Daisy's baptism day

All Aboard!

My parents gave us some extra money to buy Christmas gifts for our kids from them. They figured it would be easier for us to do the buying since we would know what they would really want. I wanted to somehow incorporate time with my Mom and Dad with the gift for the kids. At first I was thinking of getting movie tickets for a movie they could go see with Grandma and Grandpa, but then I thought of going on The Polar Express train up in Williams. It's been four years since we went last and the kids have asked almost ever year, "When do we get to go on The Polar Express again?" 


Justin's parents live 45 from Williams now (and Joanna had actually come to stay with us for a few days after the blessing so we already had her with us, and she was oh so helpful to have around. Thank you Joanna!) so we thought it would be a neat present to them to invite them along as well and have all the grandparents come with us on The Polar Express. We didn't tell the kids anything, we just picked them up early from school on December 7th (had to do a week day because the weekends were all sold out) and we made them guess where we were going. We told them it was a few hours away and going to be cold. After a few guesses Adaira actually guessed The Polar Express! (Probably because we had refreshed their memory the night before by watching the move with Grandma Jo).

Here we are!

With Grandma and Grandpa Owens

With Grandma and Grandpa Ellsworth

'Ol blue eyes couldn't wait to get on that train, he kept trying to cut in front of the line!

I love this picture of Adaira and my Dad.

It was a pretty tight fit for all the adults on this side of the train... and poor Joanna and my mom had to put up with a few stinky breezes coming from the gents on the opposite bench...

All the kids were on the right side because that is the side the "North Pole" is on.

Brighton was the only one who actually liked the big Snickerdoodle cookies they gave us.

I just love how Dale was chillin' with his feet crossed while he waited for his hot cocoa to cool.

Dale's latest and most used facial expression: the evil eye!

Sadly, Brighton was much more suspicious of Santa's village than he was when we did the ride back when he was 2.5yrs old. He told Justin that they looked like cardboard and he didn't think there was anything behind the houses... Say it isn't so Brighton! You can't question that stuff yet!

Towards the end of the ride Dale was getting cranky and antsy. We were trying to sing Christmas carols but he just wanted to go back and forth across the aisle while we waited for Santa.

When Santa got to our train car, this strangely familiar voice (Justin) across the aisle yelled "It's Santa! I KNOW him!" All the kiddos (and adults) got a bell, except for me...guess I was too busy with the camera.

Back at the train depot I headed to the van to nurse Daisy and Justin snapped a picture with the kids at the little light displays in the square. There wasn't as much snow on the ground this time around, but I'm glad there was some at least. It made for a long day of driving (3 hours there and 3 back) but we had a good little adventure up to the Polar Express. The only thing that wasn't so cool was that Justin and I didn't get to spend any time together. There wasn't enough room for all of us in one van, so Daisy and I drove up with my parents and Joanna and Justin drove up with the other three kids in our van. Then I drove my parents home since my dad doesn't see as well at night and my mom falls asleep as soon as the sun goes down. Even on the train we weren't sitting by each other, so this trip was really entirely for the kids! I think they had fun, and that's what really matters. Little Miss Daisy was also a trooper on her first road trip. She slept the entire way there and almost the whole way home. Good girl!

This is our sad little tree (well it's 7ft tall but it just looks little) that we have to remind us of the Christmas season. I still have never invested in pretty matching tree decorations (maybe this year in the day after Christmas sales!) and it's a good thing because Dale has already knocked this tree over, and you can see in the picture he's pulled all the beaded garlands all over the place and half the ornaments within his reach have been relocated. Regardless, I love the glow at night of our Christmas tree. It just makes me want to curl up on the couch with some hot cocoa (hasn't happened of course because our evenings are so crazy and by the time we get the kids to stay in their rooms we have to get ready for bed ourselves if I want to get any amount of sleep with Daisy waking up all night long).

It has occurred to me this year that I may not have many Christmas' left where all my kids believe in the Christmas magic of Santa Claus. I know that Santa isn't what Christmas is all about, but it sure makes it fun when you have little ones! I hope that by next year, when I actually have energy during the day because I'm sleeping at night, I can have the motivation to make more of the Christmas season and do more Christmas activities with the kids to celebrate. There really is only a limited number of years where we get to have fun with it all until they are too old and too cool to want to participate. I have remind myself that because once it's gone, it's gone, and I fear that that time will come all too soon.