Santa Claus Parade

This past weekend I went with my family to Downtown Whitehorse to watch the Santa Claus Parade. It was tremendously chilly ( a mere -14c) and I gotta tell ya, it was lovely out there till the wind started to blow. There were fire pits and marshmallows to roast and the Francophone Association had their traditional Sugar Shack where they boil maple syrup and then pour it out on to giant popsicle sticks resting in the snow. It turns into the most amazing chewy caramelized sugary toffee I've ever tasted. YUM! In the parade, there were numerous floats and a Chinese dragon. That was my favorite part - Seth's really into dragons right now too thanks to his favorite Thomas book but he wanted NOTHING to do with the one in the parade. Ray was really proud of himself for capturing this moment...
and I'm sure the boys thought they'd died and gone to heaven when we stopped at the fire pit to roast marshmallows...
And you know something...I wish I knew where kids got the idea to stick their tongues to cold metal but it's a universal constant in the North. Seth stuck his tongue to a metal pole (at the suggestion of a playmate who shall remain nameless to protect his identity and in an effort to save him gettin a whuppin' for leading his young pal astray!) and of course, it ended badly. It came off quickly but he was not unscathed. OUCH! He's ok now but it was a valuable lesson. Seth is my daredevil child. *sigh* This pic is me making sure he's ok.
It was mostly a fantastic family day. We got photos done with Santa and enjoyed hot chocolate and date squares for lunch - a mom's gotta do what she can to maintain her 'rockstar' status! I love all these new family traditions. I'm so happy in our new home. Happy Monday everyone!