the polar express.

I've always wanted to take the boys on the Polar Express. Every year we say, 'maybe next year'. This year we decided with Brayden getting older, we better do it now, for reals. Brayden got the stomach flu the day before and I was SO sad that I was going to have to cancel our fun plans, but miraculously he recovered in time to leave the next afternoon. I packed the bags, told them to load up in the car, and we picked up Jer on the way out of town. They had no idea where we were heading, and I intended on keeping it a surprise until the train pulled up. Brayden was full of guesses, most of which were very close, but I ignored all of his questions and told him to hush it and not ruin the surprise. He asked: Does it have to do with snow? are we staying in a hotel? does it have a pool? did you bring my swimsuit? did you bring snow clothes? are we going to the Grand Canyon? does it have something to do with Santa? etc etc etc...

We finally got to the hotel, set down our bags, and then hopped back in the car to eat dinner. Williams, AZ is a tiny little town with a cute little main street with shops all lit up with Christmas lights. However, oddly enough, most of the shops/restaurants were closed. We found "Cruiser's Cafe" and it was lit up like a Christmas tree. It was really cute on the inside and the food was surprisingly good.

Then the kids put on their jammies and we headed to the train station. Brayden read "Train Station" when we got there, so he knew it was a train ride but he didn't know it was the Polar Express until we boarded. He was a little skeptical of a train really taking us to the North Pole, but he went with it anyway. They served hot chocolate and cookies, read the book, and then we arrived at the North Pole where Santa and his sleigh were waiting. Santa hopped on the train and hugged every child and talked to them while he gave them each a bell. It was so much fun. I'm so glad we finally did it.

Jer thought I was purely evil at this point. We were waiting with Mrs. Claus in Santa's headquarters for the train to arrive. They had coloring crafts and letters to Santa to fill out. I encouraged Kosty to apologize for the tantrums he had thrown a few days prior. He thought it was a great idea and I helped him spell it out. Cute, isn't it?

The next day, we planned on going to the Grand Canyon, but decided not to since we didn't think the boys would appreciate it that much. Or maybe when it was when Kosty said, "What? a big giant hole that you look at then leave? BORING!" Instead, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel and let the boys swim in the hotel pool, then we went into Flagstaff, found a patch of snow for them to play in, ate lunch, and then saw the movie "Tangled" before heading home. It was a super quick trip, but packed full with memories & good family bonding! I love this little family of mine.

they found a gutsy squirrel that came right up to them and then they chased it for a while.