Polar Express

I never grew up believing in Santa Claus. I am not sure if it was because my mom's culture did not include Santa Claus, thus she didn't pass it along to me. Or, maybe she wanted to focus on the "real" meaning of Christmas. Either way, now that I am a mother, I kinda struggle to grasp the whole Santa Claus idea. I am not sure how far to go with it. Do we write the letters? Do we leave cookies for Santa and Rudolph? Do we talk about how he is always watching if you are "bad or good?" Do we leave certain gifts, "from Santa?" I want to give good answers to my boys when they ask about him, yet at the same time, I wonder if I just keep a low-key attitude about it, maybe they won't make a big deal of it either? I want them to believe in the magic of Christmas, I want them to recognize it is Jesus' birth, and I want them to understand the meaning of giving and receiving...so, does all of that also include the idea of Santa Claus?

Believer or not, we took our family to the Polar Express in Williams, AZ (outside of Flagstaff). It was a quick 2.5 hour drive there, where we joined up with our good friends the Ashton's. Our kids had no idea what we were doing or where we were going! We took Wesley out of school early and after packing away our groceries from Costco (Jared and I frequent that store every Monday), we headed up the mountain. My boys were so excited to share the car with their friends and watch the movie, "The Polar Express." Lots of questions were asked about what we were doing, but we just played it all down. "Es una sorpresa!"

We arrived in time to get a bite to eat at the local Route 66 diner. Yummy chili cheese fries, salads and burgers. It was then time to change into their Pajamas (new for Christmas!). We had them change in the car and they were chilly! Just putting on our "sacos gordos" and beanies reminded me of our Christmas last year in DC. At this time we were at the White House looking at the National tree lit up and walking around the DC temple. Makes me nostalgic just a bit. My big ol' pregnant belly and carring Austin around b/c he was so tired. In Williams, it was only 19 degrees, but we stayed nice and warm. Isaac's PJ's were extra tight and I loved them. April said, "All aboard!" and they knew exactly what it was! They were going to the North Pole and were going to see Santa!

We loaded up onto the train and the excitement began. There was typical child drama with spilled hot cocoa, fighting over who would sit next to the window, being asked to stay out of the aisles at least 10x's by the "elves," messy chocolate mouths from yummy cookies, and overly-tired children yawning and getting moody. But, there was also a magical spirit of Christmas as we sang the carols (the children just watched since they didn't know the words), waved to Santa at the "North Pole" (Austin told me, "that's not the North Pole! There is no snow!"), and later watched Santa get onto the train to hand out special bells.

April and I must've each taken over 50 pictures each, so hopefully at least 10 of them turned out decent. It is a task to get 7 kids to LOOK at you, let alone SMILE and pertend to have fun! Isaac was all over the place with his wiggle worm body, but he LOVED watching Jared blow the cold air into his face and would giggle from head to hips (which he loves to thurst).

Pictures with Mrs. Claus were fun and the boys each wrote a letter to Santa. Wesley asked for a Wii, which we are not going to get. Then he asked for a DS (which he nor I even know what it is!). He is easily influenced by his peers (Mason asked for the same thing). He eventually just asked for some gum. Austin asked for a new sister. Not sure about that one. I know papa helped him write that one.

We got home by 11pm, and the children slept soundly in their comfy car seats with great head supports. These memories are what make childhood wonderful. We've gotta make the efforts to capture these moments while they are still magical for our children and BELIEVE in Christmas. Thanks April for the great idea and for making it all happen!