Polar Express Trip!

Yes, I know, I am posting this almost 2 months AFTER our trip!! Better late then never, right? We had such a wonderful time at the Polar Express!! I am so grateful we took the plunge and took this amazing journey!! The week of the trip, I read the book Polar Express to Sydney so she had an idea of what the Polar Express was. We also rented the video; however, it seemed to make her a little scared so we didn't watch the whole movie.

I was also excited to take this trip because I thought there would be enough snow up North to take Sydney sledding - but that just wasn't in the cards. Maybe next time.

Every year, the Polar Express sells out quickly! Knowing this, I purchased our tickets back in September - and they were almost sold out at that point!! We purchased the Polar Express Package which entitled us to tickets for the Polar Express, a night at the Grand Canyon Hotel, and dinner/breakfast tickets to the buffet. Now that the trip is over, I can definitely say that it was worth the money! We planned our trip for the middle of the week so we were able to bypass much of the crowd. We didn't have to wait in any lines and the trip was relatively stress free!! Below are pictures from our trip - enjoy:)

This picture was taken at dinner. Can you tell Sydney LOVES her chocolate cake!!

As if the chocolate cake wasn't enough...she also got ice cream!! Here she is trying to get the last drop of her ice cream!!

We were so excited that our dinner table was right next to this huge fireplace!! It was beautiful! It felt like we were at a cabin resort. It was freezing outside (in the high teens if that!) but so warm and cozy by the fireplace, enjoying our dinner and wine.

A happy memory!!

After dinner, we had to go back to our hotel room and get ready for the Polar Express! All of the kids wear their P.J.'s on the train, just like in the book and movie. These are Sydney's Christmas jammies! Like I said, it was really cold outside so Sydney enjoyed wearing her kitty cat hat also! This was the 1st time Sydney had experienced cold weather like this - it was pretty funny!

Off to the Polar Express! I am not sure who is more excited at this point - Mommy or Sydney!!

Here she is mad because I made her stop so we could get a picture of us in the hotel! She wanted to get to the train!! We took this picture to give everyone an idea on what the hotel looked like. It was so cool - so old yet very well maintained. And, they had it all decorated with Christmas decor. The hotel lobby had a HUGE fire place that was so elegant and old. It was a gathering place for guests to warm up!!

Outside, between the hotel and Grand Canyon Railroad station, they had everything decorated for Christmas. It was beautiful and so colorful and bright! Sydney was so excited as she took it all in. She also got to pet this horse!

Here it is...The Polar Express!! So huge and magnificent!!

Here we are getting on the train!!!

So exciting!! The people working on the train were soooo nice and had so much energy!! They really brought life to the whole experience.

Thank goodness the train was heated!! We got to relax and cuddle and play! During the ride out to the North Pole, they read us the book, "The Polar Express" and we got cookies and hot chocolate. Sydney is not a fan of the hot chocolate (she doesn't even like chocolate milk!) but she loved the cookies!!

Being silly on the train!

Getting some love from Daddy!

She ate her cookie and mine!! Remember, she also had chocolate cake AND ice cream at dinner!! YIKES!!

Here she is getting her ticket punched - just like in the book/movie! Shortly after this picture was taken, our train arrived to the North Pole!! We didn't actually get out of the train when we got to the North Pole - but we did get to see Santa in his sleigh with his elf. We also get to see the town and all of the toy shops and buildings and Santa's house! Everything is lit up with Christmas lights! Once we pass through the North Pole, the train stoped then started again in reverse. When we got back to where the sleigh was, Santa was gone!! Hmmm, where did he go??

Little did we know, Santa actually got on the train when it stopped at the North Pole!!!

AND THEN THE BIG MOMENT....receiving a bell from Santa!! This was priceless and still brings a tear to my eye! She just lit up with excitement and anticipation. What a special memory for all of us!

After the kids got their bells, the ride back to the station consisted of everyone singing Christmas Carols! People really got into this - even the parents! The whole experience of it all really brought out the kid in everyone!

Between the hotel and Grand Canyon Station, they have this little fake Christmas town set up and all lit up - it looks really cute at night time. This is only one of several little buildings.

After the ride on the train, we then went to see Mrs. Clause!! At this point, there was hardly anyone there , so Sydney sat on Mrs. Clause lap for a long time and talked her ear off!! It was priceless! Mrs. Clause was so patient with Sydney and listened to all of Sydney's "suggestions" in regards to Santa!! We have this on video - it seriously was hilarious!!

More suggestions from Sydney on how she thinks Santa should get into her house and so on!!

Time to write her letter to Santa!!

Mailing her letter to Santa!!

She made a decoration for the Christmas tree and Mrs. Clause's elf was kind enough to help Sydney reach the perfect spot for her ornament!

After our visit with Mrs. Clause, it was getting pretty late so we went back to our room for bed. Sydney was still pretty hyper from the day (the sugar)! We brought with us some meat/cheese, crackers, juice and wine and had our own little celebration in our room. Sydney had her own bed - although I ended up sleeping with her so she would go to sleep!! It really was the perfect day!

The one thing that was missing from our trip was snow! Williams is right by Flagstaff and Flagstaff reminds me a lot of Mankato! They also get the same winter weather as Mankato. I was hoping we would be able to go sledding on the trip but once I saw the forecast earlier in the week- I realized we wouldn't be able to do this. I really wanted Sydney to see snow...

Guess what we woke up to in the morning....

SNOW!!!!!

We quick got ready and went outside - there really wasn't any accumulation on the ground yet, but we had a blast watching Sydney trying to catch all of the snow flakes!! We then went and ate breakfast. By the time we got out from eating, the weather was quickly turning into a snow storm!! We played in it just a bit before we headed out. This made our trip perfect!!

This was taken right before we left.

When I look at this photo, all I can think is, "Thank you God for my family!"

You can't tell by this picture but the snow was really coming down good!

So beautiful!! By the time we hit Flagstaff and for awhile past, the road conditions were getting pretty slippery. I was glad once we were out of the storm!! It's been over 14 years since I have been on the road in this stuff!!

So, that's it! That was our wonderful adventure to the Polar Express! The trip met all of our expectations and more! What a great way to bring in the Christmas spirit!!