The Polar Express

Where did we go this week?  "Why, to the North Pole, of course!!"  It was all aboard the Polar Express at Mt. Hood Railroad!!  We went with Heather, Ruff, Gryffin and Cordie on a trip to meet Santa Claus.  We were served delicious cookies and, of course, hot chocolate! ("Here we've only got one rule: never, ever let it cool!")  The conductor punched our tickets, making it snow confetti down upon the children's faces (and a little bit in Elora's hot chocolate, but that didn't stop her from drinking it!)  We listened to the story of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg while being shown the beautiful illustrations in the book, and made a stop at the North Pole Village, where Santa himself and a few of his elves boarded the train.  As Santa made his way through the train, each child got to sit on his lap and disclose their secret Christmas wishes.  They were then given the first gift of Christmas....a jingle bell on a satin ribbon. On the way home, the elves led us in a chorus of Christmas carols, and the girls sang with gusto!  (By the way, you can rest assured..... everyone could hear their bells ring!)