The waffles are warming, the tree is aglow, it's blustery outside and cars covered in snow. But that doesn't stop wish families in Southern Utah from attending the annual Breakfast With Santa hosted at Canyon View Middle School. Each year, here in the office we fight over who gets to take the trip down I-15 to celebrate the holidays with our wish families in the southern part of the state. I've been here 4 years now, and finally it was my turn to go. My husband and I, along with our 3-year-old daughter, packed up the car and got on the freeway. We only got past Payson before it started snowing, and the snow never did stop. What normally takes about 3 hours turned into a very long, slow and cold 5 hour drive through the lonely stretches of Millard, Beaver and Iron counties. I had watched the weather report a day or so earlier and the weatherman predicted snow overnight, but I had no idea it would start falling so soon. I also knew that a snowy night might mean for a poor turnout on an early Saturday morning.
Boy was I wrong! The school cafeteria, where the party is always held (thank you Canyon View Middle School for donating the space!) looked amazing! Volunteers Heather, Pam, Ben, Alan and Kaeli, along with a few special elves recruited from SUU, had done an amazing job decorating the room with a Grinch theme. The tree looked like a Grinch theme. The ornaments were little green Grinch faces. A sign hanging above Santa's chair read "Merry Grinchmas". The volunteers wore their hair in pigtails and Heather and Pam had on matching Grinch pajama pants.
The wonderful kitchen staff from the school warmed up the grill and began cooking waffles and bacon. Juice and muffins completed the meal. Soon the families began to arrive and the festivities began. A little bit of snow wasn't going to keep this party from happening!
The special elves helped the children to work on arts and crafts while others filled up on breakfast.
When most had a chance to finish the meal we took turns going around the room and making introductions. For me, this was the best part of the day. As a grown up, it puts a lump in your throat to listen to others share their stories of living with a child who has overcome a life-threatening medical condition. While Aubrey's dad was talking he recalled their wonderful wish trip to Walt Disney World Resort, and how special it was when the princesses came out to meet Aubrey for the first time.
One note - while making introductions the wish families were asked to introduce themselves by using their Grinch name. We heard things like "This is Brycen Who Who" and "This is Kaleb Poo Who". My favorite was wish dad Ashton who got up and said, "My name is Ashton, and these (motioning to his three children) are my Yahoos".
After the introductions our emcee gathered the children at the front of the room for a story. He appropriately shared "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Every time he said 'Grinch' the children yelled 'Boo!' and everytime he said 'Who' the children yelled out 'wahoo!'
The story finished right in time because as soon as the emcee closed the book Santa knocked at the door! Santa knew ALL of the kids and made his way around the room, greeting each and all, one at a time. (more video on our YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/makeawishutah)
Once he got the introductions out of the way Santa made his way to his chair and the children lined up to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.
Wish kid Brycen, who wished for his very own baseball field in his backyard, told Santa he really wants a new mitt this year.
Another child told Santa he wants an air soft gun. (Santa made him promise to not shoot the reindeer) Each child received a special treat from Santa's elves, a Grinch bag with toys and goodies inside.
What an amazing party - what an amazing time. Our volunteers in Southern Utah truly know how to host a party! I feel so blessed to have been able to share the day with them and our wish families. Thank you each for allowing me to attend and get to know you a little better.
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