Tree Festival and Santa at the Mall

I was lucky enough to be a volunteer mom on Avril's Festival of Trees field trip.  I just love watching how excited Avril gets when mom shows up for something with her school.  Some day she will likely be embarrassed by mom's appearance, so I try to soak it in while it lasts.  We did a scavenger hunt and tried to find different decorated trees.  Mostly the kids were excited about the treats they bought... figures!

Here come the kids!

This was my group of girls:  Avril, Lily, Logan, and Kate

I found this tree dedicated to a good friend of mine's husband, who passed away.  I took the picture to show her...

Ty Miller's tree...

Avril was THRILLED to find this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ornament.  She insisted that we buy it to surprise McKel for Christmas.  So we did :)

Avril hanging with her classmates.  Maeve is her best friend, in the purple jacket.

Avril and mom eating lunch together

...And after the field trip, why not take the kids to an art show with a meet and greet with Santa?!  The girls were so excited, and this mom loves happy kids!

Avril sits on Santa's lap

She tells Santa what she wants for Christmas - a dollhouse

McKel was a little nervous about meeting Santa.  She told him she didn't know what she wanted for Christmas so he offered to just surprise her :)