All Aboard The Polar Express!

This past Friday night we joined a group of friends and rode on the local Polar Express (there were 20 of us in all).  What a blast!  Most of us have babies and we all agreed ahead of time to leave them at home and let the big boys and girls enjoy some mom and dad time.  I am so glad we did that...it was a 3 hour ride and Lily Kate would have gone nuts!  We had such a blast.  The kids moved from lap to lap and mainly sat with every parent but their own.  Seriously, we hardly saw Cole that night but we got some good cuddles from his pals.  It was such a fun night...the kids wore their Christmas jammies and we sang Christmas Carols (mainly Frosty and Rudolph and the 12 days of Christmas - those were known by all).  We had dinner on the train, hot chocolate and loads of cookies and candy.  It was Luke and Lisa's birthday so Emily brought a yummy birthday cake to share as well.  By the end we were all on a sugar high.  Santa, Frosty and Rudolph all made appearances on the train which was a HUGE hit with the kids!  Santa had time to stop and talk with every child and get his picture taken and that was so cute.  After dinner Cole quickly found a comfy seat in the lap of Haley, his sweet friend's older sister.  Oh my - he was in love!  He has since asked when Haley can come over and have a play date (never mind that she is 20).  Rhonald and I sat in the last row of our group so we were able to watch all of the action....kids climbing in and out of laps, looking at lights out the windows, laughing and laughing over silly things and all we kept saying was "man, we are blessed!"  Every mom and dad in "our group" love our kids...they watch out for them and hug them and spoil them as if Cole and Lily Kate were their own.  And we love all of their kids as well.  It is such a great comfort and blessing to know we have these friends to raise our kids with .... and several others that were not able to make it on the ride.  God is good and we are thankful that he has given this family of friends!  It was a wonderful night and it was a memory we will treasure forever!