Ridin' The Rail

This year we discovered & booked a round trip for 4 on The North Pole Express (via The Heber Valley Railroad or "Heber Creeper" if you're from Utah!) Excitement abounded for all in the days leading up to the trip. A ride on a Christmas train, a possible Santa sighting were plenty to look forward to, and a splash in the hotel swimming pool was icing on the cake! We failed to reach the train station @ the recommended time due to lapses in Mom & Dad's memories on how to get from Park City to Heber. We were some of the last people to board the train & had limited seat choices... very limited!

We ran into some friends from Firth; from our ward even! Imagine that! We all sat together & enjoyed delicious hot cocoa, Mrs. Claus' cookies, singing, watching for Christmas lights & a s-l-o-w ride. Mrs. Claus came by to share her chocolate chip cookie recipe with everyone; some "rein"deer were spotted along the way & after what seemed like forever, we made it to "The North Pole" where Santa was spotted. The train stopped to let him on & he travelled through the train cars greeting children, giving hugs & high fives, posing for pictures & handing out special bells while the train creeped back to the station. Emma's excitement for Santa this year made my heart happy! Every Santa she saw got a huge smile, some happy shrieks & a great big running hug! This Santa was no exception (other than the running part). She immediately dove from my arms to his the second he came into range! Ava loved seeing Santa as well, but thought the visit from Mrs. Claus was pretty cool! It's not often we get to visit with her.



My personal excitement to take the girls on this trip created high expectations of the ride. Unfortunately, those expectations went unmet, but the girls really enjoyed themselves & it kept the magical spark of Christmas going for them! And... if you're wondering what a long car trip, a slow train ride, the excitement of Christmas & a late night swim will do to you it looks like this: