Where's the real Santa?

I have been a fan of Santa Sid (at the MOA) for years. Last year's picture of David with Santa could not have been better. So again, I used PTO and took a day off of work just to make a trip to the Mall of America to see Santa Sid. But ... he wasn't there. Instead there was this Santa, who was still okay, but he wasn't Sid. I would have been just as happy with any other mall Santa that wouldn't have required a PTO day.

So what happened to Santa Sid? The most popular santa in Minnesota is now available by appointment only. If only we had known! This year I was also disappointed in their photography, which wasn't quite as good as last year. We still bought it, but we probably could have saved the money, especially since it wasn't the same santa. I will post it tomorrow if I get a chance.

Okay, really, why should I care? Both Matt and I don't want David to think Santa is real. He is just for fun, and Jesus is the REAL reason for the season. So I won't make this into anything bigger than it needs to be.

On another note, David loves rides, or at least watching them. He freaked out completely when he rode them. First he went on the bus, which was a little scary. Then I brought him on the carousel, and he cried "all done" through the entire ride. We thought he might enjoy the trucks a little more since he loves driving, and he screamed to get off until it started moving. Finally we thought he would at least like the train - since most of you know he LOVES trains. And he did like it once it started moving. We'll wait a few months and hopefully he will like it more next time.

By the way, thank you so much to Jen who gave us the ride ticket. We greatly appreciated it!