Holiday Express at Pullen Park

We had such a fun time at the Holiday Express at Pullen Park. They had all kinds of fun activities in addition to riding the carousel and the train to see the lights. They also had an outdoor movie, a sledding hill, and the kids got to visit with Santa. I was worried about crowds since every night of the festival was sold out in advance. But it was so well organized and we arrived later in the evening and didn't encounter any lines for anything. The kids loved staying up late and playing on the playground in the dark.

Catching snowflakes.

The sledding hill was almost completely ice and soooo fast. There were a lot of crashes.

Playing games and winning prizes.

Making reindeer food.

The train ride was definitely Oliver's favorite part.

Elsa was so excited to sit on Santa's lap. We couldn't hear their conversation but Elsa's smile was suddenly gone and Santa was talking a lot. And then Elsa looked like she was trying to hold back tears. Apparently Elsa told Santa she wanted a dog for Christmas and he informed her he couldn't carry live cargo on his sleigh. Elsa was pretty devastated after that and it took us awhile to get her to bounce back.

Oliver told Santa he wanted presents for Christmas. And Simon just screamed and drooled his sucker on Santa.

christmas around the house.

Simon's primary goal this month has been to remove all the candles from the windows. And occasionally throw them over the balcony and watch them shatter.

 We've dubbed this "the Christmas room."

christmas tree

We decided to try cutting down our Christmas tree this year. We went to a nearby farm and the kids loved wandering around looking for the perfect tree. We have always gotten a fraser fir but this year we cut down a Carolina Sapphire. It smelled really good and was big and bushy and pretty. But Ben and I both got rashes and tiny slivers on our hands and arms trying to get it home and strung with lights. It also ended up dying really quickly and is extremely flammable at this point. So I think it's back to the fraser fir next year.

I just loved this view out our front door after bringing the tree in. Some of our trees had just reached their peak of fall color.

Just a pretty shot of the sun going down in the yard.

birthday ben.

Ben's birthday celebration was a pretty low key affair. An evening stroll through the neighborhood, dinner, presents, and cake. Ben and I went out to dinner later in the week and we're planning a little getaway when my mom is in town to watch the kids (wahoo!).

Chocolate tres leches cake. So good.