Winter Wonderland

All aboard!

Our trip to Bentleyville with the kindergartners from AJ's school started with a bus trip that we pretended was the Polar Express. In keeping with the story, we each got a ticket. One of the teachers then walked down the aisle, punching a pattern on each.

"What does mine say?" AJ asked as he looked at the newly punched holes.
"It says, 'Sit still'," I told him.

The teacher, who was still within hearing range, couldn't hold in the laugh.

Looking out the bus windows as we drove along highway 61, after all the snow we've had the last couple weeks, it almost felt like we were on the Polar Express headed to the North Pole. It was very cold, but also, incredibly beautiful. Soon enough, we reached our destination:

The first stop: hot chocolate (which the kids decided was too hot, so Jeff and I got to drink it) and cookies.

After that, we followed the path through tunnels made of lights. Along the way, we spotted numerous holiday mascots.

The marshmallow-roasting area was a welcome chance to warm up. (Jeff loves the photo below. I believe his comment was, "Great. I look like a piss bum." He insists he shaved that morning.)

The wait for Santa was relatively warm thanks to some propane heaters set up along the aisles. Up until that point, Sydney had been a real trooper, wanting to walk with the rest of us. But after a few minutes in line, her adrenaline rush apparently came to an abrupt halt, and from that point on she wanted to be carried.

It wasn't until after the visit with Santa that I really started to feel cold. I don't know if it was the absence of the propane heaters, or the fact that the path traveled close to the lake so there was no wind barrier, but suddenly I was freezing.

We moved through the rest fairly quickly en route to the buses. AJ decided his favorite lights were the nutcrackers (that look more like toy soldiers to me) that guarded both ends of the final tunnel.

All in all we were there for an hour, which Jeff determined was the perfect length of time to see it all. It was especially fun to watch AJ interact with his classmates throughout the bus ride and tour.

I am so thankful to live in a community that offers these kinds of opportunities. To all the volunteers who made Bentleyville happen, not to mention the teachers who arranged the field trip - thank you. This was a great way to instill a feeling of holiday festivities in the entire family.