The North Pole 2012

As we were unwrapping ornaments to hang on our Christmas tree a few weeks ago, I came upon the kids' photo ornaments with Santa at the North Pole. I got a little teary eyed at the sight of them. It has always been such a fun tradition of ours to skip school and to visit The North Pole, a Christmas-themed mini-amusement park just west of Colorado Springs. That tradition got shelved as Will and Sarah entered middle school and the tween/teen years.

Sitting there in a pile of ornaments and boxes and dripping tears, I looked up and asked the kids if they'd like to go this year. Surprisingly they said yes (well, two of the three said yes) so we found an available date, put it on the calendar, and made it happen. 

It was such a FUN day with my girls. I really didn't know if Sarah would enjoy it this year because most of the rides are kiddie-oriented but she loved it! Abbey did too. A few times I found myself just standing still and listening to the sound of kids and grown-ups around me laughing and squealing with delight. It's a beautiful, beautiful sound and a really fun place to visit during December. I love the North Pole!

Sarah has a flair for the dramatic. Love that girl!

Rudolph is the most coveted reindeer on the carousel.

This picture was taken from the top of the ferris wheel--I don't know if you can see it very well, but it is a terrific (and sad) shot of some of the burn scar from the Waldo Canyon fire. Made my heart so so so sad. 

The BEST Santa lives at the North Pole. 

Abbey and Sarah rode the Tilt-a-HURL no less than 15 times. Not even kidding. My stomach lasted through about four rides and then reminded me that spinny rides are NOT my thing.

This was on the gondola ride. I have a similar shot from a few years ago!

It's not every day you bump into Santa walking around the North Pole!

I found this post of our North Pole trip from 2008. And 2007. And both made my eyes leak. Kids grow  up sooooooooooo quickly. 

I hope that one day my kids will look back and remember doing this together during the Christmas season. And if not, they'll have the photo ornaments to remind them of these special, special days!