December 5, 2014 - After visiting the Capitol Campus a couple of times this fall, Allison has been asking (daily) to go back so we can go inside the State Capitol. When I saw that there was a children't tree lighting event listed in the Rotunda, I knew it would be a perfect outing for our family.
Sure enough, this event more than met our expectations.
The kids enjoyed visiting the inside of the building. Although, I'm not sure they appreciated the grandeur of the building itself, for it was upstaged by a giant tree in the center of the Rotunda, decorated from top to bottom with Elsa, Anna and Olaf ornaments, from Frozen. The children's choir sang lovely carols and finished off with Frozen's theme song, "Let It Go."
It took us a bit by surprise, that Allison couldn't (or wouldn't, maybe?!) sit still through this event. She delighted in the attention she got dancing, twirling and singing along to the choir music (upstaging a little, maybe?!). Peyton even bravely stepped forward for the finale song to join his sister front and center. Surprisingly, only 1 or 2 other children joined our kids in their joyful, and active, participation in the musical celebration. It seemed more distracting to retrieve her and hold her down, so we opted to let her enjoy the freedom. Boy, did she ever! Allison, sang and danced her little heart out, in a way that only a 3-year old could. Many people smiled and even complimented her (and us) for her impromptu and spirited performance. My own heart swelled up with pride.
Following the music and tree lighting ceremony, Santa, Mrs. Clause and several elves made a surprise appearance. Obviously, since it is still early in the season, they are still working out the details for crowd control, since there really wasn't any. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Allison was only in the moment and knows nothing of crowd etiquette. She saw Santa across the room and with no other thought or care (not even for sticking together) she found a quick and direct route to the jolly old fellow, with Peyton close behind (only much more hesitant) and me at a fair (and frantic) distance behind them.
When I caught up, I found Allison confidently seated on Santa's lap, with Peyton dazed and confused at Santa's knee. What was I to do? I nervously giggled, glanced around at the disorganized and chaotic crowd surrounding us, quickly decided to make the most of my 3-year old's bold and nonconforming behavior, assured Peyton that we were fine and firmly pushed him toward Santa. Next? I pulled out my iPhone camera, of course. Then, I sheepishly looked around and mumbled my apology to the crowed of on-lookers, wished them well this holiday and whisked my kids away. I was stunned about the whole incident, yet relieved I didn't have to decide between 2 unpleasant options: 1. wait in a long, long line to meet Santa, or 2. tell the kids we would not wait in a long, long, line to meet Santa. And of course, the outcome wasn't so bad!
Following our rebellious act to meet Santa (he didn't seem to notice, or mind that we cut in line), we made quick work of touring the Rotunda before heading home for the night.
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