors from up North. I was so excited and so grateful that Brian's parents were willing to come so far to be Santa and Mrs. Claus for our ward, and we decided to keep it a secret from the kids. 

Mike said he figured out who was behind the beard when Santa started talking to him. 

 Nathan and Liz figured it out too.

 Megan on the other hand was not so thrilled about the Santa thing. Don't get me wrong, she knows "the Santa Secret" (as she calls it) and she is completely OK with the fact that Mom and Dad are Santa, but she has always been nervous with guys dressed up like Santa, unless she knows who it is. So when she got out of line and came to me in tears I whispered in her ear that it was Grandma and Grandpa.  She didn't believe me so I took her to Brian and he told her the same thing. She was still unsure, asking how they got here, so he showed her their truck in the parking lot. But, it wasn't until he snuck her around the side to the front and she made eye contact with Mrs. Claus that she started to smile. She went back and waited with the other kids in line, then climbed right up on Santa's lap when it was her turn.

 This picture was taken after her turn with Santa, when she was finally able to give Mrs. Claus a hug.

  Even as she looks at the pictures she will not call them Santa and Mrs. Claus, she calls them Grandma and Grandpa.It reminds me of how she used to say, "I'm not scared of the real Santa, just the fake ones." I am so grateful it was them, because it made the night special for her.

We got a fun family photo too.

 After Santa and Mrs. Claus were done visiting with all of the kids at the party, they came to our house for a few more photos. I kind of wondered what a kid would think if they saw them on the doorstep. :-)

Megan was much more relaxed. We love these pictures.

It was sure a magical evening. I couldn't stop smiling. It was so special for all of the kids.