Holiday Magic

I have been kind of teary for the last few days, and I think it is because we are at the end of another holiday season. This was the most magical Christmas I have had since I was a child, and it is because I have children of my own to share it with now. We had an amazing Christmas, and I am just a little sad to see it end!

We went to the Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier. Both boys were thrilled with the lights...big guy especially loved the Spongebob Santa lights! We were also able to ride the holiday train, little guy's favorite thing! Lake Lanier has a beautiful Christmas shop, and we always let the boys choose an ornament for the tree. This year, big guy picked a cowboy ornament (in honor of his cowboy birthday party this past August), and little guy picked (what else???) a train.

We also took a trip to Bryson City, NC, to ride the Polar Express! Little guy is completely obsessed with this movie (of course he is, it's about a TRAIN!!!). The trip turned out to be quite an adventure, as we ended up driving into a snowstorm, but the snow really only added to the whole "Polar" experience. This trip was pure magic, and I would recommend it to anyone with kids! We sat in the first-class car and the kids feasted on Christmas cookies and, of course, hot chocolate! Their tickets were stamped by a conductor, and they were served by chefs just like in the movie (minus the acrobatic dancing). We listened to the story and rode to the North Pole (which was, unfortunately, suffering from a power outage due to the winter storm). Once at the North Pole, we picked up Santa! He spent time with each child in our car and gave us each a beautiful bell from his sleigh. On the way back we sang Christmas carols and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The snow was so bad that we had to find a last-minute hotel room, but it just added to the fun! The best part of the night was when big guy told us that since we rode a train to the North Pole, now he knew that he had seen the REAL Santa.