I had a date on Sunday

with Noah. We left Elliot at home to nap and Dad home to watch the Chief's game and headed to Belton to ride the train. We hadn't been in a whole year. When Noah was 2 we would go all the time. We went a couple of times last year and this year only once. He still likes trains, but he's past that typical 2 year old boy obsession. It was cute seeing all the 2 year old boys in their conductor hats just so obsessed. Made Noah seem so old and mature!

After the train ride, we stopped by Sarah's to get our popcorn we bought from Charlie for Cub Scouts. Of course, we popped a bag and Noah & Charlie ate it in some secret hiding spot by a tree. Then we stopped by Grandma Lois & Grandpa Gene's house, where great grandkids always HAVE to eat pudding. Grandma Lo also gave Noah an ice cream sandwich.

I love spending time alone with the boys. It's something I rarely do, but it's always enjoyable to just hang with one of my boys and give them all my attention.

This is Noah with the conductor. He graduated high school in 1949 and this train is 11 years older than he is. All the people that work on the train do it on a 100% volunteer basis and are just love trains and history. I've never been on a train ride that this conductor isn't on. He sat next to Noah and talked to us half the time. He also let Noah punch an extra hole in his ticket with his hole punch. Noah thought that was pretty cool

Second annual trip to The Polar Express

We went on our 2nd annual trip to ride the Polar Express last weekend. We were thrilled that it's now in Branson! Although, Durango was an awesome experience, it was not a trip was up for with both the boys at this age. This was a doable roadtrip. Best of all, we were with extended family as well.

After the train ride with Sarah, Charlie & Greg, we joined Mom & Rick, Grandma Lois & Grandpa Gene, Sam & Keith for a belated birthday dinner for Sam. Then we had cake. Wish we would have had more time to spend together. Next year, we'll go for more than one night for sure. Warning: this post has a ton of pictures, but I can not and will not apologize :) I love them all!

Our best attempt at a family pic.

Me with my boys

"Tickets, please! Tickets!"

"Hot Hot....yeah we got it.....Hot Hot Hot Chocolate!"

Notice my son had to pick his own, as the chef is trying to hand him one. Silly, silly chef!

And the sugar high has kicked in. We had dancing in the aisles. And wrestling in the aisles.

Maybe we should have tried before the sugar high kicked in? With Uncle Greg

We are now in the North Pole. Elliot was bashful at first meeting.

So I took his bell for him.
Charlie & Noah are ok with the big guy...
E tested to make sure he was the real deal. Yep, the beard is real.

Wild? Yes. Out of control? Maybe. But, no fighting. Only love.
This face makes all the effort worth it.

My sweet little E was passed out halfway through dinner. He woke back up when we went to the hotel for cake without a fuss. Such a trooper! He fell back asleep on the way to our Condo and was out for the night. Big day for my little guy.

Trains...

Noah is crazy for trains. It's hard to tell when exactly it started, but it has been this way for a long, long time. He's been on small-scale trains, full size trains (the kind that goes out and back in about 20 minutes) and trains that are really just cars pulled by a lawn-mower type tractor. You would think for a boy that is that nuts for trains, he would be grinning from ear to ear when we encounter one. That's not the case, though, no matter what kind of train it is. The bigger, more serious the train, the more serious he gets. For a full size train, the expression on his face is like someone took his favorite toy away from him. He gets a big frown, his eyebrows furrow deeply and he gets a look on his face like someone is getting ready to punish him.

That's when we know he is having some serious fun. We took this trip for the (almost) sole purpose of letting Noah ride a real train for Christmas - combining a real train, and Santa Claus, and the snows of Colorado all in one trip.

The Polar Express is a widely loved book and movie, and is recreated on various trains around the country. But there are few places where you can experience the mountain wilderness, the snowy rivers and the exquisite "North Pole" like the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado. The train arrives out of the mist, puffing steam and coal exhaust as it rolls into the station to pick all the kids up. The kids, and many of their parents, are dressed in pajamas, robes, slippers and various other bedtime wear as they get ready for the journey of their short lifetimes.

Noah enjoyed the hot chocolate, the cookie, the dancing & singing chefs, the conductor punching our train tickets, and especially Santa handing out his very special Christmas bell.

We peeked at the train the morning of our big train ride

We watched the Engineer shovel coal and spit shine (literally) the windows

Choo Choo!

Leaving for Silverton

Later that night:

A family picture, right before we leave the station

Excited for the train to arrive, running around in his footed PJ's

Getting ready to board the train.

Getting his Christmas cookie.

Alllll aboard!!!!

Having fun with the train tickets. He looooved those tickets.

Hey...is that Santa? Holy cow, I think I just saw Santa...

Getting a Christmas bell from Santa.

He played with that bell for the rest of the trip back, and most of the night.

Embarking on Christmas Vacation

In lieu of gifts of more toys or other material things this season, we decided to give the family the gift of a memorable trip to the North Pole, via the Polar Express. This trip encompassed the best of what we each love - Mom and Dad's love of Colorado and the mountains, Noah's love of trains, Mom's love of making Noah happy and Dad's love of seeing his wife happy and excited. The only thing missing was our dog Wally, who is staying with a friend but would have loved the snow.

Elliot Henry's impending arrival has slowed things down a little, and made the altitude adjustment a little more difficult than normal, but all the additional red blood cells Mandy is creating at this altitude should make the last month at sea level a breeze.

We met and made some great friends this trip, as Mandy and I got to meet her imaginary friend Missi and her wonderful family. Mandy "met" a group of due date buddies when she was pregnant with Noah on a pregnancy message board and has kept in touch with a few of them to this day. Noah had fun running around with Rianna (4 days older than him, 10 lbs lighter with just as much spunk).

Before we left, Mandy told me how difficult it was to travel with Noah, citing her last trip to South Carolina by herself, pregnant, to see my sister Laurie and her daughter Amelia. I don't know what she was talking about - it was a piece of cake. Of course there were two of us, Noah is behaving much better than he was a few months ago and we had brand new toys to keep him occupied on the flight.

We landed in Albuquerque, made a short drive to the nearest Chik Fil A to expend some energy and get ready for the several hour drive to Durango. Noah was doing well, enjoying the greater part of a huge milk-and-cookies shake before briefly meeting Mark, Missi, Denny and Rianna. He left a quick, but memorable gift to Albuquerque's landfill, and we hotfooted it out of town. We had a great, scenic drive to Durango and a rare opportunity to have a lengthy adult discussion while Noah slept. We have some great pictures, and other stories, both of which will follow in the next few posts................
It's always good to do a few push-ups before a flight