tales from a far-land

This past weekend we took the kids up north to enjoy the snow and visit the North Pole via the Polar Express.  We had so much fun!  The kids are a perfect ages to enjoy both activities. Christy and Brandon joined us on our adventure this year.  Neither of them had ever taken the Polar Express, so we invited them to join along.  Aiden was really excited (or maybe it was all of the candy) to go on the train to meet Santa.  Madi also seemed pretty excited..  Both kids colored him pictures to give to him on the train.  On the train, we all enjoyed cookies, hot chocolate, the reading of The Polar Express , a visit from Santa Claus and the singing of carols. Sunday morning, on our way down the mountain, we stopped in Munds Park at the Farrell cabin so the kids (and Josh and Christy) could play in the snow.  They really wanted to build a snowman.  And so they did. What did they name him?  Olaf, of course.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed t...

On the Saturday before Christmas, the Farrell-Landers family drove up to the snowy town of Williams, Arizona.  It was time again to board the Polar Express to the North Pole.  This was our family's third visit, but the first time that both of the kids would be old enough to understand what was about to occur.  Our good friends, the Bukatas, joined us for the adventure.  We all stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. The weather was beautiful crisp and chilly with snow still on the ground, but enjoyable all the same.  We arrived at the hotel about three in the afternoon.  This gave us enough time to check-in and wind down before our five thirty train boarding time.  The kids were so excited (so were the parents)!  We had the *best* train car this time.  The baker girls were enthusiastic and got everyone in the car in the holiday spirit. Plus, they were able to get Madi to sing and dance in the aisle with the other children.  We just cou...

For the second weekend in December, the Farrell-Landers family decided to take a trip up north visit Santa via the Polar Express.  Our good friends, the Raetz Family, decided to accompany us on this fun adventure.  This was our second trip to Williams, Arizona, to board the infamous Polar Express Train.  All of the kids loved it.  Keaton currently is very obsessed with trains so he just kept talking about the train.  Madi quickly learned that Santa is a celebrity and someone she should pay attention to.  Both toddlers loved the concept of Santa, but as soon as he was front and center handing them their "jingle bell", they both acted shy and aloof.  Too cute!  Although, I am happy to report that after this trip to see Santa, Madilyn asked about Santa daily even past Christmas day and once all of the decorations were packed up.  Friday night was Polar Express night, so we spent the night in Flagstaff that evening to avoid driving dow...

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...