Since before he could walk, my nephew has LOVED Elmo. The kid can spot an Elmo from a mile away. Since Elmo is NOT Barney, I'm fine with this. (Like I have much say in the matter anyway.)

But, when my mom told me yesterday morning we were going to meet Elmo, and I had to come to take pictures, my palms got a little sweaty. I don't like mascots. They annoy me, and I don't like them touching me.

True story: So, I forget why, but in Chicago, I was sent by two girls who shall remain nameless, (Hi Roomies!) to go and see what was going on in the Energizer suite. So, they gave me the suite number and off I take. I arrive on the floor and the sound of a beating drum should have clued me in, but no, I turn the corner anyway and there was a 6.5 ft Energizer Bunny. I almost died right then and there.

Back to yesterday: Our local civic center was having this Kid Festival. You show up, there are all kinds of activities and TONS AND TONS of mascots walking around. This is a nightmare for me, but we NEED Clay's picture with Elmo, right? Hmph.

And of COURSE there is a line to see Elmo. Fine. I can handle this. All of a sudden cheers from the kids, Elmo has arrived and this is what I see:


Are you freaking kidding me?! Is that not the scariest Elmo you have ever seen in your life? I wouldn't wish that Elmo on anyone's child. For real. And did you know that Elmo wears Nikes? I'm just sayin'. And Clay didn't like Elmo either. Trust me folks, he's not smiling in this picture.

I have to admit, I'm more than a little disappointed that whomever put this little shindig on couldn't fork out a little more money to get a better Elmo than that. I know Clay was too young to get it, but I heard one kid who was old say, "that's NOT Elmo." I wanted to give that kid a high five. Instead, they had Mr. McFeely from Mr. Rogers. Don't get me wrong, I've met Mr. McFeely before and he's a super nice guy, but no one cared that he was on stage. These kids came to meet Elmo.

Clay did; however, enjoy petting this owl and alligator:


In fact, he wanted to give that alligator a kiss. That's my boy.