What a trip!!!!

We just got back this afternoon from one of the funnest little family trips we have done to date. There is a railroad in Arizona called the Grand Canyon Railway and in the winter they have the Polar Express. I took yesterday and today off of work for the trip. We left yesterday early afternoon, it was about a four hour drive and we got to Williams, AZ just in time to check into the hotel and go to the train station. They do have a hotel at the railroad station but the packages to be able to stay the night there started at over 300.00. We weren't going to do that when there was a Motel 6 100 feet away for 38.00 a night. I think the pictures say it all. The kids had a magical time. We have been watchign the movie nonstop the last couple of weeks to help them understand exactly what we were doing. We got to the trainstation and we first went and met Mrs. Clause and wrote a letter to Santa. Then we got to see the train arrive and show our tickets to board. The rail car was built in the 1920's and was a lot of fun. The seats turned to face each other so the five of us got to sit together. They gave us hot chocolate and cookies while they read the story of the Polar Express and sang Christmas Carols. In about 45 minutes we arrived at the North Pole to see Santa waving to the train. The train stopped for a minute and then next thing we knew Santa was walking into our railway car! He came through and said hi to each child and gave them a bell. The kids were on cloud nine. I have to admit that my kids bring a whole new level of excitement to Christmas that I have never felt before. Sure it was exciting and all when I was a kid growing up but there is nothing that compares to how exciting it is to watch your children have so much fun. It was great. We stayed in the hotel that night and then slowly made our way back home stopping at whatever we felt like on the way. There was a deer farm with a petting zoo. You got to go out into this big pen that had walkways through it and the deer would come right up and eat out of your hands. No fence in between just you and the kids right in the middle of the deer. The kids had a blast, I was making sure they weren't touching anything until they had a chance to wash the deer slobber off of their hands. But deer slobber aside it was a great time. We stopped in the little towns along Route 66 and ate at the little town cafes for our meals. Overall it was a great time, the kids had so much fun and it was so nice to break away and leave reality behind for a couple of days. Kira made a slide show of our trip, enjoy!