Friday morning was a slow kind of morning. Cody got up really early and left the house before the sun came up for his traditional black Friday guys' hunting day. I took my time crawling out of bed, Jaden enjoyed some videos on our new iPad and Brandon put together his new Christmas puzzle. We eventually wandered over to Mom and Dad's to help them adorn their own Christmas tree and watch another afternoon UNI basketball game.
Friday night we headed to Main Street for our traditional Whiskey Road dinner on the corner of 4th and Main. I always make sure to get reservations here early as it's the perfect dining spot to enjoy during the Holiday Hoopla celebration. It's nice to be warm and cozy inside with views of the growing crowd and the musical stage right outside the windows.
Every single year a special kind of magic happens to us on Holiday Hoopla night. Whether it's Santa calling Jaden's name from his sleigh as the crowd parades down Main Street, my own dad getting to welcome Santa into town in front of a crowd of hundreds of people... or Mrs. Claus approaching both our boys as the fireworks explode above our heads... every year has brought something special. (There also was the one year when Brandon was really little and peed all over Cody's shoulders in the middle of welcoming Santa to town). ;) This year's magic involved an incredibly nice couple that was extremely appreciative of the great work Cody had done on their home and surprised us by paying for our entire table's meal ticket. Not just the four of us - but my mom and dad, too.
It was one of the warmest Holiday Hoopla nights on record, but the great thing about our community is that people show up no matter what the temperature. Kids on their Daddy's shoulders and Santa Claus coming to town never gets old. The vision of hundreds of people standing shoulder to shoulder to follow Santa as he leads us all up Main Street is woven into the fabric of our kids' growing up memories. We sure do love you, Cedar Falls. You are special.
Santa and the crowd lit the tree, and Mrs. Claus found our boys and greeted them by name once again underneath the confetti sky.
We came home to new Christmas jammies, a Christmas movie, hot cocoa in Santa mugs, Christmas bedtime stories... and a warm night around the tree.
The rest of our long weekend included a Saturday morning small business shopping trip with Emily, a UNI football playoff win in the Dome and another family Thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon.
Long, sweet Christmas break... we are ready for you.
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