The Polar Express, 2008

The drive. We were an hour closer than last year, but God played a cruel trick on us: Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings Time, so we lost an hour. And there was traffic on our way out of Vegas. And snow in AZ. So it might have taken us longer to get there this year than it did last year.

At the Grand Canyon.

Note the completely inappropriate glove-wear on Claire. They are likely acrylic, and my size.

Rare snow down to the floor of the Canyon.

Claire, cold, but being a good sport.

Three napless, wet and very cold children aboard the Polar Express in Williams, AZ.

Reagan and Kate enjoying hot chocolate with their daddies. At the hotel bar. We should have had the bartender add some schnapps to their mugs, for the lack of sleeping that occurred later that night.

Kate gleefully making snow angels. She is also oddly inappropriately dressed in all cotton.

Reagan and Kate hunching their shoulders in a failed effort to stay warm. The winds were gale-force, and the windchill must have been in the single digits.

We survived. We even had a good bit of fun, in between the refusal of the children to nap in the car and very few bed times before 9pm. We left on the day Las Vegas was supposed to get several inches of snow, so it was slow-going. The roads were clear, but wet, until about an hour before we got to Williams. Then, it was craziness. Trucks spun-out and in the ditch, semis driving (without chains) like there was no snow. We made it in one piece, though, and quickly settled into our room. Shayne and her family were right next door, so the kids had loads of fun running back and forth through the shared door. The boys dressed Kate and Reagan up in their snow gear (or what constituted 'snow gear' for us) and took them outside. They were gone longer than expected, but that was because of their detour to the bar for hot cocoa after about 10 minutes of snow.

We pushed for the train at 8pm, and had to wait. The train had some electrical problems, so it was running behind, and we made the mistake of standing in line for it outside. By the time we made it inside the train, we were all frozen, wet, and slightly miserable. The kids were tired and cold, and we all vowed to never do this again. I think we might have made that vow last year. But the kids loved looking at the lights, drinking hot cocoa, eating stale cookies, and seeing Santa. We made it back to the station right at bedtime: 10pm. It was a rough night.

The next day we took a day-trip on the train to the Grand Canyon. It was gorgeous. The kids loved it. Kate saw the Canyon, immediately made a snowball, and threw it over the edge. It was a proud moment for Tim. There were a few meltdowns on the way back (see also: no naps), but we survived.

The next day we drove to Tucson to see my sister and her family. Lucy is adorable, and my sister is glad to be home from the hospital.