The North Pole

For the past two years, ever since I first heard about it, I have wanted to take the kiddos up to the North Pole.  But two years ago we were gone when we could have gone, and last year it was bitter cold, like high of 3-4 for weeks. And the North Pole is filled with rides and outdoor activities, not my idea of a good time while battling frost bite.

But this year? The weather surrounding Thanksgiving was gorgeous, in the 40's and 50's (and even 60's!) and Drew had FOUR days off so we just had to go.
We didn't tell them where we were going Friday morning when we headed out the door, just that we were headed somewhere fun! After a stop at Krispy Kreme, because come on, we had to, off to the North Pole we went! Its a little bit in the mountains, so it took about 90 minutes to get there, but the kids were perfect in the car. We are blessed to have such amazing travelers!
Apparently we chose the busiest week of the year to go, so we had a wait to get in, but once we were in, the only time we really had to wait in line for more than 5-10 minutes was for lunch.  By the end of the day I had dubbed myself professional line holder. I could only go on a few rides, so I basically just stood in line and watched the kids and Drew (and sometimes just the kids) go on rides. But even so, the day was perfect. The kids were in Heaven. Which means I was, watching their faces. And I might have shed a tear or two seeing their faces light up again and again, or maybe it was the bright mountain sun..Regardless, seeing their faces so lit up all day, completely priceless.  We couldn't believe how much of a little thrill seeker Tindra is. She wanted to go on every ride, again and again. Even the ones we thought would be a bit scary/too fast for her. Nope, too fast is apparently Not in her vocabulary. If it spun around and around? It got bonus points. She definitely did Not get that from her mamma.  It's been a couple weeks and the kids are still talking about when they went to the North Pole. I can't wait to take them again next year!