the north pole flyer

bailey and i had been anticipating taking the girls on the north pole flyer, a local train that does a christmas ride for kids, since may when i purchased the tickets (it fills up fast!). we had a great start to our evening . . . dinner at a favorite restaurant, the kids opened their christmas p.j.'s and slippers in the car, the were all decked out! :) even the walk up to the train was pretty cool! we had out own compartment . . . plenty of room to spread out and let the kids be monkeys!

well, after the initial boarding, it seemed to be one crazy thing after another . . . the train left almost 45 minutes late (we were having to entertain them for the whole time . . . i didn't bring anything entertaining other than food!)/ about 15 minutes into the ride our car (attached to the engine) became unattached from the rest of the train and went completely black. fun. so we had to reverse and re-attach. the kids were dressed in fleece p.j.'s and the car was like 80 degrees! and despite all of the pitfalls, we still arrived back at the station promptly at 9 . . . hmmmm, not exactly the magical experience i was imagining! the kids had fun and just enjoyed being on a train and moving without having to sit in their seat! :)

there is a silver lining to the whole thing! :) i complained and they refunded my $140! so for a free ride, i guess we'll take the craziness! :)