Snow Day

One thing I loved dearly growing up was having Snow Days. Snow Days are the days when you wake up to a winter wonderland. Snow swirling. Roads too bad to drive on - even school buses are out of commission! I remember waiting around the radio with my siblings or watching the news intently for the announcement that school had been canceled. What a wonderful treat - an unexpected holiday! With roads impassable, we would hunker down inside - cozy. Or with such a dumping of snow we'd quickly dress in our warmest clothes and head outside for sled riding and snowman building. I loved snow days.

I want my children to experience snow days - unexpected holidays - a day off. But I can't count on the weather to give my children snow days in Arizona. Instead, I have vowed to give my children one snow day a year - and they never know what day it's going to be.

This year, their snow day was a big one. It started on Friday, November 14th. Carena and Colt woke up to this (click on it if you need to see it larger):


After they packed, we told them what the snow day was all about. We were going to go on the Polar Express (thetrain.com). We headed to Williams, AZ to catch the Polar Express to the North Pole.

We arrived in Williams around 1:30 pm. I really liked the hotel we stayed in. The rooms were adequate - not super special . . . but what made the hotel fantastic was the lobby. It had a huge fireplace in it. It was cozy. Every time we went through the lobby we all made sure to stop and sit by the fire for a few minutes. After checking in (and Chris lugging all the suitcases up to our room), we got our swim suits on and went for a dip in the indoor swimming pool (which was much too chilly and we ended up hanging out in the hot tub instead).

After swimming, we got dressed in our coziest pajamas and headed to dinner - yes, in our pj's! We had a delicious buffet dinner (we pigged out). While we were eating our dinner we noticed some horse drawn carriages making their rounds outside. The restaurant - located directly across from our hotel and from the train depot - also had a huge fireplace.


Once dinner was over, we went to the train depot. Santa was there and Carena got to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas (she also told him what Colt wanted since Colt was too shy to sit with the Big Man). Carena and Jonathan also met Mrs. Claus and she was gracious enough to autograph the kids' copy of The Polar Express.

Then . . . it was time. We were outside when the Polar Express pulled in. It was at that moment when I realized how magical our trip was. I was holding Jonathan and as he saw the train pull in, he smiled the most happy sparkling smile and enthusiastically waved at the train. I feel so blessed that I was able to see that moment through Jonathan's eyes.

After the "All Aboard!" we boarded the train (I had never been on a train!) and got into our seats and we were off! Hot chocolate was passed out and we each got a cookie that Mrs. Claus had made (to tell you the truth, Mrs. Claus is a really lousy baker).

The story of The Polar Express was read. We sang Christmas carols as we made our way to the North Pole. Before long we had arrived at the North Pole, where we saw a small village all lit up with lights and there in the middle of it all was Santa Claus! The train made a stop, picked up Santa, and we headed back to the depot. Santa then came through each car and delivered a gift to each child. Carena told me that as Santa gave her the gift, she almost cried, she was so touched and filled with joy.

Our ride on The Polar Express then came to an end. We de-boarded (is that a word?). As we left, Chris and I again noticed the horse drawn carriage rides being "offered" (at a pretty price), but we thought it would totally be worth it. And it was. It was another magical memory for us to store away. Our carriage driver was a character, the horse was beautiful, and we were all snuggled up in the carriage.

We then headed back to our hotel room where we had a treat of some delicious zucchini bread (thank you so much Julie) and apple juice before hitting the hay.

In the morning we had a buffet breakfast (all the bacon you can eat). The hotel had a game room with video games, fusball, and a pinball machine. Colt was dying to spend a few quarters there, so we did. The kids had a great time playing to their heart's content.

Sadly, it was then time to leave. We left the trees and the wee bit of snow behind. It was hard to let go of such a magical weekend, but I'm so grateful for the memories.