Polar Express!

We drove north to Williams for a trip on the Polar Express. Just as we reached the Flagstaff area, it began to snow; we barely made it through before they closed the interstate. We slowly passed 12 or more cars in the ditch, but we safely made it to our hotel. Lilly and Claire were very excited for the trip, as you can imagine, and especially excited to stay in a hotel. Our short trip was filled with fun, so I'll try to hit the highlights below...

Before dinner, the girls changed in to their matching jammies to prepare for their journey to the North Pole.

Before boarding the train, we spent time with Mrs. Clause making crafts and writing letters to Santa.

Once on the train, we traveled through a time warp tunnel and chugged north to Santa's workshop. The conductor read the story of The Polar Express while the girls sipped hot cocoa and ate chocolate chip cookies.

 After passing the North Pole, Santa climbed aboard the train and gave each child a silver bell. The girls were in awe.

 The next morning we awoke to a light dusting of fresh snow. The girls thought this was super neat.

Lilly thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a snow angel- something she has wanted to do for quite awhile. Here's Lilly and her beautiful angel. Well done, Lilly.

Just as we arrived in Flagstaff the day before, we stopped and bought and ice scraper. We had a feeling we would need it. Claire and Lilly wondered how on earth the car was covered in so much snow. We actually ended up sharing our ice scraper with the family parked next to us. Good planning! This might seem like a silly picture to most of you, but a snow covered car is a rarity when you live in the desert!

On our way out of town, we stopped at The Deer Farm to say hello to our furry friends. The girls fed the deer and said hello to the other animals... a camel, reindeer, llamas, wallabies, and more.

It was a great trip! If any of you want to travel with us next Christmas season on the Polar Express, let us know. We will be making reservations soon.