Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Polar Express!

Last year we all went to Grapevine for lots of Christmas activities at the Gaylord Texan and to take a trip on the Polar Express.  The hotel was absolutely amazing but the Polar Express was not as exciting as we had hoped.  So this year, 11 families headed up to Palestine to try the real Polar Express.  It was lots of fun and the kids loved it! 

Most families spent the night and as usual we made the most of our 3 hour drive to Palestine.  We ordered dinner in at the hotel, had some wine and tried to take some pics of the kids before we left.  It was like herding cats!! They were so cute in their pj's and SO excited to get to the Polar Express and stop taking pictures!!
Lauren brought Marlie this cute little fox and she held onto it for dear life.  I managed to get a cute pic of Marlie and Lauren and one with Hayden too!
So we were off!  We found another great spot for photos when we arrived and this was the best I could get. Matt was so happy that Samuel and his family came with us this year!
The 3 other families that joined us arrived after that picture was shot and I knew the kids (and probably parents too!) would have kicked me off the train if I would have tried to get everyone up there again.  So off we went!! The kids were so excited waiting for the train. 
They allowed our group of about 40 to board first, which did not make some people waiting in line very happy, but I was glad that we all got to sit together.  The little people sat on one side and the big kids on the other.  I managed to get a picture with ALL the Moms since we are always behind the cameras and we can show our kids that yes, we were there too!  When I asked Doug to gather the Dads he looked at me like I asked him to take me to the moon, so no pics of the Dads. 
I like that last picture because almost no one is related to each other!! The train conductor came and punched the kid's tickets.  We had hot chocolate and cookies and everyone was very excited when we came to the North Pole!  However there were lots of questions why there was no snow and why the reindeer had lights on them...hmmm....
Santa boarded the train at the North Pole and the kids went crazy when he came into our car.  They started chanting, "Santa, Santa" like he was a rock star.  It was hilarious.  He gave them all bells and they thought that was the greatest thing ever!!! Oh we had so much fun!!
It was late but we still had some wine and the hotel sold ice cream so the party went on!  I managed a few pics of M&M and H&H (Hannah & Hayden) when the kids had reached the point were they were so tired, they were delirious. 
What a great weekend!  We are blessed to know such wonderful people!  Thanks everyone for making the trip so much fun!! 

1 comment:

Sarah K - Sentiments by Sarah said...

I've missed a bunch of posts. Makes me sad to see all our friends enjoying each other. The girls would have loved to see Taylor Swift. What a great month its been for you all.