Selection #2

Last night we took a coach bus to Akron, OH to ride the Polar Express train to the North Pole.  The trip was organized by some of the Pittsburgh Penguins and their families.  There were about 20 of us from Ronnie's House, and another 35 or so from the Penguins.  All of the kids wore their jammies, and it was a very cute crowd.
Our hosts fed us well on the bus, and we watched the movie The Polar Express on the way.  We arrived in Akron to board the train after a 2.5 hour bus ride from Pittsburgh.  The train was loaded with festive elves, and the kids were entertained with hot chocolate and cookies, performances from the elves, Christmas Carols, and a p.j.'s fashion show.  The highlight of the trip was the visit to the North Pole Village, which was decorated and populated my elves, animals, and Santa Claus.  Santa boarded the train in the village and visited with every child on the train so they could give him their Christmas wish list.  I had hoped for one of my girls to say something moving and poignant like having our whole family together for Christmas, but they both asked for Pillow Pets and some exotic Barbie I have never heard of.  Ah, youth.  I guess you can be completely unaware of the big picture when it comes to Christmas presents!
We had a lovely bus ride back to Pittsburgh where the Penguins fed the kids more sugar, this time in the form of cupcakes.  The guys thought it was fun to load all of the kids up on sugar at 10 at night.  They watched Elf, with Will Farrell, and I think the adults were laughing as much as the kids.  We finally cruised into Pittsburgh in the pouring rain at midnight, and I peeled my sleeping girls off the bus and into the apartment.  We all slept like rocks, though briefly, and awoke to snow this morning!