{ The Polar Express } Durango, Colorado 2009

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Caeden. Caeden loved the Polar Express and dreamed of riding on it one day.

His Mom and Dad planned a surprise trip to the Polar Express in hopes of adding an extra special touch to Caeden and his sister, Claire's, Christmas this year.

And so the adventure of Caeden and Claire's trip on the Polar Express began ...

The tickets were picked up at the crowded counter - golden and as true as the story - and Caeden held onto them tight.

 Dad surprised us all by springing for the First Class ride.

Caeden waited patiently for the Conductor to signal that it was time to board the train.

Claire just took it all in. "Where are we again?"

Caeden was interested in the details and asked questions like, "Where is the smoke stack? Will the light bulb burn out? Will the train slide on the ice?" 

Finally it was time to board the train. Our coach was named the Alamosa. 

As the train pulled away from the station, Caeden sat quietly and looked out his window, watching the lights and bustle of the station slowly fade behind him.

This is the point in the story that the lights on the train dimmed, and only the colorful glow of the candles on our table lit our coach. This is also where the narrator started to freak out that she did not bring a flash and could not take any more pictures ...


All of a sudden, a man in a white coat and hat appeared. He danced to some music, "Hot! Hot! We've got it!" and served us delicious hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles. 


Caeden continued to stare out the window in silence as he watched the city lights pass by.


Then the story of the Polar Express was read...


The story ended just as we pulled into the North Pole. We saw reindeer and elves from our windows. Just as we began to wonder where Santa was, he appeared in our coach!!


He talked with Caeden first, hugging him tight. "What do you want for Christmas," he asked? Caeden replied, "A Polar Express train and a REAL workbench. Oh, and a Big Foot monster truck..."


Santa looked at Caeden and smiled. "I will see what I can do, Caeden." And then Santa handed him a silver bell.


The look on Caeden's face was precious. Incredulously, he said, "Santa talked to me, Mom!"


The ride home from the North Pole was magical. The passengers sang Christmas carols and Caeden happily rang his silver bell to the beat of the songs. 

It was a magical, joyous trip full of memories that we'll treasure forever. And hopefully we'll be able to do it all over again next year.

We witnessed the joy of the season through Caeden's eyes this weekend. I wish it to be like this all season long...