ALL ABOARD...

THIS IS THE POLAR EXPRESS!!

Just a few days before Christmas, we all packed in the car (including Grandma Fern who had just gotten to our house 2 days before) and headed up into the mountainous, more wintery area of northern AZ.

The Polar Express train ride in Williams has been one of our annual traditions since moving to Yuma.  The only year we missed was last year when we were worried that we would be too jet lagged after our trip to enjoy it.  By the time we returned home and decided that we wanted to go, there weren't any tickets left for the days we could attend.  Living in Yuma is perfect for me, but at Christmas, even I will admit that it is nice to get to somewhere that it feels like winter.  After checking into the hotel, we took the kids to swim and enjoy the hot tub for a bit.  

This is the crazy part of my family who left a nice warm indoor pool and hot tub to make ice angels!

They're growing in numbers!

And the final victim succumbs!
I was the holdout.  No way was I going to participate in this!  In fact, I was never
able to talk myself into swimming at all because when you leave the pool, you have
a short walk to get to the inside of the hotel where the rooms are.  No thanks!

After our swimming fun, we went back to our rooms, showered and changed into jammies and robes.  The kids had stopped at this fireplace in the lobby of the hotel to warm up a bit before walking outside in the cold.  We stay in the hotel that is associated with the railway.  They really go all out in their Christmas decorations.

One of the great things about the package deal is that you don't have to worry about finding somewhere to eat.  Dinner and breakfast the next day is included.  The buffet is a big hit with our family and even with not eating the meat dishes, there is PLENTY of good stuff for everyone.  Dinner is mostly Christmas food, but they also have a pasta bar where you can get pretty much any type of noodle with any type of sauce plus lots of veggies thrown in.  The breakfast buffet had a lot of variety too.  All kinds of pastries, pancakes, cold and hot cereals (and grits!  YAY!), eggs, potatoes, and of course lots of fruit.  There is also an omelette bar where they will make the omelette of your choice, with lots of cheese and veggie choices.

Having Grandma around is pretty handy.  I even get to be in a few pictures!  ;)
Oops!  I forgot to mention dessert.
BOY, do they know how to do dessert!
After you completely stuff yourself with all their dinner goodies, they come around and want to know what sweet you'd like to have to end your meal with.  I never feel like I can eat it, but I always get the pecan pie (and you should too if you go!)  It is SOOOO good!  And nut fat is good fat, right?  ;)

Marshall skipped the pecan pie and went with the more kid friendly twisted chocolate and vanilla, covered in chocolate sprinkles and hot fudge type dessert.

Nothing like a photo op with Santa (and having his ears to tell him what you want for Christmas!)  Jeremy told the kids that he would give whoever told Santa that he wanted a plane for Christmas $1.  2/3 of them took him up on that.  Marshall was too shy for that...or so he says ;)

We're ready to ride!

The cooks brought around great big snickerdoodles.

Poor Jeremy.
If it's given to him, it's like a challenge issued.
He ate it even though dinner was not that long ago.
We'll save his dislike of waitresses who keep refilling his water glass for another therapy session blog post.
(A few days later, I found my untouched cookie right where I'd tucked it that night.  In a pocket of my camera bag.)

Sweet boy.  These kids don't turn down baked goods!

The conductor came through to check our tickets.

Sisters really do make the best friends!

Of course, they couldn't forget the hot chocolate!

After we made it to the "North Pole" (thanks to passing through a time warp, aka arches of christmas lights), we stopped for a bit and admired the town.

We picked up a new passenger at the North Pole!  Santa came by and gave each child their own bell, taking a second to chat with them before moving on.

Happy kids starting to look a bit sleepy.

When our ride was over, the conductor punched each child's first initial in their ticket.

In a building attached to the gift shop is a fun little activity center.
The kids wrote their letters to Santa.

The Meem's concentrating really hard on hers.
(You'll see why in the next posting)

They also have this wonderful train set on display.  The details of the little village are so fun!

Our original train lover

Amelia checking her letter before sending it off!

Greeting Mrs. Claus, the baker of those giant cookies.
Her name just happened to be Amelia, so she took quite a liking to ours!

4 happy Beavens.
And one whose eyes are pleading for warmth!  ;)

The train depot really does go through a lot of work making sure a winter wonderland is presented.

The little buildings are new this year, but completely fit in since the little town of Williams is right on the old Route 66.

Back in the hotel and warming up!

Our big and little pyromaniacs.

The next morning we woke up and saw that there was a fresh covering of snow overnight!

After breakfast, we played in the snow for a little bit.

And just like that, a war is begun.

And this is the way they played.
For a couple of hours.
While I froze keeping an eye on them.
(In fairness to them, I didn't enjoy this as a child.)
The 3 smarter Beavens- Jeremy, Abby and Fern swam in the warm and humid indoor swimming pool.

Snow Angels!

On the way back to Yuma, we stopped at a little diner in Prescott where we had
what is beyond the shadow of a doubt, the worst service and coffee that we've ever
had, but I suppose they made up for it in the size of Marshall's biscuit.  Which he
didn't even take a single bite of.  :/  But that mushroom omelette (his second of the day)
was polished off rather nicely.