A Great "Weekend"

Our daughter at the Deer Farm petting the goats. Our son trying to climb out the window of the train.

Our daughter feeding the deer.

The kids riding in Santa's sleigh.

The light display at the train depot.

I'll start by simply saying that we had a great "weekend." Really, I couldn't have asked for it to have gone better, which is saying a lot. We left Sunday morning for a four to five hour drive up north. Our daughter is a wonderful traveller. She's easily entertained and no problem whatsoever. Our son we were not so sure about. Previous car trips have been disastrous because he screamed the majority of the way, which only stressed me out and then I'm in a bad mood, which only makes him cry harder. So, we were hoping for the best but totally expecting the worst. He was absolutely perfect though the entire 4 1/2 hours. We only stopped once for lunch and he didn't cry a bit.

When we got to Williams we checked into our hotel and then did a little bit of "hiking." The weather was cold, but gorgeous. The high was around 45 degrees, but bundled up was actually rather enjoyable. I was even able to take my daughter into town for just some girl time while my husband and son took a nap. It was nice to walk around and do some shopping and just enjoy the conversation without the interruption of having to split attention between two kids.

That evening we went down to the train depot about an hour and a half before our train ride was scheduled to depart so the kids could walk through all the lights and see the displays. My son has a love affair with horses and there were three of them pulling carriages. So he was in hog heaven. At 8 pm we boarded the train and headed off to the "North Pole." The kids had a blast and were thrilled when Santa boarded and gave all the children a bell. While our son was good he did not sit still the entire time. He would sit, then stand, then climb off his seat and the process just repeated. He has confirmed every concern we have about flying with him. (My parents are moving to DC in a few weeks and we have plans to visit them...apparently no time soon, though). There's a portion of the train ride where you are instructed to open your windows. The train has slowed by this point but is still moving. Our son made an instant attempt to climb out the window which about gave me a heart attack. I should mention that prior to boarding he flipped himself over the chain railing and cut his head so all I had were visions of him falling out of the train and splitting his head open even further.

The next morning we went and met my sister, her husband and my nieces and nephews (who were coming up to ride the train the following day) at a Deer Farm. There were goats, deer, reign deer, camels, and a variety of other animals that you essentially walk amongst and feed. It was a pretty cool experience and both of our kids loved it.

The ride home was great again and both kids actually slept about an hour of the ride. It was nice because my husband and I were able to just talk about some upcoming changes in our lives and just joke around. We were in no real rush to get back so we stopped at some of the outlet malls along the way and I was able to get some cute clothes for the kids and some dress/work pants for my husband. Unfortunately, nothing for me. Isn't that always how it ends up?

Anyway, how was your weekend or early part of the week? Any plans for this week?