Polar Express

We finally got on board the Polar Express Train...literally.  It was so worth it!  Both girls were old enough to listen to the whole book and know what to expect.  Uncle Tone and Holli went with us and Becky and her nephew met us there.  The girls were so stoked and beyond exited to go to the North Pole!

Well, you may not think that Carli was excited to be here in this picture, but we all know how Carli feels about taking pictures when other ppl are looking at her.  

 

Uncle Tone and Holli with the girls.  We really enjoyed having them come with us on our special trip!

 

 

We were in the very front/back car on the train and in the very front/back seats.  Worked out really well for moving around to snap some pictures.  The girls, especially Ava, were beyond excited to be on the train!

And then we got to the North Pole.  They were amazed.  I can only imagine what it's like for kids up where it snows all the time and the "North Pole" has really snow falling.  :)  But the lack of snow did not seem to be an issue and they were so excited when they spotted Santa!

 

We got our tickets punched...

And then Ava wished really, really hard for Santa to come on the train, then tried patiently to await his arrival....

And while we patiently waited, Ava visited very enthusiastically with the chefs and may have danced down the aisle more than once...

 

Holli and Uncle Tone were very good sports to let the girls crawl over them all night.

We had so much fun with Becky and her nephew.  The girls and I sure do love Becky!

 

 

After singing lots of Christmas carols and dancing down the aisle, wouldn't you know we spotted Santa Clause!

 

Carli is six years old.  We have tried to have a picture with Santa every year with very little success.  The closest we got was last year the teachers at OTA worked very hard to help her work up the courage to have a picture with Santa.  It doesn't frustrate me one bit.  I can't say I really blame her.  She will talk to Santa but she does not want to take a picture with him.  The Santa on this train was AMAZING.  He saw an opportunity to take a picture and he was the one that motioned for Uncle Tone to snap a quick picture.  Carli had no clue he was there!

When our train ride ended, we visited the gift shop and the girls got a couple of lasers.  We grabbed a few more pictures before we headed home.

 

It was an AWESOME night and I can guarantee we'll do it again next year!