Olympia Trip and The Polar Express

So, one of my favorite Christmas stories is the Polar Express.  I've always heard that people will take their kids to places to ride a train and experience the story in person.  I got on line and discovered they had one at Mt. Rainier.  Of course I HAD to get us tickets.  I also thought that since we would be in the area, we could just spend the whole weekend in Olympia.  Jake and I really liked the town when we interviewed there over a year ago.  We also told the kids that we would take them to explore it for themselves.  I booked us a hotel by the waterfront and we had a BLAST!

For the first time, Jake and I booked 2 rooms.  One for us and one for the kids to share.  They ended up being across the hall from us.  We ate at a few places I had discovered on my previous trip.  I even took them to my FAVORITE toy store.  Jake told Allie she might sleep better at night if she had a GIANT OCTOPUS.  So she got Ollie.  Owen even got a harmonica.

The evening we did the Polar Express was EPIC.  They had actors dressed as the main characters.  We had a cookie and cup of hot chocolate.  Santa even walked around greeting everyone and giving them a silver bell (just like the book).

I'm so glad my family indulged me and went on this adventure with me.  One of my favorite Christmas memories.