Cause that's the way things happen on the Polar Express!

One of our favorite Christmas movies is the Polar Express so when I saw a local fundraiser for a train ride on the Polar Express we HAD to do it. We went back and forth on whether or not to take Ryan on a 2 hour train ride, but she has really grown a lot lately and is getting a lot easier to travel with. I am so glad we took her along - it looks like our days of having to leave her behind for things is coming to an end am I am so glad!

Ready to go to the train!

We decided not to tell Noah until we got to the train. We did this for a few reasons - the surprise factor of course, but also I learned a long time ago not to tell Noah about things we plan to do that are out of my control - we have had a few disappointments for things getting cancelled and I swore not to do that again. They told us to be there at 10:15 to pick up tickets because the train would be boarded and leaving at 11:00. So, we got there at 10:00 and the train wasn't there yet so I sat with the kids in the car and Nathan went and got the tickets. We didn't want to take the kids near the depot in case someone said anything about where we were going and ruined the surprise. Well, 2 hours later the train finally arrived. It sounds worse than it was really - luckily the kids were amazing and just played and Nathan went and got them Happy Meals and we had a picnic in the grass while we waited.

All aboard!

Noah was so excited about his ticket!

Once the train pulled in we took Noah over to it and told him the surprise - he was very excited! He finally got to know why he and Ryan were in their pajamas all day :) We got all loaded up and headed out! There were carolers, an elf read The Night Before Christmas, we helped the elves with a snowball fight and race, we watched a live reenactment of the First Christmas, had cookies and hot chocolate, learned the story  behind candy canes and enjoyed a few of those too, and Santa came by and sat with each kid and talked to them - it was SO fun!

Reading the Night Before Christmas

This was all of our first ride on a real train - I loved that we were able to share this first together as a family. The scenery was beautiful and the kids were awesome! I believe we have found a new family tradition!

Throwing snowballs with the elves :)

Naughty list for sure!

Ryan was scared in the tunnel so Noah was comforting her :)

When all the lights went out in the tunnel :)

Best Buds :)