Polar Express

At the beginning of December we announced to the kids that they would have the opportunity to earn a very special Christmas outing to the North Pole. They were SO excited and worked hard doing their jobs, speaking kindly, reading etc. They both filled their sticker charts just in time. 

A week before Christmas we headed north. We left the desert and soon drove right into a magical wonderland! It was so neat to come to the snowy, foggy forest and know we were getting closer to the North Pole.

We drove three hours and arrived in Williams. The excitement was in the air. Children everywhere had their pajamas on and were ready for the magical journey.

The moment had finally arrived!

Oh, this cheesy little grin must be documented!

Our family just before boarding:

When the "all aboard" call came we couldn't wait to climb on to our car and let the fun begin. 

Each car had two "chefs" assigned to it. They didn't waste anytime delivering giant snickerdoodles and a cup of hot cocoa to every passenger. The chefs were so fun- they kept little ones perfectly happy and comfortable, told the Polar Express story and even danced through the aisles. It was so fun to watch everyone try to make this experience pure magic for the children. And magic it was!

We all giggled about this:

Heidi ready to share the ride with baby:

The conductor came around and punched tickets and we rode through the dark of night to get to the North Pole. We went through a magic time warp tunnel and they informed us we were getting closer! 

Right before we pulled up to the North Pole they asked all the adults to move to one side of the train so the children could have unrestricted view. All these tiny faces were plastered to the windows. 

Before too long we could see the twinkling lights of the factory, candy shop, elves homes, and of course Santa's sleigh and GIANT bag of toys.

The chefs asked us to all start chanting SANTA, SANTA and that he would visit our car.

Here is our first glimpse of the jolly old elf:

Would you like to see the eyes of wonder of two littles right before they have their first view of the real Santa?

He visited our bench and gave Heidi and Nathan a bell from his sleigh. Pure delight!

Nathan was so pleased he touched his back and Heidi was thrilled that Santa knew she wanted a gumball machine just by looking at her eyes. 

After all the children had been greeted by Santa we started the journey back to Williams, singing Christmas carols all the way. 

 Wonderful, magical memories were made!

 Afterwards we had a latenight, foggy, 3-hour drive back to the valley. Luckily the kiddos slept much of the way. 

What a wonderful way to start the Christmas week!