papa noel

yesterday was long, long, long. my big plans for a bonfire party were foiled by the inexplicably hard (for me) to discover news that the algiers bonfire was actually last night, not next saturday. so all day, the kids and I went from one festive event to another: the fair at church, a friend's going away party, and then the bonfire. it was too much.
but the bonfire was cool - I mean, it's a really big fire, what's not to love? right after they light it, papa noel comes riding up on a boat. I have to say, I got a little teary when my kids started jumping up and down screaming for santa. as proud as I was when three year old Nash referred to mr. claus as "that christmas guy" - that's how touched I am when they get all psyched for santa. it's a trade off. I mean, if the life and adventures of santa claus didn't exist I might not have been able to buy in, but what the hey. santa was part of my atheist childhood and we really, really enjoyed him. it feels okay for him to be a part of my children's atheist-uu-paganesque upbringing, too.
I was relieved to hear Liam ask santa for a bionicle and not for a chameleon or a puppy, which were included on his earlier lists. I didn't catch any of Nash's conversation with the man.