Everyone was tired from the drive but before bedtime Eva and Audrey found a great game of hiding behind the curtains while the heater filled them with air :) What can I say... kids, easily entertained!
We woke up extremely early to my dear brother-in-law knocking...knocking...and knocking some more on our door with the news that it had snowed during the night - now of course it was too early in the morning for me to appreciate that fact and went right back to sleep after telling him to stop knocking on my door.
When we did finally get up (at 8 o'clock) it was all we could do but get ready as fast as humanly possible (I made everyone put on at least three layers of clothes, and anyone who puts on only one layer of clothes on a 2 and 3 year old knows how long THAT takes, let alone three layers) ran out the door and played in the snow all morning! We ended up missing breakfast completely and had to get some muffins at a coffee shop but it was totally worth it!
Now anyone can see from these pictures that unless you live in Souther California that is a measly amount of snowfall - to us it was a WINTER WONDERLAND! There was hardly enough to make a snow ball but we were happy as clams! It was magical :D
After "breakfast" we took a drive to the Grand Canyon. We got to the entrance and the woman told us how much it cost to park but that there was zero visibility. Well we were already there so we paid and went on it. The temperature at the Grand Canyon was at least 20 degrees colder than back at the hotel and there was a snowstorm in the parking lot while we were waiting for the bus. We spent time playing in the snow. The girls we complete troopers in the cold and had such a blast!
The bus was exciting for the kiddos and I enjoyed it most of all because of the heater!
When we got off the bus we walked through the visitor area before you can actually see the Grand Canyon, and to everyone's delight the storm was not present and it felt much warmer. I had been there before and had remembered where we were so when we got to the top of the stairs and I saw what was supposed to be the never ending breath taking views of the wonder that is the Grand C I was speechless. All that could be seen was cloud. You couldn't even see the tiny slope on the other side of the wall. It was magnificent. I appreciated this view almost better than the 100% visibility view but maybe that is because once you've seen the Grand Canyon you can't imagine such a vast and wondrous thing of beauty completely enveloped in cloud. My husband and I couldn't get enough. I did feel bad for this one couple we met who had never seen the Grand Canyon before, this was their first visit, they took and quick picture and went in the lodge, oh well, next time!
After the Grand Canyon we visited the gift shop. We got the girls books and I got some beautiful Native American made earrings! Then waited for our bus to get back to the motorhome. Everyone was tired by now so we read our new books and relaxed on the way back home. We grabbed a quick dinner before it was time to board The Polar Express!
Everybody is supposed to wear their PJs on the Polar Express, so of course I dress the girls in their warmest PJs with their warmest body suits to go over... little did I know that the heaters on the train work splendidly and we all took off our extra layers immediately and then had to find a place to shove them! Oh well, better to be prepared for the cold than to actually be cold!
The train has elf attendants that serve fresh baked cookies from Mrs. Claus and delicious hot cocoa! Then over the speakers they played a reading of the book, The Polar Express while the elves walked down the aisle showing the children the pages as we followed along.
Then an announcement came on that we would be going through a special magic tunnel that made us get to the North Pole quicker. The tunnel was all lit up with Christmas colored lights and everyone on board cheered. Finally we heard an announcement that we had arrived to the North Pole. Outside the train there was a huge village set up with elf workshops and bakeries, the elf houses and reindeer quarters, and an elf sitting on a giant sleigh waving... but no Santa...
As the train started moving back again to bring us home the elves on the train told us it was time to sing Christmas Carols. Eva and Audrey loved singing along with the rest of the train. Then from the far end of our train car we caught a glimpse of... who else but Santa! He was making his way down the aisle giving a silver bell to each child on the train. as he got to us I noticed baby Christopher had JUST fallen asleep! I had made the kids a tiny Santa stocking packed with a Christmas note pad, a Christmas pen, a small snow globe, a Santa chocolate, and a colored bell (each their favorite color) and placed it next to them on their seat while they were getting their silver bells from Santa. When he walked away they were so excited to find a special gift left by Santa. It was so sweet to watch them open their tiny stockings and be so excited by the whole experience!
 |
| Looking at the North Pole Village |
As you can see the picture quality on the train was terrible but that was before we knew what settings to use on our camera. Oh well, we can make out who the main subjects are :)
And that was our amazing trip to the North Pole and riding the Polar Express. We had such an amazing time! My husband and I had the best time at the Grand Canyon but seeing the girls so excited to be aboard the Polar Express and see the North Pole was priceless! Oh! and on the last day before we left it snowed like crazy (well, for a Californian "like crazy") and here are some pictures of us enjoying more of that beautiful white fluff.
On our way home we stopped on Route 66 for ice cream but the place we go was closed :( So we took some pictures instead.
As a last note: We stopped for lunch and then got back in the car and drove for two hours when my sister realized she had left her purse at the restaurant!! We had to continue driving twenty minutes before we could even turn around and then drive back to get the purse! We all almost killed her!! But we didn't and now we can laugh about it :D I should have taken a picture of everyones miserable faces for the 4 hour set back! We did forgive her rather quickly and the rest of the drive was fun :)
The End :)
