After the church Christmas show, we headed down to the Springs to check into the hotel to do our annual Polar Express train with Santa on the Royal Gorge railroad. The kids were stoked about spending the night in the hotel so we got prepped in our pjs (all of us but daddy) and after nap, we headed down to Canon City, Colorado. 
Let me put a quick disclaimer out there for you - - the photos are a tad blurry as it was so dark out that I tried to play with the settings on my camera. I couldn’t capture the essence of the evening, but you’ll get it once you see them. 
We arrived and had the best seats in the Vista Dome car. We had a booth for 5 at the tail end of the car so we had room to plop our bags and jackets. The tra
in car was decorated in festive holiday décor with tiny Christmas lights to boot. Around every picture window was garland with lights which really added a special touch to the trip. We arrived 45 minutes early and immediately boarded to have dinner.
Once the train got moving, we had our hot cocoa and cookies while singing Christmas Carols. Last year, our train car was much more into the singing than this year. I did miss hearing everyone sing this year…must have been a car full of more shy folks as I was ready to belt off all the tunes off key! 
As we were arriving to the North Pole, we headed out of our seats to the ope
n air car. We were the only ones who braved the weather to go outside and wave to Santa as we slowly idled past. I love the kids faces as they see t
he North Pole! Check em out! Only one other woman was there but we quickly found out she was the owner of the train so that was neat to see her enjoying the trip as much as we were. 
As we bounded back to the seats anxiously waiting for Santa to arrive, the kids wrote out what they were going to ask for Christmas from Santa. They would periodically peer over the railing to see if they could see Santa and the “elves” in the train didn’t help much as they made
us chant “SANTA SANTA SANTA” for like ten minutes prior to his arrival. The build up was crazy. Then then would run down the stairs to see if Santa was close to entering and they would run back up the stairs to sadly tell us that they couldn’t see him. 
Once Santa emerged in our train, mayhem broke loose with all the tots and Eban yelled out, “DID YOU GET MY EMAIL?!” We were laughing so hard as Eban received an email from Santa this year (so did Jack) about their year and whether or not they made good choices…this email also had pictures in it so it was pretty neat. I think Eban thought he wrote back to Santa. 
Well…Eban 
blurted out he wanted a Nintendo DSS system, Scooby Doo games, and he went on and on. Jack wasn’t scared this year and told Santa he wanted a train. Jack was more simple but Eban kept rattling off things he wanted. 
Santa gave them their special bells and off he went while we sat back in awe of the experience. Then the crazy guy with the accordian came by so the boys could sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - - he came by our table last year and stayed for a while playing real loud. At least we expected it this year...It really is a fun trip.
The below videos showcase the boys and one of their favorite games now - - wiping off my kisses.
The Accordian Player on the Polar Express (Ignore Mom's Singing at the End)
I Won't Wipe It Off #1
I Won't Wipe It Off #2
