Polar Express and Parties Galore!

I love this time of year. There is never a lack of activities to do with the kids. We may have overextended ourselves a bit this weekend because I sort of feel like I have been hit by a bus today, but I just didn't want to miss out on anything!

Friday night, we headed out to Calera to ride on the Polar Express. I bought the tickets for this way back in July because it sells out so quickly, so I think I was just as excited as Hudson was by the time it finally got here. Hudson had been watching the movie since Thanksgiving, and was so excited about riding the train to see the North Pole! He was not, however, excited about seeing Santa and kept telling us all that day that Santa wasn't going to be there.

We got there a little early and looked around at some of the old trains that they have on display. Hudson loved looking at them, but couldn't wait to get on the real train!

Below was the car we rode on!

Patiently waiting in the freezing cold to get on! One of his favorite things was the glowstick we had to buy for a dollar. He hasn't put it down since and likes to use it as a weapon unfortunately!

Boarding the train!

He was like a kid in a candy store. He was thrilled to be on that train!

We went with our friends, the Kincaid's, and Hudson and Hunt had a good time together!

And, we're off to the North Pole!!!

We rode about 10 minutes on the train to the "North Pole". It was a little village of lights, and we got to wave to Santa and Mrs. Claus from the train.

Hudson started to hear something...

An elf!!!

Then, he started to hear something else...

Uh oh!!!

The train ride took a turn for the worse...

Santa decided to skip us first...I think that was a good idea. But then, he came from behind!

I just want to say that he was a really great Santa. He told me that he would get him calmed down and he did!

He's asking Hudson what he wants for Christmas. And then, Santa tells him he's going to bring him a bicycle. Santa probably should have asked Mom and Dad if that was ok because Mom and Dad would have most likely said no on that. Thanks, Santa. He has yet to forget that Santa told him that.

Santa even got Hudson to hold his hand! Like I said, with the exception of the whole bicycle thing, he was a good Santa! This was huge!

This is as close as we could get to a picture. But hey, he's not screaming. We're making progress here.

Once Santa was gone, the world was ok again! Ha! They brought out cookies and chocolate milk, and Hudson was in heaven!

It was a fun ride. I'm not sure that we have to do that every year, but Hudson loved riding on the train so it was worth it for that! After dinner with the Kincaid's, we went to pick up this happy little man...

We figured it would be too cold to take him with us, but don't feel too bad for him. He was getting spoiled by his grandmother!

Saturday, my dear friend from college and her family came up to visit from Gulfport. They had heard about the Polar Express and were doing it Sunday night. They have a son a month younger than Hudson and then had a sweet little girl this summer. We went to Olexa's with them for lunch and then came back for the Liberty Park Christmas Parade.

It's hard to believe we now have two kiddos each! I wish I could see them more. Austin and Hudson had the best time playing together.

They were so cute holding hands.

After the parade, they came back to our house and played for the afternoon.

That night, we had another Christmas party to go to. My friends Cameron and Caroline had their annual Christmas party. I was a little worried about taking both the kids, especially with no naps Friday or Saturday for Hudson, but we took them anyway. I think we've exhausted our babysitters this holiday season already! :) We had a great time seeing everyone and the food is always SO good. That is one of my favorite parts about it. Of course, they always have their house decorated so cute and it's just always a fun time. This year did not disappoint!

We got to stay a couple of hours before the meltdowns began and we had to make a quick exit! Thanks Cameron for a wonderful party!!! Can't wait until next year!

Sunday, we went to church and then to lunch with Joel's parents, and then Hudson and I went straight to a cookie and gingerbread house decorating party. I pretty much knew we were pushing the limit with Hudson at this point, but I also knew this party would be so much fun and I didn't want him to miss it. Margaret went all out and had every little detail of the party planned out perfectly. I hope this becomes something we can do every year! The kids were too cute!

She started out with the kids making Christmas hand towels. Hudson was not interested in getting his foot or his hand painted, so he skipped that part. I was so sad about that because I really wanted one, but he's funny about getting his hands dirty and I wasn't going to push it. All of the other kids did it and they turned out so precious. Now that I watched her do it, I may try to do it at home once Hudson is out of school for the holidays. We'll see how that goes! I'm definitely not crafty so it will probably turn out as one big disaster!

Then, all the kids got to use the cookie cutters and fun sprinkles and make some cute Christmas cookies!

The last part was decorating gingerbread houses. I'm pretty sure Hudson ate an entire bowl of M&M's while decorating his house, but oh well. They all turned out so cute. You can't mess it up!

Then, we tried to get a group picture. These crack me up. You absolutely cannot get five kids to look and smile at the camera at the same time. I'm impressed we got them to stand there though, so I call it a success!

I can't wait to watch these kids grow up together!

Thank you Margaret for such a fun party. Hudson is still talking about all he got to do!

We had such a fun and FULL weekend. I loved it though. However, I did not get a lick of shopping done so I'm way behind. I can't believe Christmas is in 2 weeks!