It Was Magical!

It really was, gize. For our Christmas present this year, my mother in law bought tickets for the entire family to ride the train up to the "North Pole" and see Santa Claus. It was super fun. As an extra little bit of magic, it ended up snowing that day just for us. That did make it a little colder than I could handle but the North Pole wouldnot have been the same without snow. The drive up took forever since our van has bald tires and no traction control but we made it. See, I told you we made it. Here we are in front of the wrong train but ours did look exactly the same. Morgan opted to not wear a coat.

We couldn't find Jesse for our earlier photo shoot and by the time he got back to the train, the other kids had scattered off. Here is Jesse in front of the same wrong train.

Wini wanted to go up to the top of the train just like on the movie "Polar Express" and was very rudely told no but the consession lady. Tractor Grandma was trying unsuccessfully to console her.

Here is most of the group. It looks like a few people's entire body didn't make it though but at least we got the concession lady in the very back.

Santa, obviously.
It was too cold for the kids to stand in line to see Santa so the adults stood in line while the kids waited on the train. The picture is actually after we saw Santa but it was a good example of how they waited on the train.

My father in law and his twin brother, Santa, as requested my Santa.

It was tons of fun and something I definitely want to do every year. Thanks Leon and Janie for such a fun day.

BFFs

Growing up, my sister Jenny had a best friend that she was inseperable with. Awhile back she did a blog post to this special, special person and then yesterday I happened across a picture of them together. I figured out how to scan (finally) so now Jenny can have this picture forever.

Her and Big Mamma were so close! We miss you Big Mamma!

Happy World Aids Day, Everyone!!!!

I am so excited that it is December! I started getting anxious and excited for Christmas back in July. Every year I say I am going to be more festive and I never do it but I think this year will be different. My kids are getting older and I am able to do more things with them without having to curl up in a ball and cry afterwards. It is also fun having a 12 year old for Christmas too (Jesse, my pcs kid is the 12 year old for those of you who didn't know). This year I am hoping to be able to ride the train upto the "North Pole" aka Horseshue Bend and see Santa Claus. I am also wanting to do fun things at home with the kids like gingerbread houses and watch Christmas movies together and maybe even go see a Christmas show with the kids. I am way excited. These are all the things I plan to do every year but when the time comes to actually go do it, it sounds to exhausting but this year will be different. Just wait and see.

I had a very fun Thanksgiving. It was my year to go to the in-laws. We took family pictures and ate a tasty meal. On my way home from the in-laws, my mom called and said she, my dad, Erin and Maddie were all going to see Twilight. Of course I wanted to go. I arrived at the theater late and thought it was a bit odd that my mom wasn't sitting next to my dad. The order went: Erin, Maddie, my mom, empty space for me, and then my dad. Hmmmmm wierd. Whatever. So the movie broke down during previews and took an hour to start up again. My mom and I decided to go to the bathroom while they were fixing it up. when we came back I offered her to sit next to dad. She acted kind of wierd and refused to sit by him but I just assumed that it was because she wanted to sit next to Maddie. When the movie started, I then realized how very wrong I was. The first time I saw the movie, when Edward makes his first appearance on the screen, I heard screaming girls. This time all I heard was my dad yelling, "Oh for crying out loud!". While it was just as funny, it was distracting. Instead of hearing giggling girls through the whole movie, I heard my dad's hysterical laughter. At times, I was laughing just as hard because laughter apparently is contagious. He kept asking why Edward was wearing lipstick and if he had autism. I see why my mom didn't want to sit next to him. Don't worry everyone, I still loved Edward and I love the movie. It was very memorable seeing it with him. In fact I even went to see it again two days later. I laughed again the third time because the acting is terrible but it doesn't matter because of Edward.

I had a great weekend with my sisters (Amy, Erin, Jenny, Katie) and the best part of it was that Morgan watched my kids for me all weekend long so I could go out stress free. The games are always fun. We played a few rounds of trivial pursuit. My team won once and the other team won once so it was pretty fair. I love it when that happens. It is so fun playing games with my family. They make me laugh pretty hard. Jenny had some pretty cool dance moves that she was doing while we listened to the Twilight soundtrack over and over and over and over. It was a good time. I hope everyone has a wonderful World Aids Day!!!! Wah waaaaaaah!!!