Just doin' some shoppin'.

Ah yes, must be family day Sunday (If you guys haven't already figured out, these posts aren't technically in order. I really dislike downloading my camera everyday, so I wait until I have a couple of days on the camera, then I do a download and blog post. But really? It doesn't matter.)

And what better thing can you do on family day Sunday than go shoppin'! We hit United Cycle. I have not been here since they renovated the store. It is HUGE! No word of a lie. It is a pretty spectacular sports store. I really think they have everything you could possibly want. Ok, they're not quite like Coast Mountain Sports or Sport Check....they're different. But different in a good way. They cater to actual sports, not outdoorsy stuff where a seriously not outdoorsy person can go and buy outdoorsy stuff, play dress-up,  and pretend to be something they're not. Hockey? Got it. Cycling? Got it. Ringette, lacrosse? Got it. Team Canada gear, jerseys? Got it. Figure skating and gymnastics apparel? Oh yes, they've got it. And that brings me to the first part of the story.

Lil' Miss spotted this stuff right away. She shopped for figure skating dresses, figure skates, a bag to put your figure skates in (these were totally cool. I wanted to buy one just because. They're a rolling case that you can pull, obviously, and sit on while you wait. And the fabric colours and prints. Desirable and cool man!); pretty much anything to do with figure skating, she was mesmerized by it. Same went with the gymnastics apparel. She pulled things off the hangers and thought she should buy them...pardon me....thought I should buy them for her.

She got so excited, it was pretty neat.
Now we were also at this particular store because the Big Guy had heard that Santa would be there, and his Santa chair was a big baseball glove. For any sports fan....this was really exciting. Problem was that, once again, Lil' Miss wanted NOTHING to do with Santa. The Big Guy signed both kids up for Santa's knee and the picture that goes along with it, but Lil' Miss would not go. Mr.Mister just got stuck on Santa's knee. He didn't have any say in the matter. But he was good. No crying, just staring in wonderment. Like 'who is this guy and why isn't he my mommy?' So after Mr.Mister did his stint on Santa's knee, we walked around a bit, trying to get Lil' Miss used to the idea of going and sitting on Santa's lap. It took a long while. We wandered through the figure skating section, then the gymnastics section, then over to the hockey section.....where the Big Guy took her to go hit pucks on their shooting range (this was pretty darn cool too.) She LOVED this.

 Her and dad, hitting pucks together. Not getting cold, no snow in the mittens...Dad was a happy camper. Lil' Miss, well she's got a pretty good slapshot.

All I have to say is, if she's aiming for you, LOOK OUT!

Then we strolled through the Team Canada gear section, then over to the bikes where Lil' Miss spotted a lovely pink princess bike that was 'perfect' for her. Or so she thought. The Big Guy tried to sell her on a blue bike instead. And that started a bit of a temper tantrum complete with crying. Ok over to the general apparel section. And a voice over the intercom saying that Santa was leaving in 10 minutes. Ok Lil' Miss, this is your last chance to sit on Santa's knee. No, she still wanted no part of it. So we walked back over to Santa, watched a couple other kids go through the routine...and get their goody bags afterwards. Well she thought that might be ok. And FINALLY she sat on Santa's knee. And the photographer just took the picture as soon as Lil' Miss looked at the camera. Gotta take those opportunities when they arise! There was a beautiful pink princess bike sitting beside Santa's chair. I think she asked Santa for a bike, because when she got off Santa's knee, she moved over to the bike and started to roll it away.
INTERVENTION!
Then we had to explain to her, through alot of tears and sadness, that she couldn't take the bike. She would have to wait until Christmas to see what Santa would bring for her. It was heartbreaking actually and Mommy had to do a lot of hugging....then bribe her with the candycane from the goody bag. Time to leave. Mr.Mister was getting really squirmy, he'd had enough anyhow. Mommy was getting tired of holding him (he'd long ago figured he should no longer be in the stroller) and Daddy might be spending too much money. In all fairness, I think we were there for an hour and a half. Time to head home.