OK, I know Beta is going to cry because I'm posting this story.. but it's just a consequence of being my friend. If you're going to do naughty things... I'm going to out you! Tonight I went to visit my buddy up North, I wanted to see a park which was all decked out for Christmas. And it was beautiful, and I'm so happy she took us! When we arrived, traffic was bumper to bumper.. so we joined in. It's a very large park, you drive through and there are many displays along the way. Since it was so slow I suggested, "Hey, 
why don't the kids run ahead there and we'll get their photo?".. because cars were able to go around us if we pulled to the side. So, off ran the 4 monkeys ( My monkey, his little girl buddy from up the street and Beta's two daughters). You can see the beautiful Beta and the monkeys in the photo to the left. By the time I snapped the second photo, trying to see how I wanted to adjust the flash.. I heard this BZZZT BZZZZZT... POP POP ... one monkey was getting off the ground and then they were haulin' back to the car. Some guy yelled, "HEY!!!" from one of the other cars.. I'm assuming at our kids. And we all just quickly ducked back into the car and sat there in shock trying to figure out what happened. It seems that one of the kids had tripped over a cable, and it took out the caboose!! All the lights shut off. And what's hilarious, is that the photo here shows just as she fell and the sparks s
tarted shooting. After we finally got past the, "Oh shit, what have we done?" phase... we all just busted up laughing. Well, OK, not Mr Beta or Grandma Beta, I think they were annoyed. But it was an accident, and flippin' funny if I may say so. Her daughter was upset for a while because of what she had done. But then it was funny, and Monkey kept saying, "Hey! There's a train! Let's go destroy it!". Seriously, it was really very funny. Their faces were priceless :) Since we were stuck in one-way traffic we really had nowhere to go. I think we were all ready to duck into the 
woods and leave Beta there to get arrested!! But, nobody said anything. WHEW!! We then stopped at the little Santa's Work Shop, and the kids got to visit with him. It was free, although I ordered a cheap $3 photo. And they actually allowed us to photograph them as much as we wanted, and video tape. Which was great. If you do that at the mall or other places, they practically call security! This is the first time Monkey has agreed to talk to Santa. I think in the past he was afraid of getting busted for being a wretched hooligan all year. But, he couldn't let the girls
show him up :) It was pretty cute.So, it was a great night. And now I'm off to bed cuz I'm plum tuckered out. Thank you again, Beta, for driving us all over town to see lights. It was a lot of fun!! Oh, and I got a free Cherry Mash at the park, so that's always a bonus :) OH, and yes, I know Monkey is still wearing his Pirate shirt. What can I say, he likes it. And no, it wasn't actually cold. The weather is beautiful!
