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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Polar Express

Two nights before Christmas, our elf Pixie left a special surprise on my parents' front porch: tickets for the whole family on the Polar Express the next evening! As you can imagine, everyone was very excited to travel by train to the North Pole and meet Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
On the afternoon of the 24th, we enjoyed a beautiful drive through Provo Canyon to the train station in Heber.
The second Gabey Baby saw the train, he exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!!! Unbuckle me!" We obliged.
When the time came to board the train, the babies whipped out their magic tickets and quickly grabbed window seats so they wouldn't miss a thing.
Inside, the train was decked out for the holidays and full of Christmas cheer.
Mrs. Claus, the train conductor and multiple elves all made the journey with us. The elves even passed out hot chocolate and cookies along the way.
Our hostess quizzed the children on their Christmas knowledge. Kaleb knew all the answers and was anxious to announce them whenever it was his turn. Gabe was adorable when he was asked whether Santa was old or young. "Old," he said. "I choose old." And then he sat back and smiled sheepishly because he knew he got it right.
Meanwhile, Joshie took a break from writing his name on the windows to tell the hostess what his mom wants for Christmas. "Spatulas!," he yelled excitedly into the microphone, earning chuckles from around the train. I'm sure you can guess what he had wrapped up for our mom earlier that day :-)
Christmas carols also filled the air as we approached the North Pole.
We knew we were getting closer because it was so snowy and beautiful, and there were even reindeer in plain sight.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before we could see the signs for the North Pole, with Santa standing right underneath! The babies waved their hellos frantically as the train came to a stop so Santa could climb aboard.
Mr. Claus came through our car, visiting with all of the children and bringing them bells and toys.
Mrs. Claus also stopped for a few photo ops as we traveled back to Heber.
The entire ride was a blast! It drove the Christmas spirit home and we all had so much fun, as seen in this candid picture Matt took of my family.
At last, we made it back to Heber. We disembarked the train and found Santa waiting for us once again. The babies were happy to get a few final Christmas wishes in with the big guy.
Then, Santa was off to load his sleigh, and we headed home to jump into our Christmas Eve traditions.
We loved the Polar Express!

10 comments:

  1. Your photos are AMAZING! What a great post ;)

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  2. Ah I love this~ It looks like so much fun. How special! :)

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  3. we got to go on it too! aiden loved it. your photos are beautiful! i especially love how excited your little brothers are :)

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  4. Who's excited to see Santa???"
    - Train Lady ELF

    "SANTA! OH MY GOSH, SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM!"
    - Matt

    "Wow he must really like Santa."
    - Train Lady Elf

    "That... or the movie Elf :) ."
    - Heidi

    Haha good times, good times.

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  5. Oh this is on my to do list with the Grand babies when they get a little older! I love the Heber Creeper! So much fun and with your family it would have been incredible!

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  6. I wish they would do that here in Colorado. My kids would flip if they got to ride the Polar Express.

    Santa did bring bells from his sleigh for my kiddos this year. And perhaps Santa spent all day finding the right size bell. That makes the right jingle. Along with the perfect velvet red ribbon. =)

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  7. Looks like SO much fun!! I loved the first pic of Santa and the train. Very cool. You are such a good photographer! I think you're getting better all the time, too. So many great pictures in this post! I will definitely have to do this Polar Express thing sometime with kids!

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  8. Sharla and Ang--going with grandbabies is definitely on the list in a few years! Highly recommended :-)

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  9. Heidi, my dear, they were the best times! I LOVED your response to the hostess lady. You know, Matt and I only watched Elf 17 times this December haha.

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  10. Oh, and Tobi- how cute are you to find the perfect bells?! I love it!

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