Uggh, I cannot believe I have not posted a blog entry in over two months. The holiday season was just a whirlwind! Anyway, I wanted to update you on our holiday season and the events that transpired for the Farrell-Landers family.
The "holiday" season officially began the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had decided in mid-summer that it would be a fun experience to take Madilyn to The Polar Express in Williams, Arizona, for her first Christmas season. We invited several other families to join along and the only crazy ones willing to join this adventure was the Barber-Rytke family all the way from California. And so our adventure began. The BR family drove into Phoenix on Friday afternoon to visit with us and the Gillis family before we headed up to Williams on Saturday. Below are some of the photos taken while the kids played Friday night and Saturday morning.
Anyway, mid-day Saturday we began our caravan to Williams, Arizona. The BR family in one car and our family in the other car. As a group, we had selected the Polar Package, which included a one-night stay at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, as well as, dinner and breakfast at the Grand Depot Cafe. For those of you who do not know, the Williams train ride re-creates the book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. The Polar Express comes to life when the train departs the Williams Depot for a journey through the dark and quiet wilderness for a special visit to the "North Pole." The participants enjoy hot chocolate and cookies while listening to the magical story. And then we watched the joy on the children's faces when the train arrives at the North Pole, where Santa Claus and his reindeer are waiting! Santa boarded The Polar Express and handed each child their own special gift -- a silver bell. It was a very exciting night for both families. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We didn't quite know if Madilyn would really enjoy it at eight months old, but she enjoyed the entire trip. She loved all the lights, the other children on the train, Santa Claus, the bell which she just wanted to eat and all of the caroling. It could not have been a more magical evening until ...
Let me preface this by giving you a little history lesson. You may not be aware, but when you have children, when they get sick, you get sick. So, the week prior to the Polar Express trip, Madilyn had been sick with the flu. As expected, I was the next to get the flu. Well, we thought it ended there. We were wrong. Just before the train ride, Josh informed me that he didn't really feel well and it continued to get worse throughout the entire train ride with chills, a slight fever, and nausea. But he was a trooper and smiled through the sickness while the rest of us enjoyed the ride. After the train ride, we all retired to our respective hotel rooms so the kids could go to bed. We said our goodnights and said that we would see everyone for breakfast in the morning. For our family, bedtime nor breakfast never happened. Josh's flu continued to worsen. We think he may have had a little bout of food poisoning as well. Anyway, in the midst of Josh's several trips to the bathroom, I was trying to get Madilyn to sleep in our one bedroom hotel room. However, how could the child sleep with her Dad getting up every fifteen minutes or so? She thought it was playtime. Thus, I was not getting any sleep either. We continued this routine until about 3am in the morning when I finally made an executive decision -- we were going home. It just seemed ricidulous to stay at the hotel when none of us were sleeping. So, we quickly loaded up the car and headed home. The drive home for me was very challenging. First, this was the first weekend Northern Arizona experienced their first snow storm. Of course, it decided to snow just as we were leaving Williams. I do not like driving in snow or icy roads. I am a Phoenician. We do not do snow. Plus, there was tons of fog. I couldn't even see ten feet in front of the car. It was insane and scary! Challenge #2 ... I was exhausted, Josh was exhausted and Madi finally was sleeping in the back seat. So, I had be very careful to find creative ways to *not* fall asleep. I have never been a fan of driving at night either. Anyway, we finally made it home just as the sun was coming up in Phoenix.
Overall, we loved the Polar Express experience. Thank you so much Barber-Rytke family for joining us and we apologize for never making it to breakfast. These are happy memories that we will share for many, many years to come.
The "holiday" season officially began the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had decided in mid-summer that it would be a fun experience to take Madilyn to The Polar Express in Williams, Arizona, for her first Christmas season. We invited several other families to join along and the only crazy ones willing to join this adventure was the Barber-Rytke family all the way from California. And so our adventure began. The BR family drove into Phoenix on Friday afternoon to visit with us and the Gillis family before we headed up to Williams on Saturday. Below are some of the photos taken while the kids played Friday night and Saturday morning.
Anyway, mid-day Saturday we began our caravan to Williams, Arizona. The BR family in one car and our family in the other car. As a group, we had selected the Polar Package, which included a one-night stay at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, as well as, dinner and breakfast at the Grand Depot Cafe. For those of you who do not know, the Williams train ride re-creates the book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. The Polar Express comes to life when the train departs the Williams Depot for a journey through the dark and quiet wilderness for a special visit to the "North Pole." The participants enjoy hot chocolate and cookies while listening to the magical story. And then we watched the joy on the children's faces when the train arrives at the North Pole, where Santa Claus and his reindeer are waiting! Santa boarded The Polar Express and handed each child their own special gift -- a silver bell. It was a very exciting night for both families. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We didn't quite know if Madilyn would really enjoy it at eight months old, but she enjoyed the entire trip. She loved all the lights, the other children on the train, Santa Claus, the bell which she just wanted to eat and all of the caroling. It could not have been a more magical evening until ...
Let me preface this by giving you a little history lesson. You may not be aware, but when you have children, when they get sick, you get sick. So, the week prior to the Polar Express trip, Madilyn had been sick with the flu. As expected, I was the next to get the flu. Well, we thought it ended there. We were wrong. Just before the train ride, Josh informed me that he didn't really feel well and it continued to get worse throughout the entire train ride with chills, a slight fever, and nausea. But he was a trooper and smiled through the sickness while the rest of us enjoyed the ride. After the train ride, we all retired to our respective hotel rooms so the kids could go to bed. We said our goodnights and said that we would see everyone for breakfast in the morning. For our family, bedtime nor breakfast never happened. Josh's flu continued to worsen. We think he may have had a little bout of food poisoning as well. Anyway, in the midst of Josh's several trips to the bathroom, I was trying to get Madilyn to sleep in our one bedroom hotel room. However, how could the child sleep with her Dad getting up every fifteen minutes or so? She thought it was playtime. Thus, I was not getting any sleep either. We continued this routine until about 3am in the morning when I finally made an executive decision -- we were going home. It just seemed ricidulous to stay at the hotel when none of us were sleeping. So, we quickly loaded up the car and headed home. The drive home for me was very challenging. First, this was the first weekend Northern Arizona experienced their first snow storm. Of course, it decided to snow just as we were leaving Williams. I do not like driving in snow or icy roads. I am a Phoenician. We do not do snow. Plus, there was tons of fog. I couldn't even see ten feet in front of the car. It was insane and scary! Challenge #2 ... I was exhausted, Josh was exhausted and Madi finally was sleeping in the back seat. So, I had be very careful to find creative ways to *not* fall asleep. I have never been a fan of driving at night either. Anyway, we finally made it home just as the sun was coming up in Phoenix.
Overall, we loved the Polar Express experience. Thank you so much Barber-Rytke family for joining us and we apologize for never making it to breakfast. These are happy memories that we will share for many, many years to come.
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