Once in a rare while you find real magic... Yesterday was that day for me, the boys, Grandma W, Uncle Dave, Owen and our friend Nathan.
We got up early and piled into the car for the long ride to the North Pole!! It was raining when we started out, then turned to ice and finally snow. The drive took us through a remote winter wonderland surrounded on all sides by frosted evergreens and mountains. It was beautiful (although a bit scary). And, the boys were convinced that we were headed to the real thing.
We finally arrived and they weren't disappointed. There really was a pole of snow...
The whole place was beautiful covered in a thin layer of snow. I'm sure that mid-summer it shows its age, but it was perfect while we were there.
This is the chapel where the elves marry. Ryan would like to know why elves marry. Can anyone answer that question for me? I tried, but he's not accepting my answers.
This boy makes me smile. He had such a good time.
I'm not sure what is going on here... maybe they were sick of stopping for pictures.
They even got to pet a reindeer! But, we forgot to ask which one.
I couldn't get Owen to turn away from Tannenbaum, the talking tree. Too funny! The boys asked the tree questions including if he liked being decorated. He does, by the way, and thinks he looks good!
It was finally time to go inside Santa's House.
The loved checking the place out.
And, even sat on Santa's bed!
Then it was time to see the man himself. Owen was up first and I think he was a little nervous. Santa asked his name and he said "Guitar." Ha ha!
I removed Owen's elf hat for this picture because he was whacking Santa in the face. Santa felt bad so he shared his hat with O. Very special.
Ryan couldn't remember what he wanted.
Santa said he could text in his wish.
I was so focused on putting the boys in clothes that would be comfortable under winter clothes all day that I didn't consider how this neon shirt would look in this pic. Oops.
The boys had a great time.
They even enjoyed some of the rides.
This kid cracks me up. Could he smile any bigger?
It is really hard to take a pic while on the coaster. Hopefully that cheek is enough to remember the pure joy on Ryan's face.
I think we made this trip just in time. They are 9 and 10. And, are convinced we were at THE north pole. Maybe I should have told them to keep it a secret for when they go to school tomorrow.
They're already talking about a trip to the pole in the summer just to make sure it is really frozen all year.
This trip was exactly what I had hoped it would be. As we were leaving, we heard Ryan in the back of the car say "we finally met the real Santa." Perfect.
Do you see that bag in Tyler's hand? While we were there, the boys saw the "Genuine Elf on the Shelf" sign outside of a shop. Genuine being the key word. They have wanted an Elf for a long time, especially Tyler, but I have always told them that mom has to ok the elf coming into the house and I said no because I didn't want to be spied on. I held firm. Until the North Pole. Because it was the real one. They seemed so sincere. Yup, I got suckered and that was confirmed tonight. Dan read the boys the book that came with the Elf and afterwards Tyler told him that he has wanted an Elf for a long time and mom kept saying no, no, no, but he broke her. Seriously, he said he broke me.
We made some special memories this weekend.
