The Day We Went to the North Pole

So on Christmas Eve this year we went to the North Pole! We had planned to go on Saturday, December 22nd when my mom and dad (a.k.a. Gram & Pop) got here, but because of snowy roads, we decided to go on the 24th. When you live in Liberty Lake, you can get to the North Pole via Coeur d'Alene. You simply go on the Santa Cruise. We had such a great time doing this last year that we decided to do it again this year since Brooke and Pop weren't there in 2006.

Our boat sailed at 5:00 p.m. and we had a wonderful time. The boat took us on a nice tour of the light display at the Couer d'Alene Resort and we enjoyed some hot chocolate and rice krispie treats as we set out to sea. We let Katelyn bring Rudolph and Clarice (her stuffed reindeer) along for the ride - so she was thrilled - she loves to take them anywhere we will let her. She expressed some concern though... she remembered from last year that Santa reads a list of all the "good" children. She was a little nervous that she might not be on that list. Brooke on the other hand was not thinking about lists at all. Instead she was mesmerized by all of the lights. For the past few weeks she has been consistently saying "Tee" (tree) when she points at Christmas trees. We discovered on the cruise however, that "Tee" actually means anything that is covered in twinkling lights. She also kept pointing and saying "Wow." It was so fun to watch them and see their excitement. Both girls thoroughly enjoyed the cruise but Katelyn really got into it after she knew she was in fact on the "good list" (when you arrive at the North Pole, Santa talks to everyone and then reads the "good" list). This is a photo of the girls when Santa said their names - Katelyn looks relieved.

I don't care how old you are, going to the "North Pole" will definitely help you feel the "magic" of the season. It was so much fun to do as a family and we are so grateful my parents are willing to come and spend Christmas with us.

After our trip we finished up the evening with a fondue dinner at home and then everyone opened one present and read the Christmas Story. It was a wonderful day!

Brooke's hands are continuing to heal very well. She is so tough and doesn't whine about the pain at all. Here is photo of her right hand (the one with the smallest burn area) one week after she got hurt.