The Back Side of Santa

Santa and I admittedly didn't get off to a great start. Apparently there is some unspoken protocol that I(silly me) was completely unaware of. It seems that asking a Santa to pose for a picture with a six-year-old kid on a Christmas ship in the Puget Sound on a Monday night in December is unscrupulous. I apparently didn't read the fine print when I booked the cruise. Because when I did ask the Santa aboard our Argosy harbor cruise on Monday night to take a picture with Kalli, he glared at me. A full-blown Scrooge-glare. Completely unbecoming of a pudgy guy in crushed red velvet. Kalli apparently caught the nasty vibe Santa was throwing off. She took off like a shot. Hence, no cute Kalli/Santa picture to share with you. The best picture I could muster of the old guy was this one, from behind. Look at that cocky stance. He just thinks he's all that, doesn't he? :)


I didn't let the crotchety guy ruin our two-hour tour, however (which, incidentally, ended far better than poor Gilligan's trip. I still have a soft spot for Gilligan. Not so soft for the Skipper, however. He was such a whiner. And don't even get me started on Mr. Howell). The kids had a great time exploring the ship, doing crafts and taking brief stints on the sub-freezing deck. Tucker, bless his little heart, opted to leave his coat at home. His 40 lb. body didn't fare too well on the walk back to the car. I kissed his blue lips back to their regular color and he was all smiles by the time we hit the freeway.

Sean, whom I had somehow forgotten has intense motion sickness on boats, brought along his best friend for comfort, solace and diversion. Boy, I couldn't thank his iPhone enough!

Chillin'. Literally.

Me and my T-dog. He's my bud.

When the iPhone finally begged for a break, Katelyn took over the care of her seasick father. She's such a good girl...

Check out Tucker. The poor frozen little kidpop. Of course, Kalli doesn't have her coat on either. Apparently left it below deck. What's with my masochistic offspring?!